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  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7331), what is their assessment of the prospect of the government of Iraq acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are not aware of any information indicating that the Government of Iraq is in the process of acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    The UK is a strong supporter of the ICC. We offer support to any State that is in the process of ratifying the Rome Statute or needs assistance in adopting the national legislation needed to enact the full implementation of the statute. Whether Iraq chooses to accede to the Rome Statute is a matter for the Government of Iraq.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 1 April (HL7307), what steps they are taking with their international allies and partners to redress the financial shortfall in humanitarian assistance to Iraq.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK monitors levels of humanitarian assistance in Iraq extremely closely. In our work with both the Government of Iraq and international donors, we continue to stress the importance of providing sufficient funding to respond to urgent needs across Iraq. We also work closely with others donors, NGOs, the UN and international financial institutions to ensure that commitments made are effectively spent, and targeted towards those in the greatest need.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 1 April (HL7307), when they expect the Department for International Development to complete its assessment of the future support to Iraq through the Bilateral Aid Review process.

    Baroness Verma

    The final phase of the Bilateral Aid Review is currently underway, and we will be publishing in the early summer.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they plan to take to redress the gender balance in engineering, construction and transport apprenticeships.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Inspiration starts at school. Schools are legally required to secure the independent advice and guidance that all young people need when making career choices. Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, Enterprise Advisers work directly with schools to develop effective links with other local businesses to equip young people with the skills they need.

    We are encouraging more young women to enter science and engineering careers, including apprenticeships. The annual Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (TEWeek) encourages them, to consider a career in engineering. The Your Life campaign inspires young people to study maths and physics as a gateway to STEM careers. The STEM Ambassadors programme is a network of over 28,000 volunteers working with schools across the UK, 40% of whom are women.

    The construction sector is working with the Construction Leadership Council to highlight the opportunities the sector offers. Women into Construction, an independent not-for-profit organization, provides bespoke support to women wishing to work in the construction industry and assists contractors in recruiting motivated and trained women.

    We are launching a new communications campaign in May aimed at promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Our promotional campaigns include role models of successful female apprentices in sectors where they are under-represented.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the FSB and Administrative Burdens Advisory Board that the proposed HM Revenue and Customs plans for quarterly tax returns would create a significant administrative and financial burden for small businesses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has consulted informally to understand how the Making Tax Digital changes will affect businesses. This initial assessment shows a reduction in on-going administrative burdens over the longer-term, contributing to HMRC’s overall target to reduce tax administration by £400m by 2020.

    HMRC will publish its initial assessment as part of the formal consultation process, working with stakeholders throughout 2016 to develop understanding, ensuring the final design is focused on reducing burdens.

    As with any other tax measure, a detailed assessment of the impact on administrative burdens will be published alongside draft legislation, expected to be in December 2016.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the pay gap between women and men with vocational qualifications.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Whilst girls outperform boys at school, many still do not choose paths that lead to careers in the highest-paying professions. We know that occupational segregation is a cause of the gender pay gap, and the Government is taking action to address this. Eliminating the gender pay gap is a key priority for this government, and that’s why we are encouraging girls to consider a wide range of careers through the independent ‘Your Life’ campaign, and guidance called ‘Your Daughter’s Future’, which helps parents support their daughters’ subject and career choices.

    Last year 53% of apprenticeships were started by women and the number of women starting apprenticeships in engineering and manufacturing, which carry a significant wage premium, has more than tripled since 2009.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of comments by the head of the IMF regarding threats to the global economy, whether they are preparing any contingency plans.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Since 2010 the UK has made significant progress in developing its economic security. The public finances have improved and the deficit as a share of GDP has now been cut by almost two-thirds from its post-war peak. The financial sector is more resilient, and household finances are more robust with interest payments as a proportion of income the lowest level on record in 2015.

    However, the UK is not immune from global risks, which is why, as I set out in the debate on the Economy last week, it is vital we continue with our long-term economic plan focused on ensuring sound public finances, while delivering the supply-side reforms necessary to boost productivity and deliver long-term sustainable growth.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to protect people against fraud as they are automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, in the light of the recent cuts to the pensions watchdog.

    Baroness Altmann

    The resources allocated to the Pensions Regulator to cover its regulatory responsibilities, together with those for automatic enrolment compliance activity, increased by £3.4m to £79.5m for the financial year 2016/17.

    Schemes that can be used by employers to meet their automatic enrolment duties are subject to specific quality requirements. The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority both play an active role in monitoring schemes used for automatic enrolment to ensure that they meet these standards. The Pensions Regulator has also published a list of independently audited ‘master trusts’ pension schemes that employers may wish to use for automatic enrolment.

    Both Regulators carry out targeted activity to investigate and mitigate risks, including indicators of possible fraud.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how closely they monitor the weekly UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs statistics of death, injuries and house demolitions in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and what conclusions they have drawn from those statistics.

    Baroness Verma

    We follow all briefings and updates from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs closely, and are greatly concerned with the deteriorating humanitarian situation across the occupied Palestinian territories. We raise these concerns regularly with the Government of Israel and development partners, and continue to call for the lifting of movement and access restrictions.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning reports that a further 77,000 Jewish settlers are due to be relocated to illegal Israeli settlements around Ramallah.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We consistently express our opposition to illegal settlements. On 18 February, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), raised our concerns about settlements with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the UK’s strong opposition to illegal construction of settlements with the Israeli authorities, and raised these specific plans on 17 November 2015.