The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding its intention to close the Palestinian theatre in Jerusalem.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 17 November (HL3625), what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the identification of the ages of Palestinian children prior to their arrest and detention.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with the Israeli Ministry of Justice (MoJ) when they met on 3 November and were informed that a small number of children under 12 had been detained. The Israeli MoJ stated that once their age was established, the minors were released. They also told officials that if identification was not available, parents of the individuals were contacted via the Palestinian District Coordination Office. Since the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded independent report on Children in Military Custody in June 2012, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention in Israel. This includes a pilot to use summons instead of night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. While we welcome improvements, we continue to push for the full implementation of changes and to encourage further changes in practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to support self-employed people who are confused over their tax status or struggle to understand the tax system.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides business with detailed guidance and an online Employment Status Indicator to check whether they are employed or self-employed for tax, National Insurance or VAT purposes. This is available on the gov.uk website.
HMRC is working with stakeholders to improve the online tool. Customers needing further support can call the Helpline on 03001232326.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that BAME civil servants struggle more than their white counterparts to reach senior positions in Whitehall.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is committed to ensuring a diverse Civil Service that is representative of Modern Britain at all levels.
In 2014, we commissioned external research undertaken by Ethnic Dimension to identify the barriers to progression experienced by talented BAME Civil Servants. The findings informed the Talent Action Plan Refresh published in March 2015 outlining clear actions to develop a greater pool of diverse talent.
Specific actions include a commitment to expand the Positive Action Pathway programme, designed to identify and develop talented BAME employees to secure promotion.
We also plan to introduce Accelerate, an ambitious new talent programme to boost development of the pipeline for future leaders for key Director and Director General roles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to promote gender diversity in the UK film industry.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
This Government is committed to promoting diversity in the film industry. We support the British Film Institute’s (BFI) newly launched £1 million Diversity Fund, which works to provide professional development opportunities to people from underrepresented groups, as well as funding to organisations that are looking to support diversity projects. As part of the recent London Film Festival, the BFI supported the Geena Davis Institute’s symposium on Gender in the Media, and has also recently extended its Diversity Standards to cover all Film Fund Lottery schemes which support film development, production and distribution, and widen access to film in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the recent World Bank survey, Women, Business and the Law 2016, that 155 out of 173 countries, including the UK, still have at least one law impeding women’s economic opportunities.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This report provides an interesting assessment of women’s rights around the world, with a particular emphasis on how they are treated under the law. Unsurprisingly the UK is cited as providing a strong legal framework, and further progress that we have made is set out in many areas. We will continue to work with other countries to promote women’s rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to promote gender, orientation and ethnic diversity in the workplace, in particular in the architecture profession.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This government is committed to promoting equality in all professions, including architecture. The Equality Act 2010 provides a strong legislative framework to prevent and tackle discrimination, harassment, and victimisation in the workplace. The government also funds the Equality and Advisory Support Service, which provides an accessible and inclusive source of advice for people who may have been discriminated against.
We have committed to closing the gender pay gap in a generation. We will soon require larger employers to publish the difference between the average pay and bonuses of their male and female employees. We are also tackling the root causes of gender pay gap with the introduction of Shared Parental Leave, the extension of flexible working and the offer of 30 hours free childcare.
The government is proud of its record to support LGB&T people and the UK continues to be recognised as a leader in this area. However, we know there is more to do which is why we have recently published guidance for employers on the recruitment and retention of trans employees in the workplace.
Finally, the Prime Minister has underlined the government’s commitment to increasing racial diversity in the workplace in his 2020 Vision, in which he made a commitment to increase BME employment by 20% by 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cases are currently being dealt with by the Channel programme, and how many of those have been because of suspected vulnerability to extremist Islamist views, and how many for other reasons.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Since Channel was rolled out nationally in 2012, over 4000 people have been referred to the programme, and hundreds successfully supported. National Counter Terrorism Policing has published its own data on Channel at the following URL:
http://www.acpo.police.uk/ACPOBusinessAreas/PREVENT/NationalChannelReferralFigures.aspx
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mechanisms exist to scrutinise the Channel programme and Prevent strategy, and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of those mechanisms.
Lord Bates
The Government has developed a dual approach to assessing the effectiveness of initiatives funded by the Prevent strategy, including the Channel programme. It is based on comprehensive monitoring systems which track outcomes over time and robust evaluation techniques.
In addition, the Prevent Oversight Board, chaired by the Minister for Security, has responsibility to oversee the delivery of the Prevent Programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 17 November (HL3221) concerning the use of forensic linguistics by the Home Office in immigration cases, whether they have plans to enable the admittance in court, as in some other European jurisdictions, of evidence derived from forensic linguistics, and if not, what are their reasons.
Lord Bates
Evidence derived from language analysis undertaken for immigration purposes is admissible and, in practice, is routinely presented in immigration appeals.