The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many academy sponsors are waiting for approval.
Lord Nash
As of 29 January 2016, there are currently 66 sponsor applications being assessed by the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Chairman of Committees how many agency staff are employed by the House of Lords; and whether those staff are paid the London Living Wage.
Lord Laming
The House currently employs approximately 34 agency staff in each sitting week. The majority of these staff are deployed in Catering and Retail Services.
The House of Lords is accredited by Citizens UK (CUK) as a London Living Wage Employer. The terms of its accreditation licence require that contractors and sub-contractors with dedicated staff who are based on parliamentary premises are paying those staff at least the London Living Wage.
In accordance with the terms of the accreditation licence, all agency staff are paid at least the London Living Wage rate from day 1 of week 9 if they are working on parliamentary premises and employed for at least two hours of work in a week, for 8 consecutive weeks in a year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their contribution to multilateral development assistance to Burundi; and what is their assessment of the impact of this funding.
Baroness Verma
The UK’s imputed share of multilateral net ODA to Burundi was £28.7 million in 2013, the latest year for which figures are available. DFID selects its partners on the basis of their ability to spend funds where they will have the greatest impact and DFID has rigorous systems in place to ensure that funds are spent effectively. The World Bank, for example, has a country-level results framework to track and manage progress and impact; currently over two-thirds of the outcome indicators for Burundi have already been achieved or are on-track to being achieved.
In addition to core funding to multilaterals, DFID also provides resources for multilateral organisations through bilateral and central programmes. A preparedness programme has enabled the UN and World Food Programme to assist up to 10,000 people in Burundi and to strengthen humanitarian coordination. Since the start of the crisis DFID has contributed £21 million to support the regional refugee response and DFID’s contribution to the Central Emergency Response Fund in Burundi is in excess of £2 million in 2016.
DFID is working with the EU, international financial institutions, UN Agencies and NGO community to review their support to Burundi and to ensure that humanitarian needs are met. DFID has a humanitarian adviser based in the region as well as advisers in the UK monitoring the situation in Burundi and ensuring that DFID funds are being spent in a way that achieves value for money for the UK taxpayer
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the state of the rule of law in Burundi, the need for security sector reform and the role of development assistance in addressing any deficits in this regard.
Earl of Courtown
The UK is deeply concerned by the situation in Burundi. At least 130 people were killed in December 2015 alone. We are aware of 250 cases of torture/ill treatment and 13 documented cases of sexual violence. The UK has also been deeply concerned to hear of allegations that the police and the Burundian ruling party’s youth league are involved in the violence, including sexual violence. These reports demonstrate that the rule of law is in a fragile state in Burundi.
Given this, there is a critical need for security sector reform (SSR) in Burundi. The African Union (AU) has authorised a protection mission to Burundi if Burundian consent is obtained. If the mission is deployed the UK will provide financial and logistical support. However, the UK’s current focus is to see progress in the Ugandan-mediated East African Community dialogue. Without dialogue, SSR will bear little fruit.
The UK does not currently have a bilateral aid programme with Burundi; however, the Department for International Development is providing £18.15 million to support Burundian refugees in the region, making the UK the second largest contributor to the humanitarian effort after the US.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), visited Burundi in mid-December 2015 where he pressed the Government to engage in inclusive dialogue to end the violence. He again pressed the Foreign Minister for action when they met at the recent AU Summit. The summit also provided an opportunity to lobby a range of AU members on the importance of regional leadership in resolving the situation in Burundi.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need for humanitarian assistance in Burundi and the potential role of the churches in meeting the needs of Burundian refugees and internally displaced persons.
Baroness Verma
The UK is gravely concerned about the ongoing political and human rights crisis in Burundi. Reported abuses by security forces against civilians are deplorable. All allegations should be investigated and those responsible held accountable. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed at increasing signs of ethnic targeting which is very concerning and is being monitored. DFID is coordinating closely with the Foreign Office on the situation as well as with international partners including the African Union.
The humanitarian situation in Burundi itself is not critical at this stage, but it remains fragile and will deteriorate as long as the political crisis continues. DFID will continue to assess whether humanitarian assistance is required within the country. At the same time, our teams in Tanzania, Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda, are working hard providing humanitarian support to Burundian refugees. The UK has committed £18.15 million for the refugee response being led by UN agencies, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), and international NGOs. This funding includes £14.25 million to support refugees in Tanzania, and £3.9 million to support refugees in Rwanda. We are keeping our funding levels under constant review according to need. We have deployed a humanitarian adviser to the region to support the regional refugee response and we have provided technical support, in the form of secondment of experts, to support UN agencies working in Burundi. This includes support to the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to strengthen humanitarian coordination in Burundi.
DFID recognises that churches and faith groups can have great legitimacy and a wide reach, and therefore can make an important contribution to both refugees and internally displaced persons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of recent civil disturbances in Burundi on livelihoods and resilience and the role of the African Union and the East African Community in providing peace, reconciliation and economic growth in Burundi.
Earl of Courtown
The UK is deeply concerned by the situation in Burundi. The recent civil disturbances have led to the flight of over 234,000 refugees to neighbouring countries. There are an additional 15,000 internally displaced people. The UN reports that 36 per cent of houses are now food insecure, with 7 per cent severely food insecure. This has a devastating impact on the livelihoods of those individuals and the resilience of those left behind to further confrontation and economic hardship.
The East African Community (EAC) has mandated Uganda to facilitate a dialogue between the various parties in Burundi. Leadership from the EAC is important in securing peace and reconciliation. The UK strongly supports the EAC-led dialogue but insufficient progress has been made so far. The parties met for the first time on 28 December, but the Government of Burundi is refusing to engage with the opposition so no date can be set for a second round of talks. We continue to press the Government of Burundi to engage fully in talks.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), visited Burundi in mid-December 2015 where he pressed the government to engage in inclusive dialogue to end the violence. He again pressed the Foreign Minister for action when they met at the recent African Union (AU) Summit. The summit also provided an opportunity to lobby a range of AU members on the importance of regional leadership in resolving the situation in Burundi. Until there is peace and reconciliation, there will be limited opportunity to successfully support economic growth in Burundi, which has collapsed since the start of the crisis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to distribute the £20 million funding for English lessons for women speakers of other languages; which bodies will be responsible for delivering the new provision; on what basis it will be allocated; how much will be made available in each year of this Parliament, and what kind of learning provision the money will be used for.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Our new English language training offer, worth £20 million over this Parliament, will be informed by the findings of Louise Casey’s Review of Integration and the learning from the six community-based projects we have funded as part of our current integration programme. In particular, we will work with Louise Casey to identify the most isolated communities in England and on the detail of how the programme will be delivered, to ensure it is targeted at those women who need it most. We are working towards as early a launch date as possible for the programme in 2016-17.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Northbourne on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define family income and household income, and whether family income includes the father’s income whether or not he is living with his children and their mother.
Lord Freud
The Government does not have a single standard definition of family or household income. The definition used will vary depending on the particular circumstances under consideration.
The definition of household income in the National Statistics publication Households Below Average Income, which analyses the income distribution, is:
Total income from all sources of all household members including dependants.
This definition includes any income received by a household member from an absent parent or former partner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Truscott on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 11 January (HL4782) whether they have any plans to cap or curtail the Chilcot Inquiry’s expenses or costs before it reports.
Lord Bridges of Headley
No.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is spent annually on training reservists in (1) the army, (2) the Royal Navy, and (3) the Royal Air Force.
Earl Howe
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.