Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current humanitarian and security situation in Sudan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 9 March in response to Questions HL14828-30.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 9 March (HL14650), which British embassies currently fund projects supporting the work of the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK funds numerous projects in support of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) through our central programme and posts overseas, including a strong focus on our current PSVI focus countries - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq, South Sudan, and Ukraine - and on current major conflicts in which conflict related sexual violence (CRSV) has become a significant issue. For example, in February, the Foreign Secretary announced £20 million of new UK funding to support survivors of CRSV in Sudan, to be delivered through the British Office Sudan.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the next annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the letter sent to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 March by the Minister for Multilateral and Human Rights, in response to her letter of 23 January on this issue, and I will arrange for a copy of his letter to be placed in the House of Lords library.
This Government remains firmly committed to the protection and promotion of human rights globally, and to reporting transparently on our actions. We are currently considering the most appropriate form of future reporting on our human rights work.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial and administrative support they provide to the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls and to the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI); and what provision is made to ensure that British embassies and high commissions are able to fund projects supporting the work of both the Special Envoy for Women and Girls and the PM’s Special Representative for PSVI.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign Secretary has been clear that we must renew global focus and ambition around women, peace and security, and put the rights of women and girls, including freedom from violence, at the heart of UK foreign policy.
We continue to work through the UK-founded International Alliance for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, of which the UK is vice-chair this year, to rally further support for tackling the silence and stigma faced by survivors of sexual violence, including the women and girls in Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar and elsewhere who have faced the use of rape as a weapon of war.
The roles of UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls and the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict are unremunerated.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 10 July 2025 (HL8885), what steps they have taken since July 2025 to demonstrate that they are "fully implementing" the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative strategy.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign Secretary has been clear that we must renew global focus and ambition around women, peace and security, and put the rights of women and girls, including freedom from violence, at the heart of UK foreign policy.
We continue to work through the UK-founded International Alliance for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, of which the UK is vice-chair this year, to rally further support for tackling the silence and stigma faced by survivors of sexual violence, including the women and girls in Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar and elsewhere who have faced the use of rape as a weapon of war.
The roles of UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls and the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict are unremunerated.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress by Turkmenistan on climate change, education and gender equality since signing the Cooperation Programme on 23 April 2024.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We recognise that progress takes time, but the UK continues to work with Turkmenistan on these issues, and regularly discusses them at official and ministerial levels, including at the UK - Central Asian Foreign Ministers' meeting in London, hosted by the Foreign Secretary in February.
We also work to support links with other UK experts in these areas. For example, on climate change, our Embassy in Ashgabat is facilitating an upcoming visit by UK Green Finance, and on education - with the Embassy's support - Nottingham Trent University, Norwich Institute of Language Education, the AQA, Pearson, and the British Council's AELLCA initiative have all signed new partnerships with Turkmenistan.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities for the growth of the London insurance market and emerging services relating to operations by the space sector; and whether they plan to bring forward proposals for a reduction of operators’ regulatory compliance costs.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the importance of the London insurance market as the global leader in space insurance. It is looking at options to further support its growth and future development of emerging services, such as Active Debris Removal. The Government is committed to driving growth and innovation through regulation. It is currently consulting on a range of regulatory financial tools for growth of both the orbital operations and insurance sectors, and intends to set out its latest thinking shortly. These measures will contribute to a reduction of operators’ regulatory administrative costs in line with the Prime Minister’s target of a 25% reduction across sectors by 2030.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 5 September 2025 (HL Deb col 1118), what steps they have taken to consult the space sector on proposals to revise how the limit of operator liability is determined for satellite operations.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to driving growth and innovation through regulation. It is currently consulting with the space sector on options to revise how the limit of operator liability is determined for satellite operations, as part of development of a wider set of regulatory financial tools to support the growth of the UK’s orbital operations sector.
The Government intends to set out its latest thinking to the sector shortly in response to the feedback received. These measures will contribute to a reduction of operators’ regulatory administrative costs in line with the Prime Minister’s target of a 25% reduction across sectors by 2030.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that there is cross-government cooperation with regard to the setting up, funding and operation of (1) Young Futures Hubs programmes and (2) other cross-cutting youth initiatives.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.
Officials from across a range of departments are already working jointly, using evidence of what works to start to shape the Young Futures Hubs model. As part of this we are engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities, and other key stakeholders, including assessing evidence they have supplied, to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery, including considering how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from support.
Across Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, the government is adopting a phased approach to learn from what works. To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, we will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to create Young Futures Hubs in every local authority area; and whether they intend to set out a workforce development plan to support the creation of Young Futures Hubs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.
Officials from across a range of departments are already working jointly, using evidence of what works to start to shape the Young Futures Hubs model. As part of this we are engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities, and other key stakeholders, including assessing evidence they have supplied, to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery, including considering how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from support.
Across Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, the government is adopting a phased approach to learn from what works. To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, we will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.