Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether the House of Lords Administration will publish marshalled lists of amendments to bills and related documents in braille format to ensure that documents are accessible to the public and members and staff of both Houses.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Public Bill Office has not previously explored providing amendment documents in braille and there are currently no provisions in the House of Lords for braille documents for bills or amendments.
The House of Lords Communications Office have previously produced non-legislative braille documents for members of the House on request, most recently in 2019. They have not had any requests for braille documents since 2019.
The amendment documents from the Public Bill Office are produced at pace with regular addition of new content, meaning that accessible electronic documents may offer the most reliable way for users to keep up with the pace of production. The Public Bill Office, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Digital Service, has prioritised work to improve the accessibilty of the Bills Webpages. Specific actions have been focused on improving accessibilty for those who use screen readers and other assistive technologies.
The House of Lords Administration will continue to review the accessibilty of its documents more generally and will keep the provision of braille documents under review.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the Minister for Latin America held during her recent visits to Chile regarding their policies on promoting gender equality, progress on LGBT+ rights and their priorities in formulating policies on sexual and reproductive rights.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During my visit to Chile in January, I launched a report on digital rights of indigenous women alongside Chile's Deputy Minister for Women, Luz Vidal. The UK is firmly committed to promoting gender equality and fostering inclusive growth worldwide.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the Minister for Africa held during his recent meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives on gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights and sexual and reproductive rights.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is committed to championing the human rights of women, girls, LGBT+ people, and those belonging to other marginalised groups. In my meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives on 22 January, I raised a variety of issues relating to the UK-Nigeria bilateral relationship, including the importance of championing human rights, inclusive economic growth and supporting women's participation in politics. Through programmes and advocacy, the UK government is supporting women and girls affected by conflict in North-East Nigeria; helping girls access education; supporting women's economic empowerment; tackling gender-based violence; and improving access to health services.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the Minister for Africa held during his recent visit to Botswana regarding their policies on promoting gender equality, progress on LGBT+ rights and their priorities in formulating policies on sexual and reproductive rights.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I met with a wide range of civil society groups on my visit to Botswana in January, including Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals of Botswana, Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations, and Feminist Alliance Botswana. Discussions included the challenges that LGBT+ groups and women face living in Botswana, as well as the political space they have to promote further equality. We also discussed the challenges of gender-based violence and women's representation in politics. I set out UK thinking on these issues, and where we feel we can support Botswana's policy goals to address them.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to combat global activism against sexual and reproductive rights.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK government is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe abortion. In the face of increasing anti-SRHR activism we will harness UK political leadership and strategic funding to elevate the voices of those most marginalised in the global south, convene and coordinate likeminded and non-traditional partners and protect SRHR from rollback at both global and national levels.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include a reference to allocating 10 per cent of national development budgets and development assistance budgets to the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action in the National Statement to be delivered by the UK at the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK's National Statement at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will highlight our commitment to reaffirming the principles of the Beijing Declaration and putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. This will include our commitment to defending and promoting their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The FCDO is committed to maintaining a strong portfolio of SRHR programming and spend. There are currently no plans to set spending targets on SRHR.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include a reference to allocating 10 per cent of Official Development Assistance to sexual and reproductive health and rights to achieve gender equality in the National Statement to be delivered by the UK at the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK's National Statement at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will highlight our commitment to reaffirming the principles of the Beijing Declaration and putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. This will include our commitment to defending and promoting their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The FCDO is committed to maintaining a strong portfolio of SRHR programming and spend. There are currently no plans to set spending targets on SRHR.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their priorities in formulating their policies on sexual and reproductive rights.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The empowerment of women and girls is a top priority for the UK government, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are key to this. When women and girls around the world are able to have control over their lives and their own bodies, they can avoid a life of early, multiple and often dangerous pregnancies and births, and instead complete their education, take up better economic opportunities and fulfil their potential. The UK therefore prioritises bodily autonomy and the rights of women and girls in the development of SRHR policies, in line with the Guttmacher-Lancet integrated definition of comprehensive SRHR for all.
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 World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations joint report Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, published on 5 June, what steps they are taking to prevent further food insecurity in the 22 countries mentioned; and assistance they will provide to (1) Haiti, (2) Mali, (3) Palestine, (4) South Sudan, and (5) Sudan, who were found to be at the highest risk of famine.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is deeply concerned by the findings of the 2024 Hunger Hotspots report. We are the third largest government donor to the World Food Programme (WFP) and in 2024 have contributed over $600 million (£495 million) to WFP programmes, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Sudan, South Sudan and Haiti. In November 2024, the UK doubled its support for those affected by the war in Sudan and we committed £112 million to the OPTs this financial year. On 30 December 2024, the Minister for International Development announced further humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities, including up to £8 million for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of Duke of Edinburgh Award's Impact Report 2024, published in December, with regard to the impact of participating in the Award on young people's social and emotional development, and well-being.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government welcomes the Duke of Edinburgh Award’s 2024 Impact Report, which demonstrates the effective use of data to measure the outcomes for young people participating in youth programmes.
On 12th November, the Secretary of State announced a new National Youth Strategy, which will be developed together with young people and the youth sector.