Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide the finances for a Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum to those of a Muslim faith who gave their lives in two World Wars, as announced in the March Budget.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our country has a long history of commemorating and honouring the brave actions of service men and women during the two World Wars, and we will never forget the sacrifices they made for our future. The government will set out further details on our plans to commemorate and mark the service given by our Muslim communities in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing the cap on student recruitment in higher education on the sustainability of the sector, and whether they plan to review or restore the cap.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England, publishes an annual report on the financial health of the HE sector.
The OfS’ most recent report, published in May 2024, does not cite the removal of the cap on student recruitment as a key risk to the financial sustainability of the sector. There are no plans to reintroduce student number controls. The report is attached and can also be read here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/ly1buqlj/financial-sustainability-report2024.pdf.
The UK’s universities are autonomous, vibrant and independent. The government values this, as does the HE sector. This means that, ultimately, it is for providers, as part of an autonomous and independent sector, to decide on effective business models.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the Research Excellence Framework process for universities, and whether they plan to replace it with a less onerous and more cost-effective process.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The next research assessment exercise, REF2029, will be completed in 2029. It is led by Research England and the Devolved Funding Bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These funding bodies are engaging with the sector to lighten the bureaucratic burden wherever possible, for example by using existing data sets.
DSIT recognises the need to reduce bureaucracy across the research system as much as possible. The department is working with the sector and funders to achieve this.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise with the government of Iran (1) the detention of lawyers defending Iranian protesters, and (2) the detention of 17 journalists, including Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who first reported on Jina Mahsa Amini's death in custody.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Iran's human rights record is dire. The UN Fact Finding Mission's update to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 5 July echoed our serious issues over the continued detention of protesters, lawyers and journalists, the ongoing wave of executions, and new legislation targeting women accused of breaching headscarf rules. We continue to work with our international partners to ensure the regime is held to account. That is why the UK initiated the joint statement of 5 July calling on Iran to end executions, which was signed by 54 countries. On 6 July we announced a further package of human rights sanctions, including on senior prison officials and on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR) - the body responsible for setting headscarf policies. Our annual Human Rights Report, published on 13 July, outlines our wide-ranging concern with the human rights situation in Iran and Iran remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We continue to raise these and other human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the government of Iran regarding the executions, and threat of executions, of many of those connected to the protests that began in that country in September 2022.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Iran's human rights record is dire. The UN Fact Finding Mission's update to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 5 July echoed our serious issues over the continued detention of protesters, lawyers and journalists, the ongoing wave of executions, and new legislation targeting women accused of breaching headscarf rules. We continue to work with our international partners to ensure the regime is held to account. That is why the UK initiated the joint statement of 5 July calling on Iran to end executions, which was signed by 54 countries. On 6 July we announced a further package of human rights sanctions, including on senior prison officials and on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR) - the body responsible for setting headscarf policies. Our annual Human Rights Report, published on 13 July, outlines our wide-ranging concern with the human rights situation in Iran and Iran remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We continue to raise these and other human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Iranian authorities about punishments for women and girls found in breach of provisions requiring the wearing of a headscarf.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Iran's human rights record is dire. The UN Fact Finding Mission's update to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 5 July echoed our serious issues over the continued detention of protesters, lawyers and journalists, the ongoing wave of executions, and new legislation targeting women accused of breaching headscarf rules. We continue to work with our international partners to ensure the regime is held to account. That is why the UK initiated the joint statement of 5 July calling on Iran to end executions, which was signed by 54 countries. On 6 July we announced a further package of human rights sanctions, including on senior prison officials and on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR) - the body responsible for setting headscarf policies. Our annual Human Rights Report, published on 13 July, outlines our wide-ranging concern with the human rights situation in Iran and Iran remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We continue to raise these and other human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise with the government of Iran the evidence gathered by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Iran's human rights record is dire. The UN Fact Finding Mission's update to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 5 July echoed our serious issues over the continued detention of protesters, lawyers and journalists, the ongoing wave of executions, and new legislation targeting women accused of breaching headscarf rules. We continue to work with our international partners to ensure the regime is held to account. That is why the UK initiated the joint statement of 5 July calling on Iran to end executions, which was signed by 54 countries. On 6 July we announced a further package of human rights sanctions, including on senior prison officials and on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR) - the body responsible for setting headscarf policies. Our annual Human Rights Report, published on 13 July, outlines our wide-ranging concern with the human rights situation in Iran and Iran remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We continue to raise these and other human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following their announcement of new sanctions against the government of Belarus, what assessment they have made of the impact of previous sanctions against the government of Belarus, particularly in relation to the treatment of Belarusian political prisoners.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK introduced comprehensive sanctions in response to Belarus' flawed 2020 presidential elections and subsequent brutal crackdown, sanctioning over 120 individuals and entities. These include Lukashenko, security officials, judges and prosecutors. Belarus must be held accountable for both human rights violations, including treatment of political prisoners, against its own people and their support of Putin's illegal war. Since 2022, the Belarusian regime has facilitated Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the UK introduced sanctions in June 2022 and June 2023 in response which severely limited Belarus's ability to trade with the UK. We keep our sanctions under review, and reserve the right to introduce further measures.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to raise the issue of human rights abuses against political prisoners in Belarus in international forums; and if so, which forums.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is appalled by the brutal and ongoing repression that the Lukashenko regime conducts against its own people. We have already applied wide-ranging sanctions to Belarus in response to the regime's continued human rights violations, and are supporting further accountability measures including the International Accountability Platform for Belarus. The UK makes our solidarity with political prisoners clear, when possible attending trials and engaging with their families. We have raised political prisoners at the UN and OSCE and will continue to take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take any further action against the worsening situation for political prisoners in Belarus; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is appalled by the brutal and ongoing repression that the Lukashenko regime conducts against its own people. We have already applied wide-ranging sanctions to Belarus in response to the regime's continued human rights violations, and are supporting further accountability measures including the International Accountability Platform for Belarus. The UK makes our solidarity with political prisoners clear, when possible attending trials and engaging with their families. We have raised political prisoners at the UN and OSCE and will continue to take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens.