Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of efforts in New York State to ensure private creditor debtor terms are equal to those of other creditors to lower and middle-income countries; and what plans they have, if any, to enact similar legislation in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

The UK, alongside the G20 and Paris Club, expects creditors, including private creditors, to participate in debt restructurings on comparable terms.

At this stage, the Government is not pursuing a legislative approach that would force private or other lenders to participate in debt restructurings. The Government is focused on delivering a market-based (contractual) approach to private sector participation, including taking the lead in developing Majority Voting Provisions for private syndicated loans. These promote more efficient restructurings and reduce the ability for creditors to hold out.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to remarks by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 24 May 2023 (HL Deb col 870), when the initial £5 million, including £2 million in South Sudan, to meet the urgent needs of refugees and returnees who were fleeing the violence in Sudan was released; and on what it has been spent.

Answered by Lord Benyon

On 4 May 2023, the UK Government announced an initial £5 million allocation to support those fleeing the conflict in Sudan. In Chad, this included £1.75 million for the World Food Programme on food and logistics ahead of the rainy season and £1 million to the Sahel Regional Fund to support urgent protection and assistance by NGOs. In South Sudan, this included £1.5 million to the World Food Programme for use in border areas, £500,000 to UNICEF for Sexual and Gender Based Violence protection services and £250,000 to REACH towards initiatives to improve analysis about evolving needs to support wider humanitarian action. In total, since the outbreak of conflict in Sudan, the UK has allocated £15 million to support those fleeing to Chad, and £7.75 million to support existing and new Sudanese refugees as well as vulnerable returnees and host communities in South Sudan.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on poverty reduction of conditionalities on World Bank funding to lower and middle-income countries that incentivise smallholder farmers to purchase commercial seeds and fertilisers; and whether they plan to make representations to the World Bank to ensure that such conditionalities allow smallholder farmers to retain their own seeds.

Answered by Lord Benyon

We have previously engaged with the World Bank on this matter. The World Bank has confirmed to us that they do not have a policy in place that restricts farmers in choosing their seeds. The World Bank advocates the use of quality seeds as part of their overall approach to productivity and climate resilience. Furthermore, World Bank operations are designed at a country level, in support of local government priorities and plans, and in consultation with other stakeholders.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the £100 million pledged at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Ethiopia pledging conference in April is new and additional funding.

Answered by Lord Benyon

At the high-level pledging conference for Ethiopia which took place in April, the Deputy Foreign Secretary announced £100 million in UK funding. This support had not been previously announced. This included £30 million to treat acute malnutrition for those in greatest need.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of official development assistance humanitarian spend in East African countries has been received by local and national non-governmental organisations in country over the last year; and what steps they will take to ensure UK commitments on such funding are met, such as the Grand Bargain commitment to provide 25 per cent of humanitarian funding to local and national organisations.

Answered by Lord Benyon

Local organisations play a vital role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support across East Africa including in Ethiopia and Somalia where we support a range of different national entities. The UK strongly supports the role of national agencies in responding to humanitarian crises and building resilience. This is demonstrated in the recent International Development White Paper which commits the UK to publishing a strategy on engagement with national relief actors. Work to develop this strategy is now underway.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to undertake a review into levels of childhood obesity and the role that the promotion of meals, snacks and drinks in early years settings can play in combatting this trend.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet, for the learning, development, and care of children from birth to five years old. The EYFS requires that where children are provided with meals, snacks, and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced, and nutritious. The EYFS also refers to example menus and guidance, which support parents, carers, and anyone working with children, to provide healthy food options. The Department for Education has also very recently published a range of tools and advice to support childminders, nursery leaders, and pre-school practitioners to improve the food offered in early years settings on the Help for early years providers platform.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a policy that, where police officers have been dismissed for gross misconduct, consideration will be given as to whether their police pension should be forfeited.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

A police officer’s pension can only be forfeited by a local policing body in certain circumstances, where they have been convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service. This is not unique to policing and exists in other public sector pension schemes.

The Government has no plans to amend this policy.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in enforcing mandatory gender pay gap reporting.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

In 2017, we introduced world-leading regulations requiring large employers to publish the differences in average salaries and bonuses for men and women every year. We continue to see high levels of compliance with the regulations; and the broader requirement has ensured that employers are aware of their gaps and are taking steps to close them.

Enforcement of the reporting regulations is the responsibility of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. They have outlined the process that they follow for gender pay gap reporting here:

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-work/gender-pay-gap-our-enforcement-action?return-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.equalityhumanrights.com%2Fsearch%3Fkeys%3Denforcement%2Bstrategy

More details about their full enforcement powers are detailed here:

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-work/our-legal-work/our-legal-powers/our-litigation-and-enforcement-policy-2022-2025/our-0

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to deny preferential trading rights to companies from countries with poor human rights records.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is committed to working with international partners and businesses to ensure global supply chains are free from human and labour rights abuses. The UK monitors all countries on the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) on an ongoing basis for serious and systemic violations of human rights (including gender rights), labour rights and environmental obligations based on international conventions. The DCTS includes the power to suspend a country's preferential tariffs for such violations, however, it does not have the power to individually suspend a company's trade preferences.

Found: 12.30 pm in Committee Room 3A Present: Lord Morse (Chair) Baroness Buscombe Earl of Courtown Baroness

Found: • Member of Committee A, Sovereign Matters, of the British -Irish Parliamentary Assembly Baroness

Found: Lord Jay of Ewelme (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell; Lord Empey; Baroness

Found: Lord Jay of Ewelme (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell; Lord Empey; Baroness

Found: Baroness Boycott; Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe; Baroness Browning; The Earl of Caithness; Lord Colgrain; Baroness

Found: the meeting Members present: Lord Jay of Ewelme (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey; Baroness

Found: Q10 Baroness Goudie: What opportunities are available for Northern Ireland businesses, civil society

Found: Baroness Goudie. Baroness Goudie: Good afternoon, Minister and colleagues.