Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what resources have been dedicated by the Integrated Security Fund to initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25.
The Fund administers a wide range of activity to tackle the root causes and drivers of conflict, however these are not tracked as separate components or activity. Activity targeting these issues are embedded into a number of areas of programming including countering transnational threats, serious and organised crime, terrorism, state threat activity and climate security. Resources also comprise advisory support including conflict advisors, gender advisors as well as monitoring and evaluation advisors based in the UK and in Programme Teams in UK Missions overseas.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of funds committed to the Integrated Security Fund are dedicated to funding peacebuilding and mediation support programmes.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25.
The Fund prioritises spending on those geographies and thematic issues that pose the greatest direct threat to the UK. Activity focussed on peacebuilding and delivering mediation support are embedded into programmes across the ISF. These are not tracked as individual or separate components. ISF programmes offer an integrated approach to addressing conflict in a comprehensive manner, such as funding security sector reform assistance, addressing insurgency through rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and supporting peace agreement processes.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of funds committed to the Integrated Security Fund have been dedicated to funding programmes and initiatives relating to (1) civil society peacebuilding and (2) women, peace, and security, since it replaced the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in 2024.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25.
Support to civil society actors in conflict environments is a vital component of how the Fund delivers activity. These are not tracked as individual or separate components.
The Fund is meeting ambitious standards on both dedicated Women, Peace and Security programming and gender mainstreaming across the entire fund, ensuring women and girls’ needs are included in conflict and security responses. In Financial Year 2024/25 the ISF provides dedicated funding through the Gender, Peace and Security portfolio to progress those objectives. The ISF has a mandatory requirement whereby all programmes should include a project where gender is a primary objective for at least one project within the programme. We have also increased technical and advisory support, including through the Women, Peace and Security Helpdesk which is providing joined up advice across government on WPS.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to follow the United States, Canada, and the European Union in restricting the use of TikTok on government-issued devices.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
We continue to monitor potential threats to our systems and data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.
With regards to potential security risks, His Majesty’s Government does not comment on these matters.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that all public sector bodies follow their new procurement rules designed to exclude suppliers linked to human rights abuses.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Government is committed to preventing human rights abuses in the global economy, including in our own supply chains.
The Public Contracts Regulations allow contracting authorities to exclude bidders in particular situations, such as for human rights abuses, and must be considered by the contracting authority on a case by case basis.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to updating (1) the Ministerial Code of Conduct, (2) the Special Advisers Code of Conduct, and (3) the Civil Service Code of Conduct, in response to allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in public life and the awareness raised by the MeToo campaign.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Ministerial Code was revised in January 2018 to include new wording to make clear that harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminatory behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated. We will be looking to make similar amendments to the Civil Service Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review will incorporate preventing sexual violence in conflict as a component of building security overseas.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is committed to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and to driving forward the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. This commitment will inform work on the relevant aspects of the 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.