Global Education Summit

Debate between Baroness Helic and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Wednesday 14th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is right to point out the many factors that have an impact on people’s access to education. In May the Prime Minister set out the girls’ education action plan, which sets out the steps that we will take to deliver our global objectives on girls’ education.

[Baroness Helic (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the UK has secured—within the G7 communiqué, at least—$2.75 billion for the GPE. Will the UK Government consider expanding their pledge to encourage other countries to do the same to ensure that we genuinely reach the $5 billion GPE target?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

As my noble friend may know, we are the GPE’s largest donor, having contributed more $1.6 billion since it was set up in 2002, and our new pledge will take our contributions to over $2 billion. Our contributions are currently around 13% of the GPE’s income and we encourage other nations, the private sector and philanthropic organisations to step up and do the same.

China: Treatment of Uighurs and Taiwanese Airspace Incursions

Debate between Baroness Helic and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Thursday 18th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made clear that we are not normally in favour of sporting boycotts. The broader question of the participation of the national team at the winter Olympics is a matter for the British Olympic Association, which is required to operate independently of the Government under the International Olympic Committee regulations.

[Baroness Helic (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the steps that the Government have taken to help ensure that no British companies are complicit in the appalling human rights abuse in Xinjiang. However, a BBC investigation earlier this month reported that Uighurs are being forcibly resettled around the country, and women are being sterilised, raped and assaulted. Can my noble friend reassure me that these reports have been taken into account and will be reflected in further government guidance?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for her support for the action that we have taken to ensure that UK businesses are not complicit in human rights violations in Xinjiang. They also show China that there is a reputational and economic cost to its policies there. As well as the financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply with the transparency obligations of the Modern Slavery Act, we have funded research to help build the evidence base and provided guidance to help UK businesses to conduct due diligence to ensure that their supply chains are free of forced labour.

Yemen: Aid Funding

Debate between Baroness Helic and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Wednesday 3rd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Helic (Con) [V]]

My noble friend will be aware that 80% of the population of Yemen rely on humanitarian support, and that a child dies every 10 minutes from diarrhoea, malnutrition or other preventable causes. The situation in Yemen today is as dire as it has ever been since the conflict started in March 2015. What consideration has been given to this dire situation—[Inaudible.] I ask the Government to reconsider—[Inaudible.]

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I fear there was a difficulty, and we did not catch all of that question. If the noble Baroness is able to repeat the end of her question, that would assist us.

Domestic Abuse Bill

Debate between Baroness Helic and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Committee stage & Committee: 5th sitting (Hansard) & Committee: 5th sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Monday 8th February 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Helic (Con) [V]]

My Lords [Inaudible.]

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I am afraid we are having difficulty hearing my noble friend. I wonder whether she might give it another go; otherwise, we will have to move on and revert to her when the problem is sorted.

[Baroness Helic (Con) [V]]

[Inaudible.]

Asylum Seekers: Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina

Debate between Baroness Helic and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Wednesday 18th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Helic]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports about the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers at the border of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina; and what representations they plan to make to the government of Croatia about such reports.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, we regularly engage with Croatia, its neighbours and other international partners on challenges posed by irregular and illegal migration. We are committed to the principle that asylum seekers are entitled to decent, humane and fair treatment. We remain concerned about allegations of mistreatment of people at the border. Our embassy in Zagreb has raised these allegations with senior representatives and the offices of the president and the Government, highlighting the recommendation of the Croatian ombudswoman for an independent investigation.

[Baroness Helic (Con) [V]]

I thank my noble friend for his Answer. It is appalling to see migrants shifted like cattle from Italy to Slovenia to Croatia, where alleged systemic violence and abuse by the Croatian border police eventually pushes them out of the EU into Bosnia. It is a vital national interest to work with the EU member states to ensure that migrants and asylum seekers are treated humanely, but, most of all, to address the root causes of the migration crisis. With that in mind, does my noble friend agree that it would be utterly counterproductive to water down our commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on development assistance? If other countries follow the UK’s example, we could see a race to the bottom in reducing development aid that will lead only to more desperate refugees on the move and more illegal migration.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My noble friend was absolutely right to set out at the beginning that people must be treated as human beings and with respect and dignity at all stages; that is something that Her Majesty’s Government reinforce forcefully. On her point about aid, we are also very generous. We have provided £500,000 through our own Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to support communities and authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina hosting migrants and refugees.