Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have raised the pending executions of four Myanmar political prisoners including the democracy activists (1) Phyo Zeya Thaw, and (2) Ko Jimmy, with their UN Security Council counterparts.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is deeply concerned by reports that the military have sentenced pro-democracy activists and leaders, including Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy, to death. Both Minister Milling, and the British Embassy in Yangon, have made it clear that the UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. We once again call on the military regime to respect human rights and the rule of law. We continue to use all available multilateral fora, including the UN Security Council (UNSC), to raise these concerns. On 8 December 2021, the UK secured a UNSC Press Statement condemning the sentencing of pro-democracy leaders and calling for the release of all those in arbitrary detention.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Myanmar citizens are currently in the UK on student visas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Home Office Migration Statistics do not capture the number of Myanmar citizens currently in the UK on student visas.
The Home Office does though publish data on how many study applications were issued for Myanmar citizens. These can be found in our published statistics:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2020/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-each-year-including-visitors
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to continuing alignment between UK and EU policy on seasonal time changes, after the European Parliament voted to end them from October 2021.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government does not believe there is any case for changing the current arrangements. I am working with EU Member States to convince them and the European Commission of our position.
We believe the current system works for citizens in the UK and there is no evidence that justifies the abolition of daylight saving time, which currently already ensures harmonisation of time in the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to conduct an independent review of support given to the peace process in Burma as recommended by the House of Commons International Development Committee in its fourth report of Session 2017–19, Bangladesh, Burma and the Rohingya Crisis (HC Paper 1054), published on 22 May 2018.
Answered by Lord Bates
Following the IDC report, we conducted a comprehensive joint analysis of conflict and stability in Burma, and DFID initiated a review of its country strategy. On the peace process, the main vehicle for the UK’s support, the Joint Peace Fund, has undergone a thorough independent assessment of progress and challenges.
In addition, DFID’s peacebuilding programme is reviewed annually, as is all support under the cross-departmental Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), led by the FCO.
The UK remains committed to providing assistance to a wide range of efforts to reach an inclusive peace agreement in Burma. It will also continue to address the protracted crises in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan and other states through humanitarian and development assistance.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they have provided for the peace process in Burma in the current financial year, broken down by each organisation that has received funding, directly or indirectly.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
To date in this current financial year the UK has provided £3,003,398 to support the peace process and wider peacebuilding in Burma. This comprises £1.9 million from the Department for International Development to the Paung Sie Facility which is implemented by the Nordic International Support Foundation to support inter-communal harmony; £383,398 from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) to Inter Mediate; and £720,000 from CSSF to the Joint Peace Fund whose 11 donors provide funding for the Joint Monitoring Committee for monitoring the 2015 ceasefire agreement and over 30 other peace process-focused projects.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the value of the assets seized in the (1) UK, and (2) rest of the EU from the seven military and security personnel from Burma sanctioned by the EU on 25 June.
Answered by Lord Bates
Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) is not responsible for the freezing of assets, neither does it hold them. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), which is part of HMT, ensures that financial sanctions are properly understood and implemented in the UK and it is for holders of assets subject to sanctions to ensure that they are frozen under the regulations.
(1) OFSI undertakes an Annual Review of frozen assets in the UK, requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen assets in the UK to report to OFSI. Details of assets reported to OFSI for the 2018 Review are still being compiled and are not yet available.
(2) HM Treasury does not hold this information.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of one-to-one programmes for serial stalkers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Stalking is an horrific crime which can have a devastating impact on victims and this Government is determined to tackle it. The monitoring and assessment of individuals convicted of stalking is an operational matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners. Data is not held centrally. To support effective assessment and monitoring by the police, details of those convicted of stalking is held on the Police National Computer and, where appropriate, on the Violent and Sexual Offenders Register.
The Government’s Violence against Women and Girls Strategy published in March 2016 makes clear that a sustainable approach to preventing abuse is dependent on changing the attitude and behaviour of perpetrators. Through the Police Innovation Fund the Government is supporting, promoting and evaluating innovative models to tackle perpetrators’ behaviour and will continue to do so.
On 7 December the Government announced that it will introduce a Stalking Protection Order to help protect victims at the earliest possible opportunity and deter perpetrators. The new order will be available to the police on application to the courts and will allow the imposition of both restrictions and other measures such as a requirement to attend a treatment programme.
The College of Policing’s What Works Centre for Crime Reduction is working to build the evidence base for effective intervention with perpetrators.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 November (HL Deb, col 2041), how frequently individuals convicted of stalking are assessed and monitored by the police.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Stalking is an horrific crime which can have a devastating impact on victims and this Government is determined to tackle it. The monitoring and assessment of individuals convicted of stalking is an operational matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners. Data is not held centrally. To support effective assessment and monitoring by the police, details of those convicted of stalking is held on the Police National Computer and, where appropriate, on the Violent and Sexual Offenders Register.
The Government’s Violence against Women and Girls Strategy published in March 2016 makes clear that a sustainable approach to preventing abuse is dependent on changing the attitude and behaviour of perpetrators. Through the Police Innovation Fund the Government is supporting, promoting and evaluating innovative models to tackle perpetrators’ behaviour and will continue to do so.
On 7 December the Government announced that it will introduce a Stalking Protection Order to help protect victims at the earliest possible opportunity and deter perpetrators. The new order will be available to the police on application to the courts and will allow the imposition of both restrictions and other measures such as a requirement to attend a treatment programme.
The College of Policing’s What Works Centre for Crime Reduction is working to build the evidence base for effective intervention with perpetrators.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent events in Rakhine State, when the UK's Ambassador in Burma last discussed with the new administration there the opening of a full country office for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Ambassador last raised the opening of a country office for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in August.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish the completion rates for apprentices across all apprenticeship frameworks and standards, disaggregated by gender, in the light of the recent report by the Young Women's Trust suggesting that female apprentices in male dominated sectors such as engineering, IT and construction are less likely to complete their apprenticeship.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
Apprenticeship achievement rates disaggregated by framework and gender are published on the GOV.UK website by the Skills Funding Agency in the National Achievement Rate Tables (formerly National Success Rate Tables).
The dataset is too large to attach to this response but is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sfa-national-achievement-rates-tables-2014-to-2015
However, table 1 shows overall achievement rates by gender in 2014/15.
Table 1: Apprenticeship Overall Achievement Rates by Gender, 2014/15 | |||
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| Overall Cohort | Overall Achievement Rate % |
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Female | 192,310 | 71.7 |
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Male | 170,950 | 71.7 |
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