Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for providing higher education providers with access to free school meals data at the start of the undergraduate admissions cycle as part of measures to widen access to higher education.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Widening participation is a priority for this government. We want to ensure that everyone with talent and potential to succeed in higher education has the opportunity to do so, regardless of background, ethnicity or where they grew up. Higher education institutions play an important role in achieving this goal through their outreach and widening participation work.
Government has already made available school level data on pupils eligible for free school meals through the ‘Find and compare schools in England’ service and I encourage universities to make use of this. This is available at: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/.
Universities should also continue to work directly with schools and third sector organisations to spot and nurture talent early. I have asked Department for Education officials to look at ways the department can support the sector, to identify talented pupils and to help assist in targeting outreach activity.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the opportunity area delivery plan for Stoke-on-Trent.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Opportunity Area delivery plan for Stoke-on-Trent was published on 19 January 2018, copy attached. It has been published on GOV.UK, alongside the other eleven Opportunity Area delivery plans: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-mobility-and-opportunity-areas.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mark the 800th anniversary of the Charter of the Forest.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We recognise the significant environmental, economic, and societal benefits that trees provide, with planting more trees at the heart of our work to protect the environment for future generations.
Looking to the future, we remain committed to being the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it and we will deliver this through an ambitious 25-year environment plan.
The government made no specific plans to mark the 800th anniversary of the Charter of the Forest.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of Turkey following the comments from President Erdogan that those who vote no in the April referendum will be siding with supporters of terrorists.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We regularly raise the importance of the rule of law and fundamental rights with Turkish counterparts. We urge Turkey to hold a free and fair referendum, held in line with international norms, including respect for freedom of expression.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about the new law on civic associations and its implications for civic society in that country, including non-governmental organisations.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Following the Egyptian Parliament's passing of the draft Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Law for the second time on 29 November, we have frequently raised our concerns with the Egyptian authorities. The Parliamentary Under Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) expressed our concern with the draft law in a statement he made on 1 December.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the implementation of the Peruvian Law on the Right of Consultation of Indigenous Peoples 2011.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
This law was a notable step forward in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in Peru.
Our Ambassador to Peru discussed the issue with the Peruvian Minister for Culture on 11 August. The Minister confirmed his intention to strengthen the Indigenous People's Department in his ministry to facilitate implementation of the law. We will continue to work with the Peruvian Government on this important area of activity.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of oil spills on the environment and the livelihoods of indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon; and what contact the UK Ambassador to Peru has had with those communities.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our Ambassador to Peru discussed this with the Peruvian Environment Minister on 15 August and the Energy Minister on 2 September. The Peruvian Ministry of Environment believe affected areas will take a year to recover, whereas independent scientists are of the opinion that this will take much longer and damage may be irreversible, with a direct impact on livelihoods and local economies.
The Ambassador last met indigenous communities during an official visit to Iquitos in late 2015.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken to implement the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders in Peru.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Embassy in Lima works closely with the European Union Delegation and the Embassies of other EU countries to support the implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. This includes regular dialogue with human rights defenders on issues of concern, engagement with them on visits outside the capital, and participation in the EU's annual human rights defenders event.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage young people to serve in their community through supporting full-time, long-term volunteering.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Government is committed to ensuring young people, from all backgrounds, have the opportunity to engage in meaningful social action, creating a lifelong habit and developing skills for work. We support Step Up to Serve’s #iwill campaign which is backed by a wide coalition of organisations offering a range of opportunities including full-time volunteering. We have also committed to expanding National Citizen Service (NCS) to reach 360,000 places per year by 2020. Since 2011, over 200,000 have participated in NCS and delivered an estimated eight million volunteer hours. The Government’s pledge to the #iwill campaign is to continue to invest in youth social action and share evidence and best practice.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessments they have made of the value of creating a legal status for those participating in full-time, long-term volunteering programmes, such as those run by City Year UK, vInspired and Volunteering Matters, under the proposed National Citizen Service Bill<i>.</i>
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The National Citizen Service Bill will place the NCS programme on permanent statutory footing. It is estimated that NCS participants have dedicated over 8 million hours of volunteering to their local communities to date. Other opportunities for young people to participate in social action, such as those run by City Year UK, vInspired and Volunteering Matters, have contributed to the success of NCS and made sure that young people have opportunities to develop new skills that extend and transform their life chances. The government is committed to increasing volunteering and social action, and to providing support for different opportunities and programmes that encourage volunteering.