Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include unsafe, temporary and insecure accommodation within definitions of homelessness when collecting data on women leaving prison.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Data on settled accommodation for supervised women prison leavers from 2017/18 to 2019/20 is currently recorded and published in the Community Performance Statistics on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics#community-performance-statistics). Data for 2020/21 will be published in July.
To ensure consistent and accurate data recording, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), in collaboration with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and the Welsh Government, has recently updated the Accommodation Recording Guidance to ensure probation regions have a clear and consistent understanding of the accommodation status definitions, and how to record accurately. The Guidance defines homelessness as where an individual is rough sleeping, squatting, residing in night shelters, emergency hostels or campsites. Individuals with other forms of temporary, short-term or otherwise unstable accommodation are encompassed within the ‘unsettled accommodation’ category in published statistics.
Our Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our vision that no-one subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless.
To achieve this, HMPPS launched a new transitional accommodation service providing up to 12 weeks’ accommodation and support for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness. The service was launched last July in five probation areas in England. From 2024-5, we will spend £200m per year to reduce reoffending, including expanding the provision to support the thousands of people across England and Wales who leave prison each year without accommodation. The service takes account of the needs of women with accommodation provision dedicated to single gender usage as required.
DLUHC launched their Accommodation for Ex-Offenders (AFEO) scheme on 28 July 2021 to support offenders at risk of homelessness into private rental tenancies. Overall, this financial year, £13 million has been allocated to 87 schemes across 145 local authorities. Combined with our temporary accommodation service, this builds a pathway from prison to settled accommodation.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they plan to make to the UN Secretary-General about the absence of the Saudi Arabian and Emirati-led Coalition from the annual report by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, published on 21 June, on perpetrators of violations against children.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK continues to call on the UN Secretary General for greater transparency on listing decisions. The UK is firmly committed to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to protecting all children affected by armed conflict. We use our permanent UN Security Council (UNSC) membership to ensure conflict-related child protection issues remain a key part of UNSC discussions and that UN operations address child protection issues.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the children and armed conflict agenda will be reflected within the strategic conflict agenda.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK is firmly committed to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to protecting all children affected by armed conflict. In the coming months, we will be reviewing the UK's approach to tackling violent conflict, and will continue to ensure that the children and armed conflict agenda is reflected in this.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, published on 21 June; and what steps they are taking to hold to account perpetrators of violations against children.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Secretary-General's Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) shows how far we still need to travel to end the suffering of children. The UK is particularly concerned about the increase in violations committed against children in countries already on the Council's agenda, like Somalia. We have called on the Secretary General to ensure that next year's report includes the plight of children in Ethiopia and Mozambique. As a member of the UN Security Council CAAC Working Group, the UK applies diplomatic pressure to perpetrators to enter into UN action plans to verify and release any children associated with armed groups and forces, to prevent re-recruitment and ensure the provision of appropriate reintegration and rehabilitation assistance. Recently, we have negotiated strong calls to action for parties to conflict in Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports that children in Bahrain have been arrested and had confessions coerced from them, what assessment they have made of the government of Bahrain's compliance with international (1) human rights law, and (2) standards in the treatment of detained children.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are following recent juvenile detention cases in Bahrain, which are pending legal proceedings, and will continue to monitor them and raise them if/when appropriate. We understand they are being supervised by social work specialists. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to follow due process in all cases and to meet its international and domestic human rights commitments, including in the case of juveniles.
We believe the recent ratification of the Correctional Justice Act is a positive step. We note that this law will be enforced 6 months after its ratification on 18 February 2021. We understand that Article 87 will permit a Judicial Committee to hear cases and potentially replace penalties that were decided before the law was enforced. We will monitor the implementation of this new law, in light of international human rights standards.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have been made to the government of Bahrain to secure (1) the release of, and (2) access to medical treatment for, Sayed Hasan Ameen.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We have followed the detention of Sayed Hasan Ameen who was arrested with others for arson, endangering the lives and property of others, and preparing and possessing Molotov cocktails. We understand his case is pending legal proceedings, and is being supervised by social work specialists. We will continue to monitor and raise this case if/when appropriate. The Government of Bahrain has been clear that access to medical care for those in detention is provided in line with the constitution of Bahrain.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are (1) the terms of reference, and (2) timelines, for the judge-led review into how allegations of wrongdoing by military personnel are raised and investigated, announced in October 2020; and what opportunities will be provided for parliamentarians, experts, and civil society to feed into the review.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Review, which is due to report by the summer, was commissioned by the Government to ensure that we have the most up-to date and future-proof skills and processes in place to investigate and, where appropriate prosecute, cases where serious allegations of criminal wrong-doing are made against UK forces on operations overseas. Where necessary, improvements will be made. Whilst there is no formal consultation process in place, it will be for the Judge to decide who can best help him with the review. A copy of the Terms of Reference for the Review is attached to this answer.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to which companies and organisations the Civil Aviation Authority has granted permission to fly unmanned aerial vehicles Beyond the Visual Line of Sight since January 2019; and which of those permissions are still valid.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Since January 2019, the CAA has granted exemptions to 20 different organisations to allow them to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems beyond visual line of sight, and 14 different organisations hold an exemption that is currently valid.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their bid to the European Maritime Safety Agency for remotely piloted air system support during 2020 was successful; if so, (1) between which dates, (2) in which maritime areas, and (3) from which airports, were aircraft flown; and which type of aircraft was used to provide any such support.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
No bid was submitted to the European Maritime Safety Agency for such systems by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 30 July (HL7182), whether RAF drones used on operations outside of Operation Shader are being used in support of NATO operations or missions.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
REAPER is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. We do not comment on intelligence matters and I am therefore withholding the information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.