Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans Ministers have to attend the Global Disability Summit, due to be held in Berlin in April.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The 2025 Global Disability Summit is an important moment for the UK to reinforce our commitment to galvanising international efforts on disability inclusion and launch the refresh of our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy (2022-30), setting out new priorities. The Cabinet Office and the FCDO are working closely together to draw up the UK's delegation and final decisions will be made soon.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement the FCDO disability inclusion and rights strategy 2022 to 2030, published on 16 February 2022, consistently across UK Official Development Assistance programmes.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FCDO continues to take a 'twin track approach' including mainstreaming a disability inclusive and human rights perspective across all the department's work. For example, we will shortly launch new e-learning on how to use the disability inclusion and gender equality policy markers to make FCDO programmes more inclusive across the organisation. Our progress against the strategy is regularly reviewed by a board of independent experts from civil society and academia.
At the Global Disability Summit in April 2025, the FCDO will reinforce our commitment to galvanising international efforts on disability inclusion and launch the refresh of our FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy. Setting out new priorities, we will continue to provide targeted support to people with disabilities through high quality, targeted programmes to test new innovation and strengthen national systems that better reach people with disabilities. For example, this will include supporting inclusive approaches to education, health, and employment through our Disability Inclusive Development programme.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Humanity and Inclusion report Beyond Access: Ensuring the Continuity of Education for Adolescent Girls with Disabilities, published on 24 January, what steps they are taking to promote continuity of education for adolescent girls with disabilities through development assistance.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is working to tackle the barriers to accessing quality education that are faced by adolescent girls with disabilities, through our education policy and programmes.
In countries like Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, UK development assistance has supported the implementation of disability-inclusive pedagogy in classrooms, funded assistive devices, and provided technical assistance to ministries of education, to develop and implement inclusive education policies. We are growing our understanding of what works to support learners with disabilities through our Disability Inclusive Development Programme.
At the Global Disability Summit in April 2025, the UK will reinforce its commitment to galvanising international efforts on disability inclusion, including specific actions on inclusive education, and will launch the refresh of our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following Royal Assent to the Public Order Act 2023 on 2 May, when safe access zones will be implemented around abortion clinics in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when safe access zones around abortion clinics will be implemented, following the granting of Royal Assent to the Public Order Act on 2 May 2023.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many pregnant women were removed from the UK in accordance with immigration rules in each year from 2018 to 2022.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
We do not routinely publish this information, we are unable to provide this information, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many pregnant women arrived in the UK via small boats in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, and (3) to date in 2023.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Home Office ensures that vulnerable small boats arrivals are identified quickly and supported accordingly in line with robust safeguarding processes.
The Home Office has previously established that a total of 77 pregnant women were accommodated at Manston between April and December 2022.
Information about the number of pregnant women that arrived in the UK by small boats in 2021, early 2022, and in 2023 to date is not held in a reportable or readily retrievable format and could also be made available only at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many pregnant women claimed asylum in each year from 2015 to 2022.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The number of pregnant women that claimed asylum within the timeframe specified is not held in a reportable format and would require a manual search through individual records at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing free period products to schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
In January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges in England. This scheme was extended in July 2022 for a further two years.
Since the scheme launched, 97% of secondary schools have accessed the scheme, as have 92% of post-16 organisations and 68% of primary schools.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Home Office has allocated to Official Development Assistance for (1) actual costs for refugee and asylum seekers for the first six months of the calendar year, and (2) estimated costs for refugee and asylum seekers for the full calendar year.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Given the complexity of factors involved in calculating ODA spend, the Home Office does not categorise data on ODA spend in a way that makes it possible to answer this question.
The next ODA expenditure is due at the end of the current financial year, which is April 2023