Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of removing references to “sexual and reproductive health and rights” and “bodily autonomy” from the Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, following the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief on 5 and 6 July.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights and will continue working with other countries to protect gender equality in international agreements. In our capacity as Chair of the event, we amended the statement we made at the Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Conference to make the final statement more inclusive of all perspectives and views to allow for a constructive exchange of views on all issues. The UK continues to fund support and lead on issues of gender including on SRHR, through initiatives related to Women,Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following bilateral discussions at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), what plans they have, if any, to negotiate a diplomatic settlement with Mauritius concerning (1) the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, and (2) resettlement of those Chagossians who wish to return to the islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As close friends and Commonwealth partners we remain open to dialogue with Mauritius on issues of mutual interest, including the British Indian Ocean Territory.
The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago , which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the Archipelago and we do not recognise its claim. However, we have a long-standing commitment, first made in 1965, to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.
In November 2016, the UK Government announced that resettlement of Chagossians could not be supported on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. The decision not to support resettlement followed an independent feasibility study of the practicalities of resettlement (published in February 2015 http://qna.files.parliament.uk/ws-attachments/178757/original/Feasibility%20study%20for%20the%20resettlement%20of%20the%20British%20Indian%20Ocean%20Territory%20Volume%201.pdf) and a public consultation (results published in January 2016 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/biot-resettlement-policy-review-consultation).
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to support the multi-purpose Chagos Islands Marine Protected Area proposed by Mauritius at the 2022 UN Oceans Conference.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not recognise the proposals made by Mauritius at the 2022 UN Oceans Conference. The UK declared the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area (MPA) in 2010. The UK fully respects the 2015 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Award which found that the UK needed to have further consultations with Mauritius about the MPA in order to have due regard to its rights and interests.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the report by Leeds GATE, the University of Dundee and the University of York Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Peoples’ Trust: using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream provision, published on 14 September 2018.
Answered by Lord Kamall
This report informed inclusion health guidance, which includes Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. However, its recommendations were not intended for implementation. The report was funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Programme in June 2015 to support national policy development in health, care and public health systems.
Subsequent policy development in this area includes the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health online resource. This provides guidance for health and care professionals to prevent ill-health and promote wellbeing for people in inclusion health groups in everyday practice, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people. The guidance reiterates many of the recommendations in the Leeds GATE report, such as providing flexible services, supporting registration with a general practitioner and increasing collaborative working. It also includes ensuring individuals can access services through outreach activities in the community.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month in June.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government supports Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month and welcomes the wide range of organisations across the country that celebrate it each year. This includes schools, colleges, housing associations, Government departments and local authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Leeds Gypsy & Traveller Exchange and London Gypsies and Travellers, in collaboration with PIRC Media that Moves, published on 27 January; and what steps they are taking to support the recommendations in that report.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government has noted the report and its findings.
Regarding the report's findings on press regulations, Her Majesty’s Government is committed to a free and independent media. It is not appropriate for Her Majesty’s Government to arbitrate on what should or should not be published or broadcast. Ofcom is the UK’s independent regulator of television services. The Ofcom Broadcasting Code covers standards in programmes and has rules to ensure that broadcast news is reported with due accuracy and impartiality. There exists an independent self regulatory regime to ensure that the press adheres to a wider set of clear and appropriate standards, and to offer individuals a means of redress where these are not met.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make the release of Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, a requirement for any future trade deals between the UK and Nigeria.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
HM Government is clear that more trade need not come at the expense of our values. We will continue to work constructively with the Government of Nigeria on trade and other matters.
HM Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has raised, and will continue to raise, Mr Bala’s case with the Nigerian authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend legal recognition to humanist weddings; and why they did not do so at the same time as extending legal recognition to outdoor weddings.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
In 2014, the Government published a consultation paper and response assessing the potential merits of provision for non-religious belief marriages. This concluded that the matter was complex, and that by allowing Humanists to solemnise marriages in unrestricted locations, the Government would create a provision for Humanists that would not be available to all groups.
To ensure we are considering the implications of changing the law on marriage for all groups, we invited the Law Commission to undertake a review which is currently underway and is expected to report in July of this year. By looking at the law comprehensively, the Law Commission will seek to put forward proposals that would ensure that, insofar as possible, groups and couples are all subject to the same rules and the same level of regulation. That reform is not possible by only authorising Humanist weddings, even on a temporary basis pending the Law Commission report.
The Government will carefully consider the Law Commission’s recommendations when the final report is published in July, and it is right for us to wait for the outcome of the report before amending marriage law any further.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations identified by the National Institute for Health Research in its article A highly personalised approach to end of life care is needed to help Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities, published on 17 December 2021; and what plans they have to implement them.
Answered by Lord Kamall
While no formal assessment has been made, we agree with these recommendations on the importance of personalised care and healthcare professionals having discussions with individuals and families on their needs and preferences. The NHS Long Term Plan set out ambitions to improve personalised end of life care, including improving equity of access to services for all under-served populations. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s palliative and end of life care strategic clinical networks work with local systems to support the delivery of this priority, including efforts to reduce health inequalities.
Care committed to me: Delivering high quality, personalised palliative and end of life care for Gypsies and Travellers, LGBT people and people experiencing homelessness. A resource for commissioners, service providers and health, care and support staff was published in 2018. This resource was produced for commissioners, providers, healthcare professionals and support staff to offer practical guidance on effective approaches to support personalised palliative and end of life care for these communities. A copy is attached.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to hold talks with the government of Mauritius to discuss the next steps for the Chagos Islands, including the restoration of the right of Chagossians to return to and resettle the Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In November 2016, the UK Government announced that resettlement of Chagossians could not be supported on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. There remains no right of abode in BIOT.
The UK is currently delivering an approximately £40 million ($50 million) Chagossian Support Package, over a ten year period, to improve Chagossian livelihoods in the communities where they now live: in Mauritius, the Seychelles and the UK.
As close friends and Commonwealth partners we remain open to dialogue with Mauritius on issues of mutual interest, including BIOT and its Marine Protected Area (MPA). The UK has no doubt as to our sovereignty over BIOT, which we have held continuously since 1814.