Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans there are to create a memorial and interpretation centre on St Helena to honour those whose remains were buried in Rupert's Valley; what is the timescale for those plans; and how will the cost be covered.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Plans for an interpretation centre and a memorial are set out in a Master Plan created by St Helena's Liberated African Advisory Committee (LAAC). An interpretation centre is planned under Phase Two to raise awareness of the role St Helena played in the slave trade and its abolition. A memorial monument is planned under Phase Three to remember the former slaves buried in Rupert's Valley. The LAAC is in the process of publicly raising funds for the centre and memorial so the timescale for the completion of these projects is not yet known.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forms of consultation and engagement with ancestral, descendant, and diaspora communities on St Helena and beyond have been carried out since the ancestral human remains there were exhumed in 2008.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The St Helena Government was responsible for the reburial of the remains and set up a Liberated African Advisory Committee to create a master plan for their respectful reinternment and to create a memorial and interpretation centre to honour those who died. The Committee consulted the island's community, National Trust and custodians of international enslavement sites around the world. The UK Government provided support for the reburial which took place on 21 August 2022 with the extensive involvement of the local community.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many scientific or archaeological research studies have been conducted since 2008 on ancestral human remains to determine the origins of the enslaved people on the island of St Helena.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Approximately 8000 former slaves are buried on St Helena and died after being taken to the island by the Royal Navy's West African Squadron trying to halt the slave trade in the mid-nineteenth century. Their precise origins are unknown. Archaeological research was conducted on human remains unearthed in 2008 during preparatory work for St Helena Airport and a further two studies were subsequently completed. Research conducted concluded that some of the individuals likely originated from the Central Africa region.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure the ethical treatment of human remains in Rupert's Valley on St Helena and to protect and preserve the burial ground against present and future adverse development.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The St Helena Government is responsible for the protection and preservation of the burial grounds in Rupert's Valley. Human remains unearthed during preparatory work for St Helena Airport were reburied on 21 August 2022 on ground designated as a cemetery under St Helena's Burial Grounds Ordinance, ensuring it is now a protected site.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the then Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 12 January 2021 (HC Deb, col 160) that they will "introduce fines for businesses that do not comply" with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, when they plan to bring forward these changes.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The landmark transparency provisions contained in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 made the UK the first country in the world to require businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
To enhance the impact of transparency and accelerate action to prevent modern slavery, the Government committed to strengthening the reporting requirements contained in section 54 and introduce new measures including financial penalties for organisations that fail to meet their statutory obligation to publish modern slavery statements. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows. The Government will publish guidance to help organisations prepare for the new reporting requirements when timings of legislation is clear.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of COVID-19 on (1) labour exploitation, and (2) modern slavery.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Modern slavery is a harmful and hidden crime and its victims may be especially isolated and vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to protecting those who may be subject to exploitation and modern slavery, during this time.
We are working closely with the police, the National Crime Agency, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs - National Minimum Wage Team to monitor and assess any emerging changes to the threat of modern slavery during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure law enforcement activity can respond to the changing environment. We are confident that law enforcement agencies continue to pursue high risk modern slavery cases where there is a risk of harm or detriment to individuals.
In addition, we have taken clear steps to ensure that we continue to support some of the most vulnerable people in our society. To ensure victims continue to feel supported and safe, we announced on 6 April 2020, that all individuals in accommodation provided by the government-funded specialist Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract, will not be required to move on from their accommodation for the next three months.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the impact the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) will have on care leavers’ full access to their care records.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government is currently assessing the full impact that the General Data Protection Regulation will have on individual areas of data processing. Certain provisions of the Regulation will have direct effect in UK law, including a continuing right of access for data subjects to their personal data and other information. In certain areas, the regulation leaves the option for domestic legislation to restrict rights that arise under it in certain circumstances (article 23).
The Regulation will apply from 25 May 2018. Before then, the Department for Education will assess whether the current statutory guidance covering care leavers’ access to their case records needs to be revised.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the barriers to amending taxation requirements so that the permanent branding on corporate uniforms could be replaced with non-permanent branding.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
There is an income tax deduction available where an employer provides corporate uniforms, or where an employee must purchase such clothing. To be considered a uniform clothing must meet certain criteria. The clothing must be: specialised, recognisable as a uniform and intended to identify its wearer as having a particular occupation. These requirements ensure that the tax deduction is used as intended.
No assessment has been made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if these tax rules were changed. No assessment has been made of the financial implications of changing these taxation requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of changing taxation requirements to replace permanent branding on corporate uniforms with non-permanent branding.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
There is an income tax deduction available where an employer provides corporate uniforms, or where an employee must purchase such clothing. To be considered a uniform clothing must meet certain criteria. The clothing must be: specialised, recognisable as a uniform and intended to identify its wearer as having a particular occupation. These requirements ensure that the tax deduction is used as intended.
No assessment has been made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if these tax rules were changed. No assessment has been made of the financial implications of changing these taxation requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if the tax regime relating to permanent branding were changed.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
There is an income tax deduction available where an employer provides corporate uniforms, or where an employee must purchase such clothing. To be considered a uniform clothing must meet certain criteria. The clothing must be: specialised, recognisable as a uniform and intended to identify its wearer as having a particular occupation. These requirements ensure that the tax deduction is used as intended.
No assessment has been made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if these tax rules were changed. No assessment has been made of the financial implications of changing these taxation requirements.