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Written Question
Parliament: Textiles
Thursday 29th October 2015

Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question

To ask the Chairman of Committees what the arrangements are for the disposal of discarded textiles, such as uniforms, from the Houses of Parliament and Portcullis House.

Answered by Lord Laming

Different departments have different approaches to the disposal of discarded textiles. For example, some have contracts for the replacement of uniforms (and suppliers must reuse, dispose or recycle them securely, as appropriate); others recycle them themselves. We are working towards a more consistent approach to the recycling of discarded textiles including uniforms. Members of the House will be kept updated on these efforts.

Written Question
Parliament: Uniforms
Thursday 29th October 2015

Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question

To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the process for procuring uniforms for parliamentary staff includes criteria for sustainable and ethical sourcing of textiles throughout the supply chain.

Answered by Lord Laming

New uniforms are procured through a Parliamentary framework for corporate clothing. The new Procurement Regulations (Public Contracts Regulations 2015)which came into force earlier this yearallow the two Houses to specify much more by way of social and ethical criteria. In line with the values contained within the House of Lords Strategy for the Administration of "obtaining value for money while recognising our corporate responsibility to wider society” and "environmental sustainability", the framework for corporate clothing includes the following criteria relating to sustainable and ethical procurement:

  • All suppliers must have ISO certification or an acceptable environmental policy.
  • All suppliers must have an acceptable equal opportunities policy.
  • All clothing must be inclusive and take into consideration the needs of all groups particularly in relation to protected characteristics such as: disability, gender, religion, ethnicity and the provision of maternity wear.
  • The materials used must be ethically sourced, durable and hard wearing while retaining aesthetic and design elegance.
  • Within their business objectives the two Houses are aspiring to be seen both in the UK and abroad as a model of good practice. The contractor is required to support the two Houses to further develop these aims in relation to this contract i.e. to maximise responsible purchasing, ensuring compliance with employment legislation and good practice, and reducing environment impacts during the life of this contract.
  • To support the two Houses’ environmental aims and contribute to sustainability, it is preferable that the majority of garments supplied are machine washable at lower temperatures.
  • The contractor must ensure that any changes in suppliers used in the delivery of the contract will ensure full compliance with appropriate environment and equalities considerations as detailed in the specification.
Written Question
International Decade for People of African Descent
Friday 23rd October 2015

Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to mark the UN International Decade for People of African Descent.

Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government has no specific plans to mark the UN International Decade for People of African Descent. However, we remain strongly committed to combating racial discrimination, xenophobia and racial intolerance. We actively work to tackle all forms of racism, both domestically and internationally. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has in the past highlighted the solid progress we continue to make on fighting racism.


The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world in place to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry. We keep it under review to ensure that it remains effective and appropriate in the face of new and emerging threats. Key legislation includes specific offences for inciting hatred on the grounds of race, religion, belief and sexual orientation; separate racially and religiously aggravated offences; and powers for the courts to increase the sentence of an offender convicted of a crime where hostility towards the victim was shown to be based on their disability, race, religion, belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Written Question
Prisons: Race Relations
Monday 15th September 2014

Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many race relations posts at a senior level there are currently in prisons; and what were the numbers (1) five, and (2) ten years ago.

Answered by Lord Faulks

Data on the number of Race Relations posts is not collected centrally. In 1997, the Prison Service Order (PSO) 2800 The Race Relations Manual made it compulsory for all Governors to appoint a Race Relations Liaison Officer and recommended that this should be at the Principal Officer (middle manager) grade. In September 2006, a revised PSO 2800 mandated that Prison Governors would recruit a Race Equality Officer (REO) based on competence and the skills needed to perform the role.

In April 2011, Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 32/2011 Ensuring Equality was published, which removed all mandatory orders to have a specific post for race equality. It mandated that all prisons should have a senior manager with lead responsibility for coordinating work on all equality related issues.