Mental Health Act Reform

Debate between Lord Bates and Lord Boateng

Monday 18th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Bates) (Con)]

I call the noble Lord, Lord Singh of Wimbledon. No? Lord Boateng.

[Lord Boateng (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, the Minister is to be commended for calling out racism, because that is what many black and south Asian patients experience. Will he ensure that commissioners in the field, with this new money given to them, fund local, community-based advocacy groups? And will he ensure the health review tribunals reflect the communities on which they are adjudicating and recognise racism in the mental health service?

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Debate between Lord Bates and Lord Boateng

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Bates) (Con)]

I call the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper. She is not there, so I call the noble Lord, Lord Boateng.

[Lord Boateng (Lab)]

My Lords, poverty and hunger are fuelled by instability and conflict. Will the Minister give the House the assurance that the new department will work closely with the Ministry of Defence in addressing those issues, that there will be adequate funding—indeed, an increase in funding—for that, and that it will be subject to scrutiny by this House and the other place to ensure aid effectiveness?

Aid Reviews

Debate between Lord Bates and Lord Boateng

Friday 2nd December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

I can certainly give that assurance and will write to the noble Baroness with the details. I already have a letter for her in my in-tray on the CDC, so I will add a paragraph to that, if I may.

[Lord Boateng]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chairman of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. Does the Minister agree with me that the surest route out of poverty is jobs, that the surest defence of peace is jobs and that the surest guard against forced migration is jobs? Will he therefore give the House the reassurance that bilateral programmes, like the one that used to exist in Burundi and others in fragile areas such as the Great Lakes, Somalia, Somaliland and South Sudan, will continue to be supported under this review, because they are making a huge difference?

[Lord Bates]

I pay tribute to the work the noble Lord has done for the organisations he is involved with in promoting that. Economic development is at the heart of eradicating extreme poverty. We cannot do it through aid flows alone: there has to be the wider context.

The lifting of people out of poverty, including the 50% reduction in the number in extreme poverty, has come largely through major economies such as those of India, China, and Brazil increasing trade and economic development. The same applies to sub-Saharan Africa.