Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use, if any, of cluster munitions during the recent conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are aware of allegations that cluster munitions were deployed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas has raised the alleged use of cluster munitions with both the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances they have sought for the safety and rights of Armenian populations in territories ceded to Azeri control under the ceasefire agreement brokered by the government of Russia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government welcomes the ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas spoke to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov on the 13 November and welcomed Azerbaijan's commitment to keep the Lachin Corridor open to allow the free movement of people between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. The governments of both Azerbaijan and Armenia should continue to work closely with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to ensure the safety and protection of all civilians.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities to secure a peace treaty over the disputed territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the recent ceasefire agreement.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government welcomes the ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas has been in regular contact with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers since the outbreak of hostilities in September, where she has urged engagement with the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure a sustainable, long-term, peaceful settlement.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region; and what financial assistance they have provided in response.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are increasingly concerned about the humanitarian impact of the fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood spoke to both the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers on 28 October and condemned shelling of civilian settlements. On 31 October we announced an additional £1 million in funding for the International Committee for the Red Cross to provide further support for those worst affected by the conflict.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate the return of prisoners of war and bodies from the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas spoke to the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers on 28 October. She highlighted the importance of ensuring the International Committee of the Red Cross were able to access the conflict zone to provide emergency humanitarian assistance. She also urged both Foreign Ministers to abide by the recent ceasefire agreements to allow for the facilitation of return of prisoners of war and the remains of the deceased.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representation they have made to the government of Azerbaijan to desist from targeting civilian infrastructure and cultural and religious sites in its military offensive in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Minister for the European Neighbourhood spoke to the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers on 28 October and urged both parties to abide by the humanitarian ceasefire. She strongly condemned all targeting of civilian infrastructure and the increasing number of civilian casualties.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat of mass atrocities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK Government has not made an assessment of a threat of mass atrocities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. We continue to urge both parties to abide by the humanitarian ceasefires. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood spoke to the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers on 28 October and condemned shelling of civilian settlements.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what extra financial provision they plan to make available to schools who do not have the budget to meet the requirements of operating safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Getting all children and young people back into school for the new academic year has been a national priority. As of 10 September, over 99% of schools were open to some or all of their pupils. Schools have been able to claim additional funding for exceptional costs incurred due to COVID-19 between March and July, such as additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases and increased premises costs to keep schools open for priority groups during the Easter and summer half term holidays.
Schools have also continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in 2020-21, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20.
As stated in our guidance, schools should use their existing resources when welcoming all children back this autumn.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) independently, and (2) with the governments of other European nations, to provide political and financial support to opposition parties and individuals in Belarus.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK has stated it does not accept the results of the fraudulent Presidential election and has condemned the excessive violence used to suppress the subsequent peaceful protests. We have urged the Belarusian authorities to engage in a constructive dialogue with political opposition and civil society. We intend to double our support for independent media, human rights organisations and community groups in Belarus - with an extra £1.5 million for projects over the next two years.
We will keep working with our international partners to support and strengthen democracy and human rights in Belarus. We are calling for an independent investigation through the OSCE into the electoral process and the repression which has followed. The UK is also working with international partners to sanction those responsible, and to hold the Belarusian authorities to account.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure private creditors comply with the agreement reached by G20 leaders on 15 April to suspend debt payments owed by 77 of the world’s poorest countries, in particular those debts that fall under UK jurisdiction.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Her Majesty’s Government is deeply concerned about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income developing countries. It is vital that all creditors work together to ensure that countries especially vulnerable to the pandemic are able to protect their citizens and economies.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer and his counterparts called on commercial creditors to participate in the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative on comparable terms to the official sector.
Her Majesty’s Government is working closely with the Paris Club of official creditors and Institute of International Finance (IIF) to explore options for its membership to implement equivalent debt service suspensions. HM Treasury attended a joint meeting of the Paris Club and IIF on 28 April where both parties agreed to collaborate in support of the initiative.