Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their funding announced on 5 February to end preventable deaths in Ethiopia, what consideration they have given to increasing investments to prevent malnutrition in Ethiopia and its long-term health and development impacts on women and children.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to the £100 million Ending Preventable Deaths funding announced in February, the UK will provide £74 million of bilateral humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia up from £44.9 million in 2022/23. We focus where needs are greatest, particularly women and children, by providing support for their health, nutrition, water & sanitation, protection, emergency education and humanitarian and social cash transfers. This financial year alone we have reached 950,000 with critical medical supplies, provided treatment for 80,000 malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women, supported over 200,000 people with cash assistance and supported education for 10,000 boys and girls. This work supports the effective delivery of basic services, reduces long term demand on the humanitarian system and ultimately saves lives.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to increase climate funding available to drought-affected and flood-prone communities in the Horn of Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Building climate resilience is central to the UK's work in the Horn of Africa where flooding and drought have impacted tens of millions of people. UK funded organisations are working to address the immediate effects of climate change providing life-saving aid to millions. We are doing all we can to promote long-term climate resilience and as part of this to scale-up the provision of climate finances to the Horn of Africa. Last year's White Paper set out a bold vision for the UK's work on this agenda including a commitment to spend at least £1.5 billion globally in 2025 on climate adaptation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic steps they are taking (1) to secure an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, and (2) to prevent (a) humanitarian, and (b) regional, ramifications.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 8 March the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2724, led by the UK, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the month of Ramadan. The resolution also called on the warring parties to ensure safe, unhindered humanitarian access, including cross-border and cross-line access and expressed support for the UN Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra. The UK continues to work with a wide range of countries and bodies, including traditional allies, Gulf and African partners, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN, to realise this Resolution and make progress towards a sustained and meaningful peace process.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 15 February (HL2046), how many civil servants completed the Religion for International Engagement training module in (1) 2022, and (2) 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
222 FCDO officials are recorded as having completed the Religion for International Engagement online training in 2022, and 156 in 2023. The training is also available to other interested civil servants. In addition to this online training module, FoRB is incorporated within FCDO's broader human rights training programme, a 2-3 day course delivered in the UK and overseas. In 2023, with the support of the PM's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, two sessions on FoRB were delivered as part of a human rights seminar series open to all staff. We also provide several additional tools for staff, particularly those based overseas, to support work on FoRB, including a FoRB Toolkit, scale of persecution and framework for FoRB reporting.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many successful prosecutions by the Environment Agency there were for fishing without a licence in England in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In addition to prosecution, the Environment Agency will use other enforcement outcomes that include formal cautions, warning letters and issuing advice and guidance. The table below provides the numbers of these used alongside prosecutions between 2019 to 2023.
Final Action Taken | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Grand Total |
Advice and Guidance Total | 261 | 59 | 167 | 114 | 78 | 679 |
Caution Total | 113 | 25 | 254 | 573 | 1176 | 2141 |
Warning Letter Total | 182 | 102 | 238 | 1447 | 338 | 2307 |
Prosecutions (Successful) Total | 1876 | 464 | 728 | 379 | 250 | 3697 |
Grand Total | 2432 | 650 | 1387 | 2513 | 1842 | 8824 |
The total number of successful prosecutions is higher (+498) than the table above if you include fisheries byelaw offences such as fishing in the close season. Please see the table below for all prosecutions and enforcement actions.
Final Action Taken | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Grand Total | |
Advice and Guidance | 269 | 62 | 167 | 116 | 79 | 693 | |
Caution |
| 123 | 29 | 276 | 579 | 1185 | 2192 |
Warning Letter |
| 191 | 110 | 265 | 1461 | 362 | 2389 |
Prosecutions (Successful) | 2057 | 494 | 818 | 483 | 343 | 4195 | |
Grand Total |
| 2640 | 695 | 1526 | 2639 | 1969 | 9469 |
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the United Arab Emirates on the seizing of two ports the Sudanese Red Sea coast through proxy forces, and that they have plans to build a third port.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are not aware of the United Arab Emirates seizing any ports on the Red Sea coast.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Ukrainian special forces are combatting Russian mercenaries on Sudanese soil.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of external support to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces in the conflict in Sudan. The UK condemns any actions that further fuel the brutal conflict in Sudan. The UK strongly supports an immediate end to the hostilities in Sudan both for the sake of its own people and the wider region. We continue to place emphasis in all our international engagement on the importance of neutrality and of supporting a ceasefire and civilian political transition.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the issues raised by the Survival International Report of the Northern Rangelands Trust carbon offsetting project in Kenya.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Carbon markets have huge potential to reduce the cost of meeting net zero, both in the UK and globally. This will help reduce the worst impacts of climate change, including for the most vulnerable communities.
However, the Government is clear that for carbon markets to deliver, they need to demonstrate integrity and offer appropriate social protections. The report raises serious concerns about the impact of this project on Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs), in addition to its delivery of real and permanent carbon reductions.
The Government has acted both through our international climate finance and by supporting global integrity initiatives to improve transparency and safeguarding in the market. We will continue to ensure robust safeguards are in place through our international climate finance programming; and beyond this will continue to work through international fora, including the integrity initiatives and negotiations, to ensure IPLC voices are heard as the market evolves.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 13 February (HL2098), when the consultation on the Uber Britannia Ltd v Sefton MBC High Court ruling will be published.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Spring Budget, the Government will launch the consultation on the impacts of the July 2023 High Court ruling in Uber Britannia Ltd v Sefton MBC in April.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 14 February (HL2349), in what form the information on vessel transponders is collected; and where is it published.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government does not routinely collect information on vessel transponders.