Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the contribution made to aiding reconciliation by, and (2) the vulnerability of, religious groups in Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is very concerned by divisive, racist and nationalist propaganda perpetuated by the military regime since the coup. Our Embassy is meeting with a range of stakeholders, including Buddhist, Christian and Muslim leaders who are bravely standing up against the military junta. The UK also works with partners and other community leaders to improve religious tolerance and social cohesion through facilitating a greater understanding of religious and cultural differences, and promoting dialogue between different communities across Myanmar.
We continue to raise our concern, including at the UN Human Rights Council, at the Race and Religion Laws and the 1982 Citizenship Law which have been used to discriminate against non-Buddhists.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cuts to UK Research and Innovation funding on (1) the role of the UK in supporting the global health response to COVID-19, and (2) the capacity of the UK to provide expertise to assist international development as proposed in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships and supporting the UK research sector. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer committed to increase investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22; this will support our ambitions set out in the Integrated Review, which recognises the importance of international collaboration to a healthy and productive R&D sector.
The Department is committed to delivering on the global health response to COVID. Despite the budgetary pressure caused by COVID last year, the Department mobilised £14.5m of ODA funding through the Global Challenges Research Fund and the Newton Fund to support research into COVID in developing country contexts.
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist developing countries to develop a working cold-chain storage system for storing COVID-19 vaccines at the required temperatures.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting rapid and equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. This includes strengthening country health systems, and ensuring that new vaccines are appropriate for various settings, such as rural areas. The UK's £1.65 billion commitment to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance over five years includes support to strengthen vaccine supply chains, and improve cold chain technologies. Our support to public-private partnerships such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) also includes developing heat-stable vaccines that can be distributed through existing immunisation cold chains, or without refrigeration.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the COVAX Facility's ability to provide (1) timely, (2) equitable, and (3) universal, access to COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries; and what plans they have to work with other countries to coordinate the relaxation of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 pharmaceutical technology to allow for such access.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK assesses that COVAX is on track to deliver its targets. Deliveries of vaccines have now begun, and COVAX's success in negotiating deals with manufacturers also means it is making good progress in securing and delivering its goal of at least 2 billion doses in 2021, including at least 1.3 billion for up to 92 low- and middle-income countries. The UK regularly engages stakeholders on the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, participating in COVAX decision-making bodies through its governance mechanisms, including a seat on the Gavi Board. The UK is also a founding member of the Facilitation Council of the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a coalition of leading international organisations to accelerate development and access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.
Considering the evidence available, we do not believe that the relaxation of intellectual property (IP) rights would be an effective measure to address the multiple factors on which access to medicines depends. The existing IP system has mobilised research and development to deliver new medicines and technologies to detect, prevent, and treat COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with sector representatives (1) prior to, and (2) regarding, the announcement of the review of the Initial Teacher Training market and the creation of a new Institute of Teaching on 2 January; and what steps they are taking to ensure that new provision will exceed the Ofsted judgements on the quality of existing Institute of Technical Education providers.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
On 2 January 2021, the Department announced we were resuming our review of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) market to identify improvements that reduce costs for providers and exploring how we can encourage high quality providers – including high-performing multi academy trusts – to extend their reach, deliver at scale and do more to support the wider system. We started work on this in early 2020 with a series of workshops with ITT sector representatives to understand the current market better. This work was paused so that government, and the ITT sector, could focus on the challenges caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
We are now resuming the ITT review, building on the opportunities afforded by our Teacher Development reforms, including the ITT Core Content Framework. The department will work with the sector as the review progresses. We expect further engagement to take place in the late spring, and the review to conclude in the summer.
Officials had informed ITT sector representative organisations, the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers and the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers, that the recommencement of the ITT review and the creation of the Institute for Teaching would be announced. The Chair of the ITT review has substantive discussions with the leadership of these organisations planned in the coming weeks.
The department has held a range of policy development conversations on the proposal for an Institute of Teaching with academics, teacher development providers, representative organisations and teaching unions. The department intends to run a robust procurement exercise to identify a strong organisation or organisations to establish the Institute of Teaching. The successful bidders will need to demonstrate an exceptional track record in delivery of teacher training and development. The new organisation will also be subject to a range of quality assurance measures during its set-up phase to ensure its delivery will be the highest quality.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement made by the Department for Education on 2 January about the review of the Initial Teacher Training market, what plans they have, as part of that review (1) to ensure an increased supply of new teachers rather than displacement of trainee teachers between providers, and (2) to mitigate any risk of (a) complexity, and (b) disincentives, in the market.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department knows that high quality teaching is the most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children, particularly those from a disadvantaged background. Providing the best possible initial teacher training (ITT) is at the heart of the government’s drive to improve teaching standards.
On 2 January 2021, we announced that we would be resuming our review of the ITT market, to support it to work more efficiently and effectively, making the process of becoming a teacher less complicated and burdensome. The review will aim to make well informed, evidence-based recommendations on how to ensure all trainees are receiving consistent, high quality training, in line with the ITT Core Content Framework. Any reforms must maintain sufficient capacity to deliver enough qualified teachers, whilst being accessible to candidates and of benefit to all schools.
The Chair and a small expert group, with the support of Department officials, are conducting early work to better understand these issues and the direction of the work. We are confident that the expert group covers a range of expertise and perspectives (Higher Education Institute-led, large and small School Centred Initial Teacher Training providers, national provider of ITT, and both school and ITT curriculum expertise), which will be essential in ensuring the review maintains market capacity and reflects an understanding of high-quality ITT. Additionally, they are holding discussions with sector representatives including the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers and the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers, with broader engagement planned from late spring.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the Further Education White Paper.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We published the White Paper Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth on 21 January 2021.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the number of students enrolling on courses with a public service focus, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
On Monday 4 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures to stabilise university admissions this autumn and to ensure sustainability in higher education at a time of unprecedented uncertainty.
My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to all hon. Members on 4 May with full details of the package, which have also been published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students.
Controls on student numbers at provider level will be determined based on provider forecasts and will allow for 5% growth above this. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, will also have the discretion to allocate an additional 10,000 places, with 5,000 of those places ringfenced for students studying nursing or allied health courses.
From September 2020, all new and continuing degree-level nursing students and midwifery students - and many allied health students - will receive additional funding of at least £5,000 per academic year, which they will not need to pay back, to help with living costs.
Students are already a priority target audience for our recruitment campaign for teaching, which supports the department’s targets for entry to post-graduate initial teacher training. The marketing campaign is resuming in May and will run through until August for applications to start training in autumn 2020.
The government will continue to support enrolments on social work education programmes through the provision of bursaries and our fast-track graduate entry programmes.
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
Our latest guidance on the impact of COVID-19 is set out below:
These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and to keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement on 4 May of the support package for higher education providers as a result of the impact of COVID-19, what criteria they will use to provide research funding for universities; and how they will ensure (1) accessibility of the funding to a wide range of universities, and (2) diversity of institutional provision. [T]
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of the announcement on 4 May, the Government confirmed that Research England would bring forward £100m for Quality-related Research (QR) Funding in Academic Year 2019-20. This will be allocated to HE institutions in England eligible to receive funding from Research England as a “top-up” to their overall QR allocation.
QR is selectively allocated to maintain excellent research with impact wherever it is found (based on excellence and impact performance as assessed through the Research Excellence Framework), and to provide support for the next generation of researchers and for research activities which lever funding from external sources such as the charitable and business sectors.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Africa.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
COVID-19 is exacerbating an already negative trend, with a high and increasing baseline of chronic food insecurity being further driven by drought, conflict, and locusts and other shocks. Immediate harvest prospects are favourable in some countries and for some commodities, but distribution is a challenge in many vulnerable areas, even at the best of times. COVID-19 related disruptions to supply chains threaten price rises at the same time as secondary impacts are dramatically reducing the purchasing power of the poor and of farmers who cannot afford inputs for the next planting season. To tackle the factors driving COVID-19 induced food insecurity, the UK is repurposing programmes in agriculture, social protection and humanitarian assistance, for example, our bilateral Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness and multilateral Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. In all of these we continue to put the poorest and most marginalised at the heart of our programmes to address the underlying causes of chronic hunger.