Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the trustees of the British Museum about the return of artefacts of historic, cultural or religious significance in the Museum’s collection to their countries of origin where the legality of their acquisition has been contested; and whether this includes the Ethiopian tabots.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Objects in the collection of the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Discussions and decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are therefore a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.
Some national museums, including the British Museum, are prevented by legislation from deaccessioning objects in their collections unless, broadly, they are duplicates or unfit for retention. The two exceptions to this are when the objects are human remains less than 1,000 years old, and objects spoliated during the Nazi-era. The Government has no plans to change these laws.
The British Museum has said that it recognises the significance of the tabots and has held meaningful talks with the Ethiopian Church on this sensitive issue. The Museum’s stated ambition is to seek to lend these objects to an Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the UK. The Government fully supports the Museum’s Trustees in their approach.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of TradeMark Africa's developmental impact; and what steps they will take to support that organisation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
An independent evaluation of TradeMark East Africa (now TradeMark Africa) was published in December 2019. It found that TradeMark's work had significantly reduced time spent in trade transport and processes. Welfare and GDP rose as a result of TradeMark's interventions. TradeMark's programming on women and trade positively impacted most participants. We continue to fund TradeMark's work on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and in East Africa, which includes finalising roadworks in Somalia, building ports in Rwanda and easing the movements of goods between Ghana and Togo.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to contribute to the GDP of that continent.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) has the potential to boost Africa's economic development by driving industrialisation, generating jobs and delivering prosperity across the continent. The World Bank estimates suggest that, if fully implemented, the AfCFTA will create better-quality jobs, increase real incomes by 9 percent and lift 50 million people from extreme poverty. If successful, AfCFTA will provide new commercial opportunities for businesses across Africa and globally, potentially doubling Foreign Direct Investment and linking Africa into regional and global value chains.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in the UK's programme of support for the African Continental Free Trade Area; how much of the up to £35 million set aside for this purpose has been spent; and on what specific actions.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The programme is in its first year of implementation, supporting negotiations and implementation by the Secretariat and Member States. Key activities so far include: funding four technical experts on investment and national implementation; developing plans to increase freight flows on the Lagos-Abidjan corridor, with upgrades starting at the Ghana-Togo border; supporting continental technical engagements on regional coordination and customs; supporting Ghana on aluminium value chain development and awareness raising and supporting Nigeria on automotive value chain develop and expanding services trade.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of the African Union and its institutions on (1) peace keeping and conflict resolution, (2) progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by its member states, (3) global health and the global response to pandemics, and (4) combatting climate change.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The African Union (AU) is Africa's foremost multilateral body and a key strategic partner for many UK priorities. The AU plays an important role in regional stability and the UK has worked closely on ATMIS, the reconfigured AU Transition Mission in Somalia. The AU drives the continental response to COVID-19 and we have provided £20 million to support the AU's Covid-19 Response Fund. The UK is supporting the AU's Green Recovery Action Plan for Africa, which will help deliver a clean, sustainable recovery that builds a prosperous and secure future for all African nations. This support will help drive forward the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well the AU's Agenda 2063.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total sum of (1) Official Development Assistance, and (2) technical or other assistance, to the African Union and its institutions in each of the last three years for which records exist; and what proportion of this assistance has been delivered (a) bilaterally through direct budgetary support, and (b) through programmatic support.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK and the African Union (AU) enjoy a strong relationship, collaborating effectively across a range shared priorities. Between April 2018 and September 2022, the UK has provided the AU with £31.88 million of Official Development Assistance (ODA), supporting the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area, elections monitoring, conflict mediation, the AU's Green Recovery Action Plan and other priority issues for both the UK and Africa. This ODA spend includes provision of technical assistance, £21.1 million of which has been provided directly to the AU, while the remainder has been channelled through third-party organisations with significant experience of working with the AU to address capacity and capability gaps.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level, focus, and impact of support provided to the African Union and its institutions by (1) the government of China, and (2) by the government of Russia.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The African Union (AU) maintains external partnerships with many organisations, regional bodies and countries:
(1) China is one of those countries. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) occurs every three years and China funded the construction of the AU's headquarters in Addis Ababa. The Chinese Foreign Minister visited Addis Ababa in January 2023 and was present at the opening of the new Chinese-built Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters.
(2) Russia has a lesser profile presence at the AU. The Russian Foreign Minister visited Addis Ababa in July 2022 but did not visit the AU headquarters.
The UK enjoys a strong relationship with the AU, collaborating effectively across a range of issues such as peace and security, climate change, global health and trade.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister last (1) visited the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, and (2) addressed the Pan-African Parliament in Pretoria; and on how many occasions in the last three years ministers have made such visits.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK enjoys a strong relationship with the African Union (AU), collaborating effectively across a range of shared priorities such as peace and security, climate change, women and girls, food security, health and trade. The UK maintains regular ministerial engagement with counterparts in the AU and its institutions. The former Minister for Development, Rt Hon. Vicky Ford MP, visited the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa most recently on 20 October 2022, where she met the AU's Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS). We look forward to more high-level engagement with the African Union in 2023.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to the tax free limits to lifetime pension pots on the retention of head teachers in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department considers a wide range of policy matters with the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Advisory Board to ensure that the pension continues to be a key benefit in attracting and retaining teachers and head teachers in England and Wales.
The lifetime allowance for pensions is being maintained by HM Treasury at its current level of £1,073,100 until April 2026. This allows head teachers and other savers to continue to make significant amounts of pension savings tax-free, while ensuring incentives to save are targeted across society.
The government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review, as part of the annual Budget process, and in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they propose to address the issue of climate adaptation for African agriculture at COP27, in order to further the Global Action Agenda on Transforming Agricultural Innovation launched in November 2021.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK made climate change adaptation a priority of our COP Presidency. Africa is in the frontline of climate change, facing drought and extreme weather patterns, despite only contributing a mere 3 per cent of global emissions. The Global Action Agenda on Transformation in Agriculture launched at COP26 has informed the development of the Agriculture Breakthrough goal and a set of actions for endorsing countries set out in The Breakthrough Agenda Report 2022. A set of priority actions will be launched on Agriculture and Adaptation day at COP27. The Agriculture Breakthrough will advance climate adaptation and mitigation globally, including for Africa.