Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in implementing decisions taken by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in London in April 2018 on (1) the Commonwealth Blue Charter, (2) the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance on marine plastic pollution, and (3) any other decision taken to improve the environment.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In April last year, the UK hosted one of the most successful Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM) ever. All 53 members of the Commonwealth adopted the Commonwealth Blue Charter, agreed to establish action groups on ocean issues led by Commonwealth member countries and mandated the Secretariat to take forward a Commonwealth Blue Charter plan of action. Since CHOGM, nine action groups have now been proposed of which the UK Government has joined three so far: the coral reef protection, ocean acidification, and ocean and climate change action groups. The UK Government is in the process of joining the action groups on Mangroves and Marine Protected Areas.
The UK and Vanuatu also spearhead the groundbreaking Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance (CCOA), the action group to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution in the ocean. The CCOA has gained unparalleled support since its launch in April, increasing its membership from seven to 24 countries across the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific regions. In recognition of our global leadership on tackling the problem of plastic in the ocean, the Prime Minister has announced up to £66.4 million of UK aid to assist Commonwealth countries. This includes a technical assistance facility that will support developing countries in achieving their commitments under the CCOA, which was increased from £5 million to £10 million by the Prime Minister in August last year.
The first phase of the £6 million Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP) work in the Pacific region has been completed. Minister Coffey and Pacific country leaders attended a regional conference last month to showcase the marine litter action plans produced by the CLiP with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Furthermore, over 35 Government funded Commonwealth Blue Charter Fellowships are underway which continue to support emerging Commonwealth scholars to explore solutions to the marine plastics challenge. We have made tremendous progress in safeguarding our ocean since CHOGM 2018 and we expect even more successful action ahead of the next CHOGM meeting in Rwanda in 2020.
The UK is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, and tackling climate change and managing the natural environment is a core part of the Government’s international work. For example:
At the International Wildlife Trade Conference hosted in London in October last year, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to tackling the international wildlife trade and we are now investing over £36 million between 2014 and 2021 to counter the trade, including £900,000 of new funding to develop a British military counter-poaching taskforce in Africa.
At last year’s Katowice Climate Change Conference, the UK demonstrated its climate leadership through our instrumental role in the creation of a rulebook to bring the Paris Agreement to life. This common set of rules and metrics is essential for driving genuine climate action globally and for future agreements.
Since April last year the Green Climate Fund has approved the funding of $1.05 billion in funding proposals, and successfully launched its first replenishment for the second resource mobilisation phase. A further $122.5 million has been approved for readiness funding to be deployed this year. Polices related to results management, prohibited practices, the restructuring and cancellation of funding proposals and the appointment of the World Bank as Trustee were also approved. The Fund also selected its next Executive Director, who will serve a four year term from April.
As announced by the Foreign Secretary at CHOGM, the UK and New Zealand co-hosted a meeting at Wilton Park on 16-18 December to discuss climate change and resilience in the Pacific. The Forum was an opportunity to listen to Pacific concerns, needs and priorities in relation to climate change, and provided a space for representatives from across governments and the academic and private sectors to discuss innovative solutions to these challenges.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they, in partnership with the governments of Norway and the United States, are in dialogue with the African Union about political and economic conditions in the Sudan with a view to attempting to restore stability in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK continues to promote comprehensive peace negotiations through our role in the Troika. Alongside the US and Norway we engage regularly with the African Union, both at official level and with members of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), as part of our collective effort to address the root causes of instability in Sudan. On 8 January we, with Troika partners and Canada, released a statement expressing deep concern at the Government's violent response to recent protests in Sudan, stressing the need to implement reforms.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a target number for occupational therapists for the NHS; and if so, what is that target.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Occupational therapists work in the National Health Service, local authority, voluntary and independent sectors.
The Department does not have a specific target number for the number of occupational therapists for the NHS.
Healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring that they have the right level of staffing to provide high quality care. Health Education England will work through its Local Education and Training Boards and others to ensure that there are sufficient staff being trained to meet the needs of patients.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people they estimate are currently taking recognised courses to qualify as occupational therapists.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many occupational therapists are (1) employed by the NHS, (2) self-employed, (3) working for private sector employers, and (4) working for public sector employers.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
To practice in the United Kingdom, occupational therapists must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). As of 20 September 2018, there were 39,197 occupational therapists registered with HCPC.
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
NHS Digital monthly workforce statistics shows that as at 31 August 2018, the latest data available, there are 14,989 full time equivalent (FTE) clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy employed by the National Health Service in England.
Since September 2015, NHS Digital has been collecting Independent Healthcare Provider Workforce Statistics. These statistics are collected biannually and published as experimental statistics. There are 744 FTE clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy that are employed by those Independent Healthcare Providers in England who respond to the survey, as at 31 March 2018 which is the latest data available.
We do not hold data on occupational therapists who are self-employed or those working for public sector employers other than the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many qualified occupational therapists there are in the UK.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
To practice in the United Kingdom, occupational therapists must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). As of 20 September 2018, there were 39,197 occupational therapists registered with HCPC.
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
NHS Digital monthly workforce statistics shows that as at 31 August 2018, the latest data available, there are 14,989 full time equivalent (FTE) clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy employed by the National Health Service in England.
Since September 2015, NHS Digital has been collecting Independent Healthcare Provider Workforce Statistics. These statistics are collected biannually and published as experimental statistics. There are 744 FTE clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy that are employed by those Independent Healthcare Providers in England who respond to the survey, as at 31 March 2018 which is the latest data available.
We do not hold data on occupational therapists who are self-employed or those working for public sector employers other than the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to continue to include Gibraltar in (1) the Article 3 definition section, and (2) Article 184 of the future framework section, of the EU Withdrawal Agreement.
Answered by Lord Callanan
Article 3 of the Withdrawal Agreement published on 26 November clearly states that Gibraltar is covered to the extent that Union Law applied to it before. Article 184, which records the UK and the EU’s commitment to negotiate in good faith and conclude agreements envisaged by the Political Declaration on their future relationship within a certain time frame, imposes no obligations regarding the territorial scope of future agreements. This is the EU and the UK’s shared interpretation. The government has also been clear that the UK will negotiate future agreements on behalf of all territories for whose external relations it is responsible.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the timescales and resources allocated to each of the projects announced by the UK in support of the outcomes from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK announced over £500 million of projects under four themes outlined below to support commitments made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018:
An overview of CHOGM commitments and the projects designed to fulfil them will be placed in the Library of the House. These projects will be delivered throughout the UK’s two years as Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House (1) the overview of outcomes agreed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018, and (2) the overview of projects announced by the UK in support of the outcome from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK announced over £500 million of projects under four themes outlined below to support commitments made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018:
An overview of CHOGM commitments and the projects designed to fulfil them will be placed in the Library of the House. These projects will be delivered throughout the UK’s two years as Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what commitments were made to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018 for which they have shared responsibility; what resources were promised for each commitment; and what is the proposed timetable for the implementation of each commitment.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As stated in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting: Written statement (HLWS616) made by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 23 April, we agreed a range of actions with fellow members to build a Commonwealth which is fairer, more sustainable, more secure and more prosperous. These commitments were captured in a Communiqué and accompanying Leaders' Statement, copies of which have been placed in the House of Commons Library by the Prime Minister. We refer the noble Lord to these statements and documents.