Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that schools find ways of using modern technology to learn about today's Commonwealth prior to the Commonwealth Summit in London in April 2018.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The National Curriculum for history at Key Stage 2 states that pupils in maintained schools should study an aspect or theme in British history beyond 1066. This could be used by schools to teach about the Commonwealth. At Key Stage 3, pupils should study ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901. This could include the development of the British Empire.
Pupils at Key Stage 3 should also study the challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world from 1901 to the present day, which could include the end of Empire and Britain’s place in the world since 1945.
In Key Stage 4 citizenship education, pupils in maintained schools must be taught about the different electoral systems used in and beyond the UK, the actions that citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions, and the UK’s relations with the Commonwealth, the UN and the wider world.
Schools have the autonomy to decide how to teach, and many use modern technology as part of their teaching. We are looking at the role of government in supporting schools to have access to quality content and materials.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to incorporate the history of the Commonwealth into the national curriculum.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The National Curriculum for history at Key Stage 2 states that pupils in maintained schools should study an aspect or theme in British history beyond 1066. This could be used by schools to teach about the Commonwealth. At Key Stage 3, pupils should study ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901. This could include the development of the British Empire.
Pupils at Key Stage 3 should also study the challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world from 1901 to the present day, which could include the end of Empire and Britain’s place in the world since 1945.
In Key Stage 4 citizenship education, pupils in maintained schools must be taught about the different electoral systems used in and beyond the UK, the actions that citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions, and the UK’s relations with the Commonwealth, the UN and the wider world.
Schools have the autonomy to decide how to teach, and many use modern technology as part of their teaching. We are looking at the role of government in supporting schools to have access to quality content and materials.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage local authorities to celebrate the Commonwealth prior to the Commonwealth Summit in London in April 2018.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We have been working closely with interested parties across the UK, including local authorities, to raise the profile of the Commonwealth in the run up to next year's Heads of Government Meeting and to celebrate its unique networks.
We are encouraging local authorities to host a 'Commonwealth Big Lunch' between Commonwealth Day on 12 March and the end of the summit on 22 April. We have also asked them to encourage their communities to share their Commonwealth links on social media, using #ourCommonwealth to tell the story of the Commonwealth and demonstrate how wide ranging its people-to-people links are. There will be many other local promotions of the Commonwealth taking place in the run up to the summit.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the Commonwealth Secretariat and British Council joint programme Commonwealth Class.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie
The Department for Education was an advocate for the British Council’s bid for funding, tendered by the Commonwealth Summit Unit in Cabinet Office. This was to relaunch the Commonwealth Class network and website in the run-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018. The Commonwealth Class provides resources for teachers across the Commonwealth to use in their schools to increase young people’s understanding of, and engagement with, the Commonwealth. The relaunch also includes a Commonwealth Class Short Story Writing Competition for children and teachers. The department will also be supporting communications to promote the values of CHOGM to schools pupils in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage performing arts organisations, museums and galleries to celebrate the Commonwealth prior to the Commonwealth Summit in London in April 2018.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has written to the Department's Arms Length Bodies to increase and encourage participation in the Commonwealth Summit celebrations. Departmental officials are continuing to work with the Commonwealth Summit Unit to put together a national package.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what humanitarian assistance they are giving to support those suffering from starvation in the Kasai region of Congo.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Minister for Africa visited Kasai Central, in the DRC, in November 2017 to see for himself the impact of the conflict. UK bilateral aid is already supporting 25,800 children with food assistance in the Kasais. Over the next 5 years the UK will be providing a range of humanitarian support. As part of this, we will support a further 840,000 people nationally with food assistance, including people in the Kasais.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to provide observer status for British Overseas Territories during the Commonwealth Summit in London in April 2018.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK is committed to strengthening the links between the Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth. As membership of the Commonwealth is limited to sovereign states, the Overseas Territories cannot attend the Heads of Government Meeting or other ministerial meetings in their own right but will be represented by the UK. The UK Government will discuss the four policy pillars for the summit (security, sustainability, fairness and prosperity), with the Overseas Territories ahead of next year’s summit, in order to seek their views and feedback.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to send a Minister to represent them at the Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference in Fiji in February 2018.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Ministers are currently considering attendance at the Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference in Fiji in February 2018, and a decision will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to reach conclusions following their review of the Fit for Work Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Green Paper consultation set out our ambition to transform employment prospects for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, and sought views on a range of issues including how to improve occupational health provision, drawing lessons from the Fit for Work service. We have been carefully considering the responses we received, to inform our approach to better supporting individuals to stay in and return to work. We will set out our plans for taking forward our ambitions in the Autumn.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lord Luce and the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition for their response to the Green Paper consultation which has given us valuable insight.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government whether, in response to invitations from the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, they are providing any training or assistance for that government; and, if so, in what areas.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK has been providing a range of technical and practical assistance to the Government of Bahrain since 2012, in support of its reform programme. Any training provided by or on behalf of the Government complies with our domestic and international human rights obligations.
The technical assistance we have been providing to Bahrain supports the building of effective and accountable institutions, strengthening the rule of law, and police and justice reform. It has included work with the National Institution of Human Rights, the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, and the Prisoners' and Detainees' Rights Commission.