Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure women released from prison will not be released to homelessness.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Official statistics published in July 2020 show that over 6,000 women were released from custody in the year to March 2020, with 51% going into secure, long-term accommodation and a further 7% to approved premises; 18% were recorded as rough sleeping or homeless at the point of release.
We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported into long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five national probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing this Summer. It will be in operation during the next financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally.
The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks’ emergency accommodation.
HMPPS will work in conjunction with MHCLG’s announced funding to support both male and female prison leavers at risk of homelessness into private rental tenancies. Funded schemes to support women will be developed to recognise their specific needs and will be part of plans to secure settled accommodation by the end of the 12 weeks’ temporary accommodation provided by HMPPS.
In 2020, Hestia Battersea was changed from male to female Approved Premises (AP) to give better geographic spread of AP for women, becoming the first AP for women in London since 2008. In addition, Eden House, the first new AP in over thirty years, will open in June supporting female offenders.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will (1) list each nation to which they have delivered AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as part of the World Health Organisation COVAX programme, and (2) list the quantity of vaccines they have delivered to each nation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As of 15 June, COVAX had delivered 87 million doses to 131 participating countries and territories. UNICEF is supporting COVAX with the delivery of these vaccines, and details of what each country has received in terms of doses and quantities can be found at https://www.unicef.org/supply/covid-19-vaccine-market-dashboard.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver 600,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to the government of Sri Lanka, to enable the availability of second doses amongst the population of that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government is concerned about the Covid-10 situation in Sri Lanka. The Minister for South Asia Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon discussed this with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner on 10 May and with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 17 June.
The UK has consistently stressed that we are all facing the same pandemic and the threat of further waves and variants of the virus makes cooperation between all our partners and the UK ever more vital and important.
The UK remains committed to equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. As the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines, COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines fairly and to where they will be most effective. The UK was one of the earliest and largest donors to COVAX donating £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment. Our early funding gave COVAX the purchase power it needed to secure deals with manufacturers to supply internationally-approved vaccines for up to 92 low and middle income countries. So far, COVAX has helped deliver over 81m doses to 129 countries and territories, including Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister announced on 11 June that the UK will donate 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines within the next year, with 30 million of those donated by the end of 2021. 80% of the vaccines donated will go to COVAX. This was part of an agreement with G7 partners to donate 1 billion doses by June 2022. We will set out more detail in due course and will continue to discuss with G7 partners the ambition to end the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made, or intend to make, to the government of Armenia (1) to maintain peace in the South Caucasus region, and (2) to ensure non-violent resolution of any future conflict.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government welcomes the 10 November peace deal including the implementation of many of the OSCE Minsk Group Basic Principles. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas urged the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work together with the OSCE Minsk Group to settle all outstanding matters related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and implement the remaining Basic Principles to ensure future regional stability and peace. The UK Government firmly supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure regional stability in the South Caucasus in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the political situation in the South Caucasus.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government welcomes the 10 November peace deal including the implementation of many of the OSCE Minsk Group Basic Principles. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas urged the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work together with the OSCE Minsk Group to settle all outstanding matters related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and implement the remaining Basic Principles to ensure future regional stability and peace. The UK Government firmly supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure regional stability in the South Caucasus in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the Armenia about (1) recognising the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and (2) committing to regional cooperation in the South Caucasus.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government welcomes the 10 November peace deal including the implementation of many of the OSCE Minsk Group Basic Principles. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas urged the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work together with the OSCE Minsk Group to settle all outstanding matters related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and implement the remaining Basic Principles to ensure future regional stability and peace. The UK Government firmly supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure regional stability in the South Caucasus in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of people seeking asylum in the UK are doing so because they are fleeing domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not record the information in such a way that allows us to report on what percentage of people seeking asylum in the UK are doing so because they are fleeing domestic violence.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the forecasts by multilateral financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, what plans they have to strengthen economic ties with the Ivory Coast.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID) to advance our trade relationship with the Ivory Coast.
DIT has recently increased promotion of the UK commercial offer and facilitated new business by supporting trade missions. DIT continues to develop a strong pipeline of projects in the market, eligible for UKEF financing, that UK companies are well positioned to invest in and is working to increase the visibility of the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) that supports the building of businesses throughout Africa.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to hold discussions with the government of the Ivory Coast about honouring presidential term limits.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government has a strong partnership with Cote d’Ivoire. Stability and inclusive economic growth are shared priorities, with a view to consolidating peace after a decade of crisis and uncertainty. We take every opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to peaceful, free and credible elections in 2020, in line with international law, and encourage all parties to work towards this goal. We have done so directly with government and opposition political parties in Cote d’Ivoire and at the 42nd Human Rights Council on 19 September in Geneva. The 2016 constitution of Cote d’Ivoire stipulates a two-term limit on Presidential mandates, which the incumbent will have reached by the 2020 elections. The elections are the responsibility of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, all political parties and the Ivoirian people. We urge all parties to participate responsibly, engage fully in the process and avoid the use of inflammatory language. We continue to follow developments closely and hope to see extensive domestic and international observation encouraging transparency and due process before and during the elections in 2020.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the political situation in the Ivory Coast.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government has a strong partnership with Cote d’Ivoire. Stability and inclusive economic growth are shared priorities, with a view to consolidating peace after a decade of crisis and uncertainty. We take every opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to peaceful, free and credible elections in 2020, in line with international law, and encourage all parties to work towards this goal. We have done so directly with government and opposition political parties in Cote d’Ivoire and at the 42nd Human Rights Council on 19 September in Geneva. The 2016 constitution of Cote d’Ivoire stipulates a two-term limit on Presidential mandates, which the incumbent will have reached by the 2020 elections. The elections are the responsibility of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, all political parties and the Ivoirian people. We urge all parties to participate responsibly, engage fully in the process and avoid the use of inflammatory language. We continue to follow developments closely and hope to see extensive domestic and international observation encouraging transparency and due process before and during the elections in 2020.