Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 21 March 2022 where she stated that they reserve the right to introduce legislation for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting "at a future point, if and when the reporting tools are sufficiently developed, effective in driving positive change and accessible to more businesses" (HL Deb col 722), whether they still remain open to doing so.
Answered by Lord Gascoigne
The Government published guidance in April which sets out how employers can measure, report on, and address any unfair ethnicity pay gaps within their workforce. This was an action from our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022.
We have no plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Instead, we want to encourage and support employers who want to use ethnicity pay reporting to improve transparency and build trust among their employees. We are engaging with employers and representative bodies to promote the new guidance. We will also seek case studies from those that are already reporting on their ethnicity pay data, so that others can benefit from their experience.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, potentially including UK citizens.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to media outlets about the potential consequences for the safety of the UK's Jewish community of attributing responsibility for the strike on the Al-Alhi hospital before the facts have been established.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
His Majesty’s Government takes any threat to the safety of Jewish people in the UK extremely seriously, and stands strongly against antisemitism in all its forms.
The attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel since 7 October are terrorist acts, committed by a terrorist organisation which has been proscribed in the United Kingdom since 2021 and designated as such by many other governments and international organisations.
On the misattribution of responsibility for the strike on the Al-Alhi hospital, as the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House of Commons on 23 October, “the misreporting of this incident had a negative effect in the region – including on a vital US diplomatic effort – and on tensions here at home. We need to learn the lessons and ensure that in future there is no rush to judgement.”
Whilst respecting the editorial independence of the media, the Government has been clear that media organisations should reflect on their coverage and learn lessons for the future.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of Iran’s recent decision to withdraw accreditation from several inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As stated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Iran's decision to withdraw accreditation from several experienced IAEA inspectors, including experts with unique knowledge of uranium enrichment technology, affects in a direct and severe way the ability of the IAEA to effectively conduct its inspections in Iran. The removal of accreditations on 16 September means that approximately one third of the core group of the Agency's most experienced inspectors cannot work in Iran. This action highlights Iran's increasing lack of cooperation with the IAEA - this cooperation is vital to provide assurances that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct a further iteration of the Workplace Employment Relations Study.
Answered by Earl of Minto
There are currently no plans to undertake a new survey in the Workplace Employee Relations Study (WERS) series. The study offered detailed information on employment relations and the impacts of legislation on both employees and employers. The previous survey methodology is challenging to replicate as it relies on sampling via the employer which is harder to obtain due to the increased salience of privacy related issues in recent years.
The Department undertook the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey in 2018/19 which provides evidence on employment relations and management practices in British workplaces.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the proscription of the Wagner Group, what assessment they have made of the case for proscribing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
The UK Government has long been clear about our concerns over the malign activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK maintains sanctions on over 350 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation. The Government has also imposed sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and on several senior security and political figures in Iran, including senior commanders within the IRGC and its Basij force.
The Government will continue to hold Iran and the IRGC to account.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that disabled people have unimpeded access to (1) disabled parking bays, and (2) paths and pavements around Westminster and Parliament Square, during protests in the vicinity of Parliament.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The management of public protests and access to roads and pavements around Parliament are matters for the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, and the Greater London Authority, who are all independent of the Government.
Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government expanded the list of prohibited activities in the controlled area of Parliament Square to include the obstruction of vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate. It is a criminal offence to ignore a constable’s direction to cease such an activity.
In addition, Parliament has approved a Statutory Instrument providing the police with greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop disruptive protest tactics such as blocking roads and slow walking. We have done this to support the police in striking the right balance between the rights of the public and the rights of protesters, and to ensure public order legislation is clear, consistent and current.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps are being taken to ensure disabled people have unimpeded access to the House of Lords areas of the Parliamentary estate during protests in and around Parliament Square.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The management of public protests and access to roads and pavements around Parliament are matters for the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, and the Greater London Authority, who are all independent of the Government.
Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government expanded the list of prohibited activities in the controlled area of Parliament Square to include the obstruction of vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate. It is a criminal offence to ignore a constable’s direction to cease such an activity.
In addition, Parliament has approved a Statutory Instrument providing the police with greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop disruptive protest tactics such as blocking roads and slow walking. We have done this to support the police in striking the right balance between the rights of the public and the rights of protesters, and to ensure public order legislation is clear, consistent and current.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to ensure that concerns about (1) anti-social behaviour, (2) illegal driving, and (3) crime, around Westminster Bridge raised in the Policy Exchange paper A Culture of Impunity: The ongoing erosion of disabled people’s access to Parliament and Westminster, published on 8 June, are addressed.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The police have the powers they need within road traffic and anti-social behaviour legislation to enforce the law, including in relation to illegal e-scooter use and illegal driving. Decisions on when to use these powers are an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour (ASB). This includes Civil Injunctions and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).
It is for local authorities, forces and agencies to decide how best to use these powers depending on the specific circumstances as they are best placed to understand what is causing the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The police have powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being driven illegally without a valid driving licence or insurance or in an anti-social manner. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to collect and consider in each case the evidence available and decide whether there might have been an offence and if so what action to take.
We expect the police to work collaboratively with local authorities to deal with these matters.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Westminster Council about the (1) misuse, and (2) inappropriate parking, of e-bikes and e-scooters within a one-mile radius of the parliamentary estate.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The police have the powers they need within road traffic and anti-social behaviour legislation to enforce the law, including in relation to illegal e-scooter use and illegal driving. Decisions on when to use these powers are an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour (ASB). This includes Civil Injunctions and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).
It is for local authorities, forces and agencies to decide how best to use these powers depending on the specific circumstances as they are best placed to understand what is causing the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
The police have powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being driven illegally without a valid driving licence or insurance or in an anti-social manner. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to collect and consider in each case the evidence available and decide whether there might have been an offence and if so what action to take.
We expect the police to work collaboratively with local authorities to deal with these matters.