Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the papers Zionism and its influence in USA and Western Europe (FCO 17/1763) and Influence of the Zionist lobby in the United States and Western Europe (FCO 51/297); who their authors were; whether any UK diplomats provided evidence or any members of the Government were involved in commissioning them; whether they will place copies of them in the Library of the House; and what assessment they have made of whether these papers are anti-Semitic.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The full unredacted papers dating from 1972 and 1973 are held at The National Archives under file references FCO 17/1763 and FCO 51/297. They were transferred to The National Archives under the terms of the Public Records Act and are publicly available to be viewed.
Antisemitism is evil and has absolutely no place in our - or any - society. In March 2024 the UK took on the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for one year, which comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the 25th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration on Holocaust remembrance in January 2025.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the long-term survival of Bevis Marks Synagogue at its current site, in the light of its listed status and historical importance to the Jewish community.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Listing recognises the special architectural or historic interest of a building, and ensures that the conservation of its significance is given particularly careful consideration by local planning authorities through the planning and listed building consent processes. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has the power to call in applications for planning permission or listed building consent.
The Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City of London was listed at Grade I in 1950, reflecting its status as the oldest synagogue in Great Britain, and among the oldest in continuous use in Europe. It is one of the most splendid architecturally, as well as being a place of religious and cultural significance.
Historic England is a statutory consultee in relation to applications planning permission or listed building consent relating to Grade I-listed buildings. It is working closely with the Synagogue and the City of London Corporation to ensure that commercial growth in the City is achieved without harm to the Synagogue. As a result of its negotiations with Historic England the City Corporation recently designated a conservation area around the Synagogue and is now considering a specific policy for the protection of the Synagogue’s immediate setting.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice they provide to developers and planning authorities to ensure that there is full consultation on developments which are of significant risk of causing disturbance to neighbours, and what remedies are available in the event that such consultation does not take place.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Article 15 of The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (England) Order 2015 outlines the statutory publicity requirements for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs). LPAs must give notice by site display in at least one place on or near the land to which the application relates or by serving the notice on any adjoining owner or occupier. They must also publish information about the application on their website and in certain circumstances, they must give notice in a local newspaper. Where relevant planning considerations are raised by local residents, these must be taken into account by the local authority before they determine an application. Publicity beyond the statutory requirements is at the discretion of LPAs.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 19 April (HL Deb col 671), what are the legal remedies available in (1) criminal or civil law, or in (2) relevant employment contracts, for staff failing to keep or report medical data on the whole patient cohort which attended the Gender Identity Development Service.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service providers are expected to handle all medical data in line with data protection and data retention policies and comply with reporting requirements placed on them by NHS England. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) for children and young people are commissioned on the terms of the NHS Standard Contract. These terms are mandated and include standard escalation and contract management terms applicable across NHS clinical services.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, how many virtual school heads have been appointed to provide for previously looked after children in England pursuant to the Children and Social Work Act 2017; in which locations any such appointments were made; how the impact of these appointments are assessed; and what assessment they have made of the impact these appointments have had on the educational achievement of children in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold information on the number of Virtual School Heads (VSHs) in post. However, all local authorities in England with responsibilities for children’s social care must appoint at least one person to this post.
The appointment of a VSH for previously looked-after children is a statutory requirement under Section 23ZZA of the Children Act 1989 (inserted by the Children and Families Act 2017).
The Children in Need Review recognised the impact that VSHs have in raising aspiration and promoting educational achievement of looked-after and previously looked-after children, recommending that their role is further extended to cover all children with a social worker. The Timpson Review of School Exclusion also found ‘good evidence that VSHs are effective in supporting schools’.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which eight universities are under investigation by the Office for Students because of reported shortcomings in their Business and Management Studies provision; and what assessment they have made of the timing of the investigations, given that applicants for such courses for the next academic year will need to make their decisions soon.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is clear that driving up quality in higher education (HE) in England remains one of our highest priorities. This includes tackling the unacceptable pockets of poor-quality provision and taking regulatory action where appropriate.
The department has encouraged the Office for Students (OfS) to implement a visible and effective inspections regime where the OfS has concerns about the quality of provision. This will involve on-site inspections. The OfS announced its first wave of onsite inspections on 26 May, which will look specifically at business and management courses provided by eight higher education providers (HEPs). These will also examine whether poor-quality online learning has replaced face-to-face teaching to the detriment of students’ academic experience.
Through section 33 of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, the government has amended the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to make express provision for the OfS to publish notices, decisions or reports given or made in the performance of its functions, including whether a HEP is under investigation. This new legislation sets out the factors that the OfS must consider when deciding whether to publish. The OfS recently consulted the sector on this and is now considering responses before it makes use of these provisions.
As the independent regulator of HE in England, responsibility for initiating investigations and deciding whether, and when, it announces them, or the names of the providers being investigated, is a matter for the OfS. The OfS is required to consider the implications for students planning their higher education this autumn.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken, if any, to protect Bevis Marks Synagogue and its estate, as an historic world centre of Sephardic Jewish worship and scholarship, from risk to its future from real estate development or other factors, including pressures from the City of London Corporation.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to the protection of our historic environment, including listed buildings such as the Bevis Marks Synagogue, and we have put in place a strong legislative and policy framework to achieve this. In determining planning applications, local planning authorities are under a statutory duty to have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses. This is supported by national planning policy which, in particular, states that any substantial harm or loss to the significance of a Grade I listed building such as the Synagogue should be wholly exceptional and where there is less than substantial harm, the harm should be weighed against the public benefits. In addition, local planning authorities are required to consult Historic England on any proposals affecting a listed building or its setting.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of (1) children, and (2) adults, diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in England saw a psychosocial professional in the last 12 months at their annual review.
Answered by Lord Kamall
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 Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have conducted with local authorities about their intention to eliminate differences in educational entitlements between children adopted from a care setting in England and those adopted from an equivalent form of care outside England; and what, if any, results have arisen from these discussions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department collects and publishes data on the number of children looked after in local authority care in England. The latest figures are published in our annual statistical release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Information on the number of children looked after who were adopted during the year between 2010 and 2020 is in Table H1: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/9f60e85a-74b8-44b8-7ed5-08d962ee4bef. This is the first release of data covering the time period of the COVID-19 outbreak. Information on the number of children who have been adopted from a care setting outside England is not collected by the department.
We recognise children adopted from care, including those adopted from care overseas, can remain vulnerable and have high levels of need. We are committed to ensuring they have the support they need to thrive in education.
In September 2018, we introduced new duties on local authority virtual school heads and designated teachers to promote the educational achievement of pupils who are no longer looked after because they are the subject of an adoption, special guardianship, or child arrangements order. This includes support for children who have been adopted from outside of England.
The school admissions code has recently been amended so that, as of 1 September 2021, children adopted from state care outside of England have the same priority in school admission as children who were previously looked after in England. The school admissions code is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2.
We recognise that children adopted from outside England and Wales do not currently attract pupil premium plus. The department is aware of this issue and is actively exploring whether pupil premium plus can be extended to these children. In the meantime, schools should support the needs of all pupils, regardless of whether they are eligible to attract pupil premium plus, as support from schools is not contingent on receipt of this funding.
Asked by: Lord Triesman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the differences to educational entitlements between children adopted from a care setting in England and those adopted from an equivalent form of care outside of England; and what approach, if any, they are taking to address these differences.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department collects and publishes data on the number of children looked after in local authority care in England. The latest figures are published in our annual statistical release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Information on the number of children looked after who were adopted during the year between 2010 and 2020 is in Table H1: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/9f60e85a-74b8-44b8-7ed5-08d962ee4bef. This is the first release of data covering the time period of the COVID-19 outbreak. Information on the number of children who have been adopted from a care setting outside England is not collected by the department.
We recognise children adopted from care, including those adopted from care overseas, can remain vulnerable and have high levels of need. We are committed to ensuring they have the support they need to thrive in education.
In September 2018, we introduced new duties on local authority virtual school heads and designated teachers to promote the educational achievement of pupils who are no longer looked after because they are the subject of an adoption, special guardianship, or child arrangements order. This includes support for children who have been adopted from outside of England.
The school admissions code has recently been amended so that, as of 1 September 2021, children adopted from state care outside of England have the same priority in school admission as children who were previously looked after in England. The school admissions code is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2.
We recognise that children adopted from outside England and Wales do not currently attract pupil premium plus. The department is aware of this issue and is actively exploring whether pupil premium plus can be extended to these children. In the meantime, schools should support the needs of all pupils, regardless of whether they are eligible to attract pupil premium plus, as support from schools is not contingent on receipt of this funding.