United Nations International Widows’ Day

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2014 Grand Committee

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, this has been a very moving debate. We have heard the direct experiences of both my noble friend Lord Loomba and the noble Lord, Lord Collins, and their situations with their own mothers in widowhood and their families. I thank my noble friend Lord Loomba for securing this debate, and noble Lords for their participation and the contribution that they have made in this area. My noble friend’s foundation has very much led in this area, and I pay tribute to him for that.

My noble friend rightly emphasises the message of the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, that around 23 June International Widows’ Day should be a time for raising awareness of the plight of widows, and noble Lords have contributed very effectively to that. For millions of women and children, the death of a husband and father can all too quickly trigger a descent into poverty, social exclusion and rape or other forms of violence. The effect on children has been powerfully described by my noble friend Lord Shipley. When a husband dies, many countries do not recognise that the widow has any rights to inherit what he has left behind. A widow and her children may find themselves not only homeless and without an income overnight but perceived as an economic burden to their community and stigmatised due to their association with death. Widows suffer from double discrimination both for being female and for being widows. As I said, my noble friend Lord Loomba has very close personal experience of the dreadful disadvantage that widows face. We also heard about that from the noble Lord, Lord Collins.

Harmful traditional practices see widows forcibly married, raped, traded or exiled. Underlying this abhorrent situation are discriminatory social norms against girls and women. These deeply held prejudices keep girls and women locked out of education, jobs and the community, and condone horrific forms of physical and psychological violence. That is why my noble friend Lord Shipley is right to locate the treatment of widows within basic human rights.

My noble friend Lady Nicholson is right with her emphasis on the importance of economic freedom of widows, and I pay tribute to her for her work. We know well that the economic position of women is often key to their status and independence, and underpinning that, as she indicated, is support for health and education, including skills training. She is right that the focus may need to be on the relief of poverty so that we do not further stigmatise widows. I hope that she will be reassured that DfID’s A New Strategic Vision for Girls and Women identifies economic empowerment as one of the four key pillars for action.

As many noble Lords know, preparations for a post-2015 development framework are under way, and my noble friend Lord Loomba rightly emphasised its significance. We want to ensure that the new framework is focused on the poorest and most vulnerable in society, and we recognise that within that group no one should be left behind—that is key to this. I should flag up that we are well aware that conflict and fragile states are likely to affect women and girls disproportionately, and of course DfID is a major contributor to humanitarian relief. Thus in the latest conflict in Iraq we are providing £5 million to reach 140,000 displaced people with lifesaving assistance. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, and my noble friend Lord Loomba referred to other conflicts in Rwanda, Afghanistan and many other areas. We are acutely aware that women and girls are often disproportionately the victims in these conflicts.

The post-2015 development framework seeks to address those who have been left behind and have not yet been brought into the kind of situation in which many of us in our society find ourselves. We are working hard to ensure that the new framework includes a standalone goal on gender equality, as noble Lords will know, with a holistic set of targets that address the root causes of the inequality and discrimination that affect widows. These include eliminating violence against women and girls; promoting women’s economic empowerment; fostering girls’ and women’s leadership and participation; ensuring universal sexual and reproductive health and rights; and improving girls’ education.

Achieving the targets will mean that a widow will not lose everything when she loses her husband. She will be able to own her own home, start a business, access finance and challenge the prejudices that discriminate against her. This in turn will improve the life opportunities for her children. My noble friend Lord Shipley was right to emphasise the importance of educating the children of widows as they seek to pull themselves and their families out of poverty, as we have seen successfully being done.

The UK Government are leading the way in raising public awareness to end the discriminatory social norms that are at the heart of the plight of widows. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Collins, for his tribute to the leadership of my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary in the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. As he knows, this was co-hosted by my right honourable friend and Angelina Jolie. The organisation Widows for Peace through Democracy organised a series of events, including a play entitled “Hidden”, depicting the lives of women and child victims of wartime sexual abuse. There was also a discussion around justice for widow victims of conflict. I hope that my noble friend Lord Loomba was able to hear reports of what they discussed.

Next month, my right honourable friends the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for International Development and the Home Secretary will host with UNICEF the Girl Summit to rally world leaders, organisations and the public to seek to bring an end within a generation to child marriage, early marriage, forced marriage and female genital mutilation, an area in which my honourable friend Lynne Featherstone has led as the Government’s champion for combating violence against women. Ending discrimination against girls and women, which underpins the many forms of violence against them, is critical not only as a human right but in unlocking their full potential. This is important across all stages of life, including for those who are widowed.

I can assure noble Lords that DfID works to support widows in the poorest countries. For example, in Rwanda, which was cited by my noble friend Lord Loomba and the noble Lord, Lord Collins, DfID is supporting 2,500 widows who are also HIV positive to ensure that they receive psychological support as well as support to improve their incomes. DfID’s support to the Government of India’s national AIDS control programme has resulted in a reduction in the age eligibility for widows’ pensions in some states from 60 years to 35 years to make them accessible to younger widows.

In conclusion, I want to stress the importance of a continued partnership between government, civil society, the private sector, foundations and of course the public. I welcome the extraordinary efforts of my noble friend Lord Loomba to establish International Widows’ Day. The collaboration between the Loomba Foundation and UN Women is a great opportunity to expand outreach and awareness about widows. As one of the largest core funders to UN Women, the UK through DfID supports the partnership between UN Women and the Loomba Foundation. UN Women plays a critical role in taking forward what is decided at CSW. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, was right to flag the importance not only of taking forward what is agreed at those meetings but of stopping things moving backwards. In many areas around the world, we see a real challenge in that area. The United Kingdom is well aware of that challenge and we welcome the fact that there is tremendous cross-party support for countering it. That is extremely important.

I assure my noble friend Lord Loomba and other noble Lords that we recognise the dire situation of many widows. It is surely only through a combined effort that we can achieve real gender equality and empowerment for all girls and women, including widows. This has been a moving debate that has brought home the reality of the position that women so often find themselves in if they are widows. I therefore thank all participants for all that they are doing to help such widows, and the Government support them in that.

Committee adjourned at 6 pm.

Arrangement of Business

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 26th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, perhaps I may remind those speaking in the debates this afternoon that they are all time limited. Therefore, when the clock reaches the number of minutes allocated in each noble Lord’s debate, noble Lords should finish their speech, as they have spoken for the allotted time. If a noble Lord is happy to take an intervention, that time will be taken out of their allocation.

Women: Wages

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 25th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings shows that pay for women working both full-time and part-time is rising. To support these women, we are helping with the cost of childcare, introducing shared parental leave, extending flexible working to all and raising the income tax threshold, which means that 1.83 million women will be taken out of income tax by April 2015.

[Baroness Thornton (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer. Obviously we have a difference of opinion about the figures from the Office for National Statistics, because they tell us that between 2013 and 2014 women’s mean full-time earnings fell to what amounts to an average loss of £52 over the year. So, unlike men, women working full-time have seen their actual take-home pay fall. I ask the Minister to go back and look at those figures because that gender inequality is not acceptable. What steps will the Government take to remedy it?

[Baroness Northover]

I hope that the noble Baroness will be reassured that I have looked at the figures; I have them with me. She will know that the previous Government used the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, which is what I have just cited, and not the survey she cited. That is in part because of the difference between median and mean, which no doubt I do not have to go into in depth with her. Also, the survey she is looking at went up in the last quarter, while now there is a slight drop. However, it is self-reported, whereas the survey I am referring to is based on PAYE and HMRC information. That is the survey the Government use and which her Government used.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, almost two-thirds of people in low-paid work, those earning £7 per hour or less, are women. The gender gap is still in existence, although it is narrowing, and women are still underrepresented in senior executive roles, particularly in science and technology. What is being done to take a really comprehensive look at the serious factors which contribute to gender inequalities in the workplace?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right to highlight the different areas that men and women often work in. There is encouraging news in that the gender pay gap has narrowed and is now close to zero for full-time employees under the age of 40. However, you start to see a differential as you move into the older cohorts. That is to do with the areas that people work in and the fact that many more women are working part-time. The median hourly wage for part-time workers is £8.29 as opposed to £13.03 for full-time workers.

[Baroness Turner of Camden (Lab)]

How many prosecutions have taken place for non-payment of the minimum wage? I ask that because it would be mostly women who were affected among the low-paid workers in this country.

[Baroness Northover]

That is a very interesting point. I shall get further details.

[Baroness Wheatcroft (Con)]

My Lords, are not more and more women taking their remuneration into their own hands by setting up their own businesses, which has become increasingly easy to do?

[Baroness Northover]

Yes. The number of self-employed women has increased to 1.42 million. There are more women-led businesses than ever before and more women in employment than ever before, with wages going up.

[Baroness Afshar (CB)]

My Lords, there is nothing so deskilling as motherhood. The reason that women are paid less after the age of 40 is that very often they have domestic duties. What are the Government doing to assist mothers to have enough support in the early stages so as not to withdraw from the labour market?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. That is at the core of this issue. It is why, as I said in my initial Answer, we are trying to increase the provision of affordable, high-quality childcare and to make sure that people can access shared parental leave. We are encouraging fathers as well as mothers to take that leave and to take up flexible working.

[The Archbishop of York]

My Lords, the Living Wage Commission published its final report yesterday. It makes it clear that people in the care industry are paid very poorly—and the majority happen to be women. Will the Government take a reality check and recognise that people in the care professions are paid poorly? Will they make sure that, in terms of procurement, local authorities encourage those in the care profession to pay at least the living wage, which we wanted to be voluntary and not compulsory? If that does not happen, concern about women being paid poorly will continue. It is a stain on the conscience of this country that people work hard and are still in poverty.

[Baroness Northover]

I read the report of the most reverend Primate’s commission with enormous interest. I note that he has just said that he is looking for a voluntary approach rather than regulation, but he challenges responsible employers to pay a fair wage. He is right to identify the difference in pay between men and women.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 25th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Trees]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to modify their strategy to control bovine tuberculosis in the United Kingdom in the light of the independent expert panel report on the pilot badger culls.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, in April we launched our TB strategy, setting out our plans to achieve officially TB-free status by 2038 through both new and existing tools. We have always been clear that lessons would be learnt from the badger control pilots. Having considered the report of the independent expert panel, we have accepted its conclusions and are currently working to implement its recommendations in advance of the second year of culling in Gloucestershire and Somerset.

[Lord Trees (CB)]

I am grateful to the Minister for that Answer. In the light of the fact that vaccination is likely to be a significant, although not the only, tool in the future long-term and sustainable control of this terrible disease, can the Minister give this House an assurance that the three important goals of research into and development of an oral vaccine for badgers, the registration and deployment of a cattle vaccine and the research into and development of appropriate cattle diagnostic tests will not be hindered by a lack of resources?

[Baroness Northover]

I can give the noble Lord that assurance. I hope that he was pleased to see the strategy announced at the beginning of April, which makes it very clear that culling is only a small part of an overall approach to this disease. He has outlined some very important areas, and Defra has pledged significant support to take that research forward. I hope that the noble Lord will also be pleased with the announcement of support for vaccination on the edge between the areas with a high incidence of bovine TB and those that currently have a lower incidence.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell the House what proportion of the culled badgers were found to have actually had tuberculosis on post-mortem examination?

[Baroness Northover]

I can trust my noble friend to ask me a question like that. I read the report a month or so back with enormous interest. I took a great number of notes but I cannot remember the answer to that, I am afraid, and I shall have to write to him.

[Lord Cameron of Dillington (CB)]

My Lords, is there a possibility that the Government might reconsider their methodology of culling? Instead of having people running around firing guns at night, they might consider using gas, which is heavier than air in badger setts during the day. That seems to be much safer and much more efficient.

[Baroness Northover]

All areas are being looked at. There has been research into gassing but at the moment we are finding that this method has significant practical challenges. The noble Lord can be assured that further research is being taken forward in this area, although as yet it does not involve live badgers or active setts.

[Lord Winston (Lab)]

My Lords, given that Professor Rosie Woodroffe has said that badger culling is unequivocally ineffective and extremely inhumane, can we have clarity from the Government that culling will not continue under any future circumstances? Can we also have an assurance that, wherever possible, scientific advice will be followed? For example, the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, has shown that the mathematics relating to this issue are absolutely plain.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

As the noble Lord will know from having looked at the science, one thing that came out of the research by the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, was that you could not stop culling after one year—you had to continue it for several years, otherwise there would be an adverse effect. Therefore, the culling will continue in the areas in which it was started, as was always planned. That is based upon scientific advice from the noble Lord, Lord Krebs. As I am sure the noble Lord will know, there was a reduction in the incidence of bovine TB in the randomised control areas that were looked at, but that reduction was only around 16%, and therefore other strategies are needed too.

[Lord Krebs (CB)]

My Lords, as the Minister will be aware, the efficacy of the pilot can be evaluated properly only if both the number of badgers at the start and the number killed are known. As noble Lords will recall, last year the badgers notoriously changed the goalposts at the last minute. How precisely will the number of badgers be estimated in the future pilot cull? Can she in particular confirm that Defra will not rely on the numbers reported by the contractors, as the independent expert panel advised that those numbers were quite unreliable? For example, the contractors initially claimed to have shot more than one badger per bullet fired.

[Baroness Northover]

Perhaps they were all lined up. We could recently have done with some moving of goalposts in Brazil, could we not? The noble Lord is right to emphasise the importance of a much more comprehensive coverage. He will know from his own trials that in many of the areas he was working in, the process started slowly and picked up. There are a number of recommendations in the independent expert panel report about how to ensure that there is more systematic and comprehensive coverage, and we are taking those recommendations forward.

[Lord Cunningham of Felling (Lab)]

My Lords, as the Minister who initiated the recommendations of the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, at the beginning of this very serious problem—which we know is complicated not only by science but by the ability of badgers to evade culls of whatever kind—I remind your Lordships’ House that the cost of this problem of tuberculosis in cattle now exceeds £1 billion to the taxpayer, let alone the distress caused to those in our dairy industry who see their herds and livelihoods destroyed at the same time. We urgently need to find a solution and I suggest to the Minister that it should occur in a much shorter timescale than is currently envisaged. Although I welcome the strategy, the timescale is something that we can ill afford. If this problem endures, the cost to the taxpayer and our dairy industry will be between £2 billion and £3 billion.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is absolutely right to bring us back to that. I would also point out that it is also not in the badgers’ interests to have bovine TB running through their population. Therefore, whichever animal one is concerned about, but in the interests of both, it is a problem that must be tackled.

Independent Schools

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lexden]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of independent schools on the British economy, in the light of the report The impact of independent schools on the British economy, published by the Independent Schools Council in April.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, we have made no specific assessment of the contribution that independent schools make to the United Kingdom economy, although we welcome its reported significant size. The Government’s policy is to focus their energies and resources on raising standards for pupils in state-funded schools. We welcome in particular the contribution that private schools make to the state-funded school system, in support for academies and free schools and in partnerships with state schools.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

My Lords, I am sure that my noble friend has read this report with great care, even if no assessment has been formed. Would she agree that, at nearly £10 billion, the total amount provided by independent schools to our national economy is extremely impressive, exceeding that of the BBC? Would she also agree that the largest section of this report sets out the wide range of schemes being undertaken by independent schools in partnership with their local communities and state schools, a partnership that is growing in extent all the time? Would she agree, finally, that this report gives the lie to those who maintain that there is some form of Berlin Wall separating the independent and state sectors?

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I have read this report with enormous interest, and my noble friend is right to point out the contribution of independent schools to the UK economy. At £9.5 billion, it is very substantial. As we know, many of these schools are outstanding, but I also know that my noble friend is passionate about social mobility through education and therefore the role that the independent sector can play in that. It is good to see in this report that more than 80% of the Independent Schools Council member schools are involved in partnerships with state schools, seeking to improve standards and outcomes for all pupils.

[Lord Howarth of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, had the state in Britain taken responsibility for provision of schools and high-quality technical education, instead of leaving education to the churches, Dr Arnold of Rugby and the comfortably off, with their predilection for exclusive and expensive boarding schools for their male offspring, might we then have not thrown away our lead in the Industrial Revolution? Does not that early failure to make public provision of good schools for all, and of technical education in particular, continue to haunt our economic performance? I declare an interest as having been educated at Rugby School.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is a great credit to Rugby, no doubt. He will know from his history that these schools were often set up—if you look at Shakespeare—for poor boys, not girls, in the past, and they evolved over time, as he indicated. The church indeed became involved. In terms of our lead in the Industrial Revolution, it would have been astonishing had other countries not joined us in that, but clearly those countries that joined us had a stress on science that was critical to what then happened. We need to make sure that all our schools, and our state schools in particular, emphasise a science education.

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister mentioned the large number of independent schools that have links with schools in the maintained sector, but could she say how those links are assessed for the purposes of gaining charitable status? Could she say, too, how many independent schools take part in teacher training—because, of course, they all benefit from state-trained teachers?

[Baroness Northover]

The report indicates that 80% of ISC schools are engaged in some sort of partnership with state schools. I suggest that the noble Baroness looks at that point: indeed, she probably already has. The Charity Commission looks at the contribution those schools are making to the local community, and this issue is part of that. The report mentions a number of instances of independent schools assisting in teacher training and teacher support, but it is not quantified.

[Lord Kinnock (Lab)]

In order to promote this synthesis between the maintained and private sectors of British schooling, will the Government consider withdrawing charitable status from private schools and using the estimated £100 million that would be saved annually to reduce class sizes in the maintained sector, for instance?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

As the noble Lord knows, this issue has been long discussed. The previous Government chose not to do what he suggests and we have no plans to do it. However, I remind noble Lords that the private sector constitutes a very small proportion of our education system. It is extremely important to make sure that the quality of our state education system is second to none because, as the noble Lord will know, we face global competition of an acute order. We focus on that, as did the previous Government, and that is where our emphasis should be.

[Baroness Warnock (CB)]

My Lords, I have not yet read the report in detail, but will do so, and therefore cannot say whether it gives the lie to the theory of the Berlin Wall. However, is not the perception of a Berlin Wall particularly damaging and plausible when people are becoming so disengaged from politics and are bitterly aware of the number of privately educated people at the top of it?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is right about the disproportionate number of such people at the top of absolutely every profession, including politics, if you call it a profession. Therefore, it is exceedingly important that we focus on making sure that the state sector does a better job in ensuring that students are able to flourish and fulfil their potential. That is key.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

My Lords, although I believe that the success of independent schools has helped our economy, what progress has been made by Teach First, whose students have often attended independent schools, and what contribution is it making to our education system? Will the noble Baroness comment on today’s news that the Government may be considering “Teach Last” as well, which would help to improve the school curriculum as regards subjects such as maths?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend’s last point is very interesting and I will feed that into the department. It is encouraging to see the number of recent graduates who are coming into teaching; it has grown enormously. The proportion with, for example, firsts and 2:1 degrees reached 74% in 2013-14, compared with 66% in 2011-12, which is very encouraging.

[Lord Morris of Handsworth (Lab)]

My Lords, in order to measure the gap in respect of the contribution that the independent sector is making to the national economy and elsewhere, can a similar study be done on the contribution of state schools so that any deficiencies can be remedied?

[Baroness Northover]

There are numerous and ongoing reviews as to what our education system does. They happened under the previous Government and have happened under ours. That is why we are taking forward and ring-fencing education. We will have increased schools funding by £3.6 billion, which includes the pupil premium. We are acutely aware of the importance of strengthening that. We are also aware of the foreign students who come into the independent sector, and the earnings that the UK economy gets from them.

African Legal Support Facility (Legal Capacities) Order 2014

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Northover]

That the draft order laid before the House on 6 May be approved.

Relevant document: 27th Report, Session 2013-14, from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, considered in Grand Committee on Tuesday 17 June

Motion agreed.

Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 18th June 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Northover]

That the draft regulations laid before the House on 9 April be approved.

Relevant document: 26th Report, Session 2013-14, from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. Considered in Grand Committee on Monday 16 June.

Motion agreed.

African Legal Support Facility (Legal Capacities) Order 2014

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2014 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Northover]

That the Grand Committee do consider the African Legal Support Facility (Legal Capacities) Order 2014.

Relevant documents: 27th Report, Session 2013-14, from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, this draft order covers the ratification of the international treaty agreement establishing the African Legal Support Facility. The order was laid before the House on 6 May.

Since its inauguration in 2009, the ALSF has grown its membership to 57 members, consisting of 46 African countries, five non-African countries and six international organisations. Its primary objective is to support African countries to make the most from their natural resources. It helps countries to combat vulture funds and strengthens legal expertise within Africa.

First, on extractives, Africa as a continent has been unable to capitalise fully on the development and growth opportunities offered by its significant natural resources. In many cases the exploitation of oil, gas and mining resources has helped to enrich the powerful and well connected, but failed to bring about widely shared poverty reduction. Many countries do not have the laws and rules required to create modern extractive industries that share the benefits from resource extraction through fair taxation and job opportunities for local people. Even where sound legislation exists, the capacity to implement it is often woefully inadequate. To make matters worse, poor people and communities often bear the brunt of the negative impacts of resource extraction such as environmental degradation, displacement and, in some cases, conflict.

Bad contracts are often the reason why extractive industries do not work for the poor. Governments in developing countries do not have the legal capacity to match the expertise that investors are able to mobilise through international law firms. This expertise is very expensive and therefore beyond the reach of Governments who do not even have the funds to pay their civil servants or deliver the most basic social services to their people. As a result, they lose out through bad deals.

Over 60% of ALSF’s active and completed projects are therefore assisting countries to negotiate complex commercial contracts, especially in the natural resource and extractive industries, that strike a better balance between host Governments and investors. It is important to emphasise that responsible investors are strongly supportive of the assistance that the ALSF provides because more balanced contracts are less likely to be renegotiated by future Governments.

A secondary objective of the ALSF is to support African countries facing legal proceedings by vulture funds. African Ministers have called on the international community to assist countries facing this challenge, particularly those that have benefited from relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Vulture funds have been and remain a major problem for developing countries. They buy up commercial debt at a discount and then sue for the full amount plus interest. When vulture funds pursue settlement of these debts, they often use aggressive tactics such as seeking court orders to seize physical or financial assets belonging to the sovereign debtor. Vulture funds siphon resources that UK taxpayers and other international donors have pledged through debt relief and aid to African Governments for poverty reduction, and often base themselves in countries that require limited transparency, so it is difficult to restrict their practices. Although they are an important objective for the ALSF, there has been less demand for this service than on extractives. Combating vulture funds represents 22% of the ALSF’s completed and active projects.

Thirdly, the ALSF also provides technical assistance to regional members, to help strengthen their own legal expertise on extractives and vulture funds. Providing training for African lawyers means that they can take the lead for future debt and contractual negotiations.

Ratifying membership of the ALSF helps meet the UK’s commitment made as part of last year’s G8 presidency to support African leaders on making the most of their natural resources for inclusive growth. Membership of the ALSF is also part of DfID’s growing efforts to harness oil, gas and mineral wealth for economic development and poverty reduction. The Secretary of State for International Development has asked the department to scale up work on extractives with a focus on: raising global standards of extractives’ transparency and accountability, for instance through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which the UK helped to launch in 2005; increasing capacity of resource-rich countries to manage their resources better, especially through the department’s bilateral programmes in Africa and Asia; and building partnerships with the private sector to promote transparency, build skills and maximise the impact of their investments on poverty.

I therefore commend the order to the Committee.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I very much welcome the comments of the Minister in introducing this instrument. However, it is a bit unfortunate that it has taken nearly five years from 2009, when the UK signed the agreement for the establishment of the ALSF, to our taking this step today towards fulfilling our obligations under Article 3 of the agreement to grant the facility full juridical personality in the UK. Can the Minister explain that significant delay? I would also appreciate it if she could update the Committee on the status of the other signatories to the agreement fulfilling their obligations under Article 3, particularly the four other non-regional signatories—France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil. I also wonder whether she could highlight whether the delay in obtaining the juridical personality has hampered the operation of the facility since its establishment.

As the Minister highlighted, one of the key tasks of the facility has been and remains to empower African nations in tackling vulture funds. Has she assessed how effective it has been in that role? She mentioned 22% of work in that respect. Given that the UK has introduced legislation domestically to rein in such funds, what steps have been taken to ensure that our experience and expertise gained is shared through the facility and other means? Has the department considered providing financial or material support to the facility to fulfil that role?

My final point is very much to welcome the decision to award £7 million to the facility over the next three years to provide legal support for the negotiations that the Minister highlighted about extractives contracts. Given the number of such contracts being negotiated in Africa over the coming years, does she believe that the planned split of the funding, with just 15% going towards the building up of domestic legal capacity, is adequate to build self-sufficiency in the sector?

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Collins, for his interest in this facility and also for providing me with his questions prior to this debate, which was extremely helpful.

This organisation clearly has significant potential impact. We are well aware that the rich mineral resources across Africa offer the potential for accelerated progress in poverty reduction. On the other hand, as the noble Lord indicated, there is a risk associated with that as well, and we have to make sure that the advantages of that richness in mineral resources benefit the people in these countries right across their societies. That is why we are taking forward our support for this organisation, which was initially begun under the previous Government and I pay tribute to them for that.

The noble Lord asked why it has taken five years to get this far, given that the United Kingdom signed the agreement in 2009. I reassure him that the slow ratification process has no direct impact on the operations of the African Legal Support Facility and the United Kingdom’s engagement with it. Ratification of an international treaty can take a very long time, as many official entities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere need to be involved, and a number of processes took longer than expected. In order to ensure inclusion and transparency, this necessarily included, for example, lengthy consultation with the overseas territories and Crown dependencies through the Ministry of Justice regarding their inclusion in the ratification of the agreement. Nine overseas territories and three Crown dependencies will, I am pleased to say, be included.

The noble Lord asked for an update on the status of other signatories in fulfilling their obligations under Article 3. I am very happy to provide those details for the noble Lord in writing.

He also asked about reviewing the effectiveness of operations and how that is looking at the moment. The ALSF governing council regularly reviews the effectiveness of its operations. While there were concerns about its value in initial years, new leadership has transformed its effectiveness. UK government officials maintain good links with the ALSF to exchange lessons, and DfID support forms part of a package of assistance from a wide range of donors. The ALSF agrees priorities for the use of these funds on an annual basis.

The United Kingdom is represented on the ALSF’s governing council, which obviously helps us to be well aware of exactly how it is moving forward and how we can best make sure that it benefits the communities that we are talking about here. Other organisations are also involved, including the World Bank, the Natural Resource Governance Institute and international senior lawyers. They have all helped in providing capacity building, and no doubt that is also helping the organisation to move forward.

Having paid tribute to the previous Government for initiating this process, I hope that the noble Lord and other noble Lords are reassured on those points.

Motion agreed.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hodgson of Abinger]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have nominated any women for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Committee to replace those members whose terms of office are due to expire in December.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, we remain strongly committed to the protection and promotion of women’s rights. We engage closely with the CEDAW committee. The UK has never nominated a candidate to this committee; however we welcome the positive contribution that other members make. We continue to ensure that we put women at the heart of our domestic and international policies, as shown last week when we hosted the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

[Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Con)]

I congratulate the Government on all they are doing to lead on women’s empowerment and gender equality around the world. However, as my noble friend the Minister has said, the UK has never put a name forward to the CEDAW committee. This is such an important and renowned body around the world. Please could my noble friend give me an assurance that in the next round of nominations in 2016, the UK Government will put a name forward?

[Baroness Northover]

We have no plans to put forward a candidate for the next round of elections in 2016. We look at all UN bodies very carefully and we do not rule out nominating a UK expert in the future, but as the previous Government also concluded, ensuring that such a UK expert is elected is resource intensive. As the noble Baroness knows, we liaise very closely with CEDAW, we put huge efforts into the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women and we put major funding and other support into UN Women, currently standing at £12.5 million a year.

[Baroness Thornton (Lab)]

My Lords, in the past the Women’s National Commission, which represented millions of women across the UK—and which was abolished by this Government in their first year in office—ensured that UK women’s voices were heard as part of the CEDAW process. Those were independent voices, not always comfortable for the UK Government because they were independent, which spoke about how the UK was progressing in its elimination of discrimination against women. Who represents UK women’s voices in this process, how are they being represented and how are we ensuring that women’s voices are being heard in this process—not just the Government’s voice on their progress on the elimination of discrimination?

[Baroness Northover]

There has been a huge amount of engagement. My honourable friends Jo Swinson and Jenny Willott, who is currently covering for Jo, have engaged with a number of NGOs. We have provided funding to the Women’s Resource Centre to enable it to launch its shadow report to the committee—that is, of course, an independent voice; we have provided the Equality and Human Rights Commission funding and other funding to enable people to feed into CEDAW and to report back on what CEDAW has said about the United Kingdom Government.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, the Government are to be congratulated on last week’s successful global summit and on working and leading on the elimination of sexual violence against women in war. Listening to my noble friend’s reply, I am disappointed that the Government will not nominate somebody for 2016. However, can the Minister say how the important work of CEDAW will be best promoted within the United Kingdom Parliament?

[Baroness Northover]

Some of the answers I have just given are relevant here. I point out that we agree with the strategy of the previous Government. The noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, spoke in answer to my noble friend Lord Lester in 2010, pointing out the resources required to get such an expert in place and the need to prioritise. Meg Munn MP said that sometimes you need to make,

“difficult decisions about which bodies to seek election for”.—[Official Report, Commons, 29/4/08; col. 375W.]

We agree. The important thing here is the promotion of women’s rights, which we are doing at a number of different levels in the way the noble Baroness experienced last week at the summit.

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

My Lords, last week’s summit was very successful and very welcome. However, the Foreign Secretary was challenged about what some argue is the hypocrisy in the treatment of women asylum seekers who have suffered sexual violence in this country. The Foreign Secretary said that he would look into it. Can the Minister say what steps are now being taken?

[Baroness Northover]

There were some very curious comments regarding last week’s summit. The noble Baroness is quite right to make sure that what we do in the United Kingdom as well as what we do internationally is consistent and to the highest standards. From answers I have been briefed on for other issues, I know that the Home Office takes extremely seriously treating sensitively and appropriately those who come to seek asylum who have suffered sexual violence overseas. I am happy to write to her with further details. However, what I found astonishing were some of the comments in the press on last week’s summit, which I thought was groundbreaking.

[Lord Howarth of Newport (Lab)]

Does the noble Baroness regret that the coalition’s austerity measures have been disproportionately damaging to the employment and incomes of women?

[Baroness Northover]

There are, in fact, record numbers of women in employment; the figure has now reached 67.9%, the highest point it has ever reached in the United Kingdom. I therefore dispute what the noble Lord says, and point out, for example, that raising the tax threshold disproportionately affected women, because they tended to be in poorer-paying occupations. We are doing our best to ensure that there is equality in the economy, so that women are employed at all levels in the same way as men.

Sudan: Meriam Ibrahim

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and other senior Ministers have condemned the sentence against Meriam Ibrahim in the strongest terms. We have raised our concerns with Sudanese Ministers and formally summoned the Sudanese chargé d’affaires in London. We urge Sudan to uphold its international obligations on freedom of religion by reversing this decision.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. In a week in which we are focused on violence against women, is not the cruel treatment of Meriam Ibrahim—sentenced to 100 lashes to be followed by execution, and shackled while giving birth—emblematic of a regime which, from Darfur to South Kordofan, systematically murders and mistreats its own people? While I greatly welcome the Prime Minister’s condemnation of those medieval and tainted laws, is it not time that we exposed the hypocrisy of countries such as Sudan that sign up to the 1948 declaration of human rights, especially to Article 18, yet honour it only in its breach and treat their citizens in this barbaric way? Should we not be offering Meriam Ibrahim and her two little ones immediate refugee status, unequivocally demonstrating the value of a civilised country and a humane society?

[Noble Lords]

Hear, hear.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is absolutely right to highlight this case, and I thank him for highlighting the global summit taking place this week. This case shows how important that summit is.

As I mentioned, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister condemned the sentencing. He stated that he was absolutely appalled by the decision and called her treatment barbaric. The Foreign Office has called on the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief, a right which, as the noble Lord said, is enshrined in international human rights law, as well as in Sudan’s 2005 interim constitution. My honourable friend Lynne Featherstone also raised this case on 20 May with the Sudanese Foreign Minister. It is a case, above all, about freedom of religion and belief, and the noble Lord is quite right to highlight it.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

Would it not be appropriate if Muslim leaders in this country—perhaps throughout Europe—who benefit from our freedom of religion, were to make an appeal to the Sudanese authorities, perhaps with international organisations such as the OIC? Have the Government encouraged British Muslim leaders to make such an appeal?

[Baroness Northover]

One of the features about this case—there are others—is the international outcry. A striking thing is the way that it has affected the Government of Sudan, who were taken aback by it. That shows that this kind of campaign—as the noble Lord will know, a lot is going on through social media—can be effective, and that all voices need to contribute.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for giving way. The UK taxpayer gives millions of pounds each year to fund work in Sudan, including specifically funding the education and training of 20,000 young people. What assurances can my noble friend give to the UK taxpayer that such education and training by NGOs enhances freedom of religion and belief, pluralism and the right to change one’s religion in Sudan?

[Baroness Northover]

Education is extremely important, and my noble friend is right to highlight our commitment to it. The United Kingdom Government raise human rights with the Government of Sudan. We are very much involved with human rights lawyers and organisations. We are training the human rights commission and trying to ensure that the majority of people in Sudan can follow their chosen religion and have freedom of religion and belief, and that those who are in minorities are not discriminated against.

[Baroness Cox (CB)]

Is the Minister aware that Meriam’s firstborn son, Martin, only about 18 months old, has been kept in prison with his mother because the authorities regard him as a Muslim and will not allow him to be raised by his Christian father, and that, if her death sentence is upheld, custody of her children will be granted to the Government because her husband is a Christian? Therefore, will Her Majesty’s Government raise with the Government of Sudan the issue of what is being done to assess the well-being of Martin, the little boy, while he is in prison, whether it is true that the children’s father will not be allowed custody of the children and whether that is in accordance with Sudanese law or an imposition of Sharia law?

[Baroness Northover]

We are keeping a close eye on the welfare of not only the mother but the children—I asked about this as I was being briefed—and we are in close contact with the defence lawyers. One of the striking things in this case is the application of an older law, which is not in keeping with the 2005 interim constitution or what Sudan has agreed under international human rights obligations. We are urging the Government of Sudan to undertake a comprehensive review of their penal code in the light of this, so that they now keep not only to what they have agreed within Sudan but to their international obligations. What is important is that the majority should be protected. We have an individual case here which highlights things; we must not forget the other cases, too.

[The Lord Bishop of Norwich]

My Lords, can the Minister inform the House what conversations Her Majesty’s Government have had with Mr Barroso and Mr Van Rompuy, who are meeting international faith leaders in Brussels tomorrow to press for united action in this case?

[Baroness Northover]

I will have to write to the right reverend Prelate in this regard to fill him in on that. However, I can tell him that we are keeping this case under close review and working with a number of different people.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that a number of courageous and remarkable Sudanese women will be in London this week to attend the summit on ending sexual violence? These women have dared to speak out against widespread sexual violence, the near total impunity for its perpetrators and cruel and degrading treatment such as the public flogging of women. Can the Minister therefore assure the House that, as well as continuing to press for the release of Meriam Ibrahim, the UK will work to ensure that a review takes place of the Sudanese criminal code, which permits torture and the denial of fundamental rights?

[Baroness Northover]

As I mentioned just now, we are seeking to have the Government of Sudan review their penal code in the light of the obligations that they have made. The noble Baroness highlights the global summit this week and we are very pleased that women from civil society in Sudan are there. There is also a faith meeting there and, in answer to an earlier question, it is highly likely that this case will come up during that.