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These initiatives were driven by Baroness Sugg, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Sugg has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Sugg has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
In January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges in England. This scheme was extended in July 2022 for a further two years.
Since the scheme launched, 97% of secondary schools have accessed the scheme, as have 92% of post-16 organisations and 68% of primary schools.
From September 2020, as part of statutory health education, primary and secondary pupils should be taught about menstrual wellbeing, including key facts about the menstrual cycle and implications for health. The statutory guidance can be accessed via the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/805781/Relationships_Education__Relationships_and_Sex_Education__RSE__and_Health_Education.pdf.
The department is funding access to free period products in state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. Our guidance states that teachers should work with their pupils on determining which products to order and how these should be distributed. Guidance for period products can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-in-schools-and-colleges/period-product-scheme-for-schools-and-colleges-in-england#overview%20Period%20product%20scheme%20for%20schools%20and%20colleges%20in%20England%20-%20GOV.UK%20(www.gov.uk).
The FCDO's Annual Report and Accounts will be laid in Parliament before the Summer recess, and will include further detail on FCDO's planned Overseas Development Assistance spending.
Under the International Development (Reporting & Transparency) Act 2006 and the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, FCDO will provide printed copies of its Annual Report & Accounts (ARA) to the Vote Office which are available to all Parliamentarians. Copies are also available in the respective House Libraries. The Accounting Officer's signed copy of the ARA is supplied to the National Audit Office.
By the end of 2021, we met our goal of donating 30 million AstraZeneca doses by the end of the year, benefiting over 30 countries, as part of our G7 pledge to donate 100 million doses by June 2022. The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Secretariat has now provided guidance for reporting donations of excess COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021 in ODA. The UK is considering this guidance together with our other commitments and obligations, and is actively engaging with the OECD's DAC Secretariat on valuing Covid-19 vaccines in Official Development Assistance in 2021.
The DAC Secretariat has now provided guidance for reporting donations of excess COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021 in ODA. The UK is considering this guidance together with our other commitments and obligations, and is actively engaging with the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Secretariat on valuing Covid-19 vaccines in Official Development Assistance in 2021.
We are restoring funding for women and girls to pre-ODA cut levels over the Spending Review period, focusing on giving more girls a quality education; ending the extremely harmful practice of female genital mutilation, supporting girls' health; and ending the abhorrent use of sexual violence around the world.
Following the Spending Review, decisions on allocations and individual programmes will be published in the usual way.
On 16 November the Foreign Secretary announced how women and girls will be at the centre of our foreign policy priorities, with more than £20 million of new funding to help stop violence against women and girls around the world. We are restoring funding for women and girls to pre-ODA cut levels, focusing on giving more girls a quality education; ending the extremely harmful practice of female genital mutilation, supporting girls' health; and ending the abhorrent use of sexual violence around the world.
The UK is firmly committed to defending comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally - this includes family planning and maternal health, both central to the empowerment of women and girls. Any funding for SRHR will contribute to UK objectives to improve the lives of women and girls across the world. Following the Spending Review, decisions on allocations and individual programmes will be published in the usual way.
The Integrated Review published in March sets out the Government's vision of the UK's role in the world through to 2030. The review was the result of extensive consultation with non-governmental organisations and Parliament. It provides the framework for all UK Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy including in relation to open societies, conflict and multilateralism. The review renewed the UK's commitment to be a force for good in the world and puts promoting open societies at the centre of the Government's priorities, defining the framework for UK action both internationally and domestically.
The review also outlined our approach to conflict, including focusing on preventing, managing and resolving conflict in priority regions and working in partnership with allies and multilateral organisations. The review underscored the UK's determination to seek multilateral solutions to global challenges. It set out a clear ambition for the UK to be a problem-solving and burden-sharing nation with a global perspective, working with others to protect our values and shape the international order of the future. We maintain an ongoing dialogue with Non-Governmental Organisations and Parliamentarians, including on the implementation of the Review.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary is leading work on the new International Development Strategy, which will be cross-government in scope. We look forward to engaging with partners and stakeholders, including civil society and Parliament, over the coming months. This will build on the extensive engagement and call for evidence that was undertaken to inform the Integrated Review.
The UK's mine action investments are a vital part of our global effort to promote conflict prevention and resolution. We invested £124 million to help clear deadly explosive devices worldwide in the last three years through the Global Mine Action Programme 2. This funding has cleared and confirmed safe 394 million square metres, the equivalent of over 55,000 football pitches, and delivered UK commitments under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and the Cluster Munitions Convention.
In financial year 2021/22 we will remain a leading donor in this sector.
The United Kingdom expects to take on the Presidency of the Convention on Cluster Munitions from 22 September. We are developing an action plan for how we can best use the Presidency to support our disarmament objectives and show our multilateral leadership. The plan will be finalised in the coming months.
The overarching Equalities Impact Assessment on the reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.7% to 0.5% of Gross National Income was completed and shared with Ministers in March 2021 as final ODA allocations decisions were taken.
The Prime Minister and President Kenyatta of Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit: Financing the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in London in July 2021. As co-hosts, it is our policy to use all the means at our disposal to host a successful Summit. A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering the two ambitious global objectives endorsed by G7 Foreign and Development Ministers in London on 5 May of getting 40 million more girls in school, and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years.
As the Foreign Secretary has previously confirmed, we plan to increase our next contribution to GPE, details of which will be announced in due course.
The UK has placed girls' education, and broader gender equality at the heart of our G7 Presidency. We have set out two ambitious global objectives to get 40 million more girls into school, and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years. We are using our G7 Presidency to rally others in getting behind these objectives, and stand up for every girl's right to 12 years of quality education.
A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering these global objectives, especially in securing education financing from developing countries' domestic budgets. We are looking forward to hosting the Global Education Summit to refinance GPE with the Government of Kenya in July. Outreach to foreign governments about pledges to GPE is in hand, and we are in regular dialogue with civil society organisations, including the Send My Friend to School coalition. Details of the UK's next contribution to GPE will be announced in due course.
The UK is proud to defend universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights which is fundamental to the empowerment of women and girls. Global health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, is a top priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
As announced last year, the impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce how much we spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). We will temporarily move to a target of spending 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA, rather than 0.7%.
The Government welcomes the publication of the Dasgupta Review on the economics of biodiversity as a strong example of UK thought leadership on an important environmental issue with clear - but often overlooked - economic consequences. The Government will closely examine the Review's findings, call on international partners to do the same, and will respond formally to the Review in due course.
Voluntary family planning has wide-ranging benefits for individuals and societies, including supporting their resilience to climate change. Supporting people in their reproductive choices may also have a positive impact on the conservation of nature over the long term, given the role this plays in empowering women and lowering fertility rates. In this context, it is important to note that it is high income countries that have the greatest impact on the biosphere. The UK is a proud defender of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and between 2015 and 2020 reached an average of 25.3 million women and girls with modern methods of family planning per year.
The cost of hosting refugees from Ukraine for the calendar year 2022 will be determined by the number of arrivals by year end. As of 14 July, total arrivals of Ukraine Scheme visa holders in the UK are 95,400, of which 29,700 have arrived under the Ukraine Family Scheme and 65,600 have arrived under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
Under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, the government is providing sponsors £350 per month per address for up to 12 months. Local Authorities will also receive an extra £10,500 for every arrival under this scheme. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published Local Authority funding allocations for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland[1]. An extra tariff has also been agreed for children’s education costs. Arrivals under both schemes have immediate entitlement to employment support, pensions, health provision, education and access to benefits.
Eligible costs will be reported as ODA and counted towards the 0.5% GNI ODA spending commitment. ODA eligible spend will be reported in the annual Statistics on International Development publication.[2]
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-funding-march-to-may-2022
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.
We do not routinely publish this information, we are unable to provide this information, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The number of pregnant women that claimed asylum within the timeframe specified is not held in a reportable format and would require a manual search through individual records at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office ensures that vulnerable small boats arrivals are identified quickly and supported accordingly in line with robust safeguarding processes.
The Home Office has previously established that a total of 77 pregnant women were accommodated at Manston between April and December 2022.
Information about the number of pregnant women that arrived in the UK by small boats in 2021, early 2022, and in 2023 to date is not held in a reportable or readily retrievable format and could also be made available only at a disproportionate cost.
The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system and it has made it necessary to continue to use hotels to accommodate some asylum seekers. The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.
There are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day. Occupancy levels vary and the number of people flowing through contingency hotel accommodation in any one month is not recorded.
The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system and it has made it necessary to continue to use hotels to accommodate some asylum seekers. The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.
There are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day. Occupancy levels vary and the number of people flowing through contingency hotel accommodation in any one month is not recorded.
The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system and it has made it necessary to continue to use hotels to accommodate some asylum seekers. The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.
There are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day. Occupancy levels vary and the number of people flowing through contingency hotel accommodation in any one month is not recorded.