Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the proportion of schools that celebrate Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history month; and what steps she is taking to help support the inclusion of this history on the National Curriculum.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not hold data on the proportion of schools that celebrate Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history month.

Schools are free to decide which events to commemorate and what activities to put in place to support pupils’ understanding of significant events and particular months or days dedicated to specific communities, such as the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller history month in June.

Schools are already able to teach about Gypsy, Roma and Travellers’ history as part of offering a broad and rich curriculum, for example, through subjects such as history and citizenship. Resources are available from experts in the communities themselves and bodies such as the Historical Association.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of and (b) implications for his policies of recent investor-state dispute settlements under the bilateral investment treaty with Colombia; and whether he plans to retain that treaty.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government regards the UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) as playing an important role in the investment relationship between our two countries. The stock of total investment between the UK and Colombia was £6.8 billion in 2023. The BIT contains legally binding investment protection commitments which ensure UK and Colombian investors are treated in line with the rule of law, and are protected against unfair, arbitrary or discriminatory treatment, and expropriation without adequate compensation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to release an Early Years strategy.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s long term intention is to reform the early years system as the foundation of opportunity and life chances for children. We will set out our vision for reforming the early years sector next year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to support Property Linked Finance to help homeowners to install (a) domestic renewables and (b) energy efficiency measures.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Green finance can play a key role in helping achieve our home decarbonisation ambitions. Through the Warm Homes Plan, the Department is exploring the role private financing can play in supporting homeowners to meet the upfront costs of installing domestic renewables and fabric energy efficiency improvements. As part of that work, Government is assessing the role novel finance models, including Property Linked Finance and Heat-as-a-Service, can play in addressing homeowner needs. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan, including future financing support for households, will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the new transitional justice legislation in Nepal.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

A legitimate and effective transitional justice process in Nepal remains necessary even 18 years after the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It will help ensure reconciliation and underpin lasting peace. The UK welcomes Nepal's recent step forward with its new transitional justice legislation. The UK continues to engage with the Government of Nepal, the UN and others on how best to provide constructive support for Nepal's transitional justice efforts that are victim-centric, fair and in-line with international standards. We also continue to work to address the injustices, inequalities and exclusion that sowed the seeds of the civil war.