Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects to conclude negotiations with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met the Mauritian Prime Minister on 23 July and committed to continuing negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. It is too early to speculate on timelines or conclusions, but it is the Government's priority to resolve this long standing and important issue, including ensuring the long-term secure and effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia and other key issues. As appropriate, we will continue to engage with all relevant parties including the Chagossian diaspora.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of banning the use of farrowing crates and (b) hold a public consultation on such a ban.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and will work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of hunting trophies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The government committed in its manifesto to banning the import of hunting trophies.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to respond to the consultation entitled the Fur market in Great Britain, published on 31 May 2021.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in the usual way, including the consultation on the Fur Market in Great Britain. Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.
We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and this Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into women’s State Pension age changes, published on 21 March 2024, if he will hold discussions with the Leader of the House on enabling Members to vote on the Government's financial redress proposals before 23 July 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, making it clear that Parliament has a role in responding to the report. The Government intends to engage fully and constructively with Parliament. The Secretary of State has also committed to provide a further update to the House once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office what steps his Department takes to ensure that a significant percentage of the funds awarded to Options Consultancy Ltd reaches grassroots led organisations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO has controls in place to ensure that funds awarded to Options Consultancy Ltd, and to all suppliers, are used for their intended purposes. The FCDO's 'rule book' which guides all FCDO programme spending, known as the Programme Operating Framework, contains clear rules and guidance on the lifecycle of a programme from design to delivery. The FCDO agrees upfront with suppliers such as Options Consultancy what each programme must deliver, including how local knowledge and expertise will be used to strengthen delivery. There are established mechanisms to monitor and verify that Options Consultancy Ltd are delivering on these agreements. The FCDO recognises that inclusion of grassroots led organisations in the supply chain improves overall value and increases the chance of lasting impact.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria his Department uses to determine whether to allocate funding to organisations to help tackle FGM in Kenya.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is investing £35 million in the second phase of the Africa-Led Movement (ALM) to end female genital mutilation (FGM) that is targeting support to grassroots African organisations leading change from within their communities, including in Kenya. The UK recognises the importance of working with specialist organisations, which is why the ALM Programme has established a grassroots grants mechanism through which smaller community-based organisations can receive funding and capacity development to lead sustainable change within communities. All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of programs working on eradicating FGM that his Department (a) has awarded and (b) plans to award funds to.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.
The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.
In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.
All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to which (a) charities and (b) other organisations his Department has allocated funding to help tackle FGM in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.
The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.
In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.
All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what funding from the public purse was provided to grassroots organisations working to eradicate FGM in their communities in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.
The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.
In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.
All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.