Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Soft Power Council on the role of science and research in supporting the UK's diplomatic efforts; and whether the contribution of the science and research sector will be included in the upcoming soft power strategy.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The membership of the Soft Power Council includes several individuals with expertise spanning science, technology, education and research, in recognition of the importance of these themes to the UK's diplomatic work. As the strategy is developed over the coming months, science and research are among a broader set of sectors that are central to our planning.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, which Ministers received that training.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Information about attendees of the training sessions is not being disclosed to protect individual confidentiality.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) resources and (b) legal powers available to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the context of the introduction of mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting requirements for large companies.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the government is committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. These measures will be part of the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
We will shortly be consulting on our proposals to help us shape the legislation. This will include considering how the new reporting requirements will be monitored and enforced.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to set national standards on stalking perpetrator programmes.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Stalking is an insidious crime that can leave victims living in fear just going about their daily lives. That is why on 3 December the Government announced six new measures to tackle it and put victims first, making sure they can be protected at the earliest opportunity.
This included a commitment to develop national standards for police-funded stalking perpetrator programmes, which seek to engage with perpetrators to address the root causes of their stalking behaviour.
In developing these, we will take into account relevant learning from the stalking perpetrator programmes funded through the Home Office's Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund alongside analysing the international evidence base and input from expert stakeholders.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including shared (a) walking and (b) cycling paths in the National River Walks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to making the nine new river walks accessible to a wide range of users where it is feasible to do so, so that where possible they can benefit walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on alleged reports of (a) gender-based and (b) conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. From 23-25 January, the Foreign Secretary visited Chad and travelled to the Sudan-Chad border. He spoke directly to Sudanese refugees, including survivors, who shared harrowing stories of sexual violence and torture. The UK has galvanised international efforts on this issue, including through the UN Human Rights Council, Security Council and International Alliance on PSVI. In September, the UK convened an event at the UN General Assembly with Dutch and Swiss partners to draw attention to the situation, spotlight the plight of women and girls and stress the importance of survivor-centred, local and women-led responses. The UK co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians which called on parties to take urgent steps to prevent CRSV and to improve protection and access to services. Despite unanimous support from the Council, the Resolution failed to pass due to a Russian veto. I visited South Sudan from 19-21 August 2024, where I heard first-hand the horrifying experiences of women who fled the war in Sudan.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, tabled on 13 January 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I apologise to the Honourable Member for the delay in responding to her Parliamentary Question of 13 January. An answer has now been issued, as of 3 February.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) away days and (b) leadership conferences for senior civil servants his Department organised between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and what the cost of these were.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has not organised any away days for Senior Civil Servants. During the same period, there were a total of seven leadership conferences for Senior Civil Servants.
27 October 2022 | £13,170 |
19 January 2023 | £27,750 |
25 April 2023 | £28,245 |
6 July 2023 | £32,141 |
12 October 2023 | £19,705 |
18 January 2024 | £20,725 |
25 April 2024 | £18,710 |
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office routinely provides or procures media or voice training for Ministers and Senior Officials who carry out frequent or high-profile media appearances in the course of their official duties. The Cabinet Office spent c.£75,800 on this type of training during the time period stated.