Asked by: Eilidh Whiteford (Scottish National Party - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, entitled Voices of the hungry, published in April 2016, whether tackling dietary inequality will be a focus of the forthcoming childhood obesity strategy.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Food insecurity is a global problem which the United Nations (UN) agreed to confront at the World Food Summit in 1996 and has framed subsequent sustainable development goals. Getting accurate and informative data was the motivation for the ‘Voices of the Hungry’ project. This project has established an annual universal metric to measure lack of access to food and the severity of this in over 150 countries, and help inform UN policy. The Department for International Development has provided financial support to enable the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to take this forward.
The United Kingdom is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the data the FAO commissions and manages. There are therefore no plans for the Department of Health to independently monitor food insecurity going forward, or determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.
The Government is committed to tackling childhood obesity and launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. A copy of the plan is attached and is also available at:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that comprehensive data is collected on the situation and needs of older people in developing countries.
Answered by Nick Hurd
DFID recognises the importance to collect disaggregated data that describes the distinct experiences of people across different stages in their lifecycle. We welcome the agreement of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) on a global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes clear levels of disaggregation by age for relevant indicators, ensuring that countries are able to plan and monitor the impact for elderly people in order to leave no one behind.
We are supporting various programmes to strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems to produce the data that is needed. DFID also recently hosted a multi-stakeholder seminar to raise awareness for the importance of age data disaggregation and to address the technical challenges with age data disaggregation across the lifecycle, and the next steps include developing a DFID data disaggregation action plan.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has made an assessment of the extent to which the single departmental plans for the current Parliament are consistent with the UK's sustainable development aims.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The UK Government is committed to delivering the sustainable development goals as agreed by the United Nations in 2015. We will be reviewing the consistency of our plans and policies with the Global Goals.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to engage with other countries to develop family planning and sexual and reproductive health indicators to accompany the goals and targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Answered by Baroness Verma
We welcome the agreement of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) on a global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes indicators on the extent to which needs for family planning; adolescent birth rate; sexual violence; early marriage; female genital mutilation/cutting; informed sexual and reproductive health decision making; and legal frameworks on access to sexual and reproductive health care and information have been met. As the UNSC has noted, the framework is a practical starting point, and further work will be needed on some of the indicators. The UNSC has asked the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDG) to take forward further work on the indicator framework. The IAEG-SDG is composed of member states and includes as observers regional and international organisations and agencies including the UN Regional Commissions. The Office for National Statistics expects to contribute to the development of SDG indicators via the relevant expert groups.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to engage with the UN Regional Commissions to develop family planning and sexual and reproductive health indicators to accompany the goals and targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Answered by Baroness Verma
We welcome the agreement of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) on a global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes indicators on the extent to which needs for family planning; adolescent birth rate; sexual violence; early marriage; female genital mutilation/cutting; informed sexual and reproductive health decision making; and legal frameworks on access to sexual and reproductive health care and information have been met. As the UNSC has noted, the framework is a practical starting point, and further work will be needed on some of the indicators. The UNSC has asked the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDG) to take forward further work on the indicator framework. The IAEG-SDG is composed of member states and includes as observers regional and international organisations and agencies including the UN Regional Commissions. The Office for National Statistics expects to contribute to the development of SDG indicators via the relevant expert groups.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to engage with the UN Regional Commissions to develop Sustainable Development Goal indicators, and how they intend to involve civil society in that process.
Answered by Baroness Verma
We welcome the agreement of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) on a global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes indicators on the extent to which needs for family planning; adolescent birth rate; sexual violence; early marriage; female genital mutilation/cutting; informed sexual and reproductive health decision making; and legal frameworks on access to sexual and reproductive health care and information have been met. As the UNSC has noted, the framework is a practical starting point, and further work will be needed on some of the indicators. The UNSC has asked the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDG) to take forward further work on the indicator framework. The IAEG-SDG is composed of member states and includes as observers regional and international organisations and agencies including the UN Regional Commissions. The Office for National Statistics expects to contribute to the development of SDG indicators via the relevant expert groups.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their goals and priorities for the 2016 Commission on the Status of Women at the UN.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government will use the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment remain at the top of the global political agenda. We will negotiate with other United Nations Member States to agree a set of ambitious, action-oriented and forward-looking recommendations for governments around the world to accelerate progress on gender equality and ensure accountability. At the first session after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, we will press for a meaningful follow-up process that places gender equality at the heart of the new agenda while ensuring that the Commission remains the prime global forum on gender equality and the laboratory of ideas that it is today.
Furthermore, we will enhance the UK’s reputation as a world leader in this area by promoting relevant national policies but also by exchanging ideas with other United Nations Member States. In line with the session’s themes this year, we will be focusing on women’s empowerment and on violence against women and girls in high level discussions, events and bilateral meetings.
In addition, the Government will host and support a number of events to raise the profile of certain issues which still prevent us from achieving equality such as inequality in the workplace, discrimination in all its forms and violence against women and girls.
Lastly, but very importantly, we are working with civil society to ensure their participation remains an integral part of the Commission on the Status of Women programme and their concerns are heard at the national and global levels.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to promote a global goal on adaptation to climate change.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Adaptation is a core component of the Paris Agreement, adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December last year. The Agreement includes a new long-term goal to strengthen adaptation and resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change. This goal is aligned with the new Global Goals for sustainable development, particularly Goal 13 on climate action. Alongside this, the Paris Agreement includes commitments for each country to take action to adapt according to national circumstances, to share their adaptation planning and to cooperate to help those developing countries who need help to adapt to climate change.
The UK has been and remains committed to leading calls to increase support for adaptation, and we aim to use 50 per cent of our International Climate Fund (ICF) to support adaptation in developing countries. The UK has already taken significant action to support vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change and cope with climate-related events. For example, we have increased our support for climate risk insurance initiatives, such as the Africa Risk Capacity Initiative and the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative. We are also funding actions that help build communities’ resilience, including through support for climate services and early warning systems which have an important role to play in helping poor and vulnerable communities be better prepared and more resilient to climate-related risks.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will use their membership of UN agencies to establish relevant targets for reducing carbon emissions in (1) civil aviation, (2) shipping, and (3) agriculture and forestry, by 2020 as agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
This Government is committed to tackling emissions from international aviation, international shipping and agriculture and forestry.
As inherently transnational in nature, international aviation and maritime emissions are regulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are outside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement. The UK is working through the ICAO and IMO to develop mechanisms which deliver emissions reductions, in line with the long term goal agreed in Paris of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees. In 2016, the ICAO is set to agree a global market based measure, to offset emissions post-2020. The UK government is engaged in this process.
The Government is also committed to tackling emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and supporting the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). The UK played a key role in the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, which set ambitious targets for halving (by 2020) and halting (by 2030) the loss of natural forests and eliminating deforestation from the production of key agricultural commodities by 2020. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals, agreed in September 2015, also include targets to halt deforestation, sustainably manage and restore natural forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally by 2020. At COP21 the UK endorsed a Leaders’ Statement on Forests which recognised the importance of these goals, as well as the progress on REDD+ under the UNFCCC.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of possible links between trafficking of women and girls and the spread of the Zika virus.
Answered by David Lidington
We are aware of meetings this week in Geneva of the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, to consider whether the Zika outbreak should be designated a public health emergency of international concern. We are not aware of a connection being made with human trafficking. Were such a connection substantiated, it would be an added reason for taking firm action to eradicate this crime. Modern slavery is a global crime and requires a strong and collaborative international response. The Government's Modern Slavery Strategy commits the Government to tackle modern slavery by working with multi-lateral institutions, foreign governments, civil society organisations and faith groups. The Government and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner have been successful in working with other Governments to include a commitment to end modern slavery in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The UK government successfully pushed for a Commonwealth Heads of Government commitment on this issue. The UK was also the first country in the world to bring in transparency in supply chains legislation, through the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, which requires businesses operating in the UK with a turnover of over £36 million to report annually on what they are doing to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains.