Question

To ask His Majesty's Government when they will submit their report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this year.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

We will not be submitting a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this year. Since we last went through the reporting cycle there has been a change in process, and we now follow the simplified reporting procedure.

Under the simplified reporting procedure, the Committee sends a list of issues to the state party, to which the state party sends a reply. This reply constitutes the periodic report. This change came into effect after the Committee issued their concluding observations on our eighth periodic report in 2019.

The Committee has not yet indicated when they will send the list of issues.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil society and youth representatives were included in the UK delegation at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting as requested by UN Women; and if so, (1) how they were selected, and (2) how they liaised with and reflected the views of the other UK civil society representatives at CSW.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The UK delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. Officials from FCDO and the Cabinet Office were also part of the delegation. The UK does not include civil society and youth representatives on the delegation, instead we hold regular briefing sessions with them to keep them updated. The relationship that the Government delegation has with civil society representatives at CSW is often held up as a model of good practice.

Some other visitors to CSW from the UK are allowed to attend and are thus provided with delegate passes for the purpose of access to the UN building. This year this included a number of parliamentarians, a civil society speaker at one of our side events and a UN Women Youth delegate. We do not, though, consider them members of the official HMG delegation.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what factors they will consider when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Ministers consider a range of factors when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including the time and resources to mount a campaign, the potential benefits and the impact on other international elections.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a more contested and volatile world, published on 13 March, what steps they will take to ensure that women and women's voices are included in their work to meet the new goal contained in that paper "to manage the risks of miscalculation and escalation between major powers".

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Integrated Review Refresh 2023 sets out the priority the UK places on providing women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed. We launched our fifth Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan (2023-2027) in February which outlines in more detail our work to reduce the global impact of conflicts on women and girls, by ensuring our foreign, defence and security policy, diplomatic efforts and international development work to address their needs. The WPS National Action Plan responds to the new global context, reflecting on Ukraine and Afghanistan. It champions women's full, equal and meaningful participation in peace processes; we know that mediation efforts, conflict prevention and resolution more broadly are more successful when they are inclusive.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce mandatory labelling for (1) domestic, and (2) imported, meat, indicating (a) the method of production, and (b) when stunning of animals has not occurred prior to slaughter.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

In 2021, Defra ran a call for evidence to gather data on the potential impacts of different types of labelling reform for animal welfare, including considerations around imports, production systems and method of slaughter. We received over 1,600 responses and a summary of these responses is available on GOV.UK.

Based on the evidence provided, Defra committed in the Government’s Food Strategy to consult on improving and expanding mandatory animal welfare labelling, covering both domestic and imported products, in 2023.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use the next stages of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway to ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare are applied in all abattoirs.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway maps out how farmers and the Government will work together to continually improve the health and welfare of our farmed animals, supported by the best science and evidence. It involves three mutually reinforcing pillars in making this change: financial incentives to help farmers deliver on-farm improvements; stimulating market demand through labelling and mandatory public disclosure to improve the accessibility, availability and affordability of higher welfare products; and, where needed, strengthening regulation to ensure the changes made endure. Following the post-implementation review of our welfare at killing legislation, and as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are looking at a wide range of welfare at slaughter improvements that could be made to strengthen the regulatory baseline in slaughterhouses. Welfare at slaughter is a devolved matter, and the Government remains committed to working closely with the devolved administrations on our shared aims for animal welfare.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be nominating a candidate to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the 2024 elections.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government recognises the important role played by CEDAW in holding state parties to account in implementing the convention.

As with all UN bodies, the Government considers a range of factors in deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee and will continue to consider future vacancies as they arise.

The UK continues to ensure that we put women at the heart of our domestic and international policies, as shown on International Women’s Day when the government published the UK’s new international women and girls strategy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the findings in the report The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care, published on 1 March, what plans they have to conduct a review of hospice funding in England.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

There are no current plans by NHS England to conduct a review of hospice funding. Integrated care boards have a legal duty to consider the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services that meet the needs of their population.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure health and social care staff receive culturally-informed training in bereavement, particularly how to identify those at risk of complex grief disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

The End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme has been developed by Health Education England (HEE) to ensure health and social care staff are equipped and well-supported to deliver bereavement care. One of the nine modules in this programme is on bereavement and covers palliative care, sudden death, and childhood bereavement. There are also specific sessions in this programme which provide training on identifying cultural barriers, supporting people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and identifying the risk factors that can impact on the grieving process and affect a carer’s bereavement outcome. NHS England is promoting the uptake of this training programme through its Strategic Clinical Networks.

There are many other e-learning programmes available at HEE’s e-learning platform that deliver more specialised training on bereavement, for example after suicide or baby loss, and on post-traumatic stress disorder.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to carry out a consultation on the effects of the Party Wall Act 1996.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department has not conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996 and does not intend to consult on its effects.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department has not conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996 and does not intend to consult on its effects.

Found: Coventry; Baroness Doocey; Lord Fairfax of Cameron; Lord Grocott; Lord Hamilton of Epsom; Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

Found: Coventry; Baroness Doocey; Lord Fairfax of Cameron; Lord Grocott; Lord Hamilton of Epsom; Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

Found: Beckett (The Chair); Lord Brennan; Richard Graham; Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill; Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

Found: Baroness Cox) • National identity cards (Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Blunkett) • ODA cuts (Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

Found: Richard Graham MP; Lord Harris of Haringey; Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill; Baroness Henig; Baroness Hodgson of Abinger