World Hunger and the effects of Covid. Government quizzed about how many people they estimate are beneficiaries of UK contributions to World Food Programme projects; what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in global economies on those programmes; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood that current contribution levels will be maintained; and Minister Ahmad gives a welcome promise “of our commitment to preventing famine and eradicating hunger and we will work closely with WFP to ensure that the organisation receives the financial support needed to tackle the current and future challenge.”

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL7843): Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people they estimate are...

Government Minister responds to comments by the UN Human Rights Commissioner about the operation of care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic with their assessment of reports of care home staff (1) abandoning care homes, (2) leaving residents to die alone, (3) failing to make adequate preparations, and (4) failing to provide guidance and personal protection equipment; what assessment they have made, in assessing such reports, of the human rights of patients and staff in care homes; and the assessment they have made of a report by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services – respond positively, in principle, to a call for a UN convention on the rights of the elderly

Government Minister responds to comments by the UN Human Rights Commissioner about the operation of care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic with their assessment of reports of care home staff (1) abandoning care homes, (2) leaving residents to die alone, (3) failing...

Parliamentary Replies from Foreign Office, Home Office and DCMS Ministers about 1. the letter President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews about Uighur Genocide; 2.the need for international support for a full and impartial investigation into the detention of Uighur Muslims; 3.the new report on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims and the rise of international extremism; 4. China’s failure to uphold  Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 5. discussions about the detention of Uighur Muslims in camps in Xinjiang with the Ambassador of China to the UK; 6. reports that the influence of Daesh has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic; 7.how many Daesh fighters are known to have returned to the UK; how many such fighters and individuals assisting Daesh in different capacities have been prosecuted in the UK courts, and 8. what progress they have made in establishing how BT verify Huawei’s denials of (1) the use of slave labour, and (2) the use of Huawei technology in oppressing Uighur people.

Parliamentary Replies from Foreign Office, Home Office and DCMS Ministers about 1. the letter President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews about Uighur Genocide; 2.the need for international support for a full and impartial investigation into the detention of Uighur Muslims; 3.the new report on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims and the rise of international extremism; 4. China’s failure to uphold  Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 5. discussions about the detention of Uighur Muslims in camps in Xinjiang with the Ambassador of China to the UK; 6. reports that the influence of Daesh has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic; 7.how many Daesh fighters are known to have returned to the UK; how many such fighters and individuals assisting Daesh in different capacities have been prosecuted in the UK courts, and 8. what progress they have made in establishing how BT verify Huawei’s denials of (1) the use of slave labour, and (2) the use of Huawei technology in oppressing Uighur people.

Parliamentary Replies from Foreign Office, Home Office and DCMS Ministers about 1. the letter President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews about Uighur Genocide; 2.the need for international support for a full and impartial investigation into the detention of...

Care homes ‘thrown to the wolves’, MPs say. Some of the Questions put to the Government as this tragedy unfolded. And in a further indication of diminished accountability to Parliament, Ministers have produced an unprecedented standard reply to avoid having to give detailed responses to parliamentary questions – including questions which have remained unanswered for weeks on end.

Care homes ‘thrown to the wolves’, MPs say. Some of the Questions put to the Government as this tragedy unfolded. And in a further indication of diminished accountability to Parliament, Ministers have produced an unprecedented standard reply to avoid having to give detailed responses to parliamentary questions – including questions which have remained unanswered for weeks on end.

Care homes ‘thrown to the wolves’, MPs say The Local Government Association LGA) has reported that Ministers have been accused of a “slow, inconsistent, and at times negligent” approach to social care during the coronavirus pandemic, which has exposed years of delayed...

Government replies on the impact of Covid-19 on religious minorities and says that it is “deeply concerned by the secondary effects that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on members of religious and belief communities. This includes incidents of hate speech targeting minority religious and belief groups, as well as the rise in conspiracy theories that certain faiths or beliefs are to blame for coronavirus.”

Government replies on the impact of Covid-19 on religious minorities and says that it is “deeply concerned by the secondary effects that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on members of religious and belief communities. This includes incidents of hate speech targeting minority religious and belief groups, as well as the rise in conspiracy theories that certain faiths or beliefs are to blame for coronavirus.”

Government replies on the impact of Covid-19 on religious minorities and says that it is "deeply concerned by the secondary effects that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on members of religious and belief...

Last year, Councils used court action 2.3 million times and bailiffs 1.4 million times to collect council tax debt. The bailiff fees added £200 million to people’s debts. Over 1.3 million households are estimated to have built up council tax debts because of coronavirus. When the Covid restrictions on debt collection end on 23 August, the day on which bailiffs can arrive—or debt D-day, as the coalition charities have called it— there need to be pre-action protocols in place to prevent people finding themselves on the streets.

Last year, Councils used court action 2.3 million times and bailiffs 1.4 million times to collect council tax debt. The bailiff fees added £200 million to people’s debts. Over 1.3 million households are estimated to have built up council tax debts because of coronavirus. When the Covid restrictions on debt collection end on 23 August, the day on which bailiffs can arrive—or debt D-day, as the coalition charities have called it— there need to be pre-action protocols in place to prevent people finding themselves on the streets.

Last year, Councils used Court action 2.3 million times and bailiffs 1.4 million times to collect council tax debt. The bailiff fees added £200 million to people’s debts. Over 1.3 million households are estimated to have built up council tax debts because of...

Lord David Alton

For 18 years David Alton was a Member of the House of Commons and today he is an Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the UK House of Lords.

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Stop Perpetrators Getting Away With Genocide – Public Letter sent to the UK Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary on the Genocide Determination Bill 2023-24. The letter was published this morning, 17 April 2024, 06:00 am UK time. 

Stop Perpetrators Getting Away With Genocide - Public Letter sent to the UK Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary on the Genocide Determination Bill 2023-24. The letter was published this morning, 17 April 2024, 06:00 am UK time.  'First of its kind': Prominent lawyers...

Questions on the warning by Médecins Sans Frontières of a critical vaccine shortage in Darfur; prediction by UNICEF’s that 700,000 Sudanese children will suffer severe malnutrition; UNICEF’s report that the 2023–24 El Niño phenomenon has led to the closure of schools in South Sudan; and the effect of the prolonged heatwave and drought on eastern and southern Africa.

Lord Benyon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL3650): Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool :To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the warning by...