Every parliamentary written question tabled by Anneliese Dodds this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 361–380 of 417 · this parliament
What the average time taken is to decide an in-country application for leave to remain on the basis of private life where (a) minimum income and (b) English language are not required.
The requested data is not currently available from published data and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in Sudan.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan has reported that the use of rape and gang rape is widespread and according to the UN more than 12 million people are now at risk of sexual and gender-based violence across Sudan with women and girls most at risk. The Foreign Secretary has stated that the UK will continue to use all tools available to hold those responsible for atrocities to account. This includes public interventions, senior engagements, Council products and sanctions. We also aim to use the momentum provided by the London Sudan conference to sustain pressure on the warring parties to adhere to their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration. We will push hard for those suspected of using sexual violence as a weapon of war to face justice, including through our position on the Security Council and the Human Rights Council.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the education of Sudanese children.
In late 2024, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) assessed that nearly 90 per cent of Sudan's school age children (17 million against a population of 19 million) were no longer in school with armed violence a key driver. We are supporting a range of partners to deliver urgent education services to children in Sudan including UNICEF. In addition, through a contribution to Education Cannot Wait, we are providing safe learning spaces and psychological support to 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic and Uganda. We are also one of the largest donors to the Global Partnership for Education who are delivering vital support to children across Sudan. The UK is a major donor to the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which provides support to local and national responders, Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and a consortium of international non-governmental organisations. These frontline workers are working on education provision across Sudan.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of allegations of (a) femicide and (b) forced disappearances of women in Sudan.
Women and girls in Sudan are exposed to a range of human rights abuses including conflict related sexual violence and femicide as well as the risk of forced disappearance. The recent press release by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on this subject is especially harrowing. The UK has a comprehensive approach to atrocity monitoring and support through humanitarian partners such as Sudan Free of Genital Mutilation programme that allows us to fund support work on protection, prevention and care services for survivors of sexual violence. Those responsible must be held accountable and the most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan is the UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). It was established following a UK-led resolution and its mandate was extended in October 2024 with an increased majority as a direct result of UK-led advocacy. On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement calling for the warring parties to adhere to their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians. This followed the UN Security Council statement, released on 16 April, condemning the escalation of violence and calling for the parties to urgently implement UN Security Council Resolution 2736.
Whether he has held recent discussions with the African Diaspora Malaria Initiative partnership.
The UK Health Security Agency and the Malaria Reference Laboratory work closely together and are in regular communication with the African Diaspora Malaria Initiative. The initiative is a diaspora-led charitable initiative whose primary objective is the eradication of malaria in the United Kingdom’s African diaspora.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of the use of chemical weapons in the conflict in Sudan.
The Foreign Secretary made clear in his statement on 23 May that any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable. We remain deeply concerned by the US determination that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have used chemical weapons in Sudan. It is imperative that the SAF engages constructively with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in order to facilitate a thorough and impartial investigation. We expect the SAF to abide by its obligations under the Chemical Weapon Convention not to develop, produce, possess, or use chemical weapons.
What steps her Department is taking to improve reporting mechanisms for women cyclists who experience (a) abuse and (b) intimidation.
Everyone should have the right to travel in safety, and abuse or intimidation of any kind is entirely unacceptable. In respect of women, including those who cycle, the Department for Transport is working with the Home Office on their plans for a cross-government strategy to reduce violence against women and girls. This is due to be published later this year.
What (a) support and (b) funding is available from her Department for cycle training schemes that (i) are specifically tailored for girls and (ii) have a minimum threshold for the number of girls participating.
Active Travel England provides funding to The Bikeability Trust to deliver Bikeability cycle training to children in England (outside London). In addition, active travel revenue funding can be used by local authorities to deliver cycle training and engagement programmes outside of Bikeability. It is for local authorities to decide on targeted engagement programmes for underrepresented groups, such as women and girls.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure safe and accessible cycling routes to (a) schools, (b) workplaces and (c) local services for (i) women and girls and (ii) people who trip-chain during peak travel times.
The Department and Active Travel England (ATE) work with local authorities and other delivery partners to support active travel outreach programmes for underrepresented groups, including women and girls.Design guidance for new infrastructure, such as that funded through the Active Travel Fund, requires that new schemes are accessible to all users, including women. ATE is working with local authorities to provide high-quality cycling infrastructure including as part of multi-modal schemes. This includes providing lighting for walking and cycling schemes, improving social safety and delivering road safety improvements to existing schemes.The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of cycling on women’s safety. Annual reported road casualty statistics published by the Department provide a breakdown of reported casualties by sex.
What steps her Department is taking to work with (a) schools, (b) employers and (c) community groups to encourage cycling by women and girls.
The Department and Active Travel England (ATE) work with local authorities and other delivery partners to support active travel outreach programmes for underrepresented groups, including women and girls.Design guidance for new infrastructure, such as that funded through the Active Travel Fund, requires that new schemes are accessible to all users, including women. ATE is working with local authorities to provide high-quality cycling infrastructure including as part of multi-modal schemes. This includes providing lighting for walking and cycling schemes, improving social safety and delivering road safety improvements to existing schemes.The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of cycling on women’s safety. Annual reported road casualty statistics published by the Department provide a breakdown of reported casualties by sex.
What discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on reports of (a) abuse and (b) harassment of women cyclists.
The Government aims to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, and agrees that any abuse or harassment of women cyclists is entirely inappropriate. Enforcement of any offences of this sort is a matter for the police. The Department for Transport is working very closely with the Home Office on their plans for a cross-government VAWG strategy, which is due to be published later this year.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of cycling on women's safety.
The Department and Active Travel England (ATE) work with local authorities and other delivery partners to support active travel outreach programmes for underrepresented groups, including women and girls.Design guidance for new infrastructure, such as that funded through the Active Travel Fund, requires that new schemes are accessible to all users, including women. ATE is working with local authorities to provide high-quality cycling infrastructure including as part of multi-modal schemes. This includes providing lighting for walking and cycling schemes, improving social safety and delivering road safety improvements to existing schemes.The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of cycling on women’s safety. Annual reported road casualty statistics published by the Department provide a breakdown of reported casualties by sex.
Whether she has made an assessment of trends in the levels of transnational repression towards Sudanese diaspora peace activists in the UK.
The first duty of this Government is to keep the country safe. We are committed to addressing foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression (TNR). We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. As I set out in my statement to the House on 14 May, and reiterated during my evidence session at the Joint Committee on Human Rights on 21 May, any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, irrespective of the perpetrating country.The legislation and tools designed to detect and disrupt transnational repression are actor agnostic. Where we become aware of individual victims of TNR, we work to deploy a range of tailored support and security assistance mechanisms for their protection. This assistance is based on threat and varied in its scope and approach.In line with recommendations from the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s TNR Review, new guidance is available on GOV.UK to provide those who believe themselves to be at-risk of TNR with practical advice for their safety both physically and online. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.
Communities and Local Government, what steps (a) her Department and (b) the Building Safety Regulator is taking to reduce decision times by the regulator for approving multi-storey residential blocks.
MHCLG and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) both recognise the impact of Gateway delays on the construction pipeline of high-rise projects and are taking action to address the current challenges. The Department is working closely with the BSR to improve processing times and has already taken several actions. As a new function, the BSR has needed to refine and improve its processes. We have provided funding to the BSR to recruit an extra 30 frontline staff to bolster its capacity. On 14 May, the BSR also launched a campaign to directly recruit Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs) with significant further recruitment planned in June 2025. The impact of these mitigations will scale up in the coming months as the BSR continues to clear applications. MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing better ways to access specialist advice on multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) which assess applications to enable faster assessment times. Whilst the BSR and MHCLG are exploring all possible opportunities to strengthen the new Gateway process and guidance to industry, it is important to recognise that a significant volume of applications continue to be invalidated or rejected for not meeting the legislative requirements. These are buildings that, had they been constructed, might have placed residents at risk and/or living in housing that did not meet long-standing requirements. It is also important to note that additional information requests for missing details in applications can add between at least 4-6 weeks onto the process. In recognition of this, the BSR issued new guidance in March 2025 to assist applications in preparing high quality applications.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in levels of suicide among women impacted by conflict in Sudan.
The human cost of the conflict in Sudan is appalling with the warring parties showing a total disregard for the wellbeing of civilians and women and girls bearing the brunt of the violence. Reports that survivors of sexual violence are said to be increasingly contemplating suicide is an indication of how desperate the context is. The UK is doing all it can to address and respond to such abuses. In February, Lord Collins chaired a UN Security Council Briefing on conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, emphasising the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The UK has also led efforts at the Human Rights Council to establish and renew the mandate for the UN Fact-Finding Mission which is crucial for supporting future accountability efforts in Sudan. On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement calling for the warring parties to adhere to their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians. This followed the UN Security Council statement, released on 16 April, condemning the escalation of violence and calling for the parties to urgently implement UN Security Council Resolution 2736.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether human rights issues in Kyrgyzstan have been examined within the framework of the Developing Countries Trade Scheme.
The UK Government reserves the right to suspend preferences on particular goods, or to suspend a country from the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) if it finds that they have seriously and systemically breached international conventions in relation to human rights.When considering suspensions, the UK may assess, among other things, the impact on the beneficiary country's economic and development prospects, the impact on the country's most vulnerable people and the effectiveness of a suspension in bringing about change.The UK continues to encourage all states to uphold their international human rights obligations, and hold all those who violate or abuse human rights to account. Our Embassy in Bishkek actively monitors the human rights situation in Kyrgyzstan and ministers have raised concerns regarding human rights and media freedom with the Kyrgyz Government.
What steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to help tackle threats to democracy arising from the lack of availability of high-quality local news.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport who are core members of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, are in the process of developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is for a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, and thereby contributes to the UK’s democratic resilience.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether human rights issues in Kyrgyzstan were discussed at the first meeting of the Kyrgyz-British Strategic Dialogue in February 2025.
I raised human rights issues with my Kyrgyz counterpart during the inaugural UK-Kyrgyz Strategic Dialogue in February 2025. We regularly raise human rights at ministerial level with Kyrgyzstan.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to carry out a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (a) disposable, (b) reusable and (c) other environmentally-friendly period products on the environment.
Defra has no plans to carry out a comparative assessment of the environmental impact of different types of period products.
What steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to help tackle threats to democracy outside of election periods.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce is driving forward a programme of work to secure the democratic integrity of the UK from the full range of threats. Alongside its work to protect elections, since the General Election the Taskforce has:Conducted a wide-ranging review to understand how we can prevent and deter harassment and intimidation of anyone involved in our electoral institutions and processes and is now taking forward priority work to address this issue.Sponsored the National Cyber Security Centre to deliver an enhanced cyber security offer for elected representatives across the UK to help better protect them online.Concluded a comprehensive assessment of the UK’s response to Transnational Repression to understand the scale and nature of Transnational Repression in the UK, as well as Government’s response to the issue.Engaged with international partners to share lessons learnt and expertise to help tackle similar threats to our democracies.