Baroness Coussins

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, including through their embassies, to support environmental defenders, human rights defenders and indigenous communities who are at risk of violence due to their opposition to mining operations b...

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support mining companies headquartered or incorporated in the UK in complying with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in the light of reports of human rights abuses resulti...

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the work of the Global Tailings Management Institute.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure consultation of civil society stakeholders who may be affected by proposed mining operations in the review of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the new promotional leaflets and posters about the Victims' Code in languages other than English.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer  by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 6 January (HL3649), what progress has been made in discussions across the Government regarding funding of the Mandarin Excellence Programme beyond August 2025;...

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are holding with foreign language professionals and their representative bodies about the regulation of machine translation in the context of developing AI policy.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer on 31 July 2024 by Lord Collins of Highbury (HL27), what progress has been made towards a UN Security Council Resolution on the protection of civilian interpreters working with the Armed Force...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer on 11 November 2024 by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (HL2195), when they plan to conduct the consultation on the revised Victims' Code.

To ask His Majesty's Government why a visa requirement for Columbian nationals travelling to the United Kingdom was reintroduced in November 2024.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Education will consult the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the security services before it makes a decision on the funding of the Mandarin Excellence Programme beyond August 2025.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will continue to fund the Mandarin Excellence Programme after its current funding expires in August 2025.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for building Mandarin language skills within the workforce to meet the needs of the United Kingdom in (1) security, (2) diplomacy, and (3) trade.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to amend the Accessible Information Standard so that it is aligned with the recommendation of Healthwatch England to cover the needs of those who speak little or no English.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the eligibility rules for trainee language teachers so that graduates whose degree was only partially in the taught language can apply.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reinstate the £10,000 relocation grant for teachers of modern foreign languages who have received a job offer from a school in England.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a visa waiver for teachers of modern foreign languages from other countries who have received a job offer from a school in England.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to issue guidance to schools on sponsoring visa applications for teachers of modern foreign languages from other countries, and (2) to better support those international recruits in England.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the cap of 175 recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship administered by the British Council to help meet their language teacher recruitment targets.

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made since the UK–France Joint Leaders' Declaration on 10 March 2023 regarding the simplification of travel arrangements for French schoolchildren visiting the UK.