Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to provide support for human rights to (a) people in, (b) aid agencies and (c) human rights organisations working in Eswatini.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK works to promote respect for human rights around the world, including in Eswatini. The British Government supports the Swazi people indirectly through programmes delivered by UN agencies (including UNICEF, UNFPA and WFP), their implementing partners and the Global Fund, as well as through advocacy and engagement with local Human Rights Defenders and state authorities. The British High Commission also provides project support to local NGOs and CSOs working on key human rights issues such as gender-based violence, freedom of expression and the rights of women and girls.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of outsourcing dialysis services in Lambeth on patient care.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Any service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better patient outcomes.

Within Lambeth, patients who will receive dialysis at the new site in Brixton will receive care in a significantly improved environment within brand new facilities in a great example of innovative public/private partnership.

NHS England has established the Renal Services Transformation Programme to reduce unwarranted variation in the quality and accessibility of renal care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled A comparison of the care of Asian and White women who have experienced a stillbirth or neonatal death, published by the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Confidential Enquiry on 14 December 2023, what recent discussions her Department has had with NHS England on ensuring that women (a) from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and (b) at risk of premature birth are offered the (i) tests and (ii) medication that are recommended by NHS guidelines.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Departmental and NHS England colleagues meet regularly to discuss initiatives to reduce disparities in maternity and neonatal outcomes, and pre-term births. NHS England has invested £6.8 million into their Equity and Equality guidance, which focuses on actions to reduce disparities for women and babies, including for those living in the most deprived areas. It sets out actions and expectations on Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems to consider complex social factors and adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines regarding maternity care.

All National Health Service trusts are now implementing the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle (SBLCB), which provides up-to-date, evidence-based best practice regarding reducing perinatal mortality, including guidance around reducing preterm birth. The SBLCB recommends a universal risk assessment of all women for preterm birth at their antenatal booking appointment, with those at higher and intermediate risk being offered a care pathway designed to reduce the chances of preterm birth.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason an electronic database has not been created to keep track of the children in hotels used for asylum seekers.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

There are no unaccompanied children in hotels.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support (a) hospice and (b) other end-of-life services.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, promoting a more consistent national approach, and supporting commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.

The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide, and consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.

To support ICBs, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications for both adults and children. NHS England has also commissioned the development of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together relevant, all age local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of both adults and children in their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.

NHS England has also funded seven strategic clinical networks for palliative and end of life care. These networks support commissioners in the delivery of outstanding clinical and personalised care for people in the last years of life, and reduce local variation.

At a national level, NHS England has confirmed it will renew the Children and Young People’s hospice funding for 2024/25, again allocating £25 million of grant funding for children’s hospices, using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The Government has provided £60 million of additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to over 27,000 eligible staff employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts by non-NHS organisations, including some hospices.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding support her Department is providing to Integrated Care Boards on the operation of (a) hospices, (b) palliative care and (c) end-of-life services.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by core National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services.

The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the integrated care board (ICB) footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide, and consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.

However, since 2020, NHS England has provided hospices with over £350 million to secure and increase NHS capacity, and to support hospital discharge, as part of the COVID-19 response. In addition, since 2021/22, nearly £63 million has been provided to children’s hospices as part of the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Furthermore, additional investment in children and young people’s palliative and end of life care, including hospices, has also been made through the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to match-fund clinical commissioning groups, and subsequently ICBs, totalling over £23 million.

As set out in the Health and Care Act 2022, ICBs are responsible for determining the level of NHS-funded palliative and end of life care locally, including hospice care, and are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to increase opportunities for children and young people to (a) express their views and experiences of and (b) make decisions affecting their living conditions in contingency accommodation.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from the point of arrival in the UK. The Home Office and its contractors work closely with the NHS, local authorities and non-governmental organisations to ensure that people can access the healthcare and support they need.

The Home Office also operates a Safeguarding Hub to support vulnerable individuals in accessing these services. In addition, the Home Office contracts Migrant Help to provide advice and guidance to asylum seekers should they have an issue with their accommodation or support, and for signposting to health and welfare services. Asylum seekers can access Migrant Help 24/7, every day of the year; by a freephone telephone number, via an online chat, or completing an email enquiry form, both of which can be accessed free of charge on the Migrant Help website. Interpreting and translation services are available through Migrant Help when the need arises for asylum seekers to raise any queries or concerns.

Whilst any safeguarding, medical, or other personal circumstances are considered, all asylum accommodation is provided on a ‘no choice basis’.

Armenian Genocide

Imperial War Museums and union derecognition

Public ownership of water

Scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and arms exports to Israel

Teachers’ Pension Scheme and universities

One year anniversary of the kidnapping of Elizabeth Tsurkov

Access to State Pension for people with a terminal illness

Trans+ History Week

Government surveillance of bank accounts

Building societies

Bahrain's sponsorship of the Royal Windsor Horse Show

Childcare for working parents

Two-child benefits limit

Trapped podcast on IPP sentences

Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Lesbian Visibility Week

Civil Service Pay

Found: Ribeiro-Addy.

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Charlotte Nichols Kate Osborne Zarah Sultana Yasmin Qureshi Margaret Greenwood Paula Barker Bell

Found: Charlotte Nichols Kate Osborne Zarah Sultana Yasmin Qureshi Margaret Greenwood Paula Barker Bell

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

No description available

No description available

The Joint Committee on Human Rights would like your views on this Bill, which includes powers to compel offenders to attend sentencing hearings, to facilitate the transfer of prisoners to foreign prisons, and to take action against begging and rough sleeping. The Bill would also introduce new criminal offences and new police powers, as well as a duty of candour on the police. The proposals in the Bill would engage human rights, including the right to respect for private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.