Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear site events there were at (a) Coulport and (b) Faslane in the last 12 months.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The table below provides the number of Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) at Coulport and Faslane recorded between January 2023 to April 2024. These are shown according to their categorisation using criteria agreed locally in 2015.

In line with Industry Good Practice and in common with other defence and civil nuclear sites, His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde has a well-established system for raising NSERs.

NSERs are raised to foster a robust safety culture that learns from experience, whether that is equipment failures, human error, procedural failings, documentation shortcoming or near-misses.

The safety significance of all reported events remains low and are below Level 1, the lowest of the seven-point Internal Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).

None of the events caused harm to the health of any member of staff on the Naval Base or to any member of the public or have resulted in any radiological impact to the environment.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the strength of the Union.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Union is strong. The United Kingdom is one of the world’s most successful political and economic unions. When we work together as one United Kingdom, we are safer, stronger and more prosperous.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of the increased Minimum Income Requirement on (a) women and (b) people belonging to specific ethnicities.

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

The Minister for Women and Equalities wrote to all Government departments in December last year reminding them of their statutory duty to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty when shaping policy and delivering services. The duty requires public authorities to ensure that equality issues are actively considered in order to remove or minimise disadvantage. As part of the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty includes the protected characteristics of sex and race.

To assist departments' compliance with the duty, the Minister for Women and Equalities provided updated Public Sector Equality Duty guidance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make the latest Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability assessment for Ethiopia available to Parliament.

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

The Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) report is an internal document and not intended for publication.

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 help tackle famine in Tigray.

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

Across Tigray and other parts of northern Ethiopia, El Nino has caused drought that is affecting 4 million people. According to assessments from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1.4 million people in Tigray will need immediate emergency food assistance because of drought. I witnessed firsthand the effects of this during my visit in February 2024. In response, I announced an additional £100 million to fund our Ending Preventable Deaths Programme, which will target three million people across Ethiopia including those who are most at risk in the northern regions. The UK also co-hosted a donor conference in Geneva on 16 April and successfully raised £610 million to meet humanitarian needs in Ethiopia.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long the vanguard-class submarines have been on patrol at sea on average in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Royal Navy has successfully maintained Operation RELENTLESS, the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, for an unbroken 55 years. We do not disclose details of the Operation, including the duration of time spent at sea, as such information could be used to undermine the security and capability of the mission and our personnel.

RBS branch closures

Leith Croft Community Pavilion

20th anniversary of The Leither Magazine

UK’s national minorities

Remembering Fergie MacDonald

World Malaria Day 2024

Work Capability Assessment reforms

Lesbian Visibility Week

War in Sudan