Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he had with his counterparts in (a) Turkey and (b) India on tackling illegal migration from those countries.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Tackling illegal migration is a top priority for this government and we continue to engage with all partners on this issue.
We have a close partnership with the government of Turkey when it comes to combatting this shared problem and discuss a number of challenges with them, including how we can continue to work together to effectively tackle Organised Immigration Crime.
We also have a close and continuous relationship with the government of India on this matter and on 13 November, the Home Secretary met the Indian External Affairs Minister to discuss joint working to tackle Illegal Migration, as well as the secondary legislation currently going through parliament to designate India as a safe country, to strengthen the immigration system and help prevent abuse, including by people making unfounded protection claims.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on reports that the Israeli Defense Forces (a) arrested Hamas terrorists responsible for the killings on 7 October 2023, (b) destroyed Hamas infrastructure and (c) recovered weapons in Jabalya.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have been in close contact with their Israeli counterparts since the outbreak of the conflict and routinely discuss the progress of Israel's actions in Gaza in their engagements. They have made clear their strong support to Israel to restore its security and remove the threat of Hamas, while reiterating that its military operations must be conducted in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of comments by Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage General Ezzatolloh Zarghami that he (a) supplied rockets for use against Israel and (b) provided training to Hamas in their underground tunnels.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Iran poses an unacceptable threat to Israel. We have long condemned Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial, and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including Hamas, Hizballah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and further escalates tensions. The Foreign Secretary raised Iran's ongoing support to its destabilising proxies and partners with the Iranian Foreign Minister on 31 December. The UK remains clear that Iran must use its influence with groups in the region to prevent escalation, and that Iran bears responsibility for the actions of groups they have supported over many years.
We continue to work closely with our partners to hold Iran to account, and we currently have over 400 sanctions in place against the Iranian regime. The UK's new sanctions regime came into force on 14 December and is designed to target Iran and its proxies' hostile activity against the interests of the UK and our partners.
Israel has endured the worst terrorist attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. The UK Government will continue to stand with Israel as it faces pressing challenges to its security. We have deployed UK military assets to the region to carry out surveillance and act as a deterrent. On 14 November, the Foreign Secretary also announced targeted sanctions, coordinated with the US, against Hamas leadership (four Hamas leaders and two financiers) to disrupt Hamas operations in Gaza and wherever their leaders base themselves.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of reports that Muhammed Kathem Sawalha assisted in organising recent pro-Palestinian protests in London.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The management of protests is an operational matter for the police, as are decisions around investigations.
The Government is committed to supporting the police in the robust use of their existing powers to prevent the incitement of hatred, disorder and disruption.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will male an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to abolish the changes to the IR35 off-payroll working rules introduced in April 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Off-payroll working reform was introduced for the public sector in 2017 and to medium and large sized businesses in the private and voluntary sectors in 2021. The reforms did not change the underlying rules but shifted responsibility for determining the employment status for tax purposes of someone working through their own intermediary from the intermediary to the client organisation engaging them.
The reforms tackle non-compliance with the existing off-payroll working rules and have been successful in doing so: more people who are working like employees are paying taxes like employees, improving fairness in the tax system.
Keeping the 2017 and 2021 reforms in place protects around £2 billion a year of Government revenue, and the Government has no plans to repeal them.
The Government continues to monitor the impacts of the reforms and published HMRC-commissioned, and its own analysis in December 2022. The Government has already committed to updating the internal analysis with the latest data in due course. The Government has already committed to updating the internal analysis with the latest data in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on the number of GP surgeries that offer appointments with a mental health nurse.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested on the number of GP surgeries offering appointments with a mental health nurse is not held.
There are many roles within primary care multi-disciplinary teams that offer mental health support including community mental health nurses, mental health and wellbeing practitioners, applied psychologists and social prescribing link workers.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data her Department holds on the average length of time for which adults had been waiting for (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment for eating disorders in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022 and (v) 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The requested data is not held centrally.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of trainee GPs undertook a training placement in a mental health setting in the past ten years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for patients to have (a) an assessment and (b) a first appointment with an NHS Talking Therapies therapist after being seen by a GP in each (i) clinical commissioning group between January 2021 and August 2023 and (ii) integrated care system area in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
A table is attached that shows latest available information.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for (a) access to NHS Talking Therapies, (b) an assessment and (c) first appointment with a therapist after seeing a GP was in each Clinical commissioning group in the last 12 months; and what the average waiting time for each was in each Integrated care system area in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
A table is attached that shows latest available information.