Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will have discussions with the Regulator of Social Housing on whether it has instructed the Board of Tower Hamlets Community Housing to discontinue the negotiations with Poplar HARCA about the proposed merger of the organisations.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Regulator of Social Housing is an Arms Length Body with operational independence from government. It operates according to the regulatory framework which sets out the economic and consumer standards that registered providers of social housing are required to meet.
Tower Hamlets Community Housing is an independent private sector organisation that makes its own commercial decisions.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he asked the Regulator of Social Housing to report on the effectiveness of its involvement in the proposed merger between Swan Housing and Orbit in 2022.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Regulator of Social Housing is an arm’s-length body with operational independence from government. It sets the economic and consumer standards that registered providers of social housing are required to meet. The details of the Regulator’s engagement on the proposed merger between Swan Housing Association and Orbit is a matter for the Regulator.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will have discussions with the Regulator of Social Housing on whether they have had discussions with any of the large G15 housing associations on taking over Tower Hamlets Community Housing.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Regulator of Social Housing is an Arms Length Body with operational independence from government. It operates according to the regulatory framework which sets out the economic and consumer standards that registered providers of social housing are required to meet.
Tower Hamlets Community Housing is an independent private sector organisation that makes its own commercial decisions.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will have discussions with the Regulator of Social Housing on whether the Board of Tower Hamlets Community Housing has produced an improvement plan as of 26 April 2024.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Regulator of Social Housing is an Arms Length Body with operational independence from government. It operates according to the regulatory framework which sets out the economic and consumer standards that registered providers of social housing are required to meet.
Tower Hamlets Community Housing is an independent private sector organisation that makes its own commercial decisions.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the whole of a building that is partially higher than 11 metres and partially lower than this threshold will be eligible for funding from the Cladding Safety Scheme.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Cladding Safety Scheme is open to buildings over 11 metres (and up to 18 metres in London) when measured in accordance with the guidance set out on scheme eligibility on gov.uk. The height measurement should be taken from the lowest external ground level to the finished floor level of the top occupied storey. If a building is of varying height, it is the height of the highest residential floor which is relevant when measured in accordance with the instructions provided.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when his Department last raised the case of Karim Ennarah with the Egyptian Government.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister for North Africa, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, last raised Karim Ennarah's case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 20 February 2024 and also raised this case with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo last year. Our Embassy in Cairo continues to raise the challenges faced by human rights defenders with the Egyptian authorities, and UK representatives have also done so via Item IV Statements at the Human Rights Council. Human rights defenders make a vital contribution to the health of all societies and should be able to conduct their work and lives unimpeded in Egypt, fully benefiting from their rights under the Egyptian Constitution.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support global immunisation and vaccination efforts; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has invested £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000, during which time Gavi has vaccinated more than 1 billion children in 78 lower-income countries, saving over 17 million lives. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are working with countries to build stronger primary health care systems as a core part of restoring immunisation services.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage his international counterparts to stop the supply of (a) arms, (b) military equipment, (c) fuel and (d) funds to Myanmar.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime in Myanmar. The UK continues to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU and Canada, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to arms, military equipment, fuel and funds and to pressure those who sell arms to the military. We have used, and will continue to use, our role at the G7 and the UN to this end.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights A/HRC/54/59: Situation of human rights in Myanmar, published on 19 September 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK shares the findings of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the increasingly dire human rights situation in Myanmar. We remain committed to targeting the regime's access to finance and arms, including through sanctions on the military leadership to inhibit access to revenue and equipment. Accountability is key in stopping the atrocities committed against the Myanmar people. To support the preservation of evidence for future prosecution, we have provided over £600,000 to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and established the Myanmar Witness project. Continued humanitarian access and assistance remains a UK priority in Myanmar.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of maladministration cases have been due to unreasonable delays from housing associations each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.