Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase national capacity in (1) cancer treatment units, and (2) radiotherapy units, in line with the increase in patients diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England Specialised Commissioning is the responsible commissioner for all radiotherapy services across England and so is responsible for setting evidence-based national service standards for radiotherapy, including service specifications, clinical commissioning policies, and the introduction of more centres and units for radiotherapy.
In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to cancer alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to assist with the provision of (1) protection for currently displaced people and new waves of displaced people who are without shelter in Darfur, and (2) immediate aid to the new wave of refugees who have recently crossed the border into neighbouring Chad.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is monitoring the situation in Sudan closely, including the humanitarian and security impacts within Darfur and Sudan's neighbouring countries. We are working to ensure regional borders remain open and those displaced receive humanitarian assistance. The dramatic increase of violence and destruction in Darfur following the outbreak of hostilities on 15 April is appalling. We are engaging with international partners to put pressure on both sides to protect civilians and grant immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access. In Chad, the UK has allocated £2.5 million to address the urgent needs of people fleeing violence, such as food, safe drinking water, medical care, and shelter.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Darfur by securing a safe passage of aid from Port Sudan to the affected areas, including food, water, shelter, medicine and other essential supplies.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We recognise the extremely fragile security situation across Darfur even prior to 15 April, and it is clear that this has only worsened since the outbreak of hostilities. The UK's priority is to secure workable humanitarian access, including operational security assurances for humanitarian agencies to help the most at-need and provide life-saving aid. The Minister for Development and Africa announced £21.7 million in May to assist Sudan. The UK is pursuing all diplomatic levers, working notably with the UN, the Quad (Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and US) and a new African Union-led Core Group, to secure safe access, including from Port Sudan, to affected areas.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the Law Commission’s report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published on 18 July 2022 (HC 557); and what plans they have to introduce further legislation to safeguard women who are in unregistered marriages.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are carefully considering the Law Commission’s recommendations on weddings reform. As part of its review, the Law Commission has considered ways of ensuring that fewer weddings conducted according to religious rites result in a marriage that the law does not recognise. We will respond to the Law Commission’s report in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 April (HL Deb, col 464), what assessment they have made of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh in international law.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's long-standing position has been to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally-recognised borders, which include Nagorno Karabakh. At the same time, the UK Government is clear that there is no military solution to the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh; we welcome the recent participation of Armenia and Azerbaijan in negotiations to work towards settling all outstanding matters between them, and urge them to build on this momentum.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they are making to the government of Azerbaijan regarding that government’s (1) continuing attempts to resolve the status of Nagorno-Karabakh militarily, and (2) failure to respond to His Majesty's Government's calls to respect international calls for a political solution.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's longstanding position is that there is no military solution to this conflict and that Armenia and Azerbaijan must engage in substantive negotiations, without preconditions, to secure a sustainable peaceful settlement. The Minister for Europe Leo Docherty underlined this message when he visited Baku in February. We welcome the peace talks that took place recently in Washington and Brussels and will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan regarding their imprisonment of prisoners of war and civilians following the ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia concluded in September 2020.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government welcomed the most recent return of prisoners of war in November 2022 and return of remains of the deceased in December 2022. In engagements since 2020 with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan, UK Government representatives, including successive Ministers for Europe, have urged the parties to prioritise the return of all prisoners of war and the remains of the deceased. We will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months to resolve all outstanding issues relating to the conflict.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Sudan to take steps (1) to protect civilians, (2) to ensure the availability of humanitarian aid, and (3) to ensure the provision of adequate supplies for hospitals.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are pursuing all diplomatic avenues to end the violence and de-escalate tensions. The Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Development and Africa are in regular touch working with international partners to engage all parties in Sudan. We have led calls with the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, regional groupings and the UN Security Council to discuss the situation and coordinate a response.
In a public statement by the Quad (KSA, UK,US, UAE) and the Trilateral Mechanism (AU, UN and Governmental Authority on Development) we have publicly welcomed the extension of the ceasefire by 72 hours. This initial stage of diplomacy, establishing a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities, will help ensure unimpeded humanitarian access.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Sudan (1) to call for a ceasefire in response to the conflicts in that country, and (2) to encourage the conflicting sides to engage in discussions to form a civilian-led government.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are pursuing all diplomatic avenues to end the violence and de-escalate tensions. The Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Development and Africa are in regular touch working with international partners to engage all parties in Sudan. We led calls with the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, regional groupings and the UN Security Council to discuss the situation and coordinate a response.
In a public statement by the Quad (KSA, UK, US, UAE) and the Trilateral Mechanism (AU, United Nations and Governmental Authority on Development) we have publicly welcomed the extension of the ceasefire by 72 hours. This initial stage of diplomacy, establishing a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities, will contribute to action on the development of a de-escalation plan.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they will make to the UN to convene in order to discuss the current conflict taking place in Sudan.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are pursuing all diplomatic avenues to end the violence and de-escalate tensions. The Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Development and Africa are in regular touch working with international partners to engage all parties in Sudan. We led calls with the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, regional groupings and the UN Security Council to discuss the situation and coordinate a response.
In a public statement by the Quad (KSA, UK, US, UAE) and the Trilateral Mechanism (AU, United Nations and Governmental Authority on Development) we have publicly welcomed the extension of the ceasefire by 72 hours. This initial stage of diplomacy, establishing a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities, will contribute to action on the development of a de-escalation plan.