Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which non-NATO countries the UK has a commitment to defend against external aggression under (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral agreements.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK has a legal commitment to defend NATO countries against external aggression. There are a number of non-NATO countries with which the UK has bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements to consult in the event of attack. In addition, the UN Charter Chapter 7 sets out the inherent right of collective self-defence.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will have discussions with the Leader of the House on ensuring parliamentary time to (a) debate and (b) vote on the Government’s treaty with Rwanda within the timeframe outlined in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government places great importance in providing opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny. We have sought to provide this opportunity during various parliamentary activity, but most notably as part of the passage of the Bill which is intrinsically linked and gives legal effect to the treaty. Most recently, we have had the two days of Commons Committee stage (Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 January) on the floor of House, allowing members to scrutinise this policy. We look forward to debating all aspects of the Bill as it is scrutinised by both Houses.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on allegations that Israeli forces delayed a UN convoy that was evacuating patients from Al Ahli hospital on 9 December 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is clear that the wounded and critically ill in Gaza should be able to access the urgent medical care they need, that the safety of humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers in Gaza is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most. We also want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary continue to make this clear in engagements with their Israeli counterparts. The UK is focussed on alleviating the desperate humanitarian situation and the UK played a leading role in securing the passage of Security Council Resolution 2720, which underlined the urgent demand for expanded humanitarian access.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on allegations that Israeli forces detained six staff working with the Ministry of Health and Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza on 22 November 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
It is the longstanding policy of successive UK Governments that we do not comment on individual cases; however, we are concerned over reports about Israeli detention practices. The Government is clear that administrative detention should be used only where it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released. The UK is committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in its detention practices and repeatedly calls on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. This has been repeatedly raised by both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The safety of humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers in Gaza is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most. The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will apply Magnitsky-style sanctions to Israel’s (a) Minister of National Security and (b) Finance Minister in the context of settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Tensions in the West Bank must ease and we continue to urge Israel to address extremist settler violence. This includes preventing such acts of violence, and holding those responsible to account. The Foreign Secretary has announced that we will ban those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK. We keep our sanctions under review and reserve the right to introduce further measures.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the Office for Product Safety and Standards' timetable is for publishing the findings from the Product Safety review consultation which closed on 24 October 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) is currently analysing responses to the Product Safety Review consultation. The Government intends to publish a response next year which will summarise the findings and set out future plans.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent fires caused by (a) e-bikes, (b) conversion kits and (c) e-scooters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is promoting fire safety messages, through its Fire Kills campaign, to educate consumers on safe charging and storage of e-bikes and e-scooters in the home and to recommend that only professionals carry out conversions.
The advice, also published on FireEngland.uk, supports that issued by London Fire Brigade’s #ChargeSafe campaign. The Home Office has made these materials available to fire and rescue services to use in their local fire prevention activity.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, published on 22 November 2023, whether the proposal to end access to legal aid for sanctioned Universal Credit claimants (a) relates to (i) criminal and (ii) civil legal aid and (b) would prevent those people from (A) passporting and (B) accessing all legal aid.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The DWP proposals on the Back to Work Plan will not remove access to legal aid for those Universal Credit (UC) claimants who may be sanctioned. Whilst anyone whose UC claim is closed would no longer be passported through the legal aid means test income assessment, the individual would remain eligible for civil or criminal legal aid, subject to the application of the full means assessment in the usual way. The additional provisions being built into DWP’s policy proposals will also mean that no vulnerable individual would face having their claim closed, thereby providing a further tier of protection for many legal aid user groups, such as the disabled and the homeless.
Over coming months, MoJ officials will be working closely with DWP officials as the policy develops.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, published on 22 November 2023, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposals to remove access to legal aid for Universal Credit claimants who have had an open-ended sanction for over six months on access to justice.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The DWP proposals on the Back to Work Plan will not remove access to legal aid for those Universal Credit (UC) claimants who may be sanctioned. Whilst anyone whose UC claim is closed would no longer be passported through the legal aid means test income assessment, the individual would remain eligible for civil or criminal legal aid, subject to the application of the full means assessment in the usual way. The additional provisions being built into DWP’s policy proposals will also mean that no vulnerable individual would face having their claim closed, thereby providing a further tier of protection for many legal aid user groups, such as the disabled and the homeless.
Over coming months, MoJ officials will be working closely with DWP officials as the policy develops.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress the Clinical Reference Group for allergies has made.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group (CRG) provides clinical advice and leadership for both Specialised Immunology and Specialised Allergy services.
The CRG advises NHS England on the optimal arrangements for the commissioning of specialised services. This includes developing national standards in the form of service specifications and policies. The CRG commenced a review of the current published Specialist Allergy Service Specification in May 2023, which is expected to be complete by summer 2024. The outcome of the service specification review will be an updated specification which references up to date guidance and takes into account the latest evidence base to clearly define the standards of care for commissioned specialised services.