Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress (a) his Department and (b) the NHS has made since February 2017 on preventing and reducing neonatal sepsis.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The NHS England and NHS Improvement Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme works with every NHS maternity and neonatal service in England, to support a culture of continuous learning and better multi-professional working.
The programme provides structured support for local teams to develop innovative plans for measurable improvements. This includes improving the early recognition and management of deterioration with suspected sepsis in mothers and babies, during or soon after birth.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to review the 3000 pupil threshold for academy capital funding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools and those responsible for school buildings receive condition funding through different routes depending on their size and type. All schools receive funding to spend on their capital priorities through an annual Devolved Formula Capital allocation. In addition, local authorities and larger multi-academy trusts (MATs) receive a School Condition Allocation (SCA) to invest in their priorities across the schools for which they are responsible. MATs are eligible for SCA if they have five or more academies and at least 3,000 pupils. The Department also offers an allocation to academy chains (groups of more than one trust) where they meet the size criteria as a group and have opted in. Smaller or stand-alone academy trusts and sixth form colleges can bid for funding to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). The funding available through CIF and SCA is calculated on the same basis per pupil.
For financial year 2020-21, condition allocations, the eligibility threshold for SCA will remain the same. The Department keeps funding policy under review, and we are undertaking a new school Condition Data Collection (CDC), due to complete later this year. The CDC will provide a high-level assessment of the condition of state funded schools in England and will help inform future capital funding policy.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Cabinet plans to discuss the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Work has begun to implement the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro's Review in a way that will bring real improvements in the lives of those persecuted because of their faith or belief. In accordance with the Bishop's recommendation, the former Foreign Secretary wrote to Ministerial counterparts to ask them to take note of the Review's recommendations. We are now considering how we might best take forward a Cabinet discussion of Freedom of Religion or Belief in a way that galvanises cross-governmental action on this issue.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians; what progress he has been made on naming the phenomenon of Christian discrimination and persecution.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Rehman Chishti MP, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, is overseeing the implementation of the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro’s Review. Work has begun to implement the recommendations in a way that will bring real improvements in the lives of those persecuted because of their faith or belief. On naming the phenomenon of Christian discrimination and persecution, we believe that a definition is best agreed upon by the Christian communities themselves. If a term is agreed, we will consider how it might add value to our work on freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department has made on appointing a director-general level champion for freedom of religious belief.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Rehman Chishti MP, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, is overseeing the implementation of the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro’s Review. Work has begun to implement the recommendations in a way that will bring real improvements in the lives of those persecuted because of their faith or belief. We are considering how to take forward the recommendation to appoint a Director General champion for freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, what progress he has made with his counterparts at the UN on enhancing the protections afforded to (a) Christians and (b) other minority religions in the Middle East.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The persecution of Christians and other minority groups in the Middle East, remains of profound concern to us. The British Government is strongly committed to standing up for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) all over the world, including the Middle East. This commitment was reiterated by the Prime Minister in a statement Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon delivered on his behalf on 22 August, as well as by the UK Delegation to the OSCE on 19 September, and most recently in Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon's statement on 27 September at the UN General Assembly.
Bishop Philip’s report has identified specific steps the British Government can take to address the issues faced by persecuted Christians around the world. We have accepted the recommendations in full and Rehman Chishti, MP, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for FoRB, is overseeing their implementation. This work will include exploring how best to deliver a new UN Security Council Resolution on protecting Christians and other minorities in North Africa and the Middle East.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal from the Verify scheme of service providers on people in (a) Walsall North constituency that have enrolled with that service and are required to re-enrol with another service provider.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
Under the current GOV.UK Verify contracts, no users will have to re-enroll with a different identity provider to create a new GOV.UK Verify account.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
We are grateful to the Bishop for setting out ambitious recommendations. The report has identified specific steps that the British Government can take to address the issues faced by persecuted Christians around the world. We have accepted the recommendations in full and are working hard to implement them. On 12 September the Foreign Secretary welcomed the appointment of Rehman Chishti MP as the Prime Minister’s new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief who will build on the work of the former Envoy Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon. Mr Chishti is delighted with this appointment and looks forward to continuing to enhance the UK’s support for all those suffering persecution based on their faith.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians are being prioritised; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
We are grateful to the Bishop for setting out ambitious recommendations. The report has identified specific steps that the British Government can take to address the issues faced by persecuted Christians around the world. We have accepted the recommendations in full and are working hard to implement them. On 12 September the Foreign Secretary welcomed the appointment of Rehman Chishti MP as the Prime Minister’s new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief who will build on the work of the former Envoy Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon. Mr Chishti is delighted with this appointment and looks forward to continuing to enhance the UK’s support for all those suffering persecution based on their faith.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department is playing in promoting religious diversity in Iraq.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is committed to promoting and protecting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief across Iraq. The importance of religious tolerance and diversity was a major subject of discussion during the visit of Iraqi President, Barham Salih, to the UK in June, and in my meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Al-Hakim on 25 June. To support the return of displaced members of Iraq's Christian communities, we have committed £23.15 million to the UN's Funding Facility for Stabilisation which is helping Iraq to rebuild territory, including predominately Christian areas, liberated from Daesh.