Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December to Question 103013 on Armed Forces: Huntington's Disease, when he plans to next review the ban on those at risk of developing Huntington's disease from serving in the Armed Forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As stated in the answer to Question 103013, all of the medical employment standards for the Armed Forces, including those relating to Huntington's Disease, are kept under periodic review, taking into account academic reviews of the field, subject matter expert consultation and consensus.
The evidence in policy correlates with national guidelines and there are currently no plans to change existing policy on Huntington's Disease.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December to Question 103010 on Armed Forces: Huntington's Disease, what evidence would be accepted from an appropriately qualified and experienced specialist to show that a candidate would be unlikely to develop Huntington's disease during a Service career.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
A neurologist review would consider a candidate's genetic coding and prognosis, to indicate if the individual would be likely to develop Huntington's disease during a Service career.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 9 December to Question 103014 on Armed Forces: Huntington's Disease, if he will make an estimate of the average length of time recruits serve in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The table below details the average (mean) Length of Service of Trained (Royal Navy/Royal Marines and Royal Air Force) and Trade Trained (Army) UK Regulars on Exit (in years) by Service and Officer/Rank:
| 1 Jan 2018-31 Dec 2018 | 1 Jan 2019-31 Dec 2019 | 1 Jan 2020-31 Dec 2020 | 1 Jan 2021-31 Dec 2021 | 1 Jan 2022-31 Dec 2022 |
Tri Service/Officer/Other Rank | 12/19/11 | 13/19/12 | 13/20/12 | 14/21/12 | 13/21/12 |
RN/RM/Officer/Other Rank | 12/20/11 | 13/20/12 | 13/21/12 | 14/21/13 | 13/21/12 |
Army/Officer/Other Rank | 11/18/10 | 11/18/10 | 12/19/11 | 12/20/11 | 12/21/11 |
RAF/Officer/Other Rank | 16/20/15 | 17/21/16 | 17/22/16 | 18/23/17 | 16/21/16 |
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to issue visas to parents in Afghanistan whose children have leave to remain in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help relocate some of the most at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,500 vulnerable people to safety. This includes those evacuated during Operation Pitting and those relocated and resettled under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
For those evacuated from Afghanistan under the ACRS without their immediate family members, further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December to Question 103014 on Armed Forces: Huntington's Disease, what medical conditions are currently considered a bar to service.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Joint Service Publication 950 Leaflet 6-7-7 (JSP 950 Lft 6-7-7) provides a framework for the medical assessment of potential recruits and Serving personnel. I attach a copy.
Fitness to serve may be dependent on several medical conditions. An individual's final grading is determined by using the extensive content in JSP 950 Lft 6-7-7 combined with the judgement of occupational medicine specialists.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the development of NICE guidelines for Huntington's Disease.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence officials are currently discussing the possible development of a guideline on Huntingdon’s disease through the established topic selection arrangements. This entails consideration of factors such as the burden of disease, the evidence base and variation in practice.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether Homes England has had recent discussions with the Magellan House Residential Management Company Limited in Leeds on the remediation plan for the building and Building Safety Fund support.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The remediation of Magellan House is currently planned to commence in September. Homes England have been in regular contact with the Magellan House Residential Management Company Limited throughout the process of their application to the Building Safety Fund and their most recent meeting took place on 17 May 2023.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he expects the planned remediation of Magellan House to take place.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The remediation of Magellan House is currently planned to commence in September. Homes England have been in regular contact with the Magellan House Residential Management Company Limited throughout the process of their application to the Building Safety Fund and their most recent meeting took place on 17 May 2023.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made for the implications of its policies made of the situation in Pakistan following the arrest of former prime minister, Imran Khan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have said, the UK has a close and longstanding relationship with Pakistan. We support peaceful democratic processes and adherence to the rule of law and we are continuing to monitor the situation in Pakistan. Lord [Tariq] Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, has spoken to the High Commissioner for Pakistan to the UK and to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to review HS2 site safeguarding in Leeds after the report on bringing HS2 trains to Leeds is published.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Integrated Rail Plan set out that safeguarding of the previously proposed high speed route north of East Midlands Parkway will remain in place until the conclusion of the HS2 to Leeds Study.
The Government periodically reviews land requirements for the HS2 rail project and updates the extent of safeguarding accordingly.