Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) financial regulators and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority are equipped to protect people against financial scams.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires regulated financial services firms to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. This includes controls to prevent fraud.
HM Treasury is taking action through legislation in the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which enables the Payment Systems Regulator to mandate banks to reimburse victims of authorised push payment scams. The Government expects that this legislation will result in more consistent and comprehensive reimbursement outcomes, ensuring victims are not left out of pocket through no fault of their own.
Fraud prevention is supported by wider work of the Payment Systems Regulator, including introducing Confirmation of Payee requirements on the banking sector. This allows customers to check whether the name of a payee’s account matches the name and account details provided by a payer.
The Government is also taking action to address fraudulent activity being hosted online through the Online Safety Bill. The Bill includes a new standalone duty requiring large internet firms to tackle fraudulent advertising, including of financial services.
In addition, the Home Office shortly intends to publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud, working with government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the progress of the African Union’s Peace initiative in Tigray, Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We welcome the agreements signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on 2 November and 12 November. If implemented in full, they can serve as the basis for a lasting peace. However, it will require sustained and magnanimous leadership on all sides, and support from Ethiopia's friends across the international community. The UK Government has offered its support to the Ethiopian Government and the African Union.
The cessation of hostilities is largely holding and humanitarian convoys have begun entering Tigray. As of 24 November, an estimated 118 trucks in 12 convoys had reached Tigray. However, more needs to be done by both sides to ensure implementation of the agreement is sustained, essential services are restored and aid reaches the millions of people in desperate need.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will support transparent, accountable justice for survivors of sexual violence in Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence. We have consistently called for an end to the appalling violations and abuses of human rights, including sexual violence, committed by all sides to the conflict in northern Ethiopia, and for the perpetrators of these acts to be held to account and support for victims. We therefore welcome the recent the agreement to implement a comprehensive national transitional justice policy aimed at accountability, redress for victims, reconciliation, and healing.
We continue to support the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE). We will work with the Ethiopian Government and civil society in their efforts to hold perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses to account, including building the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through the UK's Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme (HARP).
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of civilians killed in the Ethiopian and Eritrean offensive in the Tigray region of Ethiopia launched on 1 September 2022.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Information on casualties from the conflict in northern Ethiopia is scarce. Since the resumption of fighting on 24 August it is likely that there have been thousands of casualties.
The UK welcomes the agreements signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on 2 November and 12 November. They provide for an end to two years of brutal conflict in northern Ethiopia. The UK calls upon the Eritrean Government to support the agreement by withdrawing its troops from Ethiopia.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
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 co-operate with European countries to ensure that aid is being provided to Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK and European partners are working closely on providing aid to Ukraine; military equipment, cyber resilience, humanitarian and economic support and energy resilience. As part of our response, we have deployed UK humanitarian experts to Poland, Romania and Moldova. On energy, the UK has provided €54.3 million in guarantees that has unlocked a total of €97.3 million of EBRD financing the Ukrainian electricity transmission system operator, Ukrenergo. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are in regular contact with their European counterparts, including at UNGA, G7 and G20 meetings and at the European Political Community Summit where leaders agreed on the importance of UK-EU cooperation to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for the publication of responses to the consultation entitled Raising standards in tax advice: protecting customers claiming tax repayments, published on 22 June 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The consultation referred to ran for 12 weeks and closed on 14 September 2022. The Government will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to release advance information on GCSE and A Level Exams in 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 29 September, the Department and Ofqual confirmed examinations will largely return to well-established, pre-pandemic arrangements in summer 2023.
The Department confirmed that advance information will not be provided for any examinations taken in summer 2023. The Department has, however, decided that formulae and equation sheets for GCSE mathematics, physics and combined sciences examinations should be provided in summer 2023, as was the case for examinations in 2022. Ofqual has also confirmed a return to pre-pandemic grading in 2023. To protect pupils against the disruption of recent years, and in case pupils’ performance is slightly lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic, senior examiners will use the grades achieved by previous cohorts of pupils, along with prior attainment data, to inform their decisions regarding where to set grade boundaries.
These decisions reflect that while the 2023 cohort may have experienced some disruption due to the pandemic over the course of their qualifications, it has not been as significant as that experienced by pupils who received qualifications in 2022. Pupils will, for example, have had more time to cover the curriculum, practise assessments and use education recovery programmes and interventions.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2022, CP 751, published on 17 November 2022, whether the commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail will retain the same route as previously announced.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), published in November 2021, set out a £96 billion package to improve rail connections across the North and Midlands over the next 30 years.
Autumn Statement 2022 confirmed the Government’s commitment to delivering the Northern Powerhouse Rail core network, as set out in the IRP. This includes building 40 miles of new high-speed line between Warrington, Manchester and Yorkshire, and upgrading and electrifying the rest of the route between Liverpool and York, as well the existing line between Leeds and Bradford.
The IRP is the largest ever single Government investment in the rail network and is expected to start delivering benefits from as early as this decade.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve NHS dentist provision in Bradford West constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England asked dental practices to return to full delivery of contracted activity from July 2022, including in Bradford West. In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in Bradford West.
The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the uptake of breast cancer screening in Bradford West constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working with NHS England to finalise the delivery of £10 million for breast screening units, including determining which areas will benefit from this investment.
National Health Service breast screening providers are also encouraged to work with Cancer Alliances, Primary Care Networks, NHS regional teams and the voluntary sector to promote the uptake of breast screening and ensure access to services.