Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people of state pension age there are in (a) Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency, (b) Middlesbrough local authority area, (c) Tees Valley combined authority area and (d) the North East.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th June is attached.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 4 June 2025 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, Column 338, what steps his Department is taking to deter Israel from supporting further settlement building in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is clear that settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the prospects for peace. We have condemned the 22 new settlements announced by Israel on 29 May 2025 and we regularly urge Israel to halt settlement expansion in our diplomatic engagements. This government is committed to a two-state solution. It remains the only viable framework for a just and lasting peace.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' oral contribution of 4 June 2025 in response to a question from the hon. Member for Eltham and Chislehurst, Official Report, column 344, what recent discussions he has had with his Norwegian counterpart on Israel's access to the F-35 Global Supply Pool.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Conversations with F-35 partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues, however we are unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 4 June 2025 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, Column 338, whether the Israeli Defence Force have used UK-supplied military equipment in Gaza since September 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no export licences currently being used for military operations in Gaza. This is subject to the specific measures taken to protect the global F-35 programme.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received Winter Fuel Payment in winter (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 in (i) Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency, (ii) Middlesbrough local authority area, (iii) Tees Valley combined authority area and (iv) the North East.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
For winter 2023 to 2024:
- 15,487 pensioners received the Winter Fuel Payment in Middlesbrough and Thornby East Constituency;
- 22,849 received it in Middlesbrough local authority area;
- 127,568 received it in the Tees Valley combined authority area (21,251 in Darlington, 17,484 in Hartlepool, 22,849 in Middlesbrough, 30,049 in Redcar and Cleveland, and 35,935 in Stockton-on-Tees);
- and 517,592 received it in the North East.
This is based on Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Data covering winter 2024 to 2025 is not yet available. The next release of Winter Fuel Payment statistics will cover this period and will be published on 16 September 2025.
The Government wants to ensure a wider range of pensioners in England and Wales receive Winter Fuel Payment in future, while recognising public finance constraints and the fact that making payments to the highest income pensioners is hard to justify.
From winter 2025-26, the vast majority of pensioners in England and Wales – over three quarters, or around 9 million individuals - will benefit from Winter Fuel Payments. They will be paid automatically to anyone who has not opted out. Individuals with a taxable income above £35,000 a year will have any WFP recouped via HMRC.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people will receive Winter Fuel Payment in winter 2025-26 in (a) Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency, (b) Middlesbrough local authority area, (c) Tees Valley combined authority area and (d) the North East.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
For winter 2023 to 2024:
- 15,487 pensioners received the Winter Fuel Payment in Middlesbrough and Thornby East Constituency;
- 22,849 received it in Middlesbrough local authority area;
- 127,568 received it in the Tees Valley combined authority area (21,251 in Darlington, 17,484 in Hartlepool, 22,849 in Middlesbrough, 30,049 in Redcar and Cleveland, and 35,935 in Stockton-on-Tees);
- and 517,592 received it in the North East.
This is based on Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Data covering winter 2024 to 2025 is not yet available. The next release of Winter Fuel Payment statistics will cover this period and will be published on 16 September 2025.
The Government wants to ensure a wider range of pensioners in England and Wales receive Winter Fuel Payment in future, while recognising public finance constraints and the fact that making payments to the highest income pensioners is hard to justify.
From winter 2025-26, the vast majority of pensioners in England and Wales – over three quarters, or around 9 million individuals - will benefit from Winter Fuel Payments. They will be paid automatically to anyone who has not opted out. Individuals with a taxable income above £35,000 a year will have any WFP recouped via HMRC.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, whether (a) his Department and (b) any F-35 partner nation requested a (i) discussion and (ii) technical assessment of the international humanitarian law implications of any foreign military sales customer's F-35 use at an F-35 Joint Executive Steering Board meeting in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Conversations with F-35 Partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues; however, I am unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of suspending a foreign military sales customer who is not a partner nation from the F-35 global supply pool on the continued operation of the F-35 programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All F-35 Foreign Military Sales customers are managed directly by the US Government.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, whether (a) his Department and (b) any F-35 partner nation requested a (i) policy and (ii) technical working group review of export licenses for any foreign military sales customer's F-35 use in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Further to the oral contribution of 4 June 2025 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Middle East (Hamish Falconer) conversations with F-35 Partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues; however, I am unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme. Export control measures are the responsibility of their relevant national authorities.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits for recruitment and retention of agreeing a long-term strategy to improve pay in real terms for the workforces covered by (a) the Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body and (b) the NHS Pay Review Body.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to make these specific assessments. The Government is committed to a credible, independent Pay Review Body (PRB) process as the right mechanism to recommend annual pay increases for most public sector staff. In her statement on the public finances on 29 July 2024, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the Government wished to continue to use the PRB process.
The role of the NHS Pay Review Body and the Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body is to make recommendations to the Prime Minister and ministers on the annual pay award for National Health Service staff and other related matters within their remit. They act independently of the Government.
The PRBs lay out in their reports the reasoning for their recommended awards based on their terms of reference. In reaching their recommendations, the review bodies have regard to recruitment and retention and are required to take careful account of the economic and other evidence submitted by the Government, trades unions, representatives of NHS employers, and others.
The Government is not bound by PRB recommendations, and it's for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to decide how to respond to the recommendations of PRBs for the NHS in England.