Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies on deciding asylum applications of the conflict in Gaza.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Asylum claims made by claimants from Gaza, as is the case with all asylum claims lodged in the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, have an individual assessment made against the background of relevant case law, policy guidance and the latest available country of origin information.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had discussions with cellular network providers in Gaza on the adequacy of telecommunication services in that region.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are deeply concerned about the severely damaged telecommunications and internet networks in Gaza, which are causing repeated near total communications blackouts. This is limiting the ability of Palestinians in Gaza to communicate and greatly hampers the humanitarian response. Officials are in regular contact with Paltel, the leading telecommunications company in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We recognise the strenuous efforts of Paltel's staff in Gaza to make repairs and maintain services, at great risk to themselves. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the OPTs is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching and being delivered across Gaza.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will reinstate the role of Food Surplus and Waste Champion.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no plans to appoint a food waste prevention champion at this time. The objectives set for the champion are now being taken forward by ministers, officials and our delivery partner the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The latter includes championing waste reduction through high profile ambassadors in the hospitality sector and well known figures to present Food Waste Action Week.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2023 to Question 3498 on Pension Credit: Applications, what steps his Department is taking to modernise the Pension Credit application process.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Citizens currently have the choice of three routes to make an application to Pension Credit, online, by phone or by paper. Through our Service Modernisation Programme, DWP aims to further improve the process of claiming Pension Credit based on user research with customers and their representatives.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's news story entitled Action to reduce food waste announced, published on 1 October 2018, how the funding to tackle food waste was spent.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The £15m food waste prevention pilot fund announced in October 2018 was a ring-fenced one-off pilot. Funds were made available in the 2019/2020 financial year. The last scheduled payment was paid in 2022. Awards were made to small and large redistribution organisations for infrastructure to increase their capacity and capability and for Covid-19 emergency surplus food grants. There was also valorising food grants, funding for a Target Measure Act (TMA) field force, citizen behaviour change research, educational resources for schools and support for the hospitality sector. Further information can be found here: Food grants | WRAP.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the application process for Pension Credit; and if he will take steps to help increase the accuracy of decisions made on Pensions Credit applications.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly looks at the effectiveness of its Pension Credit claims processes. A Quality Framework is used to assess the accuracy of Pension Credit decisions and this informs operational learning and continuous improvement. Pension Credit is being modernised and user research is integral to our design for modernising the Pension Credit application processes to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of Pension Credit application processes.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan people under which schemes his Department plans to transfer from Pakistan in the next 12 weeks.
Answered by James Heappey
Many factors govern the flow of relocation, but we are grateful to the Government of Pakistan for their support on this important matter and we are endeavouring to bring as many eligible Afghans as possible to the UK, as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to expedite applications for resettlement to the UK by Afghan nationals in Pakistan who are at risk of being removed to Afghanistan.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We will continue to honour our commitment to bring eligible Afghans to the UK and plans are underway to relocate families as soon as possible.
Afghans in third countries including in Pakistan who are eligible for resettlement to the UK continue to be supported by the UK Government, and flights from Pakistan to the UK continue to take place. However, we are unable to provide further operational details on this.
The UK Government is aware of recent announcements made by the Government of Pakistan regarding Afghans being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a temporary help to repay scheme that provides repayment matching and debt relief for energy arrears that cannot be afforded by consumers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government understands the challenges that are posed by cost of living pressures that includes energy bills and the impact of debt. However, energy prices have fallen significantly with the price cap more than halving from £4,279 at the start of this year to £1,834 since the start of October.
This coincides with the £900 cost of living payment being provided by the Government across 2023/24, which has increased from the £650 provided the previous year. The Government continues to closely monitor energy prices and will keep support schemes under review.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department plans to provide increased levels of financial support to consumers who have accumulated energy debt.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises the challenges posed by cost of living pressures, including the impact of energy bills and debt, and is already providing extensive financial support to households. The Government has spent nearly £40 billion protecting households and businesses from spiralling energy bills over last winter, covering around half a typical household’s energy bill, and this comes in addition to the £900 cost of living payments being delivered across 2023/24. This payment has already increased from the £650 payments provided the previous year.