Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the UN Meetings Coverage reports GA/12563, published on 17 November 2023, and GA/12586, published on 5 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of proposals to reform the UN Security Council to limit the power of veto.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As a permanent member of the Security Council, we consider the veto a heavy responsibility, to be used in the interests of securing international peace and security.
We support responsible and accountable use of the veto. The UK Government was proud to co-sponsor the Veto Initiative that enables the General Assembly to scrutinise use of the veto. We support the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency code of conduct, through which we have committed not to vote against a credible draft resolution to prevent or end a mass atrocity. The UK has not used its veto since 1989.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the statement by UNICEF of 3 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of reports that infants in Gaza are dying from (a) dehydration and (b) malnutrition.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are directly funding UNICEF and the Red Cross to provide vital support for children's health in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including mental health services, medical care, essential supplies, food security, nutrition, clean water, shelter and other humanitarian assistance. For UNICEF specifically, we have provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution, part of our wider £60 million humanitarian uplift. This is supporting their work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment. The UK has also supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. 750 tonnes of life-saving food aid arrived in the first delivery in December and there have been numerous deliveries since.
Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity. We have reiterated the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza, for Nitzana and Kerem Shalom to be open for longer, and for Israel to support the UN to distribute aid effectively across the whole of Gaza. We continue to raise this with Israel at the highest levels.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for cases relating to violence against women and girls.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of this government’s top priorities. We continue to expand the number of VAWG offences to reflect the evolving criminal justice landscape.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is improving the way existing offences are prosecuted. It has produced a new operating model for the prosecution of rape and is now working in partnership with the police on a joint action plan to improve their collective handling of domestic abuse cases, applying the same principles from the work on rape which has driven marked improvement.
To address the increasing complexity of VAWG offending, and the holistic needs of victims, the CPS is also producing a new VAWG strategy which will be published by Autumn 2024.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her Department’s policies of a call from over 250 members of the Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to its levelling up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy by 2030, and increase healthy life expectancy by five years, by 2035. We are supporting people in living healthier lives, helping the National Health Service and social care provide the best treatment and care for patients, and tackling health disparities through national and system interventions such as the NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme.
The Government continues to work together, through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)-led Levelling Up Inter-Ministerial Group, to progress the wider levelling up agenda. The levelling up missions are mutually reinforcing, and we are exploring new and existing opportunities for cross-Government action on the drivers of health, to support progress on the health mission and our wider common interests.
We are also working with the DLUHC to maximise opportunities to develop partnerships through English devolution and the Levelling Up Partnerships programme. These provide opportunities to test what works at a local and regional level, to support the health mission.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a cross-government strategy to tackle health inequalities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to its levelling up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy by 2030, and increase healthy life expectancy by five years, by 2035. We are supporting people in living healthier lives, helping the National Health Service and social care provide the best treatment and care for patients, and tackling health disparities through national and system interventions such as the NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme.
The Government continues to work together, through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)-led Levelling Up Inter-Ministerial Group, to progress the wider levelling up agenda. The levelling up missions are mutually reinforcing, and we are exploring new and existing opportunities for cross-Government action on the drivers of health, to support progress on the health mission and our wider common interests.
We are also working with the DLUHC to maximise opportunities to develop partnerships through English devolution and the Levelling Up Partnerships programme. These provide opportunities to test what works at a local and regional level, to support the health mission.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact on (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of the NHS workforce working beyond the age of the current state pension age.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No recent assessment has been made. National Health Service staff are not expected to work beyond state pension age, though some choose to do so. The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. The scheme offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down part of their pension and continue working in a more flexible way.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to going beyond statutory requirements in supporting and promoting flexible working opportunities. NHS England have produced guidance for employers on supporting their older workforce, together with a wide-ranging package of support for NHS staff. This includes tools and resources to support line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their well-being, and emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will respond to the open letter from civil society groups entitled UK Government’s Refusal to Suspend Arms Transfers to Israel, published on 28 February 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Government operates a robust and thorough assessment of licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and we will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with that Criteria including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.
We are monitoring the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories very closely. All our export licences are kept under careful review, and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, as well as refuse new licence applications, if they are found to be inconsistent with the Criteria.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the terms of reference of the expert group to provide technical advice on compensation for the Government's response to the Infected Blood Inquiry will include the recommendations of the reports entitled (a) Compensation and redress for the victims of contaminated blood recommendations for a framework, published on 7 June 2022, and (b) Second interim report of the infected blood inquiry, published by the Infected Blood Inquiry on 5 April 2023.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is actively considering all recommendations of the Second Interim Report which reviews the recommendations of Sir Robert Francis’ Compensations Framework Study. The expert group is providing technical assistance in understanding how the Inquiry’s recommendations could work in practice. This will enable the Government to make an informed decision on responding to recommendations in a manner which considers the needs of the community and the far reaching impacts this scandal has had on their lives, alongside the associated costs to the public sector.
As the work of the expert group relates to the formulation and development of Government policy, their advice, evidence and methodologies as well as the terms of reference, minutes and agendas of their meetings has not been not be published at this time.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the EU Commission's statement entitled Commission will proceed to paying €50 million to UNRWA and increase emergency support to Palestinians by €68 million in 2024, published on 1 March 2024, what his Department's timescale is to review the decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
As we have set out, we are pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight and Catherine Colonna, who is leading the independent Review Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General, to produce a rapid interim report. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza.
Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the current humanitarian response. We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. We are providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the EU Commission's decision to (a) restore funding for UNRWA and (b) allocate additional emergency support for Palestinians.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
As we have set out, we are pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight and Catherine Colonna, who is leading the independent Review Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General, to produce a rapid interim report. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza.
Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the current humanitarian response. We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. We are providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.