Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to collaborate with international health organizations to improve the (a) surveillance and (b) containment of Mpox globally.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Lord Collins recently visited DRC and announced £3.1 million to UNICEF to support the local response. This will reach 4.4 million people in affected communities. The UK's £340 million core voluntary contribution to the WHO supports it to allocate resources where they are needed most, including responding to health emergencies such as mpox. We have also contributed £3 million to WHO's Regional Office for Africa for health emergency response. Alongside our financial support, the FCDO continues to monitor the situation closely, staying in regular contact with the WHO and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support Mpox vaccine (a) distribution and (b) accessibility in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is second largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, providing £1.65 billion over 2021-2025. We are working closely with Gavi to enable access to mpox vaccines for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other African countries at risk. The UK have committed £160 million to international partner, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). CEPI and Bavarian Nordic recently announced a clinical trial launching in late 2024 to assess vaccine effectiveness in children in Africa. Lord Collins has announced the additional £3.1 million funding to UNICEF for cholera and mpox response. This will reach 4.4 million people in affected communities.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to permit people living with HIV to serve (a) as pilots, (b) as air traffic controllers and (c) in other roles in the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As a new Government, we are commissioning a review into the circumstances where those who are living with HIV are not permitted to fulfil some roles within the Armed Forces.
After recent changes there are only a very small number of roles where those living with HIV are currently excluded from serving, including aircrew and pilots. We note changes made to rules around civil aviation in respect of people living with HIV and I have asked the Department to consider whether the current policy measures, especially given advances in PREP, are consistent with the values and standards of our Armed Forces.
I have asked for this review to be delivered swiftly. I would be happy to meet the righ hon. Member and cross-party colleagues to discuss this matter further with a view to a decision being taken by the Ministers in the coming weeks.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's policy is on future funding for the Robert Carr Fund.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is proud to be a long-term funder of the Robert Carr Fund (RCF). Our assessments have found it to be a very effective mechanism that supports the leadership, priorities and rights of some of the most marginalised people, in order to expand their access to the HIV, SRHR and health services they need.
Robert Carr is the world's leading international fund focused on funding global and regional networks led by, involving, and serving people who face a higher HIV risk than the general population, systematic human rights violations and barriers to information and HIV and SRH services.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her plans are for Round 4 Window (a) 1 and (b) 2 of the Community Ownership Fund.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 1308 on 26 July 2024.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to (a) review and (b) amend the requirement for people over the age of 66 with a postal vote to reapply for their postal vote every three years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to review the commission charge on Park Home sales.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The park homes sector is an important part of the housing market. We recognise that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home. We will set out the Government’s position on this matter in due course.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.
This Government respects the work of the Ombudsman. Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.
The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government/we will be in a position to outline its approach.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Robert Carr Fund in advancing human rights of inadequately served populations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a long-term funder of the Robert Carr Fund (RCF), we consider it to be a very effective mechanism that supports the leadership, priorities and rights of some of the most marginalised people, in order to expand their access to the HIV, SRHR and health services they need.
Robert Carr is the world's leading international fund focused on funding global and regional networks led by, involving, and serving people who face a higher HIV risk than the general population, systematic human rights violations, and barriers to information and HIV and SRH services.
Working with community-led and grassroots organisations is key to achieving the targets in the Global AIDS Strategy. Our investment into the Robert Carr Fund, along with other organisations such as the Global Fund and UNAIDS, is important in helping countries to implement actions and make progress towards targets under the Strategy.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding the Robert Carr Fund to support the achievement of the targets in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Strategy 2024-27.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a long-term funder of the Robert Carr Fund (RCF), we consider it to be a very effective mechanism that supports the leadership, priorities and rights of some of the most marginalised people, in order to expand their access to the HIV, SRHR and health services they need.
Robert Carr is the world's leading international fund focused on funding global and regional networks led by, involving, and serving people who face a higher HIV risk than the general population, systematic human rights violations, and barriers to information and HIV and SRH services.
Working with community-led and grassroots organisations is key to achieving the targets in the Global AIDS Strategy. Our investment into the Robert Carr Fund, along with other organisations such as the Global Fund and UNAIDS, is important in helping countries to implement actions and make progress towards targets under the Strategy.