Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were out of work as a result of having long covid in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 22nd March is attached.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which hazardous military waste materials are prohibited from being put into landfill as of 21 March 2024.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are no derogations, exemptions or disapplications for defence activities within waste legislation. Therefore, hazardous military waste is dealt with in the same way as non-military hazardous waste. Hazardous waste prohibited from landfill, of relevance to Ministry of Defence activities, includes liquid waste and waste that would be explosive, corrosive, oxidising, flammable or highly flammable.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if she will apply to the High Court to order a new investigation into the death of Zane Gbangbola during flooding in 2014.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Surrey Senior Coroner has already carried out a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zane Gbangbola’s death, taking into account a considerable amount of evidence. The Coroner, as an independent judicial office holder, drew his own conclusions based on this evidence.
If there is a belief that the evidence was not considered properly during the original inquest, or that there is new evidence available, the correct process is for an application to be made to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh investigation. The High Court would take this course of action if it believed that it would be in the interests of justice.
If the Hon Member or the victim’s family would like to make such an application to the Attorney General, they are welcome to contact the Attorney General’s Office at correspondence@attorneygeneral.gov.uk for information and guidance on how to apply.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
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 have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of opening an independent public inquiry with full powers to compel disclosure into the death of Zane Gbangbola in 2014.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Surrey Senior Coroner has already carried out a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zane Gbangbola’s death, taking into account a considerable amount of evidence. The Coroner, as an independent judicial office holder, drew his own conclusions based on this evidence.
If there is a belief that the evidence was not considered properly during the original inquest, or that there is new evidence available, the correct process is for an application to be made to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh investigation. The High Court would take this course of action if it believed that it would be in the interests of justice.
I believe that this remains the proper process to follow. An assessment of the merits of an inquiry should be made at the appropriate time if, and when, the legal processes have been exhausted.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to review the eligibility criteria for antivirals for those suffering from long covid.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the eligibility criteria for treatment with antivirals are made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), based on an assessment of their costs and benefits, developed in line with marketing authorisations issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The NICE has published guidance that recommends the antivirals Paxlovid, Veklury, and Lagevrio for the treatment of COVID-19, both in the community, and for patients in hospital. This guidance sets out the eligibility criteria and ensures that patients who are at the highest risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19 have access to clinically and cost-effective treatments. Patients with long COVID have not been identified as a distinct group that would be eligible for treatment, and there are currently no licensed antivirals for the treatment of long COVID. The NICE therefore has no current plans to review the eligibility criteria in its guidance. The NICE maintains surveillance of new evidence that may affect its published guidance, and would consult on proposed changes if significant new evidence were to emerge.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Tackling violence against women and girls strategy, published on 21 July 2021, what progress his Department has made on ensuring support is provided to survivors of gender-based violence.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We have completed or closed over half of all cross-government commitments in the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy (2021) and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (2022).
This includes: