Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Change the law to include laboratory animals in the Animal Welfare Act.
Gov Responded - 20 Aug 2021 Debated on - 7 Feb 2022 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsThe Government needs to change the law so laboratory animals are included in the Animal Welfare Act. Laboratory animals are currently not protected by the Act and are therefore victims of 'unnecessary suffering' (see section 4 of the Act: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/section/4).
Prohibit employers from requiring staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19
Gov Responded - 25 Nov 2021 Debated on - 24 Jan 2022 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsMake it illegal for any employer to mandate vaccination for its employees. This should apply to all public sector (including the NHS, armed forces, care workers), third sector and all private sector.
Dedicate funding for research into Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP)
Gov Responded - 12 Oct 2021 Debated on - 6 Dec 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsInvest in FOP research to support this ultra-rare disease community. Research into FOP could inform the understanding/treatment of many more common conditions such as osteoporosis, hip replacements, DIPG (a rare childhood brain cancer) and many common military injuries.
Ban Water Companies discharging raw sewage into water courses.
Gov Responded - 5 May 2021 Debated on - 15 Nov 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsEnsure Water companies treat the sewage they are responsible for. Not discharge it into rivers and water courses. After all what goes into the ocean comes back as the fish we eat.
Stop work on HS2 immediately and hold a new vote to repeal the legislation
Gov Responded - 14 Jan 2021 Debated on - 13 Sep 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsWe ask Parliament to repeal the High Speed Rail Bills, 2016 and 2019, as MPs voted on misleading environmental, financial and timetable information provided by the Dept of Transport and HS2 Ltd. It fails to address the conditions of the Paris Accord and costs have risen from £56bn to over £100bn.
Replace Breed Specific Legislation with a new statutory framework
Gov Responded - 17 Apr 2020 Debated on - 5 Jul 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsBreed Specific Legislation fails to achieve what Parliament intended, to protect the public. It focuses on specific breeds, which fails to appreciate a dog is not aggressive purely on the basis of its breed. It allows seizure of other breeds, but the rules are not applied homogeneously by councils.
Do not rollout Covid-19 vaccine passports
Gov Responded - 3 Mar 2021 Debated on - 15 Mar 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsWe want the Government to commit to not rolling out any e-vaccination status/immunity passport to the British public. Such passports could be used to restrict the rights of people who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine, which would be unacceptable.
Give further financial support to the Events and Hospitality industry
Gov Responded - 15 Oct 2020 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsBeing the first to close and still no clue as to when we can open, this seasonal industry is losing its summer profits that allows them to get through the first quarter of next year.
Even if we are allowed to open in December, 1 months profit won't be enough to keep us open in 2021. We need help
Create a Minister for Hospitality in the UK Government
Gov Responded - 3 Nov 2020 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsThe UK hospitality industry. Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn in activity, resulting in £38bn in taxation. Yet, unlike the Arts or Sports, we do not have a dedicated Minister.
We are asking that a Minister for Hospitality be created for the current, and successive governments.
Prioritise teachers, school and childcare staff for Covid-19 vaccination
Gov Responded - 23 Feb 2021 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Ian Paisley's petition debate contributionsAdvice from the JCVI on the priority groups for a Covid-19 vaccine does not include school/childcare workers. This petition calls for these workers, who cannot distance or use PPE, to be kept safe at work by being put on the vaccine priority list when such a list is adopted into government policy.
These initiatives were driven by Ian Paisley, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Ian Paisley has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Ian Paisley has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to grant a right of access to the digital devices of a dead or incapacitated person to their next of kin; and for connected purposes.
Ian Paisley has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
I am delighted that, as part of our deal with the EU, we have agreed to associate to Horizon Europe. This represents a valuable collaboration on science and research to tackle global challenges, and in fields that will benefit UK citizens including the people of Northern Ireland.
We recognise the importance that ambition, and a supportive policy framework have had in building investor confidence in the development of low carbon technologies in the UK.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030.
The Ten Point Plan and Energy White Paper both set out that the Government, working with industry, aims to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030.
In support of this we have announced a £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund for capital co-investment in new low carbon hydrogen production, to bring forward a combination of CCUS-enabled ‘blue’ hydrogen and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen projects. We have also committed to consulting this year on a preferred hydrogen revenue mechanism, which will support private sector investment.
The Government will publish a dedicated Hydrogen Strategy in the first half of this year. This will offer more detail on how we will work with industry to meet the 2030 ambition.
The Department’s Research and Development (R&D) settlement has increased to £11.1 billion for 2021/22. This settlement supports our commitments as set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps to consolidate our position as a science superpower. Specific funding is subject to our departmental allocations process, which is now underway and progressing at pace, including the allocation of this funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Most of the research into vaccines for human use that is funded by the Department is carried out through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI. The latest available data shows that in 2017/18, the MRC funded £25 million into research aimed at developing vaccines. This data does not record whether this work involved the use of aborted human foetal tissue.
Any use of such tissue would require an ethical review and must be in accordance with legal requirements. The MRC has produced guidance on the ethical and legal requirements for the use of human tissue in the research that it funds.
UKRI welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Where specific funding is allocated in advance for a strategic area of research, such as vaccines, such allocations would not normally specify the research methodology to be used.
The Department’s Research and Development (R&D) settlement has increased to £11.1 billion for 2021/22. This settlement supports our commitments as set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps to consolidate our position as a science superpower. Specific funding is subject to our departmental allocations process, which is now underway and progressing at pace, including the allocation of this funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Most of the research into vaccines for human use that is funded by the Department is carried out through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI. The latest available data shows that in 2017/18, the MRC funded £25 million into research aimed at developing vaccines. This data does not record whether this work involved the use of aborted human foetal tissue.
Any use of such tissue would require an ethical review and must be in accordance with legal requirements. The MRC has produced guidance on the ethical and legal requirements for the use of human tissue in the research that it funds.
UKRI welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Where specific funding is allocated in advance for a strategic area of research, such as vaccines, such allocations would not normally specify the research methodology to be used.
At the time of a marketing authorisation, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) will include a full list of the drug substances and excipients. There are statutory requirements for what is required in an SmPC document and we will follow those for Covid-19 vaccines. More information is available in the “Guideline on Quality Aspects Included in the Product Information for Vaccines for Human Use”.
On 11 May, the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out a roadmap to a phased recovery. As per my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement of the five ministerial-led taskforces which form part of this recovery effort, BEIS is responsible for two of the five ministerial-led taskforces: Pubs and restaurants and Non-essential retail (including salons). Phase 2 of the approach will look at re-opening closed businesses in these sectors and the taskforces will be working closely with key stakeholders to begin reopening retail businesses in phases from 1 June.
These taskforces will aim to look at various issues which impact the closed businesses and we will develop plans for how and when closed sectors can reopen safely in due time, guided by the science and experts.
Ministers and officials have consulted extensively with a wide range of stakeholders during the drafting of the Bill.
Online Safety legislation has been designed to safeguard access to journalistic content. News publishers’ content will be exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties. The criteria against which an organisation qualifies as a publisher is set in the draft Online Safety Bill. If an organisation meets these criteria, then its content will be exempt.
The Bill will also impose a duty on the biggest and riskiest companies, Category 1 companies, to safeguard all journalistic content shared on their platform. Through this duty, these platforms will need to have systems in place to ensure they take into account the importance of the free expression of journalistic content when operating their services.
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
The government encourages universities and private hall providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. A number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.
Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the current, 2019/20, academic year. Students who are tenants with individual private landlords are entitled to support if they are impacted by COVID-19, such as repayable rent reductions or postponements.
Accommodation providers should not instruct students to return home. If any accommodation provider did formally instruct a student to leave the property then it would be unacceptable to continue to charge student rents.
If a student thinks their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/; https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and: https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.
The Government is taking forward an ambitious programme of action on behaviour, exclusion and alternative provision (AP) which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion when they need to, enable schools to support children at risk of exclusion, and ensure that excluded children continue to receive a good education. We will expand AP and improve the quality of the sector so that pupils in AP receive an education on a par with that received by their mainstream peers and receive the support they need in other areas. Further information on the timeframes for this work will be provided in due course.
The Department for Education is working closely with over 1600 schools across the country who are acting, on a voluntary basis, as early adopters of relationships education; relationships and sex education (RSE); and health education. As early adopters, these schools have indicated their intention to start teaching the new requirements: relationships education (for primary aged pupils), RSE (for secondary aged pupils) and health education (all pupils in state-funded schools), during the academic year 2019/20, ahead of the subjects being compulsory from September 2020.
The Department is working closely with these early adopter schools to develop a programme of support. Recently four national conferences took place, to help early adopters plan for delivery of the new subjects, and to enable the Department to learn about their current practices and assess support needs. Following feedback from the conferences, consideration is being given to what further regional support may be required.
This engagement with early adopter schools is helping the Department develop its programme of support for the new subjects, which will be available to all teachers from spring 2020. The programme will focus on tools that improve schools’ practice and will offer opportunities for teachers to improve subject knowledge, build confidence and share best practice. This support will be accessed through a new online service and will include an implementation guide, which will accompany the statutory guidance, case studies from early adopter schools, and innovative materials to support staff training. We will continue to test this package with early adopter schools.
The first 25 Mental Health Support Team (MHST) trailblazer sites, delivering 59 MHSTs were announced in December 2018. These MHSTs are all expected to have completed their training by the end of 2019/early 2020 and will be fully operational following this. As a result, it is too early to assess their effectiveness in schools and colleges.
The national, early evaluation of the trailblazer programme formally commenced on 1 October 2019. The protocol for the first phase of the evaluation is available at https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/16/138/31, and findings are expected to be published in Spring/Summer 2021.
The Department is committed to reforming alternative provision (AP) including expanding and attracting high quality AP as an integral part of the free schools programme. We will announce the successful applicants of the current wave of AP and special Free Schools in early 2020.
As of December 2019, 81% of pupil referral units, AP academies and AP free schools were rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. The Department’s reforms will continue to improve the quality of the sector, building on the good practice being tested in our £4 million AP Innovation Fund projects and learning from the effective approaches my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has seen in a number of his visits to AP institutions.
The legal duty aims to ensure key organisations in a local area collaborate in a multi-agency approach to tackle serious violence. The Department for Education is working with the Home Office to ensure that the education sector is a key part of the multi-agency partnership. We will be engaging with schools and colleges, including alternative provision institutions, and aim to publish guidance to help support education providers to understand the level of commitment the duty may place on them.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 10 September, PQ UIN 905828.
[https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-10/905828]
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is an essential humanitarian and stabilising force in the region, providing vital services to millions of Palestinian refugees every day. The UK recognises the need for UNRWA to reform to help ensure its sustainability. To this end, in 2018 UNRWA undertook serious steps to improve its long-term viability by broadening its donor base and securing funding from 12 new donors, signing 8 new multi-year funding commitments in 2018, and implementing significant programme reform measures
DFID has robust measures in place to ensure UK Aid reaches its intended beneficiaries. UK aid to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) health and education sectors is channelled through the EU Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism. Our money goes into a dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. The bank account is only used for UK aid. Independent auditors check that the money paid out from this bank account only went to the vetted individuals after every disbursement.
UK assistance to the PA for water and energy will be through the World Bank Partnership for Infrastructure Development in the West Bank and Gaza Multi Donor Trust Fund. UK aid will flow from the trust fund to dedicated accounts that will be managed by the PA in accordance with rules established by the World Bank, and be subject to the review of external financial auditors to provide assurance that the expenditure of funds was only on agreed programme activities.
The UK Government, alongside other governments, works in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to improve the lives of Palestinians in support of our commitment to maintain the viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This includes humanitarian support to meet immediate needs in Gaza, support to key services such as education and health in the West Bank, and promoting economic development across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. DFID’s work supports stability and the development of a capable and accountable Palestinian Authority that can act as an effective partner for peace with Israel. We also support People to People work that aims to bring together Israelis and Palestinians to cooperate on issues that can have a positive impact on both communities. Building understanding between people on both sides of the conflict will be crucial in helping build support for a peaceful, negotiated lasting resolution.
The UK government is committed to achieving the removal of punitive tariffs impacting UK industries, such as Northern Irish Whiskey Distillers, by de-escalating this dispute.
The Secretary of State for International Trade will be engaging the Biden administration at the earliest opportunity to find a mutually beneficial and balanced settlement that works for the whole of the UK and to the benefit of UK businesses. We want to de-escalate and resolve the disputes so that we can deepen trading ties with the US and move onto the next phase of our trading relationship.
The Department for International Trade consistently champions the British music industry and the incredible talent which makes the sector such a great success story for the UK.
The Government has put in place unprecedented support for businesses and workers to protect them against the economic impact of COVID-19. In 2020/21, the Government is providing export support of around £1 million to UK music companies. Most of this is grant support offered to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK’s music sector through the International Showcase Fund and the Music Export Growth Scheme. Companies in Northern Ireland have benefited from both schemes, with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland supporting the International Showcase Fund as funding partners.
During the pandemic, the Government has provided support for digital events so music companies can continue to do business with international customers. The Government is working closely with the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board, which includes music representatives, to develop a creative industries trade and investment recovery strategy which will enable the UK music sector to maintain its strong international position.
As set out in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 £355 million of new funding has been made available for zero emission buses. UK bus manufacturers are well placed to benefit from this funding for zero emission buses.
17 local transport authorities are working to produce business cases under the standard process of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme. The Department will award funding to successful business cases under the standard process in Spring 2022.
The Department for Transport is working with Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care and Border Force to ensure the UK border is ready for the return of international travel. This includes modelling demand scenarios, flexing resource deployment and increasing automation at the border, including the use of e-gates to increase capacity.
The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution included ambitious new policies and investment in hydrogen transport projects including:
We will build on those announcements and set out the role for hydrogen in our forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will set out how we intend to reduce emissions and deliver transport’s contribution to net zero by 2050.
The Secretary of State has not had any specific conversations with the Prime Minister regarding the timeline for allocating the buses portion of the £5 billion funding package, that was announced in February this year.
Details of the 4,000 zero-emission buses from the funding package, including how the funding will be distributed, will be announced in due course.
NHS England’s adult and paediatric cystic fibrosis service specifications set out national standards for cystic fibrosis services, including the importance of access to multidisciplinary teams involving appropriately trained clinical psychologists and social workers. There are regular review meetings between the regional commissioning teams and providers to ensure compliance with service standards. Those with long term conditions such as cystic fibrosis can also access psychological support via Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.
Health Education England has supported a 60% expansion in the clinical psychology training intake in the past two years. Trainees can undertake specialist placements and upon qualification take up posts across a wide range of settings, including working with adults and children with cystic fibrosis.
The white paper, ‘People at the Heart of Care’, is supported by at least £500 million to develop and support the adult social care workforce over the next three years. We are also supporting the social care workforce through the development of a post-graduate mental health social work programme, the Education Support Grant and Social Work Bursaries.
In 2022/23, NHS England and NHS Improvement intend to undertake a capacity and demand review of external beam radiotherapy capacity, to support local systems to plan radiotherapy provision, including the replacement of equipment. NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to review the payment arrangements for radiotherapy, to ensure that appropriate incentives are in place to encourage providers to increase access to new treatments and techniques and to upgrade and replace equipment.
New radiotherapy methods are being delivered to address current backlogs through targeted treatment in fewer hospital visits, minimising patient time in hospital. Radiotherapy activity is also included in the Elective Recovery Fund, which aims to support National Health Service providers increase capacity in elective services, including for cancer treatment.
On 18 May 2022, I met with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy to discuss a range of issues, including the backlog in cancer care. The meeting included radiotherapy professionals.
We have no plans to make an assessment. However, we will invest up to £25 million to improve the support provided to unpaid carers in England. We expect this funding will identify and test a range of new and existing interventions, which could include respite and breaks, peer group and wellbeing support. We will also work with the sector, including local authorities, to explore different models of respite, how respite services are accessed by carers and any barriers which carers may experience in accessing these services.
The information requested is not held centrally. Contracting and funding abortion services and assurance of spend is a matter for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). It is for CCGs to take appropriate steps to ensure the costs of abortion services provided through the National Health Service by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are an accurate reflection of the costs involved.
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
We welcome the Committee’s report. In our response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report, we set out where we agreed with its recommendations or where we are taking forward the recommendations in part or in full. We will be considering the recommendations in full during the development of a new long term cross-Government plan for mental health. We are launching a wide-ranging discussion paper and call for evidence to support development of the plan. The Committee’s inquiry and evidence from witnesses will be considered during this process.
Data on whether both pills are taken at home or in a clinic is collected through the statutory abortion forms that clinicians send to the Chief Medical Officer. Data for 2020 will be published later this year as part of the annual abortion statistics.
Medical devices can continue to move into Northern Ireland without checks. Medical devices are goods marked with a conformity assessment marking – for example, the CE mark or UKCA mark, and are regulated under a different set of rules from medicines. As long as medical devices are compliant with the European Union acquis, they can be placed on the Northern Ireland market. Medical devices are not required to comply with the requirements of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive and they are not included in the grace period for medicines.
The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, is working closely with the health and care system, suppliers and industry to put in place robust measures to help ensure the continued supply of medicines and medical devices to the whole of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland.
This information is not collected or held centrally.
The information is not held in the format requested.
The Test and Trace Support Payment is available in all local authorities in England. The Department works closely with the devolved administrations which run similar schemes.
To be eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment, an individual must be employed or self-employed, unable to work from home, and currently receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit.
Where an individual is not in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits but meets the other eligibility criteria and may face financial hardship if they have to self-isolate, local authorities can make a £500 discretionary payment.
In June 2020 the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies published a briefing paper on the impact of false positives and false negatives in the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing programme, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gos-impact-of-false-positives-and-negatives-3-june-2020
Over 750,000 people have signed up to the NHS Volunteers Responders programme in England against an initial ask of 250,000 volunteers. 607,054 volunteers have completed the necessary identity checks to begin helping those most vulnerable, more than double the original target. As of 28 April, 63,683 tasks have been completed by volunteers.
The programme is now accepting self-referrals and hon. Members are also able refer vulnerable people to the programme to receive support from the NHS Volunteer Responders. This can be done by completing an online referral form via the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) website or by calling the RVS call centre.
On 12 March 2020 the Prime Minister announced that the COVID-19 response was moving from the contain to delay phase. This phase has been initiated as there is now community transmission of the virus in the United Kingdom, i.e. transmission not directly related to travel; this has made interventions in ports of less relative importance. With the shift to the delay phase and commensurate policy changes the Public Health England port health approach has changed to a ‘warn and inform focus’.
We are taking significant steps to ease operational pressures and provide financial support to National Health Service providers, so they are able to focus on the response to the outbreak.
These include an additional payment for 2019-20 at year-end to reflect any initial costs reported due to COVID-19. Additionally, NHS England and NHS Improvement have suspended the operational planning process for 2020-21. In replacement, simplified block contracts have been agreed between commissioners and NHS providers which will guarantee a nationally calculated monthly payment, between the period 1 April 2020 to 31 July 2020 to cover costs.
National Health Service and care staff in Northern Ireland can book a test through the Government’s online self-referral portal, which allows them to register for a home test kit or to book a drive-through test at a regional test site. Three regional testing sites have been set up in Northern Ireland; in Belfast, Derry and Craigavon. We recognise that each devolved administration will have its own eligibility criteria and testing priorities in their region, however we are working closely to align our approaches.
On 17 April 2020 the Government announced a new Vaccines Taskforce (VTF) to drive forward the rapid development and production of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The VTF is supporting efforts to rapidly develop a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible by providing industry and research institutions with the resources and support they need. This includes reviewing regulations and scaling up manufacturing, so that when a vaccine becomes available, it can be produced quickly and in mass quantities.
The taskforce is also working closely with the Bioindustry Association which has set up an industry-led group, to accelerate vaccine development and manufacturing.
The Department is working closely with the devolved administrations, coordinating and sharing information as appropriate, to ensure all four nations can respond to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Health is a devolved matter and the Northern Ireland Department of Health would be best placed to respond to questions regarding capacity in Northern Ireland hospitals.
We are developing an integrated contact tracing and testing programme to support the next phase of our COVID-19 response. The programme will combine innovative technology, an app which uses Bluetooth technology to detect proximity contacts between app users, with more traditional web and phone-based contact tracing techniques. Alongside this there will be swab testing for those reporting COVID-19 symptoms.
The contact tracing app is currently undergoing testing and we are recruiting 18,000 contact tracers to support the wider programme. This integrated programme will play an important role in helping us to minimise the spread of the virus in the future.
The Department has commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for all National Health Service staff during and after COVID-19 response.
This includes free access to well-being apps, a dedicated helpline and text service that offer support and confidential listening, and where appropriate signposting to other services that support staff welfare. A separate helpline is also now available offering bereavement support by a team of fully qualified bereavement specialists.
More information on how to access this support can be found online at the following link:
people.nhs.uk/help
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS England has published a suite of documents to support National Health Service organisations with the management of their workforce. All of the documents can be found on NHS England’s website at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/workforce/
The NHS has also run a campaign asking for recently retired doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to return to practice. Further details can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/returning-clinicians/
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has provided the following to the Safe Abortion Action Fund in each of the past five years; £0 in 2017/18, £0 in 2018/19, £1 million 2019/20, £1 million 20/21 and £0.8 million 21/22. Available on the development tracker: https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-1-300875/transactions
On 21 February, my Rt Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Vice President Maroš Šefčovič co-chaired the Ninth Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee in Brussels.
The Protocol is not working for the people of Northern Ireland and is threatening political stability. The EU needs to show flexibility to urgently resolve the issues to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
I express my deepest sympathies to UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, and all victims of Troubles.
This is an important issue; and I recognise this House takes a close interest.
Ministers across Government are carefully considering the internal scoping report Mr Shawcross has produced in order to do justice to the important and sensitive issues it covers, giving due respect to the victims.
The Government is carefully considering the internal scoping report that Mr Shawcross has produced in order to do justice to the important, complex and sensitive issues it covers.
The information is not available. Most businesses submit VAT returns to HM Revenue and Customs quarterly, and quarterly returns are for differing accounting periods. Businesses are not required to provide figures for different products or services on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.
In order to support the cash flow and viability of about 150,000 businesses and to protect over 2.4 million jobs, the Government has applied a temporary reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors, which will now end on 30 September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent will be introduced for these goods and services to ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. The new rate will end on 31 March 2022.
This relief is estimated to be worth over £7 billion to the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Each year OFSI carries out a review of frozen assets held by UK institutions. Anyone who holds frozen assets (including funds and economic resources) is required to report them to OFSI.
Economic resources means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable (such as goods, property or rights) which are not funds themselves but which can be used to obtain funds, goods or services. Funds means financial assets and benefits of every kind, including but not limited to:
• cash, cheques, claims on money, drafts, money orders and other payment instruments
• deposits with financial institutions or other entities, balances on accounts, debts and debt obligations
• loans and mortgages
• publicly and privately traded securities and debt instruments, including stocks and shares, certificates representing securities, bonds, notes, warrants, debentures and derivatives contracts
• interest, dividends or other income on or value accruing from or generated by assets
• credit, right of set-off, guarantees, performance bonds or other financial commitments
• letters of credit, bills of lading, bills of sale
• documents evidencing an interest in funds or financial resources
• any other instrument of export-financing
The aggregate figure of funds frozen under the Libya regime as at September 2019 was approximately £11.809 billion. However, the Treasury does not break down the return data by category and institution in the manner requested.
Since its establishment in 2016, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has undertaken an annual frozen asset review, requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen assets in the UK to report to OFSI, from which the following figures are taken.
The figures are each an approximate total value of frozen Libyan assets in the UK. The figures for the 2020 Frozen Asset Review are still being finalised, and will be published in OFSI’s Annual Review later this year.
September 2017 £12.061 billion
September 2018 £11.222 billion
September 2019 £11.809 billion
The Treasury does not hold information on the total interest that has accrued on Libyan frozen assets.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) undertakes an annual frozen asset review requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen funds in the UK to report to OFSI. OFSI’s published Annual Review provides an aggregate figure for the value of Libyan frozen funds held by UK institutions. However, there is no requirement for banks to report interest separately in the annual returns on frozen assets they provide to OFSI.
The Government has been clear that as the economy reopens, the Government will support people back into work. On 12 May, the Government announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would be extended for four months, until the end of October.
On 29 May, the Chancellor announced plans for introducing employer contributions into the CJRS, while ensuring that employees continue to receive 80% of regular wages while furloughed.
In June and July, the Government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 as well as employer National Insurance Contributions (ER NICs) and pension contributions for the hours the employee does not work. Employers will have to pay employees for the hours they work.
In August, the Government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 and employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions for the hours the employee does not work.
In September, the Government will pay 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50 for the hours the employee does not work. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and 10% of wages to make up the 80% total, up to a cap of £2,500.
In October, the Government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875 for the hours the employee does not work. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and 20% of wages to make up the 80% total, up to a cap of £2,500.
The cap will be proportional to the hours not worked.
The Government continues to work through the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Government is committed to providing guidance on how the NI Protocol will work, including for duty-free goods, ahead of the end of the transition period.
The Government continues to work through the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Government is committed to providing guidance on how the NI Protocol will work, including for duty-free goods, ahead of the end of the transition period.
The Government has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until October 2020. Extending the scheme in its current form until July will provide workers, businesses and the economy with clarity on this vital support. After July, the Government will introduce more flexibility to the furlough scheme in a measured way that protects people’s incomes and helps support furloughed employees as they return to work. From August through to the end of October, employers currently using the scheme will have more flexibility to bring their furloughed employees back to work part-time while still receiving support from the scheme. Employers using the scheme will start contributing some of the costs of their workers’ salaries, substituting in part the contribution that the Government is currently making. The Government will outline more details of how this will work by the end of May.
The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
The Home Office does not provide accomodation to migrants to the UK.
The Home Office does though have a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.
The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts.
We do not publish a breakdown of costs of our accommodation & support contracts by location or property type as such detail is considered commercially sensitive.
The Home Secretary has engaged with the Irish Government as part of a wider dialogue, but not to specifically discuss extremism.
Work in relation to the Muslim Brotherhood is a matter for the Home Office, so we are responding on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
There has not been formal inter-Ministerial engagement on the Muslim Brotherhood. The Government keeps under review the activities of those associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK in accordance with the five commitments included in the former Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament.
No funding has been allocated by the Government to mark this year’s centenary of the formation of the RUC. Events in Northern Ireland have been arranged locally and by the RUCGC Foundation. Further information may be sought from the PSNI, the RUCGC Foundation or the Department of Justice.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I are working closely with the First Minister, deputy First Minister and the rest of the Executive on the response to Covid-19.
As my honourable Friend will be aware, health is a devolved matter. In May, the Department of Health published the Covid-19 Test, Trace and Protect Strategy, which is led by the Public Health Agency.
Testing has always been a critical part of the UK’s response. The Testing Strategy in Northern Ireland is aligned with the UK strategic approach, and through working with a number of key stakeholders and delivery partners across the Health and Social Care Sector, local universities and industry, testing capacity has increased significantly.
As with any diagnostic test there is always the small possibility of a false negative or a false positive result. All tests have been assessed as performing to manufacturers’ specifications before being used.
The New Decade, New Approach agreement included a commitment to close down the existing RHI scheme and replace it with a scheme that effectively cuts carbon emissions in Northern Ireland. This pledge was part of text about the programme for government for the new Executive and not a UK Government commitment.
To support the new Executive, UKG has guaranteed at least £1bn of Barnett-based funding to support investment, alongside £1bn of new resource and capital spending. This funding is not intended to absorb the costs to the Executive of the RHI voluntary buy-out scheme and/or addressing financial hardship experienced by scheme participants as a result of adjusted RHI tariffs.
The RHI Inquiry was commissioned by a Northern Ireland Minister and fundamentally concerns devolved issues. The Government does, however, expect to see rapid progress in implementing all of Sir Patrick’s recommendations, alongside continued implementation of the reforms in New Decade, New Approach, and is working closely with the First and deputy First Minister to ensure this is done.
The Northern Ireland Assembly has not opposed the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020.
The debate in the Assembly on 2 June 2020 was focused on one aspect of those regulations, severe fetal impairment, and does not have any binding effects on the Regulations we have made.
As abortion remains a devolved issue in Northern Ireland, the Assembly remains able to legislate on abortion, subject to the usual Assembly and other procedures, including compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK Government will continue to ensure we abide by our domestic and international legal obligations.