Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing paramedics to certify Med3 Fit Notes.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
In 2023 we consulted on further extending certification to other healthcare professions, including paramedics. The Government continues to monitor fit note data following the 2022 legislative changes through analysis of internal quantitative data and commissioned external qualitative research but will not be further extending the professions which can certify fit notes at this time.
As part of our wider programme of fit note reform, we will consider how we can best draw on a wide range of professionals to support people to start, stay and succeed in work.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the fundamental rights of (a) women and girls and (b) children following changes to the Somali constitution lowering the age of maturity; and whether he has made representations to the Somali government on that issue.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Proposed changes in the Somali constitution to lower the age of maturity have been delayed. This followed extensive engagement by the UK and others in the international community. The UK is closely following the on-going constitutional review process in Somalia and we have encouraged the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to ensure the process has broad based support amongst the Somali people, civil society, and marginalised groups. In addition, we continue to regularly raise human rights concerns with our Somali partners.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase collaboration with (a) French, (b) German and (c) US overseas development agencies.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Our recent White Paper sets out the importance we place on partnerships to support development. The UK has longstanding and close development relationships with France, Germany and the USA. We are strengthening our partnerships through bilateral Strategic Development Dialogues, held with France in October 2023, Germany and the US in February and March 2024 respectively. They allow in-depth exchange at senior levels, and are designed to strengthen collaboration and identify joint areas of action.
Strategic Development Dialogues are underpinned by regular engagement overseas and between capitals at official and Ministerial levels. I personally met Minister Zacharopoulou at COP28, spoke with Minister Keul in February and met USAID Administrator Samantha Power in Washington in April.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his Asian Pacific counterparts on climate change mitigation measures.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Climate change remains a central focus of our diplomatic relations. The FCDO ministerial team have and will continue to engage with counterparts in the Asia Pacific including those most vulnerable to climate change and essential to the green transition. In March, the Foreign Secretary discussed climate change with the Australian Foreign Minister at AUKMIN (the Australia-UK Ministerial Meeting) and launched the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) Country Fund in Thailand, worth up to £6 million. The region includes key partners like Australia, whom we work with through the UNFCCC as members of the Umbrella Group; developing countries we are supporting with their climate transitions (such as Indonesia and Vietnam, where we are leading JETPs - Just Energy Transition Partnerships); major emitters such as China and India; and the Pacific Island Countries, who are uniquely vulnerable to climate impacts and a strong moral voice on climate.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions has he had with partners in West Africa on partnerships relating to climate mitigation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is a strong supporter of climate action in West Africa, helping countries transition to a low carbon economy and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Africa Regional Climate and Nature Programme (ARCAN) is a regional programme of up to £250 million over 6 years which aims to build resilience to climate change, tackle nature and biodiversity loss and catalyse energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa. I [Minister Mitchell] have engaged with a range of West African partners and led the UK delegation at the African Climate Summit in Nairobi in September 2023, and COP28 in Dubai in December 2023. During a visit to Accra in January 2024 I met Secretary General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), President Nasheed, and discussed priorities for the CVF and its Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his Ethiopian counterpart and (b) other international partners on ensuring the adequacy of access for humanitarian deliveries in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is committed to providing support to the most vulnerable and those in desperate need in Ethiopia. We have already increased our humanitarian support this financial year to £74 million. Almost 1.9 million people benefit from UK-supported programmes in Amhara, although access is currently limited. The UK is continuing to provide support where possible and consistently raises humanitarian access with the government of Ethiopia. Most recently Minister Mitchell met the Ethiopian Foreign Minister Taye on 17 April at the Ethiopian high-level pledging conference in Geneva, where the government committed to reforms to improve humanitarian operations in Ethiopia. At the conference, which was co-hosted by the UK, international partners successfully raised $610 million to meet humanitarian needs in Ethiopia, including in Amhara.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what the total cost to the public purse was of hosting the Preventing Sexual Violence summit in November 2022 at the Elizabeth II centre.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) International Conference, hosted by the former Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad on 28-29 November 2022 was a key opportunity to turn the dial on the global response to conflict-related sexual violence. Over 1,000 delegates attended, including survivors, civil society, multilateral partners, and representatives from at least 57 countries. 53 countries endorsed the Political Declaration made at the conference, with 42 countries making concrete national commitments. The total cost of delivering this conference was approximately £4.2 million, which was under the original budget.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department are taking to enforce the repair of potholes by owners of unadopted roads where such damage poses a danger to (a) traffic and (b) the public.
Answered by Guy Opperman
This is a matter for local highway authorities.
Under the 1980 Highways Act, the highway authority is responsible for the management of those streets that have been adopted by it, or its predecessor authorities. A road that is not maintained at public expense by a highway authority is known as a private street, as defined by Section 203(2) of the Act. The responsibility for management of private streets generally rests with those who own properties that either front onto or border the street concerned (known as “frontagers”).
Under section 230 of the 1980 Highways Act the local highway authority has the power, without commitment to adoption, to require the frontagers of a private street to carry out urgent repairs, within in a set time limit, to prevent danger to road users or the public. This is, however, entirely a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to tackle digital exclusion among older people in Wigan constituency.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for coordinating HMG digital inclusion policy as part of its commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age. Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology leads on telecoms and digital infrastructure, including Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to the hardest to reach parts of the UK. In the Wigan constituency, over 98% of premises can access a superfast connection (>=30Mbps), while 92% can access a gigabit-capable connection, up from 0.8% in December 2019. Both of these current figures are higher than the national averages of 97% and 81% for superfast and gigabit-capable coverage, respectively.
More broadly across Government, the Cabinet Office is working to remove barriers and ensure online services are as inclusive as possible by making public sector websites accessible to as many people as possible. The Cabinet Office leads on the Service Standard, a set of principles government service teams and departments must adhere to when creating and running new public services – such as the NHS – and some Local Authorities, including Greater Manchester Combined Authority, have committed to using these as well.
Training is available for elderly people wishing to acquire essential digital skills. Department for Education has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge. Essential Digital Skills Qualifications, introduced alongside the digital entitlement, are based on new national standards which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work.
We also recognise that ongoing support is essential to overcome barriers of access. Our network of 2,900 public libraries across England provide a trusted network of accessible locations with staff, volunteers, free Wi-Fi, public PCs, and assisted digital access to a wide range of digital services.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much overseas development aid has been paid by his Department (a) directly and (b) indirectly to consultancies in each year since 2019.
Answered by David Rutley
The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.