Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) US counterpart and (b) the UK's international allies on (a) diplomatic, (b) humanitarian and (c) military support for Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK plays a leading role in driving international support for Ukraine. We are in constant contact with our international partners to ensure that Ukraine receives the diplomatic, military and humanitarian support it needs. The Foreign Secretary held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reaffirm international cooperation and support for Ukraine during his visit to Washington on 6-7 December last year. The Foreign Secretary also set out the high level of UK ambition recently at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, as well as during December and January travel to Paris, Rome, Amman, Cairo and Istanbul.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department takes to (a) mitigate delays in producing and (b) ensure the correct (i) names and (ii) bate of births are printed on newly issued biometric residence permits.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Home Office colleagues are working closely together to improve our processes and ensure Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) are issued as quickly as possible.
Caseworkers must ensure that the individual’s name, nationality and date of birth are correct and correspond to caseworking system records.
We are improving address data accuracy and ensuring that updated address data flows into the main case working system more efficiently. This will maintain the integrity of the system so that the BRP card is issued to the correct address and help reduce delays in the system.
BRP production is an automated function on our caseworking systems. However, delays can arise due to process errors. We have introduced a dedicated support function to work at speed to resolve user/process issues and to drive BRP process improvements across the end-to-end system.
Where customers encounter a delay in the receipt of their BRP, we offer a range of services to allow customers to report the delay, and we aim to resolve the problem within five working days of notification. Employers and landlords can use the Employer Checking Service and the Landlord Checking Service to verify a right to work or rent in the absence of a BRP, while Government departments and public bodies can verify status in the absence of a BRP through the Status Verification and Enquiries Checking (SVEC) team.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is taking steps to assess the potential impact of delays in the production of biometric residence permits on the people affected.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Home Office colleagues are working closely together to improve our processes and ensure Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) are issued as quickly as possible.
Caseworkers must ensure that the individual’s name, nationality and date of birth are correct and correspond to caseworking system records.
We are improving address data accuracy and ensuring that updated address data flows into the main case working system more efficiently. This will maintain the integrity of the system so that the BRP card is issued to the correct address and help reduce delays in the system.
BRP production is an automated function on our caseworking systems. However, delays can arise due to process errors. We have introduced a dedicated support function to work at speed to resolve user/process issues and to drive BRP process improvements across the end-to-end system.
Where customers encounter a delay in the receipt of their BRP, we offer a range of services to allow customers to report the delay, and we aim to resolve the problem within five working days of notification. Employers and landlords can use the Employer Checking Service and the Landlord Checking Service to verify a right to work or rent in the absence of a BRP, while Government departments and public bodies can verify status in the absence of a BRP through the Status Verification and Enquiries Checking (SVEC) team.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many newly issued biometric residence permits have been returned due to clerical errors in their production in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the safety of (a) staff, (b) patients and (c) displaced people in hospitals in Gaza.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, in line with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians. The Prime Minister has made this clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu and has been in close contact throughout. We are currently supporting NGO and UN partners to deliver medical aid and care in the Gaza Strip. This includes support for primary healthcare, trauma and emergency care services, disease surveillance and outbreak response, and deployment of Emergency Medical Teams.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Israel on the potential merits of creating a two-state solution with Palestine.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible and are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. These are the vital steps:
The Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have reiterated these messages in their contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, including during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Israel on 24 January.
We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential of rooftop solar panels to help (a) tackle climate change, (b) cut energy bills, and (c) create jobs.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Rooftop solar panels can play a significant role in helping to mitigate climate change and reducing energy bills, while creating jobs.
That is why the Government is aiming for 70 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2035 and has established a joint Government-industry taskforce, with a subgroup focussed specifically on rooftop solar, to drive forward deployment.
The Government is also working to publish a solar roadmap this spring, setting out a clear step by step deployment trajectory.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle the spread of misinformation on (a) the MMR vaccine and (b) other childhood immunisations.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) ensures all relevant healthcare professionals have access to childhood immunisation resources to maintain confidence in the national vaccination programmes, including measles, mumps and rubella.
There are a range of information leaflets and promotional materials available online about the different vaccination programmes, co-branded with the National Health Service. These include translations in a range of languages and braille, British Sign Language, large print and audio versions.
NHS England is actively working with regional and local systems in low uptake communities, to enhance outreach activities and interventions to support access for individuals. UKHSA has developed an evaluation framework and resources to facilitate the efficient sharing of the most successful interventions.
To assess the level of public confidence in vaccination programmes, the UKHSA undertakes annual surveys, to understand how knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards vaccine safety, and disease severity influence vaccine uptake. This information is used to inform programme planning and implementation and the development of effective communication strategies.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of measles have been reported in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, and (c) the North West in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes routine data on laboratory confirmed measles. As provided in the latest published data between 1 January 2023 and 30 November 2023, there have been eight laboratory confirmed cases in the North West.
UKHSA does not routinely publish measles case data at local authority level, due to the risk of deductive disclosure. However, the total number of laboratory confirmed cases of measles for the North West in the past five years is:
- eight cases in 2023;
- three cases in 2022;
- zero cases in 2021;
- nine cases in 2020; and
- 51 cases in 2019.
Data on monthly cases by age and region is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-epidemiology-2023/confirmed-cases-of-measles-in-england-by-month-age-and-region-2023
Data over the last five years is available at the following link:
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to increase funding for research into a cure for (a) colitis and (b) Crohn’s disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas, although we do commission research under certain themes, it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions.
NIHR has funded a total of 60 projects into Crohn's and Colitis research, with a combined total funding value of £33.5 million since financial year 2017/18. The NIHR also supports the delivery in the health and care system for Crohn's and Colitis research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Crohn's and Colitis. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition. It is worth noting that all applications that were peer reviewed as fundable in open competition have been funded.