Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the UN in relation to comments by the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council on 22 May 2025 on the (a) Supreme Court judgement in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers and (b) interim guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment, published on 25 April 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There have been no discussions with the UN in relation to the Human Rights Council Special Procedures news release on 22 May 2025.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that the Israeli Government has transferred weapons to armed militias operating in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned at reports of armed militias operating in Gaza. We have been clear from the beginning of this conflict that we need to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all hostages and a pathway to a lasting peace. We believe that the Palestinian Authority's role in Gaza must be front and centre and are supporting the Palestinian Authority Security Forces with the goal that they will play a key role in the security of Gaza in the future.
One of our first acts in government was to review and suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza. We have kept all licences under careful and continual review against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. This includes assessing the risk of diversion.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, whether he has made an assessment of the risk of Ministry of Defence training to Israel Defense Forces personnel (a) facilitating and (b) contributing towards violations of international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Fewer than five IDF personnel are currently enrolled in non-combat military academic courses in the UK.
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. The Ministry of Defence’s provision of such assistance is assessed carefully on a case-by-case basis.
UK training courses promote British values, including human rights, democracy and compliance with international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing free homecare.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities (LAs) have the power to charge for care, and it is for them to decide whether to do so. Two LAs in England currently offer free home care to their residents.
Where LAs do choose to charge for care, they must do so in accordance with the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, and they must act under the Care and Support Statutory guidance.
We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.
The commission, which began work in April 2025, will be comprehensive and will build on the expert proposals of other reviews, including that of Sir Andrew Dilnot into care funding and support. It will be broader and wider than ever before, asking essential questions about the shape and future of the social care sector, including what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations on artists.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Service providers and those delivering public functions should note and follow the ruling. It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need within the ruling. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, is developing updated guidance to support service providers and is currently consulting on its code of practice for services, public functions and associations. This consultation will close on 30 June 2025. The Government is considering the implications of the Supreme Court's judgment.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of care workers from overseas who (a) lost their employment after their employer has their licence to sponsor international staff suspended and (b) (i) left the UK and (ii) found employment after (A) extending their visa and (B) finding a new sponsor.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The requested information is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the paper entitled Understanding asylum seeker and asylum-route refugee vulnerabilities, needs, and support (2022), published on 22 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implication for her policies of the statement in that paper's Executive Summary that there is widespread evidence that the asylum system exacerbates and creates, rather than alleviates, vulnerabilities for people seeking asylum.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under review, taking into account a wide range of research and evidence, as well as consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s research entitled Understanding asylum seeker and refugee vulnerabilities and needs (2022), published on 22 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of its findings for her policies on (a) asylum seeker safeguarding and (b) enforcement culture in her Department.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under review, taking into account a wide range of research and evidence, as well as consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made in implementing the NHS Accessible Information Standard.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including deaf people.
NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. A self-assessment framework has been developed to support providers of NHS and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS, and to develop improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation.
A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should be no gap in provision for people using services. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication, and engagement, and with a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of continuing opt-out testing of Hepatitis (a) B and (b) C in Nottingham University Hospitals’ Emergency Department.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The emergency department opt-out testing programme will continue to test individuals for bloodborne viruses, including HIV and viral hepatitis, in line with committed funding plans. The Government is committed to reducing the incidence of viral hepatitis, including by reducing the number of people living with the condition without a diagnosis. NHS England is currently reviewing its budgetary position, with a view to determining whether funding can be made available to extend the provision of opt out testing for viral hepatitis, particularly for those sites whose committed funding will end during 2025. This includes the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and therefore NHS England is engaged in discussions with the trust on this important programme.