Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the (a) role and (b) impact of (i) the Wagner Group and (ii) other Russian funded mercenary forces in Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK regularly assesses, alongside our international partners, the Kremlin's malign use of Wagner and other proxy Private Military Security Companies. Wherever these mercenaries operate, there are reports of human rights abuses; they are destructive for communities, exacerbate existing conflicts and exploit natural resources. We sanctioned Wagner Group in its entirety in 2022, several persons associated with Wagner's actions in Africa in 2023, and sanctions remain an option going forward. We are supporting African partners to respond and strengthen their resilience to Russian malign activity, including through humanitarian, development and stabilisation programmes, and strategic security and defence relationships.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates on that country's role (a) with the Rapid Support Forces and (b) in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In our engagement with all international partners, we emphasise the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict. To this end, we welcome reported plans to restart talks in Jeddah in the coming weeks, with the involvement of the UAE alongside Egypt and African representation. The UK continues to work with a range of partners to end hostilities, allow safe unhindered humanitarian access, and protect civilians.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of rescinding diplomatic immunity from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Act 1996 provides the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office with certain privileges and immunities in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations for the purposes of furthering economic and trade interests. We currently have no plans to replace this legislation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he has taken to tackle the People’s Republic of China’s security and intelligence network operating in the UK in response to the arrest of three alleged spies.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On Tuesday 14 May, on instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chinese Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The FCDO was unequivocal in setting out that the recent pattern of behaviour directed by China against the UK including cyberattacks, reports of espionage links and the issuing of bounties is not acceptable. The summons followed Monday's announcement that three people have been charged with offences under the National Security Act as part of an investigation led by officers from the Met Police's Counter Terrorism Command. The foreign intelligence service to which the charges relate is that of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. As the investigation remains ongoing, we will not comment further in relation to this case.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance with sanctions against Russia by (a) JCB and (b) other companies.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Non-compliance with UK sanctions is a serious offence that can result in prosecution. Departments and agencies from across His Majesty's Government are working together to support business compliance through the provision of detailed published guidance for exporters and financial institutions, including on circumvention red flags. We have been clear to UK business that they need to satisfy themselves that their goods will not end up in Russia in breach of sanctions, and must undertake robust due diligence. His Majesty's Revenue & Customs leads on the enforcement of trade sanctions at the border.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were on the WorkWell pilot on 15 May 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
WorkWell, backed by £64m investment, will provide support for up to 59,000 disabled people and people with health conditions to start stay and succeed in work.
The 15 successful WorkWell pilots were announced on 7 May 2024. The pilot areas will now develop a delivery plan with a view to services going live from October 2024.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department holds data on the number of job offers for disabled people withdrawn due to the time taken to arrange Access to Work packages.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested about the number of job offers for disabled people withdrawn due to the time taken to arrange Access to Work packages is not available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, applications which have a start date of 4 week or less are prioritised to ensure customers are able to enter and remain in the labour market.
The Access to Work statistics includes how many applications result in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2021/23.
The latest Access to Work statistics can be found on Access to Work statistics on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the press release entitled 25,000 people to be helped into work as Government ramps up roll-out of flagship Universal Support scheme, published on 13 September 2023, what recent estimate his Department has made of when it will reach its target of assisting 25,000 disabled people through the Universal Support scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have interpreted your question as referring to the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative and Work and Health Programme (WHP) Pioneer, both of which form part of the first phase of Universal Support.
We explained in our press release that we expect to help 25,000 people by September 2024. Progress will be reported in the WHP official statistics publication on GOV.UK. Information relating to IPSPC is not currently available; however, the Secretary of State has committed to the publication of data for the IPSPC initiative as part of the first phase of Universal Support. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
The next release of published statistics for the WHP is planned for 30 May 2024. This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer. Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were on the Individual Placement and Support programme on 15 May 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have interpreted your question as referring to the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative and Work and Health Programme (WHP) Pioneer, both of which form part of the first phase of Universal Support.
We explained in our press release that we expect to help 25,000 people by September 2024. Progress will be reported in the WHP official statistics publication on GOV.UK. Information relating to IPSPC is not currently available; however, the Secretary of State has committed to the publication of data for the IPSPC initiative as part of the first phase of Universal Support. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
The next release of published statistics for the WHP is planned for 30 May 2024. This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer. Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are being assisted through Universal Support.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have interpreted your question as referring to the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative and Work and Health Programme (WHP) Pioneer, both of which form part of the first phase of Universal Support.
We explained in our press release that we expect to help 25,000 people by September 2024. Progress will be reported in the WHP official statistics publication on GOV.UK. Information relating to IPSPC is not currently available; however, the Secretary of State has committed to the publication of data for the IPSPC initiative as part of the first phase of Universal Support. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
The next release of published statistics for the WHP is planned for 30 May 2024. This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer. Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.