Wayne David

The Government continues to make progress and is working to be ready to respond soon after the publication of the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, following the interim payments we have already made. On 23 October I issued a public statement on the Government’s current position in responding to the Infected Blood Inquiry. The timetable of the Inquiry is a matter for the chair. I will update the House as soon as I have further information to provide.

I refer the Honourable Member to my previous answer to UIN 201237 on 20th October 2023.

I would like to refer the Honourable member to the debate on Thursday 22nd June, where I updated Parliament on the Government’s progress on this important issue. In this update, I shared that part of this work includes chairing a Small Ministerial Group (SMG) to enable in-depth discussion about the Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s second interim report and HM Treasury is represented at this group. The SMG is an important forum to work through the recommendations and drive forward the Government’s response to the anticipated Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report.

There are a number of complex issues arising from the recommendations in the Compensation Framework Study. These issues are under active consideration across government, including consideration of Sir Robert’s evidence to the independent Inquiry on 11-12 July. I will update the House as this work progresses.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 16932 on 20 June 2022.

The Government understands the importance Nexperia Newport Ltd (formerly Newport Wafer Fab) to the local economy and the South Wales semiconductor Cluster and that this will be an uncertain time for employees. Decisions regarding the day-to-day running of the Newport site are a matter for the owners, but officials will work closely with Nexperia BV to implement the Secretary of State’s decision.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy takes decisions under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 in a quasi-judicial capacity, based on the facts and evidence. It would not be appropriate to share details of the national security assessment, including advice provided by officials to the Secretary of State in support of his quasi-judicial role.

The decisions of the Secretary of State under the National Security & Investment Act are quasi-judicial. As is required under the NSI Act, the Secretary of State considered all representations made before making the Final Order. It would not be appropriate for the Secretary of State to discuss his decision.

The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy will consider the ways in which our international and national security strategy must evolve as the world changes. This will include an assessment of the space capabilities needed by the UK in the future.

The Government’s Space-Based Positioning Navigation and Timing Programme (SBPP) is exploring innovative and alternative ways of delivering vital satellite navigation and timing services to the UK. These services are critical for electricity networks, communications systems, and the maritime, aviation and defence sectors, as well as for getting from A to B.

In October a ‘Request for Information’ consultation was opened with industry and academia to ensure the right space-based solutions are explored by the new programme. This has now closed, we are grateful for the inputs received and are now considering this feedback that will set out approach and workstreams going forward.

Once approved, the SBPP Pre-Market Engagement strategy will set out the next steps and timings for engagement with and the opportunities for industry in 2021. Further details will be shared as soon as possible.

This work will boost the UK’s already thriving space industry and expertise, whilst paving the way for a more ’Global Britain’, with greater independence from foreign systems.

The Government takes the issue of disinformation seriously. The DCMS-led Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) works to identify and counter Russian disinformation, working closely with cross Whitehall partners and the major social media platforms. The CDU encourages platforms to swiftly remove disinformation and coordinated inauthentic or manipulated behaviour, as per their Terms of Service and engages regularly with social media companies and technology companies to understand policy changes and other countermeasures related to Russian information activities, and the effectiveness of these actions.

In December 2021, Defra published research in collaboration with Middlesex University to look at responsible ownership across all breeds of dog. The research considers different approaches and the effectiveness of current dog control measures and makes several recommendations including specifically on improving the evidence base. The report will provide the basis for the consideration of reform in this area and the Government is already working with the police, local authorities, and stakeholders to consider the recommendations further.

The public consultation ended on 25^th February and we are currently analysing all the responses we received. We will be publishing the Government response later this year.

We hope to have legislation in place to end live animal exports for slaughter and fattening by the end of the year.

Department for International Trade’s Ministers and officials meet with the Trade Remedies Authority regularly to understand on-going trade remedy cases and related issues, including this one. Ministers consider all recommendations from the Trade Remedies Authority carefully before making a decision, including the assessment of whether it is in the UK’s economic interest to have a trade remedies measure in place.

The legal obligations of airlines to issue refunds is a reserved matter. The CAA is the independent regulator that enforces these obligations of airlines across the whole of the UK.

Both the CAA and the Department have urged travel businesses to act fairly and offer a refund to all customers who are entitled, depending on the terms and conditions of the contract in place. Consumers who are entitled to refund should contact travel providers or their credit card issuers for reimbursement.

The Infected Blood Inquiry is ongoing, and it is only reasonable that the inquiry concludes and provides its final recommendations before the Government responds. The Government is undertaking the necessary work to enable a swift response to the full report, when it is published.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is an income-replacement benefit for individuals who have a health condition or disability that limits their capability to work.

People whose ability to work or to live independently which has been affected as a consequence of receiving infected blood can claim, and in many cases are already claiming, these benefits. The department has talked to people affected and improved its processes to ensure these claims are dealt with quickly and accurately.

Eligibility for these benefits is not based on the diagnosis of a health condition or disability. Instead, both the Work Capability Assessment, which determines entitlement to ESA and the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit, and the PIP assessment, assess the impact of a person’s health condition or disability on doing everyday tasks to determine eligibility for the benefit. In practice, these assessments will often be a paper-based process where people are seriously ill.

The Department does not hold this information, therefore no such estimate had been made.

There are currently plans for 12 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to offer FibroScan testing, of which five are currently operational. A further seven CDCs plan to offer this service by the end of March 2024.

The CDC modality offer is based on the recommendations in the Sir Mike Richards Review, and decisions on what modalities are offered outside of the core requirements of CDCs will be based on local need and decisions. The Government is working with the National Health Service to deliver and consider the result from the pilot of the community liver health check programme, which in its first year delivered over 17,000 FibroScans to individuals at particular risk of cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, using 40 FibroScanners, across 19 local areas.

No assessments will be made in the Long Term Workforce Plan in regards to assessing the trends in rates of alcohol related liver disease and non-alcohol related fatty liver disease.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes liver disease hospital admission and mortality rates for England and all local authorities, updated annually, in the Liver Disease Profiles. The profiles and further details can be accessed at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/liver-disease

No recent assessment has been made of the efficacy of (a) transient elastography and (b) liver function blood tests in supporting the earlier detection of liver disease.

The Government recognises the importance of earlier detection of liver disease and from April 2022, NHS England introduced a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme indicator to incentivise testing for cirrhosis or advanced liver fibrosis for alcohol-dependent in-patients in acute and mental health services.

No specific assessment has been made. However, in 2021, NHS England commissioned a stocktake of health inequalities in liver disease and the relevant care pathways, which recognised the association of regional variation with many risk factors, morbidity and mortality.

The Hepatobiliary Clinical Reference Group is reviewing the findings of this stocktake, which will inform priorities for action in 2022/23. NHS England is developing a policy on screening and treatment of patients commencing chemotherapy who may be unaware they are living with hepatitis B. The hepatitis C programme has reduced the prevalence of the disease through identifying patients in the community in a range of settings.

The Government has worked with the alcohol industry to ensure that alcohol labels reflect the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) low risk drinking guidelines for drinks produced after 1 September 2019.

We have announced the intention to consult on whether to introduce mandatory calorie labelling on prepacked alcohol and alcohol sold in on-trade businesses such as pubs and restaurants. The consultation will also seek views on whether the provision of the UK CMOs’ low risk drinking guidelines should be mandatory or continue on a voluntary basis.

Promotion of the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a longstanding priority for the UK. We frequently raise ethnic and religious minorities with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government, calling for greater protection and deeper inclusion in national and local government.

Although we welcome the announcement that Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) elections will be held on 10 June, we continue to assess the implications of the rulings by the Federal Supreme Court to remove 11 quota seats for ethnic and religious minorities.

Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government and have been consistently clear in our calls for his release, while continuing to press the need for urgent consular access. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised his case with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 22 February. The Foreign Secretary and Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also raised his case with President Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 21 December 2023. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 1 December 2023.

We stand with the Kurdistan Regional Government in condemning these attacks and will continue to support the sovereignty and security of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. We continue to work together with international partners on this to agree the best way forward to deal with Iran's destabilising activities across the region. A decision on whether to raise this at the United Nations Security Council will be made in due course.

The Foreign Secretary met with Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government. Most recently, the Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 20 October. The former Foreign Secretary raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, including on 18 September. The Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, raised the case with the Egyptian authorities on 15 November during his visit to Cairo. The Foreign Secretary's first meeting with Foreign Minister Shoukry on 22 November focused on the crisis in Israel and Gaza.