Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2022 to Question 44945 on Bahrain: Capital Punishment, whether when the former Minister met members of the Bahraini Government in July she raised the cases of (a) Mohammed Ramadhan and (b) Hussain Moosa and the death sentences handed down in their cases.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Ministers and officials continue to reiterate the UK's opposition to use of the death penalty, publicly and privately, with senior members of the Bahraini Government. During a visit to Bahrain in July the former Minister for the Middle East met with senior members of the Bahraini Government and discussed human rights issues, including the death penalty where she restated the UK position. Lord Ahmad also met with Bahrain Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani in July, and again in September during the margins of the UN General Assembly. During the meetings they discussed a number of shared human rights priorities, including specific human rights cases of interest. The UK's position on the use of the death penalty is longstanding and clear. The Government of Bahrain is fully aware of our position.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to the Government of Bahrain on the death sentences imposed by that country on (a) Maher Abbas al-Khabbaz, (b) Sayed Ahmed al-Abar, (c) Zuhair Ebrahim Jasim Abdullah, (d) Husain Ebrahim Ali Husain Marzooq, (e) Husain Moosa, (f) Mohamed Ramadhan, (g) Husain Ali Mehdi and (h) Salman Isa Ali Salman.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Ministers and officials continue to reiterate the UK's opposition to use of the death penalty, publicly and privately, with senior members of the Bahraini Government. During a visit to Bahrain in July the former Minister for the Middle East met with senior members of the Bahraini Government and discussed human rights issues, including the death penalty where she restated the UK position. Lord Ahmad also met with Bahrain Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani in July, and again in September during the margins of the UN General Assembly. During the meetings they discussed a number of shared human rights priorities, including specific human rights cases of interest. The UK's position on the use of the death penalty is longstanding and clear. The Government of Bahrain is fully aware of our position.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
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 merits of applying Magnitsky sanctions to senior officials in the Iranian government.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK has over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran in relation to human rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. On 10 October, the UK used the dedicated Iran Human Rights sanctions regime to designate the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. This brings the total to 85 individuals and two entities sanctioned under that regime. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. A full list is available on the UK Sanctions List.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-sanctions-on-iran-relating-to-human-rights
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
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 adequacy of patient care pathways for the early detection of liver disease in England by (a) region and (b) integrated care system.
Answered by James Morris
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.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing sanctions under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 against Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al’Khalifa in response to his alleged involvement in the torture of political dissidents in Bahrain.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The alleged involvement of Sheikh Nasser in the torture of political dissidents in Bahrain was previously brought to the attention of the Metropolitan Police Service, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a realistic prospect of prosecution. We take allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action, as appropriate. The UK Government unreservedly condemns the use of torture.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any assessment was made of reports linking Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al’Khalifa to the torture of political dissidents in Bahrain before the Prime Minister met with Sheikh Nasser on 27 May 2022.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The alleged involvement of Sheikh Nasser in the torture of political dissidents in Bahrain was previously brought to the attention of the Metropolitan Police Service, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a realistic prospect of prosecution. We take allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action, as appropriate. The UK Government unreservedly condemns the use of torture.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report by Sir Robert Francis entitled Compensation and redress for the victims of infected blood: recommendations for a framework, published on 7 June 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recommendation 14 of that report on interim payments; and whether his Department is taking steps to implement that recommendation.
Answered by Michael Ellis
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.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report by Sir Robert Francis entitled, Compensation and Redress for the Victims of Infected Blood, Recommendations for a Framework, published on 7 June 2022, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on providing additional funding allocations to ensure that compensation payments to people affected by contaminated blood products are not funded from existing health and social care budgets.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 16932 on 20 June 2022.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring alcohol product labels to display the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines.
Answered by Maggie Throup
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.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the regularity with which survivors of oesophageal cancer should receive follow-up tests to ensure there is no recurrence of the disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent assessment has been made. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service. The NICE guideline on oesophago-gastric cancer, published in 2018, includes recommendations on follow-up for patients who have received treatment for oesophago-gastric cancer, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng83
Healthcare professionals are expected to take NICE’s guidance fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients.