Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will have discussions with his UN counterparts on the reports of an alleged Hamas (a) war room and (b) weapons depot being located in a UNRWA school in Nuseirat, Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Hamas is putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. The UK is aware of reports of Hamas using healthcare facilities and other infrastructure, such as schools, as bases and command nodes.
All parties must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Care must be taken to limit operations to military targets and to minimise harm to civilians and civilian objects.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people in the UK still suffering the effects of Long Covid.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The most recent data from the Winter Covid-19 Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated 2 million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England and Scotland, reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. Of these, an estimated 1.5 million people reported that day-to-day activity had been limited, of which an estimated 381,000 reported that day-to-day activity had been limited a lot.
Where data was available to calculate the exact duration of long COVID, this showed that an estimated 164,000 people first had, or suspected they had, COVID-19 less than 12 weeks previously, 1.1 million people had symptoms for 12 or more weeks, 930,000 people for at least a year and 670,000 for at least two years. We do not know the exact duration for an estimated 680,980. These results are based on questionnaire responses from 107,852 participants, where weighted percentages from the questionnaire have been applied to the population total in England and Scotland.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the armed forces’ diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence is dedicated to recruiting and retaining the best talent. In a competitive labour market, we must attract, recruit, and retain the best people drawn from the whole of the population.
We continue to implement the recommendations of the Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation to modernise our people system to attract and retain those who have a desire to serve under modernised terms which are right for them and their families. Failure to do so will compromise our ability to deliver defence outputs.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the UK Radiotherapy Board report Recovering radiotherapy services in England: Our plan for action, published in May, what assessment they have made of the finding that "a relatively small increase in staff funding would make a big difference to patient care".
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of this finding, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.
The Government is backing the LTWP with over £2.4 billion over the next five years, to fund additional education and training places. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record total of £6.1 billion over the next two years. By significantly expanding domestic education, training, and recruitment, we will have more healthcare professionals working in the NHS. This will include more doctors and nurses, alongside an expansion in a range of other professions, including more staff working in new roles. The LTWP also commits to reform and modernise the way staff work, and harness new technology and innovations to increase productivity and make sure staff can spend more time with patients.
In January 2024 there were 35,252 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of 60.7% since January 2010. This includes 8,142 FTE consultants in January 2024, an increase of 69.6% since January 2010. There are 3,144 FTE therapeutic radiographers working in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is 4.3% more than in 2023, 14.6% more than in 2019, and 55.2% more than in 2010.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of Cryptosporidiosis have been recorded (a) by each NHS trust, (b) by each integrated care board and (c) in total in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
While this information is not held in the requested format, the following table shows the laboratory reported figures for cryptosporidiosis, and the reports of cryptosporidiosis per 100,000 people, in England and Wales, each year from 2008 to 2017:
Year | Number of laboratory reports | per 100,000 population |
2008 | 4,162 | 7.6 |
2009 | 4,831 | 8.7 |
2010 | 3,901 | 7.0 |
2011 | 2,990 | 5.3 |
2012 | 5,765 | 10.2 |
2013 | 3,520 | 6.2 |
2014 | 4,023 | 7.0 |
2015 | 5,222 | 9.0 |
2016 | 5,925 | 10.1 |
2017 | 4,292 | 7.3 |
Source: data is taken from Public Health England’s report, Cryptosporidium data 2008 to 2017, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cryptosporidium-national-laboratory-data/cryptosporidium-data-2008-to-2017
Note: figures for England 2018 to 2023 are due to be published in Summer 2024.
In addition, the following table shows the regional distribution of the laboratory reports of cryptosporidium in England and Wales, in 2017:
Country | Region | Number of laboratory reports | per 100,000 population |
England | East Midlands | 378 | 7.9 |
England | East of England | 539 | 8.7 |
England | London | 250 | 2.8 |
England | North East | 275 | 10.4 |
England | North West | 554 | 7.6 |
England | South East | 582 | 6.4 |
England | South West | 590 | 10.6 |
England | Yorkshire and The Humber | 450 | 8.3 |
England | West Midlands | 414 | 7.1 |
Wales | Wales | 260 | 8.3 |
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) recruit, (2) train, and (3) retain, more midwives, obstetricians and anaesthetists to ensure safe levels of staffing in maternity services.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of midwives has already increased by 21.5% since 2010 and by 5.8% in the past year. The Government is further increasing the number of midwives by funding an additional 160 new posts over three years to support the continued growth of the maternity and neonatal workforce.
The Government and the National Health Service are investing almost £35 million over three years to further improve maternity safety across England which will support specialist training for staff, additional numbers of midwives and support to ensure maternity services listen to and act on women’s experiences to improve care.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets an ambition to increase the number of nursing and midwifery training places to around 58,000 by 2031/32. We will work towards achieving this by increasing places to over 44,000 by 2028/29, with 20% of registered nurses qualifying through apprenticeship routes compared to the current 9% and 5% of midwives to train through an apprenticeship, compared to less than 1% currently.
The Plan also sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The Government is backing this Plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. This forms part of our ambition to expand the number of midwifery training places from 3,778 in 2022, to 4,269 by 2028, providing a substantial uplift in the workforce pipeline to meet future demands.
The NHS England's nursing and midwifery retention programme aims to support organisations in assessing and implementing a set of interventions aligned with the People Promise. This initiative focuses on promoting flexible working arrangements, fostering a supportive, inclusive, and compassionate workplace environment. For 2023/24, an investment of £5.75 million is being made in neonatal nurse quality roles, funding at least 98 full-time equivalent posts to support staff retention and learning from incidents, ensuring every trust has funding for this role.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what implications the statement by Bakr Ahmed Bakr Qanita that Hamas is using the management building, the specialist building and the maternity ward at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza will have for their policies in the region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Hamas and other terrorist organisations are putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. The UK is aware of reports of Hamas and other terrorist organisations using healthcare facilities and other infrastructure, such as schools, as bases and command nodes.
This does not absolve parties from their responsibility to ensure that their actions are compliant with International Humanitarian Law, and minimise harm to civilians. The UK is particularly clear that civilian buildings must not be targeted, and extra care must be taken in relation to hospitals and other medical facilities.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what implications the statement by Nabeel Rajab Abed Shteiwi that Palestinian Islamic Jihad is using al-Shifa hospital and schools as shelter will have for their policies in the region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Hamas and other terrorist organisations are putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. The UK is aware of reports of Hamas and other terrorist organisations using healthcare facilities and other infrastructure, such as schools, as bases and command nodes.
This does not absolve parties from their responsibility to ensure that their actions are compliant with International Humanitarian Law, and minimise harm to civilians. The UK is particularly clear that civilian buildings must not be targeted, and extra care must be taken in relation to hospitals and other medical facilities.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most recent statistics on the Economic Activity Rate of each of the UK's four nations, and what were the equivalent rates (1) 10, and (2) 20, years earlier.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the most recent statistics on the Economic Activity Rate of each of the UK’s four nations, and what were the equivalent rates (1) 10, and (2) 20, years earlier (HL4552).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK.
The responses allow us to identify how many people are economically active; that is, those who are engaged with the labour market, either through employment or who are unemployed and actively seeking work. We are also able to calculate economic activity rates by region using these data.
Due to the current smaller sample sizes being achieved by the LFS, recent estimates are showing increased volatility and should be treated with additional caution. We are currently undertaking a programme of work to improve our estimates of the UK labour market. As part of this work, we have updated our labour market estimates from July to September 2022 onwards to incorporate more up to date estimates of the UK population. Labour market estimates prior to this remain based on older population estimates. Therefore, the latest available estimates of the UK labour market, for January to March 2024, are on a different population basis than those ten and twenty years earlier. As a result of this we recommend caution when considering long-term movements in these series.
The latest available estimates (January to March 2024) of the economic activity rates, for people aged 16 to 64 years, resident in each of the UK’s four nations are presented in Table 1, alongside estimates for January to March 2014 and January to March 2004.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Economic Activity Rates, people aged 16 to 64 years, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, seasonally adjusted.
| England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland |
January to March 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January to March 2024 [1] |
|
|
|
|
Source: Labour Force Survey
[1] Estimate based on more up to date population estimates and subject to greater volatility due to smaller achieved sample sizes. We advise caution when interpreting movements in these series.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has achieved Level 3 (Leader) of the Disability Confident scheme, this achievement is renewed every 3 years and we are currently working towards the renewal for 2024.
Although not working directly on the scheme, our Director General for Strategy leads as a senior Disability Champion, along with 2 Deputy Directors as Deputy Disability Champions, and they support and champion the requirements of the Disability Confident scheme within Defra.
These appointments are as recommended by the Disability Confident scheme provisions and additionally there is a Defra group Disability Board, chaired by the Executive Champion. This Board’s role is to ensure that actions and plans are in place and regularly reviewed to meet the provisions of the Disability Confident scheme and wider action to support employees with disabilities, impairments and long term medical conditions across the department.
Over the last 3 years disability representation across Defra group has increased from 14.3% to a representation rate of 17.2%. Within core Defra the current representation rate is 16.8% which is in line with the current disability target representation of the UK working age population.