Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Sudanese counterpart on the ongoing civil war.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to pursue all diplomatic avenues to end the violence in Sudan. FCDO officials regularly engage the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as a wide range of civil society actors to further the UK's objectives in Sudan: securing a ceasefire and creating the conditions for the resumption of democratic, civilian-led government; ensuring humanitarian aid can be delivered to all those in need; and protecting civilians.
Within his first month in office, Lord Collins spoke with Ramtane Lamamra, the Secretary-General of the United Nations' Personal Envoy to Sudan and former Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok to stress the importance of a coordinated international response to resolve the conflict. On 24 July, the Foreign Secretary publicly called upon the warring parties to commit to the ceasefire talks hosted by the US, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland and condemned the fact that the SAF did not physically attend. I [Minister Dodds] have met with representatives of the Emergency Response Rooms at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Sudan. On my trip to the region, in South Sudan I spoke to refugees to better understand the challenges they face. Additionally in Addis Ababa, I met with representatives of Sudanese civil society and with the African Union to discuss how to further our objectives on Sudan.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of recorded cases of cervical cancer in patients over the age of 65 in the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service publishes cancer registration statistics annually, as Accredited Official Statistics. The information requested is therefore available at the following link:
https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/incidence_and_mortality
The interactive dashboard provides the most recent data available to 2020 which represents completed disease registration. The data is broken down by age and types of cervical cancer.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in West Dorset constituency are in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
According to Winter Fuel Payment Statistics, an estimated 30,232 people in West Dorset Constituency (2010 boundary) received Winter Fuel Payment in 2022-2023.The latest published Winter Fuel Payment Statistics are for the year 2022-2023 and they are published here: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable prisoners with work outside the confines of prison to be paid a wage.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. That is why we have committed to break the cycle of reoffending by better supporting prisons to link up with employers and the voluntary sector to get more people with convictions into work.
Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) allows prisoners to be released temporarily into the community for specific purposes, including to engage in employment. Prisoners working on ROTL are paid the same as their counterparts in the community and are subject to the same income tax, National Insurance and child support requirements, as well as other court ordered deductions.
In addition, the Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 (PEA) gives governors the power to deduct up to and including 40% from prisoners’ earnings on ROTL. Currently, the money deducted is given to the charity Victim Support. An average of £296 per prisoner per month was raised through the levy; totalling £4.2 million raised for the year ending March 2024.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede on 1 August (HL330), on what basis the Ministry of Justice made a payment to the Press Recognition Panel of £430,000 in April; and whether they intend to place in the House of Lords Library a copy of all correspondence between the Ministry of Justice and Press Regulation Panel relating to the payment.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the press sets out that The Exchequer (acting through the Lord Chancellor) will fund the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) until it becomes effective. It also sets out that in the event that the PRP considers its income is likely to be insufficient it will have a right to request further reasonable sums so it is not frustrated by a lack of funding. Whilst the Lord Chancellor is the conduit for the PRP with HM Treasury, they have no policy responsibility under the Royal Charter that created the PRP. The PRP publish their accounts on an annual basis, confirming their annual income of £430,000.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many positions in her Department included (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity and (d) equality in their job title in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of the salaries of each such job was in each of those years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are currently 3 members of HM Treasury staff who have (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity or (d) equality in their job title. We do not hold this information for previous years.
As the total number of individuals is less than 5, HM Treasury is unable to release salary information as doing so would mean these individuals may be identifiable. This is in line with HM Treasury's data reporting policy.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made for future graduate recruitment into the prison workforce (including for the cohort graduating in 2025).
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HMPPS recognises the value that graduate prison officers bring to prisons and is committed to continuing to invest in its pipeline of future leaders. Several options for talent schemes, including graduate programmes, are being explored.
The contract with the current graduate scheme provider will run until October 2026. All participants will continue to receive full support from our staff to thrive in their career with HMPPS.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) banning and (b) further regulating wood burning stoves in domestic dwellings.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Domestic wood burning stoves make a significant contribution to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions nationally, with implications for the health of everyone exposed to smoke. Defra is currently considering options for action to reduce the impact of wood burning stoves on people’s health and to meet our statutory targets for this pollutant.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning greyhound racing.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is aware of the concerns that surround greyhound racing. However, we also recognise that the sport is already attempting to address many of these issues. The Government is monitoring the sport’s progress and should further measures and protections be required we will, of course, consider options which are targeted, effective, and proportionate.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many positions in her Department included (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity and (d) equality in their job title in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of the salaries of each such job was in each of those years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.
Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.