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

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.

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

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of vacancy rates and (2) of frontline social care and support staff turnover on (a) the quality of care that those in receipt of social care receive and (b) the ability of social care providers to deliver high quality care, following the publication of the Who Cares Wins Report by Community Integrated Care in March.

Answered by Lord Markham

The Department has made no assessment of the impact of vacancy rates and of frontline social care and support staff turnover on the quality of care that those in receipt of social care receive, or on the ability of social care providers to deliver high quality care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the report Who Cares Wins published by Community Integrated Care in March, what assessment they have made of how improving pay for front-line care and support workers would reduce vacancy rates and staff turnover in the care sector to the average within the NHS; and whether they will develop a plan for parity of pay between front-line care and support workers in the social care sector and equivalent roles in the NHS.

Answered by Lord Markham

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards they have in place to ensure that restoration of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees will not result in UK funding being used to directly or indirectly benefit Hamas.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

When the Foreign Secretary announced the resumption of funding on 19 July 2024, he said that UNRWA has taken serious action in response to the appalling allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel. The government is confident that UNRWA is taking action to ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality and is strengthening its procedures. £1 million of the £21 million of new UK funding will be earmarked to support UNRWA implement the management reforms recommended by the Colonna review. Together with other donors, we will continue to monitor UNRWA's progress on implementation of its action plan. The FCDO will also continue to conduct our own annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will maintain existing transformation fund commitments to support the rollout of Fracture Liaison Services.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

More than 500,000 fragility fractures occur every year, and up to 40% of fracture patients will suffer another fracture.

This Government and NHS England support the clinical case for services which help to prevent fragility fractures and support the patients who sustain them. That is why this Government is committed to the expansion of Fracture Liaison Services and is working closely with NHS England to develop rollout plans to end the postcode lottery.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to ensuring universal coverage of the eligible population for Fracture Liaison Services by 2030.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to expanding access to Fracture Liaison Services. The Department is working closely with NHS England to develop rollout plans to ensure better quality and access to these important preventative services, to fill the current gaps in coverage.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out of the impact of inaccurate reporting required by the Financial Conduct Authority of listed investment company management expenses and the impact this has had on investors, renewable energy projects, infrastructure, real estate and UK financial markets.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The investment company sector plays a key role in the UK’s economy, representing over 30% of the FTSE 250, and investing in illiquid assets – including infrastructure projects and renewables – to support the Government’s growth agenda.

The Government will carefully consider all options regarding cost disclosure to retail investors.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that low earners in Net Pay pension schemes do not suffer lower take home pay as a result of their employer’s scheme choice.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Legislation introduced in 2023 requires HMRC to make a top-up payment to those individuals contributing to a pension scheme using a net pay arrangement, whose total taxable income is below their personal allowance.

This means that low earning pension savers should receive similar outcomes regardless of whether they are members of a relief at source pension scheme or a net pay pension scheme.

HMRC are developing the IT solution to make these payments, in line with legislation, as soon as practicable in the tax year after the pension contributions were made. The first payments will be made in tax-year 2025-26 in respect of contributions made during 2024-25.