Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will increase multi-year funding to support the most food-insecure people in Sudan and Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

As announced by the Deputy Foreign Secretary during his visit at the end of March to the Chad/Sudan border to meet refugees from Sudan, this financial year the UK's official development assistance (ODA) will almost double to £89 million to Sudan with most of this going towards humanitarian aid including assistance to address food insecurity. Specifically, our ODA in Sudan will include support to UNICEF to provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people particularly in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. In addition, the UK will be working with the World Food Programme to provide assorted food commodities. The UK's ODA will also increase to £111 million to South Sudan, which will include provision for continued humanitarian support for new Sudanese refugees as well as vulnerable returnees and host communities in South Sudan. We will also continue to provide ODA assistance in Chad in 2024/2025, which will include support for the refugee crisis in eastern Chad such as food, shelter and other assistance by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and through the World Food Programme.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to secure guarantees from Sudan’s warring parties for the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

The UK continues to speak out publicly and vigorously to press the warring parties to facilitate unhindered, crossline and cross-border humanitarian access. On 27 February, the UK called for the UN Security Council to convene for a closed consultation in response to the SAF's decision to withdraw permission for the movement of humanitarian personnel and supplies into Sudan from Chad via the Adré crossing. On 20 March, we made a UK intervention at the Security Council highlighting the OCHA White Note's clear warning that obstruction of humanitarian access by the SAF and RSF is resulting in people in Sudan starving. On 8 March, the UK led the Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire for Ramadan and for urgent humanitarian access.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Infant Mortality in England published by Health Equity North in August; and what assessment they have made of the ethnic disparities in infant mortality rates in England set out in that report.

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

It is unacceptable that infant mortality figures are rising, and that there are stark inequalities in outcomes for babies. The Government is committed to ensuring all mothers and babies received safe, personalised and compassionate care.

A key objective in NHS England’s Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services is to reduce inequalities for all in maternity access, experience and outcomes, seeking to improve equity for mothers and babies. The plan includes the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth and includes initiatives to reduce inequalities. The bundle has been rolled out across England to all trusts with full implementation by 104 out of 120 providers. All local maternity and neonatal systems have published Equity and Equality actions plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas, tailored to the needs of the local area. A copy of the delivery plan is attached.

The Government is currently piloting a training programme to help avoid brain injury in childbirth to improve safety for mothers and their babies. If successful, national rollout is expected to commence next year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to increase infant and child vaccination levels in the north of England.

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

In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.

UKHSA’s first childhood immunisation communication campaign ran from 4 March until mid-April 2024 and encouraged parents to ensure their child’s vaccinations were up to date which. The current campaign is running from 26 August until 4 October 2024.

UKHSA also provides public facing resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, for example, easy read, BSL and braille, and clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals.

To address inequalities NHS England continues to work with national and local partners to deliver faith-based community health engagement with Orthodox Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and other communities in areas with low rates of childhood immunisation uptake. This includes promoting health seeking behaviors, such as general practitioner registration, and designing locally led community health events to raise awareness of the benefits of childhood immunisations and challenge misinformation.

Found: Q167 The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To answer your question about the next Michael Parkinson, who in government

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Found: with the Centre for Policy Studies Lord Knight of Weymouth No relevant interests declared The Lord

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Found: that this reflects the sterling work of female clergy right across the country. 48 Finally, t he Lord

Found: Media Bill 6 After Clause 50 VISCOUNT ASTOR LORD MCNALLY THE LORD BISHOP OF LEEDS BARONESS

Found: Media Bill 6 After Clause 50 VISCOUNT ASTOR LORD MCNALLY THE LORD BISHOP OF LEEDS BARONESS

Found: Media Bill 6 After Clause 50 VISCOUNT ASTOR LORD MCNALLY THE LORD BISHOP OF LEEDS BARONESS

This inquiry is examining the challenges facing SMEs seeking to scale up in the UK. We are focusing on firms working in AI, and creative technology. We are looking at what actions are needed from Government and industry over the next 5 years to maximise the economic potential of these sectors and secure competitive advantage.