Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic action they are taking, along with international partners, to secure a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sudan; and what consideration they have given to appointing a dedicated envoy for Sudan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The UK is working with a wide range of partners, including Gulf and African countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN, to urge the parties to agree a permanent ceasefire, to allow unfettered humanitarian access, to protect civilians and to commit to a sustained and meaningful peace process. We welcome reported plans to restart talks in Jeddah, jointly led by the US and Saudi Arabia. The UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea spends a significant amount of time on efforts to secure peace in Sudan, working closely with other envoys covering Sudan.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support members of the Sudanese diaspora in the UK.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The FCDO maintains a relationship with, and supports, the Sudanese diaspora in the UK, including through engagement with them at events and at the monthly meeting between the FCDO and the APPG for Sudan and South Sudan.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent arms sales from the United Arab Emirates and other third parties to those involved in the conflict in Sudan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
There is a UN Arms Embargo and Sanctions Regime on Darfur, which the UN renewed in March 2023. There is also a longstanding bilateral UK arms embargo in place for the whole of Sudan. In our engagement with all our international partners, the UK continues to emphasise the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information they hold on Vladimir Kara-Murza, held in prison in Russia, and the state of his health.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government has consistently condemned the politically motivated conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza and called for his release. The conditions in the Omsk penal colony are threatening Mr Kara-Murza's life and his health is deteriorating. He must be released on humanitarian grounds for urgent medical treatment.
We continue to seek consular access to Mr Kara-Murza. Russia has repeatedly denied this, not recognising dual nationals as being in scope of our agreement on consular relations. Officials in London and Moscow continue to raise concerns for Mr Kara-Murza's health with the Russians. Mr Kara-Murza's family receive consular support.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government which means of communication are mandatory for constituents affected by boundary changes; and what assessment they have made of how effective these processes have been in ensuring constituents in affected constituencies are informed in advance of any such changes.
Answered by Baroness Penn
During a boundary review, the four independent Boundary Commissions must take such steps as they see fit to inform the public in each of the proposed constituencies of their proposals, and to make a copy of the proposals open to public inspection within the proposed constituency. The Boundary Commissions are required to hold three periods of public consultation which includes holding public hearings. The Boundary Commissions are required to publish their final reports.
The conduct of the boundary review within this statutory framework is a matter for the four independent Boundary Commissions.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine; and what discussions they have had with the government of Ukraine about its decision to introduce in October draft legislation seeking to amend Ukrainian law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. This includes widespread destruction of religious sites, and the imposition of restrictive Russian laws in the temporarily controlled territories. The UK is tracking the development of Ukraine's draft law and continues to encourage our Ukrainian partners to ensure that the law is fully aligned with Ukraine's FoRB commitments. We are clear that the only way to restore the full enjoyment of FoRB in Ukraine is for Russia to end its invasion and withdraw its troops.