Lord Scriven Portrait

Lord Scriven

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 19th September 2014

Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Health)

(since October 2024)

1 APPG membership (as of 20 Nov 2024)
Pharmacy
4 Former APPG memberships
Customer Service, Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf, Local Government, Malaysia
Procedure and Privileges Committee
27th Jun 2017 - 4th Feb 2021
Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee
13th Jun 2019 - 16th Jun 2020
Long-Term Sustainability of the NHS Committee
25th May 2016 - 5th Apr 2017
EU Justice Sub-Committee
12th Jun 2015 - 21st Jan 2016


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Scriven has voted in 6 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Lord Scriven Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Baroness Merron (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
(18 debate interactions)
Baroness Twycross (Labour)
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
(7 debate interactions)
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Labour)
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
(4 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(16 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(4 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(3 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Lord Scriven's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Scriven, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


1 Bill introduced by Lord Scriven


A Bill to disestablish the Church of England; to make provision for the protection of freedom of religion or belief; and for connected purposes.

Lords - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Wednesday 6th December 2023
(Read Debate)

Lord Scriven has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 49 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
25th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include the rights of Church of England Bishops to sit in the House of Lords in their public consultation on the reform of the Lords.

Measures to modernise the constitution were announced in the King’s Speech, including legislation to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. This will be the first step in wider reform to the second chamber, as set out in the manifesto.

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
6th Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to include specific clauses on human rights in their free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council; if so, what the clauses will consist of and how they will be monitored; and if they will not be included, why not.

The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. This work takes place separately to negotiations on free trade agreements.

While aspects of trade policy can provide the opportunity to address other issues in a bilateral relationship, free trade agreements are not generally the most effective or targeted tool to advance human rights issues.

Trade deals like the UK-GCC FTA will be aligned with the trade and industrial strategies, to bring prosperity to communities across the country and fulfil our mission of securing the highest sustained growth in the G7.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
19th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what emphasis they intended to make on human rights in negotiating a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. The Department for Business and Trade are currently assessing progress across the programme of Free Trade Agreements currently under negotiation. Economic growth is our first mission in government and Free Trade Agreements have an important part to play in that. The Department's trade deals will be aligned with its industrial strategy, to bring prosperity to communities across the country and fulfil our mission of securing the highest sustained growth in the G7.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
26th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect bi-mode hydrogen trains to enter service on East Midlands Railway.

East Midlands Railway’s (EMR’s) new Aurora bi-mode trains (electric and diesel) are currently being built by Hitachi at its Newton Aycliffe factory in County Durham. The first three trains are doing test runs on the East Coast and Midland Main Lines. EMR currently expect that the trains will start to be introduced on intercity services in 2025 with the full fleet of trains coming into service during 2025 and 2026.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
26th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that a direct train service between Sheffield and Manchester Airport is reinstated, and according to what timeframe.

I wrote to the Noble Lord in July, explaining this service was withdrawn in December 2022 as part of the Manchester Task Force’s proposals to address the challenges of Manchester’s constrained capacity. We remain committed to improved rail connectivity in growing the Northern and national economy.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
4th Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with train operating companies regarding the practice of conducting ticket checks at the footbridge of Sheffield railway station, which is a public right of way.

Deploying revenue protection staff to deter ticketless travel, and doing so in a reasonable and efficient manner, is a matter for train operating companies.

Revenue protection offers passengers an additional level of safety and security whilst travelling on the rail network.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 29 July (HL238), and further to the incident mentioned in that Answer, what assessment they have made of the general incidence of East Midlands Railways (EMR) operating carriages without air conditioning in recent hot weather resulting in passengers and staff having to endure high temperatures and the associated health risks; and whether they plan to take any action against EMR in response.

While there has been no specific assessment into the functionality of air conditioning during the recent hot weather, a sample of EMR's trains are independently inspected each month to assess overall ambience, and this includes the temperature of the carriage.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
22nd Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take against East Midlands Railway for running trains with no working air conditioning during recent spells of hot weather, resulting in passengers and staff having to endure temperatures of up to 36.1 degrees Celsius, and the health risks associated with such high temperatures.

EMR advises that, on the occasion in question, the air conditioning failed in one carriage. All other carriages on the train had functioning air conditioning and staff offered passengers the opportunity to move to a different carriage, as well as providing water. New trains are due to replace the current train fleet from 2025.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, in notifying individuals that they may be eligible to Winter Fuel Payments, whether they took steps to ensure that letters were not sent to deceased people whose relatives had used the Tell Us Once service, and in how many instances they are aware of such letters being sent despite this.

The department each year routinely takes steps to ensure letters issued to those eligible to Winter Fuel payments are accurate based on their circumstances at the time of writing. Naturally, there is a short timeframe where in very rare occasions these circumstances may change whilst the letters are already in production or in the delivery network. We continually review our processes to ensure these instances are kept to an absolute minimum to avoid unnecessary impacts on our customers or their relatives.

Baroness Sherlock
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the Building the Right Support Action Plan; and what plans they have to create a new Building the Right Support Action Plan to support reforms proposed in the Mental Health Bill.

The Building the Right Support Action Plan, published in 2022, contains commitments which have not yet passed their delivery dates, including the commitment to reform the Mental Health Act.

We do not plan to create new actions in a new action plan while the bill is before Parliament. However, we recognise that this is a vitally important area, and we are considering how to ensure that more people with a learning disability and autistic people are supported well in the community, ahead of the commencement of the Mental Health Act reforms.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
4th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications they received for funding to establish Health Protection Research Units based in (1) the North East, (2) Yorkshire, and (3) the North West.

In September 2023, the Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research launched a two-stage open competition to fund 13 new Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs). Each HPRU is a collaborative research partnership between the UK Health Security Agency and a university or group of universities. Overall, the HPRUs have been awarded £77 million of funding over five years for research to protect the public from health threats.

The following table sets out the applications received by region, and where the university is either the lead applicant or a collaborating partner on the HPRU application:

Region

University as the lead applicant

University as a collaborating partner

North East

1

Yorkshire

2

North West

2

7

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many out of area hospital admissions for mental health patients there were in (1) 2022, (2) 2023, and (3) 2024 to date.

The following table shows the amount of adult acute mental health out of area placements in each of the last three years:

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Inappropriate placements active during year

4,870

4,655

5,900

Inappropriate placements active at year end

605

695

805

Appropriate placements active during year

470

320

325

Appropriate placements active at year end

65

65

95

Total out of area placemetns active during year

5,340

4,975

6,225

Total out of area placements active at year end

670

760

900

Source: Out of Area Placements in Mental Health Services, NHS England.

Note: Information about OAP placements in other mental health services, such as specialist mental health inpatient services or services for children and young people, is not available. The information provided is for financial years and goes up to March 2024 before the new data collection begins.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many mental health patients under 18 years of age were placed in a hospital or unit more than 10 miles from their residence in (1) 2022, (2) 2023, and (3) 2024 to date.

This information is not held in the format requested, as data on active out of area placements is not categorised by age.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 12 November (HL2220), what is the timescale for delivery of the proposed reforms to the patient care pathways; what conditions and pathways are in scope for these changes; in what settings this care will be delivered; who will be responsible for ensuring that these changes will be at lower cost; and how will progress be monitored and reported.

As part of the Government's commitment to returning to the 18-week constitutional standard from Referral to Treatment, work is underway and planned throughout 2025/26 to reform patient care pathways to ensure patients are seen in the settings which deliver better patient experience for lower cost.

This pathway reform will look at end-to-end pathways across primary, community and secondary care, and include diagnostics. NHS England is initially prioritising pathways in cardiology, respiratory, ear-nose-throat, gastroenterology and urology due to challenging demand, and is looking at opportunities to improve efficiency across other pathways, including through the use of diagnostic first pathways, integration across settings workforce development. There are ongoing reform efforts underway to address challenges identified in other specialities too. For example, in gynaecology, women’s health hubs are bringing together healthcare professionals and existing services to provide integrated women’s health services in the community to improve health outcomes for women, whilst reducing healthcare inequalities.

NHS England is leading national efforts to support pathway re-design, to take the best of clinically led innovation and practice across the country. Progress will be monitored and reported via the Oversight and Assessment Framework through which trusts report to integrated care boards; these are in turn shared with NHS England regional teams and filter into national reporting.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 8 November (HL2000), from which budget lines and areas NHS England provided the additional funding outlined; how much, if any, of the additional funding came from allocated capital budgets and what the slippage this has caused; and how much, if any, funding came from non-capital budget lines and what are the opportunity costs this has incurred.

There have been no cuts to operational services to make the £2.3 billion of funding available. The majority came from central NHS England funding, held as part of the start year financial plans for this purpose. The remainder came from savings identified during the subsequent planning round, including taking a higher risk appetite on the extent to which underspends or savings would be identified during the course of the year. No funding came from savings on allocated capital budgets.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
15th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were detained under (1) section 37, (2) section 41, and (3) section 45A, of Part 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in the years (a) 2022, (b) 2023, and (c) 2024 to date.

The following table shows the detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983, by legal status and across all providers, each year from 2021/22 to 2023/24:

Legal status

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Section 37 with S41 restrictions

45

43

46

Section 37 without S41 restrictions

16

26

32

Section 45A

5

3

N/A

Source: the Emergency Care Data Set and the Mental Health Data Set.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
4th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact of the national insurance rise for employers on service levels for (1) community pharmacies, (2) NHS dentists, (3) care homes, (4) social care, and (5) GP services.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget. This enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer national insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025, with the Department setting out further details on allocation of funding for next year in due course.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any of the £22.6 billion allocated to the NHS for day-to-day spending in the Autumn Budget had already been allocated to NHS budgets before the announcement, and if so, how much.

As advised by HM Treasury's 2024 Autumn Budget, the health and social care budget will grow by £12.5 billion in 2024/25 and by £22.6 billion in 2025/26, compared to 2023/24. £7.6 billion of the 2024/25 growth was confirmed in 2024/25 Main Estimates in July 2024. This is the first time a budget for 2025/26 has been agreed with HM Treasury.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the cost to the NHS of (1) pay awards to resident doctors in this financial year, and (2) the increase to employer National Insurance contributions announced in the Autumn Budget.

The government is uplifting resident doctor pay scales for 2023-24 by an average of 4.05% on top of their existing pay award. This has an estimated cost impact of approximately £350 million per year.

On the second question, we have taken tough decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget, this enabled the SR settlement of £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department of Health and Social Care from 2023-24 outturn to 2025-26. The Employer National Insurance rise will be implemented April 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care will set out further details on allocation of funding for next year in due course, including through NHS Planning Guidance and the usual consultations.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the additional cost to social care providers of (1) the increase to employer National Insurance contributions, and (2) the rise in the National Living Wage, announced in the Autumn Budget.

The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process.

In response to these pressures, the Government is providing at least £600 million of new grant funding for social care in 2025/26, as part of the broader estimated real-terms uplift to core local government spending power of approximately 3.2%. We will continue to work with the adult social care sector to understand the pressures on adult social care delivery and local authority budgets.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional levels of service they anticipate will be achieved each year as a result of the additional £22.6 billion allocated to the NHS for day-to-day spending; and what reforms will be needed alongside this additional investment.

The additional funding announced in the Budget will support the National Health Service in England to deliver an additional 40,000 elective appointments a week, and will make progress towards the commitment that patients should expect to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment. Performance expectations of NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) and trusts for the next financial year will be set out in the 2025/26 NHS planning guidance, at the earliest opportunity.

Investment alone won’t be enough to tackle the problems facing the NHS, and it must go hand in hand with fundamental reform. In the short term, patient care pathways will be reformed to ensure that patients are seen in settings which can deliver better patient experience for lower cost, enhancing patient choice and embedding best practice across the country. Looking to the future, we will publish a 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS in the spring which will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospitals to the community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government over what timescale the delivery of an additional 40,000 elective NHS appointments per week will be achieved.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission, and we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. Further details regarding the additional appointments will be confirmed at the earliest opportunity.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government which integrated care boards are reporting a projected system-wide deficit for this financial year; and what is the projected deficit for each of them.

31 out of the 42 integrated care boards agreed a deficit plan for the year for their overall systems with NHS England, which aggregated to a total planned overspend of £2.3 billion. NHS England has since provided additional funding to systems to match those plans, meaning there are currently no projected system-wide deficits based on those start year plans.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the database hack by Qilin in June, what assessment they have made of the use of single databases for storage of information in the NHS; and what risks they have identified.

The data leaked following the cyber-attack on Synnovis is still being investigated by Synnovis. This involves interrogation to identify the personal data that has been affected. The complexity of the investigation means it will take time for Synnovis to clarify and identify which individuals and organisations have been impacted and the nature of the data.

We understand that the data leaked in the Synnovis cyber-attack was not taken from a single database but was a partial copy of content from Synnovis’s administrative working drives.

When any databases which contain personal data are established by an organisation, the organisation has its own legal responsibilities as a controller of the data to ensure data protection by design and default in the design and development of a database, and to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) under UK General Data Protection Regulation. A DPIA includes an assessment of any risks to individuals, and how these risks are mitigated.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the NHS database hack by Qilin in June, (1) how many individual patients' data were hacked, (2) whether data were hacked that could be used to identify any individual, (3) whether, and what, medical information was hacked, and (4) whether any results were hacked and, if so, what type of results.

The data leaked following the cyber-attack on Synnovis is still being investigated by Synnovis. This involves interrogation to identify the personal data that has been affected. The complexity of the investigation means it will take time for Synnovis to clarify and identify which individuals and organisations have been impacted and the nature of the data.

We understand that the data leaked in the Synnovis cyber-attack was not taken from a single database but was a partial copy of content from Synnovis’s administrative working drives.

When any databases which contain personal data are established by an organisation, the organisation has its own legal responsibilities as a controller of the data to ensure data protection by design and default in the design and development of a database, and to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) under UK General Data Protection Regulation. A DPIA includes an assessment of any risks to individuals, and how these risks are mitigated.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend the services that could be provided by community pharmacies as part of Pharmacy First.

Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to embedding Pharmacy First and building on it, expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
27th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 9 August (HL537), when the annual summary of projects funded by the Gulf Strategy Fund in 2023–24 will be published.

The FY2023/24 annual summary will be published following the conclusion of the review. Future annual summaries will be prepared and published in line with the findings and recommendations of the review.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
27th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions to re-accredit the National Institute for Human Rights of Bahrain with “B” status; and what are the implications of that for their funding for the National Institute for Human Rights of Bahrain under the Gulf Strategy Fund.

The UK plays no role in recommendations made by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. The Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) does not provide direct funding to the Bahrain National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR). All GSF projects are delivered through implementing partners who provide training or technical assistance to local beneficiaries.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
27th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government which Government Ministers and officials attended the dinner held for King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at Windsor Castle on 11 November.

The dinner held for King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa at Windsor Castle was a private event hosted by His Majesty The King. Guests included the Secretary of State for Defence, the Lord Chancellor, Chief of Defence Staff and the British Ambassador to Bahrain.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
27th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 6 November (HL1953), whether the review mentioned in the Answer has been conducted; if not, when it is expected to conclude; and whether its findings will be made publicly available in the interests of transparency.

As mentioned in my answer to HL1953, the FCDO is committed to transparency. We are currently reviewing how to improve the quality of transparency data published about the Gulf Strategy Fund, to build on the Thematic Summaries already published annually to Gov.uk. Publication of the summary for 2023/24 will follow this review. The review is underway and is expected to conclude in January 2025, it is in the form of advice which is internal to the FCDO and will not be published.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
27th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government which Government Ministers and officials (1) were consulted, (2) were informed, and (3) provided advice, on the appointment of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to the Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order; and, if so, when.

Awards in the Royal Victorian Order are made personally by The King. With advice from His Majesty's Government, The King invested King Hamad of Bahrain with his Honorary Knighthood at Windsor Castle on 11 November 2024 in the year of his Silver Jubilee.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
31st Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan regarding the sentencing to death of Shagufta Kiran for blasphemy.

Pakistan is a FCDO human rights priority country. We work to protect and promote human rights in Pakistan through our diplomatic engagement and programme funding. This includes regularly raising our opposition to the death penalty and concerns about the misuse of blasphemy laws, both in principle and in relation to specific cases. Minister Falconer, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan, underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Azam Tarar on 4 September.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
23rd Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the Gulf Strategy Fund to increase transparency of how the funds are used, including by publishing details of the implementers and beneficiaries of the fund.

The FCDO is committed to Transparency. We are currently reviewing the transparency of the Gulf Strategy Fund, to build on the Thematic Summaries already published annually on GOV.UK. Publication of the summary for 2023/24 will follow this review.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made a decision on continuing the Gulf Strategy Fund; if not, when the decision will be made; and what criteria were or will be considered during the policy review.

The Gulf Strategy Fund has an allocation of £6m for the Financial Year 2024/25. Funding for future years will be decided once we know the outcome of the Spending Review.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
22nd Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of gifts and hospitality given to UK diplomats, embassy staff and ministers, by (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) Bahrain, (3) the United Arab Emirates, (4) Qatar, and (5) Kuwait in the last two years.

The FCDO publishes quarterly data on gifts and hospitality received by ministers and senior officials on GOV.UK. Providing the complete information requested would exceed the word limit for responses to written parliamentary questions but the FCDO publishes quarterly data information which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fcdo-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

and

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fcdo-senior-officials-business-expenses-hospitality-and-meetings

Information relating to gifts and hospitality received by embassy staff is held locally, but is not centrally collated, as this would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

The FCDO expects all members of staff to always maintain the highest standards of propriety, in line with the Civil Service Code and the Diplomatic Service Code.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
11th Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government when the University of Huddersfield last sought guidance from anybody affiliated with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regarding human rights due diligence on its courses related to Bahrain.

The FCDO has no direct involvement in the partnership between the University of Huddersfield and the Government of Bahrain, which is facilitated solely between the two parties.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, concerning the case of Dominic Miles, a British national imprisoned in Bahrain since 2022, in light of an alleged failure of due process and the Government's statement in August 2023 that the ombudsman suspects torture; what assessment they have made of his case; what representations have been made on his behalf and to which Bahraini authorities over the past two years; and when the last such representation was made.

Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and we take all allegations of torture and mistreatment extremely seriously. When such concerns are raised, with the individual's consent, we will raise these with the relevant authorities. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found on the attached PDF.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance is given to UK ambassadors and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials attending Formula One races linked to human rights abuses in the Gulf region.

All FCDO Staff are expected to maintain the highest standards of propriety and regularity at all times in line with the Civil Service Code and Diplomatic Service Code. The motorsport industry generates over £10 billion each year in the UK and provides significant employment opportunities. UK Ambassadors have regularly attended Formula One events as part of their official duties. However, we put the protection of human rights around the world at the heart of what we do and work with our allies to encourage all states to uphold their international human rights obligations.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of allegations that the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) finances institutions implicated in torture; what additional oversight mechanisms will be put in place to monitor the human rights considerations of GSF operations; how the funding for the GSF is justified; and when the summary of projects funded by the GSF will be made transparent to the public.

The Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) helps deliver HMG objectives across the Gulf Cooperation Council States. All cooperation through the FCDO International Programme, including the GSF, is subject to rigorous risk assessments to ensure all work meets our human rights obligations and our values. The Annual Summary of projects funded by the GSF in 2023/24 will be published later this year.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sent notes to the Home Office in relation to Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei in August 2022 and March 2023 and, if so, for what purpose.

While His Majesty's government does not comment on individual cases, as part of official processes Government departments do liaise as necessary.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
19th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised concerns with the government of Bahrain over human rights issues since taking office; if so, when and to whom; and if not, whether they intend to do so.

His Majesty's Government has not made representations to the Government of Bahrain regarding human rights since taking office. The UK supports Bahrain's reforms and will continue to encourage their government to meet international and domestic human rights commitments.

Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government which of the 33 recommendations in the Brook House Inquiry report they accept, and when each of these will be implemented.

The abuse that took place at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) in 2017 was unacceptable.

The previous government published its response to the public inquiry into Brook House IRC on 19 March 2024, summarising the progress made since 2017 and addressing each of the ten key areas of concern raised in the report.

Positive progress continues to be made in addressing the Inquiry findings. A cross departmental working group has been meeting since September 2023. The working group continues to meet monthly to consider and monitor delivery of the Inquiry’s recommendations, providing oversight and overarching governance to monitor Inquiry recommendations.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
24th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their forecast of the number of people currently seeking asylum that will still need to have their case decided by the end of (1) 2024, and (2) 2025.

The Home Office routinely publishes information on a quarterly basis, including the number of cases outstanding. Data on the total number of outstanding cases in the asylum system (‘asylum work in progress’), asylum decision makers, processing times and productivity is published in the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We are unable to forecast the number of people with outstanding case decisions as each case is decided on its own individual merits and there are many factors that can delay and contribute to the length of time to process asylum claims.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value for money to taxpayers of the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) given the recent external auditors’ finding of “significant weaknesses” in its value for money arrangements and the auditors being unable to give an opinion on STDC’s 2021–22 and 2022–23 financial statements.

As part of the local government audit framework, local auditors make assessments of authorities’ arrangements to secure value for money. The findings of ‘significant weaknesses’ in value for money arrangements in the recent audit reports for South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) reflect concerns raised in the independent review of Tees Valley Combined Authority’s oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Joint Venture.

In September, the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) Mayor submitted an update on their work to address issues identified in the independent review. My department is assessing this update and will respond in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
5th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the response to the Secretary of the State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Tees Valley Mayor in September, what assessment they have made of whether all 28 recommendations from the Tees Valley Review, published 23 January, will be carried out effectively and at the best value for the taxpayer.

We received a response from the Mayor on the recommendations made by the independent Tees Valley Review. We are currently reviewing that response against the recommendations made and we will publish our response as soon as our review is completed.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
5th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to respond to the reply to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Tees Valley Mayor in September about the recommendations from the Tees Valley Review and, if so, when and how they will publish their response.

We received a response from the Mayor on the recommendations made by the independent Tees Valley Review. We are currently reviewing that response against the recommendations made and we will publish our response as soon as our review is completed.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date they have asked the Tees Valley Mayor to submit his final response to the independent Tees Valley Review published on 23 January, and whether they plan to publish this response in full.

The previous government’s independent review into the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Ltd was published 29 January 2024. The then Secretary of State wrote to the mayor in March 2024 requesting a further report in six months’ time. We expect to receive this report in September 2024, and to publish this in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)