Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information they have on the number of prevented terrorist attacks purportedly by Iran in the UK in the past 10 years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government's top priority is our national security, and we will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and its people, from any Iran-linked threats. As is our longstanding position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on specific operational matters.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the current vacancy rates for care workers in care homes in England and Wales; and whether these rates have changed in the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The policy for health and adult social care is devolved across the United Kingdom. The Department is responsible for adult social care in England, and therefore only captures information on vacancy rates for England. The following table shows estimates of the vacancy rates for the adult social care workforce, including the independent and local authority sectors, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:
Year | Vacancy rate |
2019/20 | 7.3% |
2020/21 | 7.0% |
2021/22 | 10.6% |
2022/23 | 9.9% |
2023/24 | 8.3% |
Source: Skills for Care using the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set.
It is important to note that vacancies include roles advertised by independent providers and therefore reflect market conditions. Vacancies include both posts that are vacant in the short term, due to recent or anticipated staff turnover, and posts created by employers who want to expand and grow their businesses, rather than only roles needed to meet statutory entitlements. Therefore, vacancy rates are likely not the best measure of capacity, or lack of capacity.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proportion of overseas workers in the care workforce.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to Skills for Care’s The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England 2024 publication, three quarters of the adult social care workforce had a British nationality in 2023/24, and the remaining quarter, 394,000 filled posts, had a non-British nationality.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for patients with anxiety and depression to gain access to cognitive behavioural therapy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held in the format requested. NHS England publishes data on the average waiting time for patients to start treatment with NHS Talking Therapies services, but the condition with which a person may be presenting is not recorded.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current vacancy rate for clinical psychologists.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. NHS England publishes quarterly National Health Service hospital trust vacancy and job advert data. The publication sets out vacancy rates for total NHS trust staff and, separately, for registered nurses and doctors at a national and regional level. The latest data for December 2024 shows that the vacancy rate for total NHS trust staff was 7.2%. The data is not detailed enough to identify vacancy rates for clinical psychologists.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what conversations took place with the Emir of Qatar, during his recent visit to the UK, with a view to seeking his assistance in securing the release of British hostage Emily Damari, held by Hamas.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Qatar plays a vital role in negotiations towards a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all those being held hostage by Hamas, and bring the conflict in Gaza to an end. We thank Qatar, Egypt, the US, and all international partners, for their coordinating efforts. Securing an immediate ceasefire and the safe release of all hostages, including Emily Damari and three other hostages with strong UK links, remains the UK's top priority. During the State Visit of His Highness the Emir of Qatar to London, the Foreign Secretary thanked Qatar for its leadership in ceasefire negotiations and made clear what an absolute priority Emily and the hostages are for us. He raised the importance of ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza to enable their safe release, protect civilians and deliver a surge of aid.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what efforts they are making to secure the release of British citizen Emily Damari, held hostage by Hamas since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since day one of this government, we have prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages, in co-ordination with international partners. The Prime Minister - along with other G7 Leaders - has fully endorsed efforts by the US and regional partners to reach a comprehensive deal in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735. The UK continues to call for the International Red Cross to be given access to the hostages to provide urgent humanitarian support. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have personally raised Emily Damari's case with the Israeli government, with partners in the region and with close allies like the United States.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in seeking to secure access to humanitarian aid for the citizens of Gaza, they are also working to ensure medical and other aid is provided for the hostages, such as British citizen Emily Damari, held by Hamas.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since day one of this government, we have prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages, in co-ordination with international partners. The Prime Minister - along with other G7 Leaders - has fully endorsed efforts by the US and regional partners to reach a comprehensive deal in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735. The UK continues to call for the International Red Cross to be given access to the hostages to provide urgent humanitarian support. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have personally raised Emily Damari's case with the Israeli government, with partners in the region and with close allies like the United States.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why there is an upper age limit of 79 years for the respiratory syncytial virus vaccination.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The policy for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is an independent expert advisory committee on vaccination and immunisation. This advice is provided to the Government to inform, develop, and make policy.
In the JCVI’s statement summarising the advice for the RSV programme, the committee stated that an extension to the initial programme would be considered when there is more certainty about the protection provided by the vaccination in the very elderly and evidence of the real-world impact of the programme in the 75 to 80-year-old cohort.
Following an assessment of specific individual clinical situations, a doctor such as a general practitioner or hospital consultant may choose to prescribe vaccines outside of the national programme, under clinical discretion.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the fluoridation of drinking water supplies to improve children's dental health.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A public consultation on the proposal to expand community water fluoridation in the North East of England finished on 31 July 2024. We are currently considering the responses to this consultation, and a decision on whether to expand the scheme will be announced in due course.