Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people in the UK still suffering the effects of Long Covid.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

The most recent data from the Winter Covid-19 Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated 2 million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England and Scotland, reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. Of these, an estimated 1.5 million people reported that day-to-day activity had been limited, of which an estimated 381,000 reported that day-to-day activity had been limited a lot.

Where data was available to calculate the exact duration of long COVID, this showed that an estimated 164,000 people first had, or suspected they had, COVID-19 less than 12 weeks previously, 1.1 million people had symptoms for 12 or more weeks, 930,000 people for at least a year and 670,000 for at least two years. We do not know the exact duration for an estimated 680,980. These results are based on questionnaire responses from 107,852 participants, where weighted percentages from the questionnaire have been applied to the population total in England and Scotland.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not proscribed the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.

The UK Government has long been clear about our concerns over the malign activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK maintains sanctions on over 400 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation. The Government has also imposed sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and on several senior security and political figures in Iran, including senior commanders within the IRGC and its Basij force.

On 24 January 2024, we took coordinated action with the US and imposed sanctions on several members of the IRGC for their involvement in plots to assassinate individuals on UK soil. Following Iran’s attack against Israel on 13 April, the UK has sanctioned a number of individuals and companies with links to Iran’s UAV and missile industries, as well as leading Iranian military figures and entities that have enabled Iran’s destabilising regional activity.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the level of humanitarian aid being provided to Gaza.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The situation in Gaza is desperate. Too many Palestinian civilians have been killed and there is an urgent need to get more aid to the people of Gaza to prevent a famine. We trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.

As of 9 May, the UK has participated in 12 airdrops into Gaza delivering a total of 110 tonnes of aid. On 17 April we announced £3 million of additional funding for equipment to support UN and aid agencies to get more aid into Gaza, including trucks, forklifts, generators, fuel stores and lighting towers. This follows a £9.7 million package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, including the deployment of a Navy ship.

UK support includes a field hospital, provided by UK Aid funding to UK-Med, which is up and running in Gaza and has already treated thousands of patients. We have provided funding for the World Food Programme to provide 2,000 tons of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what level of humanitarian aid they are currently providing to Gaza.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The situation in Gaza is desperate. Too many Palestinian civilians have been killed and there is an urgent need to get more aid to the people of Gaza to prevent a famine. We trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.

As of 9 May, the UK has participated in 12 airdrops into Gaza delivering a total of 110 tonnes of aid. On 17 April we announced £3 million of additional funding for equipment to support UN and aid agencies to get more aid into Gaza, including trucks, forklifts, generators, fuel stores and lighting towers. This follows a £9.7 million package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, including the deployment of a Navy ship.

UK support includes a field hospital, provided by UK Aid funding to UK-Med, which is up and running in Gaza and has already treated thousands of patients. We have provided funding for the World Food Programme to provide 2,000 tons of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to take steps, either judicial or legislative, to ensure that the decision of the Northern Ireland High Court disapplying certain provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 is reversed.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government is considering the judgment carefully before deciding on next steps.

The Government has consistently made clear that the provisions in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement referred to in the Windsor Framework were developed specifically against the background of Northern Ireland's unique circumstances. They do not concern and should not be brought into the complex legal debate concerning illegal migration. The Government will take all steps to defend that position, including through appeal.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that immigration rules will apply equally across the whole of the UK and that there will be no internal UK immigration borders.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Immigration is a reserved matter and the Government has consistently applied immigration law on a UK-wide basis.

Tackling illegal migration is a top priority for the Government and preparatory work continues to enable flights to Rwanda to begin in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to do business in the USA, following the UK–U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Dialogue that took place in Belfast on 16 April.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK-U.S. trading relationship. In 2023, businesses in Northern Ireland alone exported goods worth over £1.5 million to the U.S. The SME Dialogue in Belfast reflects the ongoing commitment from both countries to enhancing UK-U.S. SME trade.

Over 85 SMEs, including many from Northern Ireland, participated in the recent Dialogue in Belfast where the UK and U.S. Intellectual Property (IP) toolkits, to help SMEs protect their IP. The Department for Business and Trade have previously launched toolkits on Doing Business in the U.S. and an E-Commerce Guide for SMEs selling online to the U.S.

The department is committed to supporting SMEs to grow and export, with a dedicated Export Support Service. The Export Academy helps SMEs access free training programmes, 1:1 guidance from International Trade Advisers and in-market insight from teams around the world, including in the U.S.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total expenditure on special educational needs in England in 2023–24; and what is their forecast expenditure for 2024–25.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Local authorities spent £7.9 billion on education for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the 2022/23 financial year. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) also allocated a further £1.0 billion on funding for SEND places directly to providers in that financial year. The outturn data for expenditure in the last financial year (2023/24) is not yet available but is due to be published later in 2024. Planned expenditure reported by local authorities for that year was £9.4 billion and the ESFA’s expenditure was £1.1 billion.

These figures do not include the amounts spent by mainstream schools and colleges from their budgets on children and young people with lower level SEND. The department does not collect this expenditure information from individual schools and colleges.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what role they have played in providing funding for the commemoration events in Northern Ireland for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings; and what additional allocations they have made to each of the 11 councils in Northern Ireland to help them (1) commemorate, or (2) provide funding to groups within their council area to commemorate, the anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the maximum amount that the Department for Work and Pensions is seeking to recover from any individual recipient of carer's allowance as a result of overpayment of that allowance; and whether there is any cap on the total amount sought.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has the Department for Work and Pensions made of its own culpability in issuing overpayments to recipients of carer's allowance.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government from how many recipients of carer's allowance the Department for Work and Pensions is seeking repayment following overpayment of that allowance.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to forgoing repayment of the overpayment to recipients of carer’s allowance in instances where the Department for Work and Pensions is at fault for such overpayment.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what changes the Department for Work and Pensions has made to its procedures to ensure that the overpayment of carer's allowance to recipients cannot occur in the future.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)

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

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current scale of antisemitic activity and incidents in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

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

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the school age population in England have been designated as having special educational needs in the 2023–24 academic year to date.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The department publishes annual figures on special educational needs (SEN) for pupils in state-funded schools in England. The most recent figures are for January 2023, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.

These figures show that 4.3% of pupils had an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and a further 13.0% of pupils had SEN but no EHC plan (SEN support).

Updated information for January 2024 will be published on 20 June 2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with university Vice Chancellors to combat antisemitism on university campuses; and what steps they intend to take to improve the situation.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

On 9th May 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, chaired a roundtable at No 10 Downing Street with Vice Chancellors from universities across the UK and was joined by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, and other Ministers. The discussion focused on tackling antisemitism in higher education, including preventing an escalation of protest activity such as that seen in the United States in recent weeks.

On the same day, the department announced its intention to provide £500,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy, enabling it to rapidly boost the vital support it offers to Jewish students on campus.

In his Autumn Statement, my right hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced £7 million to tackle antisemitism in education. The cornerstone of this package for higher education will be a new framework that will enable universities to demonstrate, through their processes and practice, a commitment to preventing and tackling antisemitic abuse.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Union of Students to take action to combat antisemitism on university campuses.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The government remains disengaged from the National Union of Students (NUS) while the NUS continues to take robust action against antisemitism within its membership.

The department is pleased to see that the NUS is implementing the recommendations from the Tuck Report and will continue to monitor its progress carefully.

On 9 May 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, chaired a roundtable at 10 Downing Street with Vice Chancellors from leading universities across the UK and was joined by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, and other Ministers to discuss tackling antisemitism in higher education (HE). The discussion focused on tackling antisemitism in HE, including preventing an escalation of protest activity such as that seen in the United States in recent weeks.

On the same day the department announced the intention to provide £500,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy, enabling it to rapidly boost the vital support it offers to Jewish students on campus.

In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £7 million to tackle antisemitism in education. The cornerstone of this package for higher education will be a new framework that will enable universities to demonstrate through their processes and practice a commitment to preventing and tackling antisemitic abuse.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of antisemitic activity and incidents currently being committed on university campuses.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

According to the Community Security Trust, there was an increase of 203% in university-related antisemitic incidents in 2023, which rose from 60 in 2022 to 182 in 2023. Of these 182 incidents, 148, or 81%, occurred in the aftermath of 7 October, and 134, or 74%, overtly referred to Israel and events in the Middle East and included anti-Jewish content or targeting. The department continues to monitor the situation and to support higher education providers to manage incidents.

On 9 May 2024 the Secretary of State chaired a roundtable at 10 Downing Street with Vice-Chancellors from universities across the UK, joined by the Prime Minister and other Ministers. The discussion focused on tackling antisemitism in higher education (HE), including preventing an escalation of protest activity such as that seen in the United States in recent weeks.

On the same day the department announced the intention to provide £500,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy, enabling it to rapidly boost the vital support it offers to Jewish students on campus.

In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £7 million to tackle antisemitism in education. The cornerstone of this package for HE will be a new framework that will enable universities to demonstrate through their processes and practice a commitment to preventing and tackling antisemitic abuse.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to analyse and attribute the level and causes of excess deaths in the UK since 2020, both those caused directly by COVID-19 and those from other sources.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

Excess deaths are the difference between the number of registered deaths and the number expected based on previous trends. Weekly estimates of excess deaths are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Its latest data shows that for the years 2020 to 2022, there were an estimated 151,506 estimated excess deaths in England.

It is likely that deaths from COVID-19 were a large driver of excess deaths in the peak pandemic periods. Deaths were above the expected level for most of the second half of 2021, and from March 2022 until the summer of 2023; however, deaths have been below the expected level for most weeks since then.

The drivers of excess deaths are not fully understood, and the excess is likely to be the net effect of many complex and potentially related factors. The attribution of excess deaths to these factors is complex and beyond the scope of the ONS methodology. The UK Health Security Agency has estimated the excess deaths due to acute factors, such as heatwaves, cold snaps, COVID-19 and influenza.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of excess deaths that have arisen as a consequence of restrictions and lockdowns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

Excess deaths are the difference between the number of registered deaths and the number expected based on previous trends. Weekly estimates of excess deaths are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Its latest data shows that for the years 2020 to 2022, there were an estimated 151,506 estimated excess deaths in England.

It is likely that deaths from COVID-19 were a large driver of excess deaths in the peak pandemic periods. Deaths were above the expected level for most of the second half of 2021, and from March 2022 until the summer of 2023; however, deaths have been below the expected level for most weeks since then.

The drivers of excess deaths are not fully understood, and the excess is likely to be the net effect of many complex and potentially related factors. The attribution of excess deaths to these factors is complex and beyond the scope of the ONS methodology. The UK Health Security Agency has estimated the excess deaths due to acute factors, such as heatwaves, cold snaps, COVID-19 and influenza.

Found: Letter dated 05/06/2024 from the Earl of Minto to Lord Weir of Ballyholme in response to a Written Parliamentary