Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests for (a) predetermination and (b) biometric excusal have been granted to Palestinians in Gaza seeking to reunite with family members in the UK since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Since 7 October 2023, the Home Office have granted 143 predetermination requests, and 5 biometric excusal requests to Palestinians located in Gaza.
The Home Office is aware from legal representatives that two Palestinian nationals located in Gaza died before their applications for predetermination/bio excusal had been concluded.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to collect biometric data from Palestinians seeking to reunite with family members in the UK in the absence of a functioning visa application centre in Gaza.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In most circumstances, foreign nationals who are required to apply for entry clearance to come to the UK are required to enrol their biometrics in the form of a facial image and fingerprints as part of the application process.
The Visa Application Centre in Gaza has been closed since 7 October 2023 due to the conflict in the region and to ensure the safety of staff and customers. UKVI will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the supplier, VFS, to re-open the centre when it becomes safe to do so.
In the interim, those who wish to make a UK visa application are required to enrol their biometrics at an alternative Visa Application Centre. For those in OPT this includes Ramallah or Jerusalem. Customers can visit Welcome to VFS Global | vfsglobal for an up to date list of Visa Application Centres in the region.
The Government is working with the Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian authorities to identify alternative safe routes for British nationals and other eligible people to leave Gaza. Ultimately, it is at the discretion of the Israeli authorities as to who can leave Gaza.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the turnover threshold to £500,000 for businesses that are required to fund the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is currently funded by an annual levy on the 14 large retailers that are designated under the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA assesses annually whether retailers which have a turnover exceeding £1bn of grocery sales in the UK should be designated under the Code. The £1bn threshold is set out in the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order 2009 which is the responsibility of the CMA.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that businesses comply with the Equality Act 2010 by allowing people with sight loss to enter their premises with an assistance dog.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Under the Equality Act 2010, businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services to the public must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those with assistance dogs.
The Act places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.
This is an anticipatory duty, meaning businesses should expect that some customers will have assistance dogs and should put in place arrangements to assist their access. Failure to do so could ultimately leave the service provider open to legal action by the disabled person.
To help businesses comply with the law and disabled customers know their rights, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has published a range of guidance and codes of practice, for all to consult.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has plans to widen the scope of the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Groceries Code Adjudicator enforces the Groceries Supply Code of Practice which regulates the relationship between large supermarkets in the UK and their direct suppliers. At the production end of the supply chain, powers in the Agriculture Act allow the government to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers. Such regulations have been introduced to cover the UK dairy sector and will be enforced by the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.
The government will continue to monitor the supply chain and will deliver a resilient and healthy food system, with a new deal that ensures fairness in the supply chain across all sectors.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the level of statutory paternity leave on new families.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As committed to in the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government will review the system of parental leave, including Paternity Leave, to ensure that it best supports working families. We are in the early planning stage for this Review and are actively considering its parameters.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department will launch the review of the parental leave system.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As committed to in the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government will review the system of parental leave, including Paternity Leave, to ensure that it best supports working families. We are in the early planning stage for this Review and are actively considering its parameters.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support postgraduate students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government introduced postgraduate loans which, alongside other sources of funding, are a contribution to the cost of postgraduate level study to stimulate take-up.
Decisions on student finance have had to be taken to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and that the costs of higher education (HE) are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university
We will set out this government’s longer term plan for HE reform by summer 2025.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is working with key postgraduate research stakeholders to deliver a UK postgraduate research offer under the New Deal for Postgraduate Research that attracts, empowers and supports talent. Between the 2021/22 and 2024/25 academic years, UKRI has raised the minimum student stipend that UKRI funded students receive by over 23% in cash terms.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase funding for postgraduate researchers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government introduced postgraduate loans which, alongside other sources of funding, are a contribution to the cost of postgraduate level study to stimulate take-up.
Decisions on student finance have had to be taken to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and that the costs of higher education (HE) are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university
We will set out this government’s longer term plan for HE reform by summer 2025.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is working with key postgraduate research stakeholders to deliver a UK postgraduate research offer under the New Deal for Postgraduate Research that attracts, empowers and supports talent. Between the 2021/22 and 2024/25 academic years, UKRI has raised the minimum student stipend that UKRI funded students receive by over 23% in cash terms.