Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is negotiating a new UK-Egypt Association Agreement.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Egypt are not negotiating a new Association Agreement. The UK and Egypt have a strong bilateral trade relationship under the existing UK-Egypt Association Agreement. There are multiple mechanisms contained in the Agreement which will allow the UK and Egypt to enhance their overall trading relationship, as well as commitments to consider further liberalisation and provision for Ministerial meetings.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislation to make all hate crime an aggravated offence.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime. We have committed to changing hate crime legislation to bring parity of protection for LGBT+ and disabled people under the aggravated offences and we are currently considering how best to implement this.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many evacuations from Gaza to the UK of (a) British nationals including dual Palestinian and British nationals, (b) their immediate family members, (c) UK visa holders who have spouses or partners or children under 18 living in the UK who have valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months and (d) UK visa holders who have valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months granted outside the Immigration Rules or on the basis of Article 8 ECHR have been facilitated by his Department since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many evacuations of Palestinians in Gaza with (a) pre-determination and (b) biometric excuse decisions his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza with visas that are valid for more than six months his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many medical evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza who are non-British nationals his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly press Israel at senior levels to re-open safe, regular medical evacuation routes, and to protect healthcare facilities and staff. It is unacceptable that north Gaza now has no functioning hospitals and that medical personnel are being detained without justification.
Our support to UK-Med has treated over 300,000 patients in Gaza and we recently provided £1m, delivered through WHO, to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. We are keeping our policy under constant review to ensure the UK does everything we can to support sick and wounded Palestinian civilians.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many medical evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza who are non-British nationals there have been since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly press Israel at senior levels to re-open safe, regular medical evacuation routes, and to protect healthcare facilities and staff. It is unacceptable that north Gaza now has no functioning hospitals and that medical personnel are being detained without justification.
Our support to UK-Med has treated over 300,000 patients in Gaza and we recently provided £1m, delivered through WHO, to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. We are keeping our policy under constant review to ensure the UK does everything we can to support sick and wounded Palestinian civilians.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with representatives of private hire companies on the working conditions of drivers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport discusses a range of issues with representatives from the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Employment law and working practice policy, including working conditions, is outside of my Department’s remit and is owned by the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has received representations on the working conditions of drivers in the private hire industry.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport discusses a range of issues with representatives from the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Employment law and working practice policy, including working conditions, is outside of my Department’s remit and is owned by the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to improve national oversight of local commissioning of (a) specialist led-by and (b) domestic abuse services.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have a duty to commission services under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The statutory guidance is clear that local authorities must assess the needs of all victims, including those requiring specialist support, and ensure sufficient support is available to meet identified need. Support should be delivered by knowledgeable and experienced specialist domestic abuse providers. The guidance is also clear that commissioning processes should not exclude smaller voluntary organisations, such as those run ‘by and for’ groups with particular protected characteristics.
To further support local authorities in meeting these responsibilities, £160 million has been committed for support in safe accommodation in 2025/26, which includes a £30 million uplift to strengthen domestic abuse support services.
My department works closely with local authorities, supporting delivery of these duties, including monitoring through quarterly and annual data collections. My officials regularly liaise with organisations such as Women’s Aid, and I am establishing a new Domestic Abuse Housing Group, to be co-chaired by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, to oversee delivery. This will help ensure that services remain responsive, effective, and aligned with the needs of domestic abuse victims.