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, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Committee to Protect Journalists press release entitled, Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war, published 3 December 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, together with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable situation in Gaza. The UK has been clear that Israel must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians, which includes journalists and media workers. The UK calls on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and guarantee the protection of journalists and media workers covering the conflict. On 02 November, I highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza and for those that had lost their lives in the name of press freedom. The UK remains committed to Media Freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society.
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, what steps he is taking to help protect (a) journalists and (b) media workers (i) based and (ii) operating in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, together with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable situation in Gaza. The UK has been clear that Israel must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians, which includes journalists and media workers, and we call on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and guarantee the protection of journalists and media workers covering the conflict. On 02 November, I highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza and those that had lost their lives in the name of press freedom. The UK remains committed to Media Freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society.
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 uses journalistic reporting from Palestinian journalists in Gaza when conducting assessments into (a) the humanitarian situation and (b) Israeli military actions in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our assessments are supported by a wide ranging and detailed evidence base. This includes relevant regional media reporting, including from Palestinian journalists, open-source material, analysis of the conflict by international bodies, NGOs and partner countries and statements and reports by the Israeli Government and military representatives, and the Palestinian Authority.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to provide additional funding to local authorities to meet the increased costs of social care.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government considered the cost pressures facing social care services and wider local government spending as part of phase one of the Spending Review process which concluded in October.
The government is providing a real-terms uplift to core local government spending power of around 3.2% in 2025-26. This includes £1.3bn of new grant funding – £680 million of which is new grant funding to support social care.
Future funding decisions will be considered in the usual way as part of the next phase of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that legitimate knife manufacturers are not adversely affected by online restrictions intended to reduce knife crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to strengthening the law around online sales which is why we are conducting a rapid review of the online sale and delivery of knives and how controls can be strengthened. The review is being taken forward by Commander Stephen Clayman, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime. The review will take in to account the position of legitimate businesses alongside the demands of public safety.
We are also progressing a manifesto commitment to hold senior executives personally liable for flouting the law on the online sale of knives.
We are currently consulting the public on proposals to introduce personal liability measures on senior executives of online platforms and marketplaces who fail to take action to remove illegal content relating to knives and offensive weapons. The consultation will run for 4 weeks until 11 December 2024.
Sale of knives: executive sanctions www.gov.uk/government/consultations/sale-of-knives-executive-sanctions
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take ensure there is sufficient provision of (a) rehabilitation and (b) prehabilitation for cancer patients across all cancer alliances.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service trusts and cancer alliances are responsible for ensuring that plans are in place to meet the needs of patients in their localities. Therefore, the Department does not have additional plans to ensure there is provision of rehabilitation and prehabilitation for cancer patients across all cancer alliance areas.
A range of resources are available to the NHS workforce to support prehabilitation, rehabilitation, and physical activity. For example, NHS England provides the PRosPer Cancer Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation learning programme, which aims to support allied health professionals and the wider healthcare workforce in developing their skills in providing personalised care, prehabilitation, and rehabilitation in the cancer pathway. This programme forms part of the Personalised Care Institute’s library of personalised care training for all healthcare professions.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for when cancer sites will have recurrence data collection mandated to align with the collection of breast cancer recurrence data.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), part of NHS England, collects patient data on cancer as well as congenital anomalies and rare diseases. The NDRS has been collecting recurrence data for non-primary cancers via data submissions as part of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset since 2013. Recurrence data can also be obtained from the Cancer Waiting Times treatment dataset for diagnosed cancer patients.
The Diagnostic Imaging Data Set (DID) is a central collection of detailed information about diagnostic imaging tests carried out on National Health Service patients, published by NHS England. Development of DIDS version 2.0 has commenced with the gathering of requirements from various stakeholders including NHS England, NHS Data Model and Dictionary, providers, and system suppliers. One of the requirements under consideration is the addition of an alert to identify if the imaging showed a suspected or confirmed cancer, recurrence, or progression. Such an alert could improve recording of the progression to metastatic status or the recurrence of cancer. Development of DIDS version 2.0 provides a window of opportunity to both reduce the burden of data collection, while improving the value of the dataset in assessing clinical outcomes.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help improve (a) access to GP appointments and (b) rates of early-stage cancer diagnosis in areas of socio-economic deprivation in Yorkshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are struggling to access general practices (GPs), and that these struggles can be particularly acute for patients living in deprived areas. We will support equitable access to GP services, and we have already committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, as part of an initiative to address GP access. In order to ensure that all patients have multiple routes of access, we have committed to introducing a modern booking system, to end the 8:00am scramble.
The chances of surviving cancer are higher if diagnosed at an early stage. Therefore, early diagnosis is a key priority for the Government. We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets, so no patient waits longer than they should, including in Yorkshire.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with social care providers on the potential impact of Autumn Budget 2024 on the social care sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department holds regular meetings with adult social care stakeholders, including service providers and representative bodies, to discuss key issues and developments such as the impact of the Budget on the sector. The Government will make available up to £3.5 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. We will set out further details at the Local Government Finance Settlement.
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 providing targeted funding to help ensure that children with disabilities in Gaza are included in UK-funded humanitarian responses in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The plight of disabled children in Gaza is deeply distressing. They are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, and their access to healthcare is disproportionately affected in times of conflict. The UK continues to provide significant funding to partners to support those most in need, including £5.5m in additional funding for UK-Med to run field hospitals in Gaza, and an additional £6m for UNICEF to provide lifesaving aid to vulnerable families in Gaza. We are also the second largest donor to the 'Education Cannot Wait' fund which supports 5,000 children affected by the crisis, including those with disabilities. On 16 October, I announced £1 million of UK assistance to the World Health Organisation to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. These funds will provide vital supplies and medications, including rehabilitative equipment. We continue urgently to press Israel to ensure sufficient aid, including vital medical treatment, reaches civilians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his 14 November call with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar.