Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department has offered to the a) Republic of Mozambique, b) Republic of Zimbabwe and c) Republic of South Africa following the recent flooding incidents in those countries; and what direct engagement has taken place between His Majesty's Government and Ministers in each nation about the recovery effort.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK was one of the first countries to step up with lifesaving assistance for Mozambique. We delivered a £2 million increase in humanitarian funding, building on earlier action in 2025 to help communities prepare for increasingly frequent climate-related disasters. This support enabled the deployment of a specialist UK International Search and Rescue team, which saved dozens of lives, and helped provide emergency sanitation and health support to those most in need through local partners. The Minister of State for Development has just returned from Mozambique and saw first-hand the impact of the UK's flexible and rapid response to the crisis.
We have not had any direct ministerial engagement with Zimbabwe or South Africa on this matter, but we continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of women waiting for gynaecological treatment in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care, including in gynaecology, by March 2029.
The Department only holds data at a trust and integrated care board level. Newcastle-under-Lyme is served by the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNB), and Staffordshire is served by the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (SSOT ICB). Performance against this standard at the UHNB’s gynaecology service has improved by 7.6% since the Government came into office, to 55.5%, with a 16% reduction in the waiting list. At the SSOT ICB, performance for gynaecology services has improved by 6.9% to 55.2% over the same period, with a 15% reduction in waiting list size.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures.
Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services in Staffordshire and across England. These include more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, delivering new and expanded surgical hubs, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups.
We also provided new funding for general practices (GPs) to expand Advice and Guidance (A&G) services. A&G helps to keep patients out of hospital and delivers more care closer to home, saving time, protecting capacity, and improving care experience. A&G for gynaecology is available in all GPs within the SSOT ICB.
We are also introducing an “online hospital” via NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with international partners to help tackle organised immigration crime.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave in departmental oral questions on 28 October on tackling organised immigration crime. Fraudulent visa agents also target those seeking to come to the UK on fake visas and the UK and India are cooperating to protect people from scams and tackle irregular migration at its source.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I meet frequently with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers on a range of issues. Most recently, my officials and I have been working in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive to design and deliver the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland. Additionally, at the East-West Council in Belfast earlier this month, we discussed how the Connect Fund is supporting the work of voluntary organisations in sectors directly affecting Northern Ireland communities and encouraging civic East-West collaboration across the UK. I acknowledge the excellent work of voluntary organisations and the important services that they provide for communities in Northern Ireland. I am committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to support the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland now and in the future.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I meet regularly with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including matters relating to the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland. Most recently, my officials have been working in partnership with the Grants Management Function of Cabinet Office for the delivery of the Northern Ireland Office Connect Fund, supporting the work of voluntary organisations in sectors directly affecting Northern Ireland communities and encouraging civic East-West collaboration across the UK.