Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much aid he has given to organisations providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza since October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We committed over £100 million in 2023-24. This funding was mainly allocated and delivered through partners; for example: £8.25 million to the World Food Programme, £13.75 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Pooled Fund, £7.75 million to the Red Cross/Crescent Movement, £12.22 million to UNICEF, £2.75 million to Emergency Health Response, £1.35 million to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, £1.5 million to WHO.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13050 on Railways: Access, what recent progress his Department has made on assessing applications for Access for All funding.
Answered by Huw Merriman
As part of our recent Network North announcement, the Government confirmed £350m will be made available to improve the accessibility of our train stations. We are assessing over 300 nominations for Access for All funding. At stations awarded funding this will create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. Successful nominations will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 72 of the National Disability Strategy, published in July 2021, what progress his Department has made on establishing the Extra Costs Taskforce.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
We are pleased that we can restart the work around the Extra Costs Taskforce. The Taskforce will be focused on bringing together disabled people, regulators and businesses, to better understand the extra costs faced by disabled people, including how this breaks down for different impairments.
The Disability Unit is currently working up a project plan and engaging with other government departments to take this commitment forward. The Disability Unit has begun to engage with interested stakeholders, including the Disability Charities Consortium, to develop an understanding around the definition of extra costs and what the terms of reference and focus areas of the Taskforce could be.
The Disability Unit will also be using insight from the Disability Action Plan consultation findings regarding the impact of the cost of living on disabled people when taking forward work on the Extra Costs Taskforce.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the recipients of the £6 million air quality grant will be announced for the 2023-24 period.
Answered by Robbie Moore
I had concerns that the Local Air Quality Scheme would not deliver the most positive outcomes for local air quality at this particular time and so I have asked Defra officials to consider redesigning the Scheme in the future, to be able to better deliver those positive outcomes and therefore enhanced value for money for taxpayers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase the air quality grant for 2024.
Answered by Robbie Moore
I had concerns that the Local Air Quality Scheme would not deliver the most positive outcomes for local air quality at this particular time and so I have asked Defra officials to consider redesigning the Scheme in the future, to be able to better deliver those positive outcomes and therefore enhanced value for money for taxpayers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department made an impact assessment before ending the Air Quality Grant Scheme.
Answered by Robbie Moore
I had concerns that the Local Air Quality Scheme would not deliver the most positive outcomes for local air quality at this particular time and so I have asked Defra officials to consider redesigning the Scheme in the future, to be able to better deliver those positive outcomes and therefore enhanced value for money for taxpayers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who was appointed to represent the Muslim community at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
The table below shows the representative of the Muslim community who attended National Services of Remembrance each year for the last ten years.
Year | Name | Position |
2023 | Imam Asim Hafiz | Islamic Religious Advisor to the Armed Forces |
2022 | Imam Asim Hafiz | Islamic Religious Advisor to the Armed Forces |
2021 | Imam Monawar Hussain | Muslim Chaplain to the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
2020 | Imam Asim Hafiz | Islamic Religious Advisor to the Armed Forces |
2019 | Imam Asim Hafiz | Islamic Religious Advisor to the Armed Forces |
2018 | Imam Qari Asim | Senior Imam, Leeds Makkah Masjid & Chair, Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board |
2017 | Imam Asim Hafiz | Islamic Religious Advisor to the Armed Forces |
2016 | Imam Qari Asim | Senior Imam, Leeds Makkah Masjid |
2015 | Imam Asim Hafiz | Islamic Religious Advisor to the Armed Forces |
2014 | Dr Shuja Shafi | Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Great Britain |
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with refence to the oral answer of 4 March 2024 from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness to the hon. Member for Blaydon, Official Report, column 627, what his planned timetable is for appointing an independent adviser on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Member to the oral answer given by my Hon Friend, the Member for Kensington on 4 March 2024 (Official Report, HC Volume 746, Column 627).
Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding is available to local authorities for clean air programmes.
Answered by Robbie Moore
We have allocated over £883 million to help local authorities develop and implement local NO2 reduction plans and to support those impacted by these plans. In addition, the Local Air Quality Grant scheme has supported over 500 projects with a total of over £53 million since 2010. We are currently considering whether the Local Air Quality Grant scheme might be redesigned to better deliver positive outcomes for local air quality.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce air pollution.
Answered by Robbie Moore
This Government has delivered significant reductions in emissions since 2010 – with emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) falling by 24%, and nitrogen oxides down by 48%. We met our targets to reduce emissions for all five key pollutants in the latest reporting year.
Our Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we will continue to drive down emissions from domestic burning, agriculture, transport, and industry – delivering cleaner air for all.
PM2.5 is the most harmful pollutant to human health, which is why we have set two new targets to drive down PM2.5 concentrations under the Environment Act 2021:
These targets mean that on average, people’s exposure to particulate matter will be cut by over a third by 2040, compared with 2018 levels.