Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of potential shortfalls in funding for service delivery by hospice providers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services that an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in meeting this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance makes clear that ICBs must work to ensure there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which may include hospice services available within the ICB’s catchment area.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative care and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
We recognise the significant challenges facing the hospice sector, which is why we are providing £125 million in capital funding for adult and children’s hospices, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care and to free up other funding for patient care. We are also providing approximately £80 million in revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices over the next three financial years, giving them the stability they need to plan ahead.
NHS England continues to work closely with ICBs to support more strategic, data-driven commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, including those delivered by hospices. In February, NHS England wrote to all ICBs requesting an update on the financial stability of hospices in their footprint as a matter of urgency, and the steps being taken to mitigate risks.
We are also considering these as we develop the Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework, which will support strategic commissioning, and help address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability across the sector.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Mr Ameer Kotecha was given a leave of absence from her Department to (a) run the Platinum Pudding Competition and (b) write the Platinum Cookbook.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no record of Mr Kotecha being granted a period of unpaid leave during his employment with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). His work on producing the cookbook and running the pudding competition over the course of 2021-22 was carried out in tandem with his preparations to take up a new post at the consulate in Ekaterinburg.
The FCDO did not hold any staff events on Sunday 15 August 2021, the day that the Taliban captured Kabul. The event to which Mr Kotecha has referred took place on Wednesday 15 September 2021, a month after the fall of Kabul, and almost three weeks after the UK's final evacuation flight from Afghanistan. It was a lunchtime panel discussion organised by the Civil Service Race Forum panel, and held online for staff networks across Whitehall. The FCDO had no involvement in its organisation, and no FCDO staff were featured on the panel.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether an event was held within her Department to mark World Afro Day in August 2021.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no record of Mr Kotecha being granted a period of unpaid leave during his employment with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). His work on producing the cookbook and running the pudding competition over the course of 2021-22 was carried out in tandem with his preparations to take up a new post at the consulate in Ekaterinburg.
The FCDO did not hold any staff events on Sunday 15 August 2021, the day that the Taliban captured Kabul. The event to which Mr Kotecha has referred took place on Wednesday 15 September 2021, a month after the fall of Kabul, and almost three weeks after the UK's final evacuation flight from Afghanistan. It was a lunchtime panel discussion organised by the Civil Service Race Forum panel, and held online for staff networks across Whitehall. The FCDO had no involvement in its organisation, and no FCDO staff were featured on the panel.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to provide support for people who are disabled and on benefits when their condition deteriorates; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an assessment mechanism to allow people to change from Limited Capability for Work to Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Individuals claiming Employment and Support Allowance or the health element of Universal Credit are encouraged to report any changes to their health condition to DWP immediately, whether an improvement or deterioration.
If an individual with Limited Capability for Work reports a deterioration or new condition, the mechanism for determining if they have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity is a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessment.
If, at reassessment, they are found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-related activity and they are entitled to a higher rate of benefit, that rate will be backdated to the date they notified DWP of the change to their condition.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to limit the import and sale of fur produced from unethical practices overseas.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will publish the results of the previous government’s call for evidence on the fur trade and publish and consider carefully the report from our independent expert Animal Welfare Committee on the responsible sourcing of fur.
Building on this evidence, Defra will bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur, to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes in gender and conflict advisory capacity on the ability of the Integrated Security Fund to mainstream Women, Peace and Security and conflict sensitivity; and who is accountable for delivery of that mainstreaming across portfolio boards.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Security Fund-supported Gender and National Security portfolio has a total budget of £4.85 million in 2025/26, of which approximately £1.6 million (33 per cent) is targeted specifically to tackling Violence against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New international coalition launched to end violence against women and girls globally, published on 2 December 2025, how much and what proportion of that Integrated Security Fund package has been allocated to meet her commitments on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG); and what assessment her Department has made of the national security and domestic resilience implications of potential changes in international VAWG and gender based violence programming.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Security Fund-supported Gender and National Security portfolio has a total budget of £4.85 million in 2025/26, of which approximately £1.6 million (33 per cent) is targeted specifically to tackling Violence against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of (i) Official Development Assistance allocations to peacekeeping and multilateral commitments and (ii) and bilateral or locally-led conflict prevention and stabilisation programmes in contexts of weak governance.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department assesses the effectiveness and value for money of UK-funded projects in the areas mentioned through its business case process, quarterly progress reports, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews, including checks on financial performance, risk management and delivery against agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners within the Department apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework to monitor progress, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the UK Integrated Security Fund will deliver programmes through contracting and pre-qualified partners during 2026 to 2029; and whether he plans to amend the UK Integrated Security Fund's procurement and partnership models.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
From 2026 to 2029, the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) will continue to deliver programmes through a range of delivery mechanisms, including contracting and prequalified partners where this provides the most effective and agile route to achieving national security outcomes. This includes via the ISF Commercial Framework Agreement, a commercial arrangement with organisations who have been pre-assessed on their capability, thematic expertise, resources and gender and conflict sensitivity.
The existing Commercial Framework is due for renewal in 2027 and arrangements for refreshing the framework will be considered in due course.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the projected level of loss of UK soft power in the Western Balkans in the next five years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last year, the Government invested over £31 million in programmes in the Western Balkans, supporting women and girls, protecting democratic values, and enhancing resilience to hostile state influences, including funding for counter-disinformation and cyber defence support. We will set out details of future funding allocations in the coming months, we continue to be committed to pursuing a wide range of objectives in partnerships across the region focussed on stability, security, and prosperity among other issues.