Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) technical and (b) financial support he is providing to Ukraine to help (i) identify and (ii) document casualties of the war in that country.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn Russia's barbaric assault against Ukraine's civilian population. From 24 February 2022 to 30 April 2025, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 45,001 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 13,134 killed and 31,867 injured. April was the deadliest month for civilians since September 2024. The actual figures are believed to be considerably higher given the challenges of receiving accurate information from locations under Russian control.
Since 2014, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (through the Human Rights Monitoring Mechanism on Ukraine (HRMMU)) has maintained a comprehensive record of conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine, with data disaggregated by sex, age, place of incident, and type of incident or weapon involved. The UK has provided support to the HRMMU and, overall, we are among the top 10 donors to OHCHR.
We are working closely with our humanitarian partners in Ukraine to protect the most vulnerable and prevent the worst impacts of the conflict on people. This includes support to the Red Cross Movement who help identify bodies and exchange mortal remains of casualties of war in Ukraine.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on students no longer eligible for personal independence payment under proposed reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made. The Department does not hold data about the student status of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be considered by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Moroccan Ambassador on the recent occupation of further territory in Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials regularly meet and discuss with our Moroccan partners, in addition to regional and international partners, on the issue of Western Sahara. The UK continues to support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara and the UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law, and we will continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 27839 on Western Sahara: Politics and Government, whether he supports a referendum on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. The UK also supports the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara. Officials regularly discuss Western Sahara with international partners, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara and civil societies. We will continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to establish specialist care pathways for people with bipolar to (a) improve treatment and (b) reduce misdiagnosis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long, including for people with bipolar disorder. We are determined to change that.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, create a network of open access community Young Futures hubs, recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment, and modernise the Mental Health Act.
NHS England is continuing to roll out the Community Mental Health Framework. The framework sets out a plan to deliver more flexible, personalised, and holistic care for more people with serious mental illness, including for people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
We are also committed to new models of care for mental health, including reforming care for people experiencing a mental health crisis. We are testing neighbourhood mental health centres for people aged 18 years old and over with serious mental illness. These six pilot schemes are based in Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Sheffield, York, Birmingham, and Whitehaven.
These models will offer 24/7 open access care closer to home, with an integrated service including healthcare providers, local authorities, and the voluntary sector. These pilots build on international evidence that shows that similar models have led to a reduction in hospitalisation and waiting times, and supports our efforts to move more care into the community
In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. NHS staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the period product scheme will continue within schools in the year 2025-26.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Leeds and Central Headingley to the answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 30133.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 41188 on Crossbows, what her Department's planned timetable is for publishing the (a) Government's response to that consultation and (b) steps the Government plans to take in relation to crossbow regulation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 April, Official Report Volume 766, column 26 and 27. The Government will shortly publish our response to that call for evidence and this will set out the next steps we intend to take.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking with NHS England to support ICBs to improve the availability of treatments for fertility patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines, which will be the clinical standards for the future NHS offer.
The Department is considering how best to support integrated care boards to improve their local offer.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with NHS England to support ICBs to review fertility guidelines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines, which will be the clinical standards for the future NHS offer.
The Department is considering how best to support integrated care boards to improve their local offer.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will provide guidance to customer service teams to ensure that written responses are available upon request.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Customers can contact DWP by telephone or post, face to face and via digital channels.
DWP continues to develop services that are easy to find and navigate, ensuring that the people feel confident and protected when they are relying on us.
The department is modernising to allow customers to interact with the department across multiple channels and in a way that suits them, enabling customers to self-serve online, while retaining non-digital channels for those that need them, avoiding digital exclusion and ensuring that everyone gets the level of support they need. Of course, if a customer cannot access digital services and specifically requests a written response, the department will provide this.
Developing secure digital channels for both the customer and the department is a key foundation of the work to modernise its services and using email as an outbound channel to communicate with customers is being progressed, the department is developing more secure and effective inbound digital channels for customers to use.