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 assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria and membership structure of the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) under the Humanitarian Response Funding mechanism; and whether she plans to launch a new call for expression of interest for organisations to join the RRF, including small and locally-led humanitarian organisations with demonstrated operational capacity.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Rapid Response Facility has not been used since 2019 and there are no plans to revive its use. Alternative mechanisms, such as the Start Fund have provided a more efficient route for providing funding to NGOs, and currently has a membership of 145 NGOs, of which over 100 are local or national NGOs. The Start Fund responds globally to small and medium sized humanitarian emergencies and helps build the operational response capacity and leadership of locally led humanitarian organisations.
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 guidance will be issued to Integrated Care Boards and local authorities on how to deliver independent and inclusive engagement with local communities.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the Department will set the direction, issuing clear guidance to integrated care boards and local authorities on obtaining and actioning the views of local people on health and care services.
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 to recruit and retain allied health professionals in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work to support and retain our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, and educators to improve transition into the workforce.
Our upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it, and will make sure staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.
Decisions on the employment of allied health professionals are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of abolishing local Healthwatch on public trust in providing feedback on health and care services.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
An impact assessment has been undertaken and published alongside the introduction of the Health Bill 2026. It outlines the non-monetised benefits, including the streamlining of the landscape and legislation, avoiding duplication of activity, and increased accountability for listening to the patient and user voice in the commissioning and delivery of services.
Integrated care boards will have a statutory obligation to obtain the views of people who use health services, and their carers and representatives. Local authorities will have the same responsibility in respect of care services and their public health services. If an organisation is failing to carry out their statutory functions, there will be a power for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to issue directions.
Patients will still be able to raise issues through patient participation groups where they exist, as well as through National Health Service and local authority complaints processes, the NHS Friends and Family Test, and national surveys.
The existing complaints regulations allow people to make a formal complaint to a provider or commissioner of services, and, ultimately, the appropriate ombudsman. Healthwatch had no legal responsibility for complaints and, therefore, the abolition of Healthwatch services will not affect the complaints process.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department distinguishes between sustainably managed commercial forestry and deforestation-linked timber imports.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Global Environmental Impacts of Consumption indicator, funded by Defra, estimates that UK consumption of wood products is linked to circa 8,000 hectares of deforestation in 2023, associated with circa 0.4m tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The UK has a robust framework in place to ensure that timber placed on the UK market is legally harvested. Under the UK Timber Regulations, it is prohibited to place illegally harvested timber on the market, and businesses must carry out due diligence to demonstrate legality.
This approach distinguishes between legal and illegal timber and helps tackle deforestation linked to illegal logging, while supporting the supply and use of timber from legal and sustainable sources.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of sustainably sourced imported timber on the UK’s net zero and decarbonisation objectives.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the important role timber can play in supporting Net Zero, including through reducing embodied emissions in construction and storing carbon. The Government relaunched a more ambitious Timber in Construction Roadmap in February 2025 to increase sustainable timber use. The UK currently meets only around a fifth of its timber demand from domestic production, and even with increased planting and improved management, imports will continue to be essential to meet demand and balance wider land use priorities. Using a combination of domestic and imported timber, as well as other construction materials will allow the Government to meet its housing delivery ambitions.
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, how many asylum claims originating from the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong, have been based on fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion since May 2015.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Information regarding basis of claim is not published and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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, how many asylum claims have been submitted by asylum seekers from the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong, since May 2015; and how many of those were successful.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum and initial decisions on asylum claims, by nationality, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detailed datasets’.
Data on latest asylum outcomes, by nationality, is published in table Asy_D04 of the ‘Outcome analysis of asylum claims detailed datasets’ as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Table Asy_D04 shows for main applicants only, the number of asylum claims made each year, the initial and latest outcomes of those claims, the number still awaiting an outcome, and the number returned. The latest published data relates to claims made up to the end of 2024.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.
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, whether there are any cases where (a) an Interpol WPD and (b) a Red Notice has been issued against an individual granted political asylum in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government has long-standing policies to neither confirm nor deny (NCND) the existence of an INTERPOL Red Notice or Diffusion against named individuals, and to not comment on an individual’s immigration or asylum status. This is to support the functioning of both our judicial processes, and to ensure the protection of those with asylum status in the UK. These policies are also applied by the National Crime Agency, which hosts the UK’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau.
The Government takes seriously any attempt to misuse INTERPOL systems. We continue to work closely with INTERPOL to ensure that it’s Constitution is upheld and those with refugee status are rightfully given the protections afforded by their asylum status.
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, whether her Department has provided information on the outcome of UK asylum cases to (a) Interpol’s General Secretariat and (b) the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files under Interpol’s Resolution No. 9 2017 (GA-2017-86-RES-09).
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government has long-standing policies to neither confirm nor deny (NCND) the existence of an INTERPOL Red Notice or Diffusion against named individuals, and to not comment on an individual’s immigration or asylum status. This is to support the functioning of both our judicial processes, and to ensure the protection of those with asylum status in the UK. These policies are also applied by the National Crime Agency, which hosts the UK’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau.
The Government takes seriously any attempt to misuse INTERPOL systems. We continue to work closely with INTERPOL to ensure that it’s Constitution is upheld and those with refugee status are rightfully given the protections afforded by their asylum status.