Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) developing and (b) approving a single mandatory consumer code for all housebuilders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to improving upon existing means of redress for new build homebuyers for when things go wrong. The government responded to the CMA Housebuilding Study in October 2024 and committed to implementing recommendation 2.1, namely a single mandatory consumer code for housebuilders.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving protections for residential freeholders from unnecessary costs charged by estate management companies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent delays by relevant authorities in the adoption of public amenities on housing estates.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of prohibiting new embedded management arrangements in residential developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing common adoptable standards for public amenities on new housing estates.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps with his international counterparts to review Israel's access to the F-35 Global Supply Chain pool.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The F-35 programme remains under constant review by the F-35 Partner Nations. As set out in the Secretary of State for Business and Trade's statement of 2 September, it is not currently possible for the UK to suspend licensing of F-35 components for use by Israel without prejudicing the entire global F-35 programme, including its broader strategic role in NATO and Western support to Ukraine. Therefore, as announced to Parliament in his statement of 2 September, the Foreign Secretary advised, and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade agreed, that to ensure international peace and security it was necessary to take the specific measure of excluding exports to the F-35 programme from the scope of the suspension, but this exclusion should not in principle apply to licences for F-35 components which could be identified as going to Israel. Departing from the Strategic Export Licencing Criteria (SELC) to exclude F-35 licences from the scope of the suspension decision is consistent with HMG's published policy, which states that the application of the SELC is "without prejudice to the application to specific cases of specific measures as may be announced to Parliament from time to time".
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the necessary conditions for (a) safe and (b) effective humanitarian operations by UNRWA in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed serious concern at the UNRWA bills passed by Israel's Knesset. This legislation risks making UNRWA's essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister of State for Development urged Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Haskel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations. I raised this issue with Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December. We continue to work with our international partners to press Israel also to take the necessary steps to ensure safe and effective humanitarian delivery in Gaza, including through the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. The Development Minister underlined the UK's support for UNRWA by announcing, on 2 December, £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on the supply of aid to Gaza of the decision by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to pause delivery of aid to Gaza via Kerem Shalom.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The situation for humanitarian actors in Gaza is untenable. The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remains the backbone of the humanitarian response, which is why the Government announced an additional £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza on 2 December. It is hugely concerning that UNRWA has been forced to pause aid deliveries through its main crossing point at Kerem Shalom because of safety concerns. The World Food Programme, for which we also announced £6m of UK assistance on 2 December, reports that barely any food has entered northern Gaza for over 50 days. This is unacceptable. We continue to press Israel to end its aid restrictions and ensure the UN and humanitarian partners can work safely and effectively. This was reiterated in the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. I raised these issue's with Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for the UK government’s support for the UN’s UNRWA mission in Gaza, of the approval by the Israeli Knesset of legislation regarding Israel’s relations with UNRWA on 28 October 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed serious concern at the UNRWA bills passed by Israel's Knesset. This legislation risks making UNRWA's essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister of State for Development urged Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Haskel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations. I raised this issue with Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December. We continue to work with our international partners to press Israel also to take the necessary steps to ensure safe and effective humanitarian delivery in Gaza, including through the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. The Development Minister underlined the UK's support for UNRWA by announcing, on 2 December, £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the capability of the UN World Food Programme to deliver food aid to Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The situation for humanitarian actors in Gaza is untenable. The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remains the backbone of the humanitarian response, which is why the Government announced an additional £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza on 2 December. It is hugely concerning that UNRWA has been forced to pause aid deliveries through its main crossing point at Kerem Shalom because of safety concerns. The World Food Programme, for which we also announced £6m of UK assistance on 2 December, reports that barely any food has entered northern Gaza for over 50 days. This is unacceptable. We continue to press Israel to end its aid restrictions and ensure the UN and humanitarian partners can work safely and effectively. This was reiterated in the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. I raised these issue's with Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December.