Anum Qaisar
Scottish National Party - Former Member for Airdrie and Shotts
First elected: 13th May 2021
Left House: 30th May 2024 (Dissolution)
7 Former APPG memberships
British Muslims, Children, Teenagers, and Young Adults with Cancer, Heart Valve Disease, Human Rights, Muslim Women, Refugees, Tackling Loneliness and Connected CommunitiesDivision Voting information
All Debates
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
(12 debate interactions)
(9 debate interactions)
(9 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(53 debate contributions)
(27 debate contributions)
(25 debate contributions)
(24 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(8,663 words contributed)
(4,296 words contributed)
(2,199 words contributed)
(711 words contributed)
Latest EDMs signed by Anum Qaisar
International Court of Justice Ruling on Gaza and the UK’s duties under the Genocide Convention
Tabled by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)That this House notes the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January 2024, which found that it is plausible that Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza are in breach of the Genocide Convention; further notes that the ICJ issued provisional measures, including ordering …
(Most recent: 14 May 2024)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 32
Scottish National Party: 27
Independent: 8
Plaid Cymru: 3
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 2
Green Party: 1
Alba Party: 1
Alliance: 1
Roslin Village Group
Tabled by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)That this House recognises the invaluable contributions made by community groups in enhancing the quality of life for residents and fostering a sense of belonging; commends the Roslin Village Group for its commitment to serving the Roslin community; notes the receipt of a £1,935 grant to support its one-year project …
(Most recent: 19 Apr 2024)
Signatures by party:
Scottish National Party: 6
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Anum Qaisar, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
1 Urgent Question tabled by Anum Qaisar
1 Adjournment Debate led by Anum Qaisar
1 Bill introduced by Anum Qaisar
A Bill to make provision about workers’ rights; and for connected purposes.
Friday 6th May 2022
1 Bill co-sponsored by Anum Qaisar
Miscarriage Leave Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Angela Crawley (SNP)
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)1 Other Department Questions
Food production and environmental protection are two sides of the same coin. We recognise the impact of climate change on food security if we don’t act now. We have been engaging with our international counterparts on progressing the successes of COP26, including financial commitments and actions to reduce environmental harm, and support livelihoods and food security. Looking towards COP27, we have already engaged with host nation Egypt and others to consider how we progress this.
HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world. This is an important lever for promoting both UK prosperity and national and global security.
We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC).
The SELC provide a thorough risk assessment framework for export licence applications and require us to think hard about the impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with the SELC. These are not decisions we take lightly.
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We continue to monitor the situation in Israel and Gaza closely. The UK has not granted any export licences to UK-based AI companies to export to Israel.
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The UK operates one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world.
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In preparation for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Government ran one of its largest consultation exercises, consulting with individuals, businesses, business associations, NGOs and public sector bodies, receiving almost 150,000 responses.
CPTPP safeguards the UK’s high standards of personal data protection as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, and locks in a requirement for personal data to be protected in all countries that are party to the agreement.
A free trade agreement (FTA) with India could help address trade barriers, drive growth and support jobs across the UK. The Government is seeking provisions that support our ambitions on the environment and climate change, while preserving the UK’s right to regulate.
Alongside FTA negotiations, the UK and India work together to support clean growth. The UK-India roadmap includes an ambitious agenda for collaboration on climate change as well as work in multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organization.
At signature, the Government will publish the Impact Assessment including estimates of emissions impacts expected to result from the agreement.
The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We remain committed to the promotion of universal human rights, and when we have concerns they are raised directly with partner governments, including at ministerial level. This is undertaken separately to negotiations of free trade agreements, although they are part of building open and trusting relationships with important partners.
Negotiations are ongoing with India. To date, there have been five formal rounds of talks. We have provisionally closed the majority of chapters in our free trade agreement talks with India and look forward to a next formal round of negotiations soon.
The Government is clear that it won’t sacrifice quality for speed. We will continue to review progress, and only sign when we have a deal that is fair, reciprocal, and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy.
The Government has high regard for worker protections and has made clear that we will not compromise on these in our trade agreements. All our negotiations seek to ensure commitment to international labour protections, including at the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Department for International Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office discuss the interlinkages between the UK-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the wider UK-Israel foreign policy relationship on a regular basis. This joined-up approach has informed the published strategic approach to the UK-Israel Free Trade Agreement, including the Government's approach to these issues.
The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world and we remain committed to the promotion of universal human rights.
Under the current UK-Israel agreement, goods imported from illegal settlements are not entitled to the benefits from trade preferences. Palestinian goods imported from the Occupied Palestinian Territories benefit from the trade preferences in the bilateral agreement negotiated between the UK and the Palestinian Authority.
The UK does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of Israel, including illegal settlements.
Under the current UK-Israel agreement, goods imported from illegal settlements are not entitled to the benefits from trade preferences. Palestinian goods imported from the Occupied Palestinian Territories benefit from the trade preferences in the bilateral agreement negotiated between the UK and the Palestinian Authority.
The UK does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of Israel, including illegal settlements.
No. Defence matters are outside the scope of all UK Free Trade Agreements (FTA).
The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and aims to operate one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. An FTA with Israel will not impact on export controls in relation to arms exports.
On 20 July, negotiations between the UK and Israel for an upgraded, innovation-focused Free Trade Agreement (FTA) were launched. As part of this, our strategic approach to the negotiations was published on GOV.UK. This document sets out the UK’s key objectives in these negotiations.
On 20 July, negotiations between the UK and Israel for an upgraded, innovation-focused Free Trade Agreement (FTA) were launched. As part of this, our strategic approach to the negotiations was published on GOV.UK. This document sets out the UK’s key objectives in these negotiations.
Promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment is central to the Government’s ‘Modernising Trade’ agenda and features explicitly in UK negotiation objectives.
We are using our FTAs to open new opportunities for women. We have already secured dedicated chapters with Japan, Australia, and New Zealand as well as important additional commitments across these agreements.
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact.
On 21 April 2022, the total number of paper applications awaiting processing at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) was 832,314. This is a significant reduction from the peak of 1.6 million in September 2021. It is important to note that the DVLA normally has around 400,000 paper applications awaiting processing at any one time as the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail each day. This information is not held by Parliamentary constituency.
The Department does not hold data on the number of patients who have had polio or post-polio syndrome. However, the Department does hold data on the number of admissions to hospital, where polio or post-polio syndrome was recorded as a diagnosis, from 2018 to 2023:
- in 2018/19, there were 176 admissions to National Health Service hospitals in England where polio was recorded as the diagnosis, and 797 admissions where post-polio syndrome was recorded as the diagnosis;
- in 2019/20, there were 187 admissions to NHS hospitals in England where polio was recorded as the diagnosis, and 813 admissions where post-polio syndrome was recorded as the diagnosis;
- in 2020/21, there were 107 admissions to NHS hospitals in England where polio was recorded as the diagnosis, and 522 admissions where post-polio syndrome was recorded as the diagnosis;
- in 2021/22, there were 115 admissions to NHS hospitals in England where polio was recorded as the diagnosis, and 630 admissions where post-polio syndrome was recorded as the diagnosis; and
- in 2022/23, there were 104 admissions to NHS hospitals in England where polio was recorded as the diagnosis, and 632 admissions where post-polio syndrome was recorded as the diagnosis.
It is important to note that the number of admissions does not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. It is estimated that there are approximately 120,000 people living in the United Kingdom who survived polio when they were younger. Some of these have, or will develop, post-polio syndrome.
The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR invests in research, clinical expertise, specialist facilities, workforce, and support services across a range of clinical areas. NIHR expenditure on cancer research was over £101 million in 2021/22.
The Government is committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research. In May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the NIHR. This includes research into paediatric brain tumours.
The £40 million funding will remain available; if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do. The level of funding for brain tumour research depends on funding applications received. It is worth noting that all applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded and this will continue.
The MHRA is an independent regulator responsible for granting marketing authorisation to a product following a thorough review of an application submitted by its producer. There is no requirement for producers of these products registered by the MHRA to declare the information referenced, as this information is both commercially sensitive and not required for the MHRA to make an assessment of an application for marketing authorisation.
As negotiations on the pandemic instrument are live and in their early stages, we cannot comment on the details of the United Kingdom’s negotiating position. Driving access to safe, affordable essential medical countermeasures is a key priority for the UK in these negotiations, as is ensuring that measures incentivise innovation to strengthen research and development. Officials are working with international partners and non-state actors to ensure the instrument improves access to vaccines, drugs and tests, while also supporting the life sciences sector.
We have also been clear that the UK will not sign up to a pandemic instrument or any instrument that would compromise the UK’s ability to make domestic decisions on national measures concerning public health policy.
Licenced cannabis-based medicines are routinely prescribed and funded on the NHS. However, the latest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines (written in 2019), demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding for unlicensed cannabis-based products.
We are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to prove products safe and effective. We need the cannabis industry to come forward and work with us on this.
We replied to the hon. Member on 22 March 2022.
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We continue to monitor the issue of unresolved Bedouin land claims, and unrecognised Bedouin villages, in the Negev/Naqab region, and lack of basic services. We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to engage in dialogue to agree a satisfactory solution to the issue, respecting the rights of the people affected.
Ministers and senior officials regularly raise with their Israeli counterparts a range of issues related to the conflict.
The Government operates a robust and thorough assessment of licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, and we will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with those Criteria. We regularly publish data on export licensing decisions on the dedicated gov.uk site: [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data].
Given the ongoing conflict, we are not able to provide this assessment at this time. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza.
We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access. We are pushing to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to be respected and civilians to be protected.
We continue to engage closely and regularly with a range of senior Israeli officials. Since the outbreak of the conflict on 7 October, the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely has had two meetings with Foreign Office Ministers. The Ambassador spoke with Lord Ahmad, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, on 10 October. She also attended a meeting on 24 October between former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the families of those taken hostage by Hamas.
British International Investment (BII) has an effective complaints mechanism [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/complaints-whistleblowing/] that allows external parties to report alleged breaches of the Policy on Responsible Investing (PRI). If deemed eligible, complaints will be investigated, and where appropriate, BII will enable access to remedy.
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism is under the direction of the Head of Compliance. Decisions required under the Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are made independently of the departments involved in pre-investment due diligence and post-investment monitoring of environmental, social and business integrity issues. The Head of Compliance has a reporting line to the Board's Audit & Compliance Committee.
FCDO undertakes periodic reviews of BII's assurance processes and recommends actions to improve their robustness, and monitors implementation of these. Any significant issues reported to FCDO regarding BII are notified to FCDO's Internal Audit and Investigations Department.
Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
While the seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, the UK remains a longstanding supporter to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) and values its importance as a vital humanitarian and stabilising force in the region. In the financial year 2022/2023, the UK provided UNRWA with £18.7 million and in 2023/4 our funding is approximately £10 million. Our annual contribution to their programme budget helps UNRWA provide education to over 533,000 children a year (half of them girls), and access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees. We are aware of UNRWA's financial challenges and frequently raise this with MENA regional partners at ministerial level, most recently with the government of the United Arab Emirates. To that end, the UK Government is working with UNRWA and other international donors to help ensure its sustainability.
We have long supported resolutions consistent with our policy, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. The UK's position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution and indeed contribute to the negative trends that imperil the two-state solution. We urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately and we continue to monitor the changes to the settlement approval process instituted by the Government of Israel on June 18, which facilitate swifter approval of construction in settlements.
The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to international humanitarian law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. Most recently, on 7 May, The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon wrote to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to express the government's opposition to the demolition of Jubbet Adh Dhib school. Lord Ahmad has also visited a school under threat of demolition in Masafer Yatta during his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in January.
British International Investment's (BII) investments are scrutinised by independent evaluators through the FCDO-BII Evaluation and Learning Programme.
Each sector evaluation includes analysis of the poverty alleviation and gender impact. Recommendations for improving impact and BII responses are published on FCDO's and BII's website. A multi-sector evaluation is currently under way, which includes a review of BII's healthcare portfolio.
In addition, BII commissions and publishes its own case studies, evaluations, and evidence reviews to help better understand the impact of its investments. Relevant case studies and evaluations include the impact of access to finance for healthcare facilities in Kenya [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/news-insight/insight/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-improved-access-to-finance-for-healthcare-facilities-in-kenya/] and investing for impact in India [https://assets.bii.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/06212044/Investing-for-impact-in-India_BII.pdf].
Intermediated investments allow Development Finance Institution's to effectively: provide smaller levels of financing, raise standards in the wider market, support the development of local institutions, and mobilise other capital.
British International Investment's (BII) Policy on Responsible Investing [https://assets.bii.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22114326/Policy-on-Responsible-Investing.pdf] sets out BII's business integrity and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) expectations. This includes drawing on the standards set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Legally binding Business Integrity and ESG action plans are developed to improve standards of all investees over a defined period; and investees are risk assessed on a quarterly basis across various dimensions of risk including ESG and business integrity.
High environmental, social and business integrity risks are reported to FCDO and there is an established process for escalation of significant incidents.
Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
Approximately 120 - 150 permanent members of staff at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, based in the UK and at the British Embassy in Yangon, work on policies relating to, or support our embassy in Myanmar.
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has provided approximately £120 million to support the people of Myanmar. This has included life-saving assistance responding to the conflict and displacement, support for emergency health care and education and supporting civil society. We also recently announced an additional £2 million to support the Cyclone Mocha response.
Breakdown of ODA figures:
From 01 Feb 2021 to 31 Mar 2022: we provided £8 million
In financial year 2021/22: we provided £49.5 million
In financial year 2022/23: we provided £57.3 million
In financial year 2023/24: our allocated budget is £30.1 million (we have spent £5.13 million so far).
We have led international efforts to put pressure on the military regime and reduce its access to revenue, arms and equipment. On 27 March, the UK announced its fifteenth round of sanctions, designating those who profit from the supply of aviation fuel and military equipment to the Myanmar Armed Forces. We will continue to impose a cost on the military regime's actions, working closely with our partners in the US, Canada and the EU to ensure a strong, coordinated and targeted response.
It has long been the government's view that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is as an occupying power and therefore is governed by the provisions of the Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and we have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. We stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. It is vital that Israeli security operations all actions are proportionate, in line with international humanitarian law and calibrated to avoid civilian casualties. The Foreign Secretary along with the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon frequently engages with Israelis and Palestinians on issues relating to the occupation. The Foreign Secretary most recently spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen on 26 June.
The £143 million is part of a wider bilateral Official Development Assistance allocation for East and Central Africa of £389.8 million as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30th March 2023.
The compounding pressures of conflict and cyclical climate disasters are driving unprecedented humanitarian needs, across the Horn of Africa. It is clear that humanitarian funding must complement and work alongside longer-term climate finances to help break the cycle of crisis and to build resilience. To support these efforts, in July the UK will host a conference at Wilton Park to agree concrete actions on how vulnerable countries can secure a proportionate share of climate finance which can be used to promote adaptation and resilient development.
Local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play an important role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa and beyond. We work and consult closely with local NGOs to aid their planning, delivery and ability to access funding.
In Ethiopia in 2022 the UK provided £7.6 million to the UN's Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) which supported a range of international and national NGOs. Similarly, the UK-funded 'Building Resilient Communities in Somalia' programme has supported a number of local NGOs alongside international civil society organisations. More broadly, the UK funds a number of Country based Pooled Funds (CBPF) and in 2022, nearly 22 percent of funding allocated by CBPFs went directly to national NGOs.
In the course of its illegal invasion, Russia has shown a total disregard for its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and is responsible for numerous violations and abuses of human rights. Russia continues to deny full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to territory under its temporary control, where millions of people are in acute need of humanitarian assistance. Reporting from the UN and OSCE concludes that Russia's treatment of civilians, including killings, torture and forced transfers, may amount to war crimes. The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine, including by supporting the International Criminal Court and Ukrainian domestic investigations.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises. In East Africa there is significant evidence to show the gendered impacts of drought, conflict and other humanitarian pressures.
Across East Africa UK humanitarian programmes support women and girls with access to nutrition services, maternal healthcare, access to education and gender-based violence prevention and support services. This is aligned with our commitments in the International Development Strategy on both women and girls and humanitarian action.
Afghanistan is one of FCDO's largest bilateral aid programmes. Since April 2021, the UK has spent £532 million on aid for Afghanistan. We continually monitor the situation in Afghanistan and support the UN led humanitarian response which prioritises according to need. The UK's development partnership with Pakistan focuses on underlying structural issues including population dynamics, climate vulnerability, protecting the rights of women and minorities and macroeconomic stabilisation. Within this partnership the UK has pledged a total of £36 million for flood relief efforts in Pakistan since 2022, of which over £25 million has been disbursed to date.
The FCDO supports a variety of initiatives to build political, cultural and religious understanding between Pakistan and its neighbours. These initiatives support wider regional stability and prosperity, whilst also reducing the risks of uncontrolled escalation towards violence.
The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. As part of our engagement as the Quad (KSA, US, UK, UAE) we have pushed both for the extension of the ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.
The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response. We will coordinate with the international humanitarian system (including INGOs, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves.