Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has cooperated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; whether his Department plans to cooperate with this organisation; and whether it is his policy that UK humanitarian aid support for Palestine should be delivered solely by (a) the UN and (b) established humanitarian partners.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has not cooperated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and we will not cooperate with any aid delivery mechanism that does not fully respect humanitarian principles.
Since its inception, we have highlighted repeatedly our concerns that Israel's new mechanisms for aid delivery in Gaza places beneficiaries and aid workers at risk, undermines the role and independence of the UN and our trusted partners, and links humanitarian aid to political and military objectives. We continue to call on Israel to enable the UN and humanitarian non-governmental organisations to do their work safely and effectively, in line with the humanitarian principles.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to pursue (a) multilateral action and (b) a peacekeeping mandate at the United Nations Security Council to protect the provision of UN-delivered aid to Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 4 June, the UK voted in favour of a UN Security Council Resolution calling for urgent improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We co-called a meeting of the UN Security Council on 16 July where we reiterated calls for a ceasefire and for Israel to lift its restrictions on aid, raising serious concerns about the imminent collapse of basic services in Gaza. On 21 July, together with 30 international partners, we released a statement condemning the appalling humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the killing of civilians, and called for the war to end immediately. On 25 July we released a statement, together with France and Germany, calling on Israel to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart to ascertain information on the (a) status and (b) wellbeing of Dr Abu Safiya.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I remain deeply disturbed by the ongoing detention of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and other medical staff from Gaza. We continue to call on Israel to clarify the reasons for the detention of Dr Abu Safiya and other medical personnel, and to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities.
I have specifically raised Dr Hussam Abu Safiya's case with both the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and Israel's ambassador to the UK. We are urging Israel to clarify the reasons for his detention, to allow medical workers to carry out their work safely and without hindrance, and to provide detainees with access to legal representation.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has had any engagement with (a) the Tony Blair Institute and (b) the Boston Consulting Group on the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials have met with the Tony Blair Institute to discuss Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023. We have no record of meetings with the Boston Consulting Group. We continue to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, for the release of the hostages and for Israel to allow for a full and unhindered resumption in the flow of aid, including allowing the entry of more types of aid such as medicine, fuel and shelter.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to Question 65186 on Asthma: Medical Equipment, which pharmaceutical companies are registered as marketing authorisation holders for (a) dry powder inhalers containing (i) salbutamol and (ii) terbutaline and (b) pressurised metered dose inhalers containing salbutamol.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the four market authorisation holders (MAH) for dry power inhalers (DPIs) containing salbutamol and terbutaline, along with the three MAHs for pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs):
Pharmaceutical company | Inhaler type | Medicine |
Glaxo Wellcome UK Ltd | DPI | Salbutamol |
Orion Corp | DPI | Salbutamol |
Maylan Products Ltd | DPI | Salbutamol |
Astrazeneca UK Ltd Pharmacovigilance | DPI | Terbutaline |
Sandoz B.V. | pMDI | Salbutamol |
Kent Pharma UK Ltd | pMDI | Salbutamol |
Cipla (EU) Ltd | pMDI | Salbutamol |
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62446 on Schools: Asthma, what steps his Department is taking to increase the (a) purchase of and (b) storage for emergency inhalers in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold data on emergency inhalers in schools.
Under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units must make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools are responsible for deciding how best to fulfil this duty. They are permitted to buy salbutamol inhalers, without a prescription, for use in emergencies, but there is no requirement to do so.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools (a) had and (b) did not have emergency inhalers installed on their grounds in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold data on emergency inhalers in schools.
Under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units must make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools are responsible for deciding how best to fulfil this duty. They are permitted to buy salbutamol inhalers, without a prescription, for use in emergencies, but there is no requirement to do so.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered the merits of a Palestinian refugee visa scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 13 March to Question 35970.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62448 on Asthma: Medical Equipment, how many patients with asthma receive their inhaler prescriptions (a) free of charge and (b) at the current prescription charge in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the NHS Business Services Authority collects data for the number of specific prescription items dispensed in England, it is not possible to determine the indication for which a medicine was prescribed. Given inhalers can be used to treat medical conditions other than asthma, for example chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, we are unable to determine how many were dispensed for the treatment of asthma.
From February to April 2025, dispensers in the community in England issued inhalation products to approximately 3,751,000 unique patients who did not pay a charge at the point of dispensing. This total includes items where no charge was collected due to a patient holding a valid pre-payment certificate.
Furthermore, from February to April 2025, dispensers in the community in England issued inhalation products to approximately 492,000 unique patients who did pay a charge at the point of dispensing. Figures are approximate, as a unique patient cannot always be identified from a paper prescription.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62444 on Asthma: Medical Equipment, what steps his Department is taking to encourage an increase in the number of market authorisation holders for dosage counters for emergency inhalers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not taken steps to increase the number of marketing authorisation holders for short-acting beta agonist pressurised metered-dose inhalers with integrated dose counters. As the United Kingdom’s independent regulator for medicines and medical devices, the MHRA promotes patient safety and supports improvements in product design but does not have the remit to direct or influence the commercial decisions of pharmaceutical companies. The MHRA can provide scientific and regulatory advice to support potential new entrants to the market, but cannot compel or incentivise companies to apply for marketing authorisation for specific products.