Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people leaving Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In the first year after the Taliban takeover, the UK provided £17 million to support partners in Afghanistan's neighbouring countries. This support assisted Afghan migrants and asylum seekers moving across borders, and refugee and host communities in those countries. We are also planning £161 million of funding to Afghanistan this financial year (2024-5), which includes both humanitarian aid and support for essential services in Afghanistan. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

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 support Start for Life services in Lambeth; and if he will extend the funding of such services beyond 1 April 2025.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme is central to delivering the Government’s commitments to give every baby the best start in life, and to deliver the healthiest generation of children ever. Lambeth is one of 75 local authorities the Government is funding to ensure parents and carers can access Start for Life services, from conception to the age of two years old.

We work closely with Lambeth to support programme implementation across all funded strands, and they have opened six Family Hub sites with Start for Life services at their heart since 2023. We also signpost policy toolkits, provide guidance, and facilitate the sharing of good practice between local authorities.

The Autumn Budget announcement included £69 million to continue delivery of a network of Family Hubs in 2025/26. The Department will confirm Start for Life funding in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will amend guidance on homelessness hostel exemption to recognise asylum accommodation as an exemption from the shared accommodation rate.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are aware of the challenge some people face in finding shared accommodation, and we are working across government to find appropriate solutions including engaging with the newly formed Inter-Ministerial Group on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to those claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who are under 35 years of age, living on their own, and renting privately. These individuals will be entitled to the SAR regardless of the size of property they rent.

There are exemptions from the SAR for those who would find it difficult to share accommodation. The exemptions are not designed to tackle supply challenges and therefore we are not considering an exemption for those leaving asylum accommodation. Exempt individuals can claim the higher one-bedroom LHA rate, and these include former residents of homeless hostels and victims of modern slavery.

The homeless hostel exemption was introduced in 2012 to support former rough sleepers following the increase in the SAR from age 25 to 35. The exemption supports homeless people and former rough sleepers to find suitable, stable move on accommodation after receiving appropriate care, supervision and support for at least 3 months within a hostel for homeless people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Maternity Disparities Taskforce is still active; how many meetings of that taskforce have taken place since it was established; and if he will publish the (a) dates and (b) durations of those meetings.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Maternity Disparities Taskforce is not currently active, having met six times on: 8 March 2022, 16 May 2022, 18 July 2022, 18 April 2023, 5 September 2023 and 31 January 2024. The duration of these meetings were approximately an hour and a half.

It is a priority for the Government to make sure all women and babies receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background or ethnicity.  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health, Baroness Merron, is considering the immediate action needed to tackle inequalities for women and babies and racism in maternity services; including what targets are needed.

Prison maintenance insourcing

Ofwat price review

Sale of the Observer newspaper

UK support for the global effort to feed children at school

75th anniversary of National Parks

Knowsley Livv Housing industrial dispute

Uber and private hire drivers

Gaza family visa scheme

Cuba

Violence against women and girls

Bede's Helping Hands

UN Special Rapporteur's report on atrocity crimes in Iran

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Found: Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson Zarah Sultana Kirith Entwistle Brian Leishman Bell Ribeiro-Addy

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Submit Evidence (by 3 Feb 2025)

The Home Office has a duty to provide housing and subsistence to asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision on their claim and are destitute.