Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow 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 of alleged reports of violence against (a) religious minorities and (b) Christian communities in the Dhamirahat region of Bangladesh.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Following the student-led protests in July and August 2024, we have been closely monitoring the situation for minorities, including Hindus and Christians in Bangladesh. In November 2024, I visited Bangladesh and discussed the importance of the protection of religious minorities with Chief Adviser Yunus. We are providing up to £27 million under the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme for protecting civic and political space, fostering collaboration, reducing corruption, and mitigating tensions that lead to violence. We will continue to engage with the Interim Government of Bangladesh on the importance of FoRB.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on (a) violence and (b) persecution against religious minorities since August 2024.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Following the student-led protests in July and August 2024, we have been closely monitoring the situation for minorities, including Hindus and Christians in Bangladesh. In November 2024, I visited Bangladesh and discussed the importance of the protection of religious minorities with Chief Adviser Yunus. We are providing up to £27 million under the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme for protecting civic and political space, fostering collaboration, reducing corruption, and mitigating tensions that lead to violence. We will continue to engage with the Interim Government of Bangladesh on the importance of FoRB.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent (a) meetings and (b) other discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart on the (a) arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das and (b) potential implications of that arrest for the rights of minority communities in that country.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and protecting human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). We monitor human rights in Bangladesh closely, including following student-led protests in Bangladesh. I understand the concerns about the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das. In November, during my visit to Bangladesh, I discussed the importance of protecting religious minorities, including the Hindu community, with Chief Adviser Yunus. I underlined the UK government's commitment to religious freedom in Bangladesh. We will continue to engage with the Interim Government of Bangladesh on the importance of FoRB.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow 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 of recent reports of the persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). We monitor human rights and FoRB closely in Bangladesh. We raise this issue with the Bangladeshi authorities. Our Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme promotes: the protection of civic and political space; collaboration; efforts to reduce corruption; and efforts to mitigate tensions that lead to violence. We are providing up to £27 million under this programme.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow 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 of (a) historical reports and (b) recent reports of increased violence and persecution against Indian Hindus in Bangladesh.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Following the student-led protests in July and August, we have been closely monitoring the situation for minorities in Bangladesh. In November, I visited Bangladesh and discussed the importance of the protection of religious minorities, including the Hindu community, with Chief Adviser Yunus. We are providing up to £27 million under the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme for protecting civic and political space, fostering collaboration, reducing corruption, and mitigating tensions that lead to violence. We will continue to engage with the Interim Government of Bangladesh on the importance of FoRB.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to help support the semiconductor industry.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to building on the UK’s world-class strengths in the semiconductor sector to accelerate growth and unlock real-world benefits for citizens.
Last month, we announced new support for semiconductor scale-ups to advance high-potential innovations. We are backing UK semiconductor firms producing vital technology to scale up and drive economic growth.
We will also collaborate with the international community, including the EU and the G7, to ensure the UK remains a key global player.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the maximum net pensionable earnings paid by the NHS to an orthodontist was in England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data is not held centrally on the net pensionable earnings paid by the National Health Service to an orthodontist and how many orthodontists were paid more than £1 million by the NHS. Data is published on dentists earnings and expenses, however this does not differentiate between NHS and private earnings or reference orthodontists specifically. This data is available at the following link:
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow 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 plans to take to implement the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to implementing the measures set out in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 (the Act) and to ensuring that supported housing residents across England can be certain their housing is good quality, that the support services they receive are effective and compliant with nationally-set standards, and that schemes provide good value for money for taxpayers.
However it is essential that we get the details right which is why we will consult on the measures including supported housing licencing and national standards, as required by the Act. The government intends to publish a consultation document as soon as possible.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to implement the provisions of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to implementing the measures set out in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 (the Act) and to ensuring that supported housing residents across England can be certain their housing is good quality, that the support services they receive are effective and compliant with nationally-set standards, and that schemes provide good value for money for taxpayers.
However it is essential that we get the details right which is why we will consult on the measures including supported housing licencing and national standards, as required by the Act. The government intends to publish a consultation document as soon as possible.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to update the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.
More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Government has also confirmed £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families. The Government continues to support councils to deliver the Homelessness Reduction Act, including through the £440 million Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2024/25.