Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the interim Syrian authorities on (a) preventing human rights violations, (b) protecting all Syrians and (c) ending all forms of sectarian violence.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about sectarian tensions and violence in Syria. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, both publicly and as part of our engagement with the Syrian Government. We have pressed the Syrian Government on the need to improve their response to sectarian violence and hold those responsible to account. The former Foreign Secretary and I have raised these issues during our recent visits to Damascus We will continue to judge the Syrian Government by its actions, not its words.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 impact of further sanctions on Israel in response to (a) the humanitarian situation in Gaza and (b) plans for further illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government has announced three packages of sanctions since coming to power, two of which targeted individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations supporting violence against Palestinian Communities in the West Bank. On 10 June we imposed sanctions on Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir, in their personal capacity for inciting violence towards Palestinians. We keep all sanctions action under review, however we cannot speculate on further sanctions or share our assessments on their impact.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia on the reported rise in executions in relation to non-violent drug-related offences.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries as a matter of principle, and in all circumstances. Saudi Arabia is well aware of the UK's opposition to the use of the death penalty. We regularly raise our concerns about the use of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities using a range diplomatic channels, at Ministerial level and through our Ambassador and our Embassy in Riyadh.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 his policies of Israel’s involvement in the sectarian violence in southern Syria; and what assessment he has made of the risk of Israeli annexation of parts of southern Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in southern Syria and have been working closely with international partners to press for de-escalation and for all sides to engage in dialogue. I raised this with Foreign Minister al Shaibani when I visited Damascus in August and underlined that we continue to call on Israel to respect Syria's territorial integrity, and uphold their obligations to peace, stability and security under international law. As the former Foreign Secretary made clear during his call with Israel's Foreign Minister on 21 July, Israel's attacks in Damascus risk destabilising Syria. Respect for Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity is crucial for both Syrian security and that of its neighbours.
The UK's long-standing position is that the Golan Heights are occupied territory, and we do not recognise Israel's annexation. We have been clear that we expect Israel to adhere to their commitment that their presence in the Area of Separation is both limited and temporary, and we have called on Israel at the UN Security Council to lay out timelines for their withdrawal.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 counterpart in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the reported increase in the use of (a) judicial and (b) non-judicial travel bans imposed on (i) released prisoners of conscience and (ii) family members of peaceful activists.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government and our Embassy in Riyadh regularly monitor the human rights landscape in Saudi Arabia and engage with the Saudi authorities on these matters. We discuss human rights, including individual cases who have been subject to travel bans, with the Saudi Government.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of l non-SELT, unregulated English language tests for admission to UK higher education institutions on (a) universities and (b) students.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Student sponsors with a track record of compliance can self-assess degree level and above students’ English language ability. The assessment must confirm English ability equivalent to level B2, or above, of the Common European Framework for Language Learning in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
A review of English language sponsor self-assessment testing methods on the Student route is in progress.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing the availability of real time bus information in Newcastle.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering the better bus services that passengers deserve, and as part of this, is working closely with bus operators and local transport authorities to improve the information available to passengers about their bus services.
The Bus Services (No.2) Bill’s information about local services provisions aim to enable public access to a new, central database of information, drawn from the existing bus registration process, and linked to the existing Bus Open Data Service (BODS). We hope that bringing these two data streams together will assist operators in complying with BODS obligations, leading to improved real time information about local bus services across the country. Bus operators are obliged to have working systems to provide real-time information for bus services in order to fulfil the requirements of the Public Service Vehicles (Open Data) (England) Regulations.
In addition, as part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the government confirmed investment of over £1 billion in 25/26 to support and improve bus services and to keep fares affordable. This includes £712 million for local authorities to support and improve bus services, of which the North East Combined Authority was allocated £23.7 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers. This could include investing in technology to provide passengers with better real-time information.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 68388 on Parking, when she plans to publish a response to the pavement parking consultation; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing powers available to local authorities to (a) restrict and (b) enforce pavement parking.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of families that are affected by the two child benefit cap in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:
Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the two child benefit cap on people by ethnicity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:
Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK