Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made recent representations to his Ugandan counterpart on the (a) detention and (b) treatment of climate protesters in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Through our High Commission in Kampala, we have previously raised concerns around detentions of climate protesters in Uganda; both I and the High Commission regularly engage with the Ugandan government on human rights, both bilaterally and with likeminded countries.
The UK continues to work with Ugandans to advocate for democratic freedoms and respect for human rights. We are also committed to working with partners in Uganda to address the effects of climate change.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the immigration health surcharge for people who already (a) work and (b) pay taxes in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government has no plans to remove the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for temporary migrants who work and pay taxes in the UK.
It is right those granted temporary immigration permission for more than six months should contribute to the sustainability of our NHS. Having paid the IHS, temporary migrants can access the NHS as soon as they arrive in the UK and will only be charged for services that a permanent resident would also pay for, such as prescription charges in England.
Although some temporary migrants will pay tax and National Insurance contributions after they start work in the UK, they will not on average have made the same financial contribution to the NHS which most UK nationals and permanent residents have made, or will make, over the course of their working lives. It is an individual’s immigration status, not their tax and National Insurance contributions, which governs their access to the NHS.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had on the appointment of a chair for the compensation arms length body for infected blood victims.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government will respond in full to Sir Brian’s recommendations on compensation following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report, however, we are making progress. In particular, the Government will bring forward amendments at Report Stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the Other Place with the intention of speeding up the implementation of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure interim payments to infected blood bereaved families are made without delay.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In October 2022, we made interim payments of £100,000 to chronic infected beneficiaries and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes. I recognise the importance the infected blood community places on interim payments relating to those deaths not yet recognised, and the Government is working through the technical implications of recommendation 12.