Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will provide (a) guidance and (b) practical support to (i) charities, (ii) community groups and (iii) voluntary groups to assist them in complying with the requirements of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

Free, dedicated guidance and support will be provided to ensure that those in scope will understand how to meet the obligations of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. Guidance is currently being designed so that it is self-explanatory and easy to follow. It will be published ahead of the Bill’s requirements coming into force.

The Bill requires the production of two separate pieces of guidance: statutory guidance for the public to understand how they can meet the requirements of the legislation; and operational guidance which will set out how the regulator will discharge its duties. This will be freely available on the Security Industry Authority website and Gov.uk.

We continue to engage with key stakeholders across relevant sectors including those in the voluntary and community sector in developing this guidance.

In the interim, factsheets have been published on gov.uk which provide more detailed information on certain elements of the Bill Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill 2024: factsheets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). We also continue to encourage referral to the ProtectUK platform for the latest updates on the Bill.

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 Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill on (a) charities, (b) community groups and (c) voluntary organisations that organise events.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is extremely mindful of the many community, voluntary-run and charity events that occur across the UK.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill has been designed to achieve public protection outcomes whilst avoiding undue burden on businesses and other organisations.

Many organisations will have procedures and measures in place for fire safety and health and safety legislation. This Bill’s proposals are based on similar concepts, following similar systems and processes. The ‘reasonably practicable’ standard of requirements in both tiers is designed to allow procedures and measures to be tailored to the specific circumstances of a premises or event. This will enable those responsible to consider what is within their control and the resources they have available to them, as well as what is suitable and appropriate for their premises or event.

Dedicated guidance and support will be provided for those in scope of the Bill, to ensure that they have the required information on what to do and how best to do it. The guidance will be easy to follow, needing no particular expertise.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission will consider matters relating to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Energy policy is largely devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE). As such the Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission is focused on decarbonisation of the power system in Great Britain. However, we are keen to share learnings from this process with colleagues in Northern Ireland and will work with them to this end as NIE produces its own plan to decarbonise the power sector, which will receive UK government support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Northern Ireland will be impacted by changes proposed to the Work Capacity Assessment.

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

Social security is transferred (devolved) to the Northern Ireland Executive where it is administered by the Department for Communities.

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 the report by Amnesty International entitled You feel like you are subhuman: Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

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

We are aware of the report by Amnesty International, entitled "You feel like you are subhuman: Israel's genocide against Palestinians in Gaza". The UK is fully committed to international law. The UK Government's long-standing policy is that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, such as the International Court of Justice, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Since 2 September, the UK has suspended relevant export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza conflict, following a review which concluded there is a clear risk that UK export items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. The UK remains resolute in our call for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages cruelly held by Hamas since 7 October 2023 and urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the current age range for bowel cancer screening.

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

Based on advice from the UK National Screening Committee, NHS England committed in the Long Term Plan to extend the age range of people eligible for bowel screening using the FIT home testing kit from age 60 down to age 50.

The age extension for bowel screening is already underway. NHS England started in April 2021 with the 56-year-old cohort and, based on modelling and clinical advice, has planned to gradually reduce to age 50 by 2025. This has been done to ensure that screening centres could manage any required increase in colonoscopy capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the devolved administrations on development of a new HIV Action Plan.

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

Health is a devolved matter and it is the responsibility of individual governments to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need. All four nations, however, are committed to reducing HIV transmissions.

The new HIV Action Plan, which is due to be published in summer 2025, will apply to England only. Government officials in England meet regularly with their counterparts in the devolved governments, to share information and best practice on our response to HIV.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure the representation of women in political institutions in Syria.

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

In the UK's engagement with international partners and Syrian contacts, we have stressed the importance of inclusivity and respect for human rights, including for women.

Senior FCDO officials recently travelled to Damascus, where they discussed the importance of an inclusive transitional political process, protecting the rights of all Syrians. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jordan, with Arab, US, UN and EU partners, during which we collectively underlined the importance of respect for human rights, including for women.

Support to women and girls is at the heart of the UK's policy and programmes in Syria, including through active engagement with women's rights activists, women-led organisations and women involved in the political process.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that women's rights are protected in Syria.

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

In the UK's engagement with international partners and Syrian contacts, we have stressed the importance of inclusivity and respect for human rights, including for women.

Senior FCDO officials recently travelled to Damascus, where they discussed the importance of an inclusive transitional political process, protecting the rights of all Syrians. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jordan, with Arab, US, UN and EU partners, during which we collectively underlined the importance of respect for human rights, including for women.

Support to women and girls is at the heart of the UK's policy and programmes in Syria, including through active engagement with women's rights activists, women-led organisations and women involved in the political process.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government plans to take to monitor the impact of General Product Safety regulations on SME's and sole traders sending goods to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is supporting SMEs to comply with the new General Product Safety Regulation. We have published guidance and have been engaging with businesses directly. We will keep the guidance under review and will continue to engage with businesses directly to monitor the situation and to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely across the whole of the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the EU on the impact of General Product Safety regulations on small and medium businesses sending goods to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government maintains a dialogue with the EU on matters of mutual interest. The updated General Product Safety Regulation largely formalises the reality of how businesses are already operating in the UK and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact. Where businesses need to make changes, we expect that they will be adapting anyway in order to continue trading with the EU. We are keeping this matter under careful review and are supporting small and medium businesses through providing detailed guidance and via regular engagement to ensure we are enabling them to trade freely across the whole of the UK.

Sexual harassment in the workplace

Afghan women and girls

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

England men's cricket team's upcoming fixture against Afghanistan

Detainment of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya

Financial redress for 1950s-born women

Violence against women in Northern Ireland

Renewal of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Imprisonment of Alaa Abd el-Fattah

UN Special Rapporteur's report on atrocity crimes in Iran

Socio-economic Duty

Review into breast cancer screening

Impact of the Work Capability Assessment on disabled people

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Tonia Antoniazzi (Chair); Chris Bloore; Sorcha Eastwood; Claire Hanna

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is launching a follow-up inquiry into the funding of public services in Northern Ireland.

No description available

Submit Evidence (by 31 Jan 2025)

The committee is undertaking an inquiry into the operation of the Windsor Framework in Northern Ireland, scrutinising the implementation of commitments from the movement of goods to rights obligations.

Submit Evidence (by 5 Feb 2025)

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into Government policy on the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.