Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken to support (a) local authorities in England and (b) Councils in Northern Ireland with the increase to employers' National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has announced an additional £515 million of support for local government in England specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget.
Final allocations to local authorities will be published alongside final positions on methodology as part of the final Local Government Finance Settlement in early February 2025.
The devolved governments will receive funding through the Barnett Formula in the usual way in 2025-26.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to review the rules on donations to political parties in the UK.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN HL3289 on 20 December 2024.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to monitor the application of the General Product Safety Regulations in Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. However, we understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with businesses and consumer representatives from across the UK to hear their concerns.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) withdrawing the Copyright and Performances (Application to Other Countries) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2024 (SI, 2024, No. 1124) and (b) commencing a consultation into the potential impact of introducing the regulation.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government introduced SI 2024/1124 following a public consultation and careful consideration of the views and evidence submitted thereto. The effect of the SI is to largely maintain the effect of the law as it formerly applied (Option 0 in the consultation), except for limited changes, most of which are made to allow the UK to comply with its international obligations. Revoking this SI and adopting any of the other options considered at consultation would risk costs and disruption for the UK’s creative industries, as set out in the Government’s response to the consultation.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of Electronic Travel Authorisation exemptions for tourists travelling from Dublin to Northern Ireland for one week or less.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The introduction of ETAs is a significant change to our migration and border system, affecting a cohort of travellers who have previously been able to travel without making any prior application to the Home Office.
To ensure that the requirement is fully understood by eligible nationals, including visitors to Northern Ireland from Ireland, we have been working with a wide range of partners so that ETAs are not seen as a barrier to cross-border tourism on the island of Ireland.
This includes developing specific ETA comms for Northern Ireland in conjunction with umbrella organisations for the Northern Irish and Irish tourism industries, and individual members of those organisations.
We have also worked closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government since the inception of the ETA policy. ETAs are crucial in delivering the Government’s commitment to strengthening the security of the UK border and the Common Travel Area. The ETA application is quick and light-touch, and many applications are decided within minutes.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Electronic Travel Authorisations on (a) tourism and (b) the economy in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The introduction of ETAs is a significant change to our migration and border system, affecting a cohort of travellers who have previously been able to travel without making any prior application to the Home Office.
To ensure that the requirement is fully understood by eligible nationals, including visitors to Northern Ireland from Ireland, we have been working with a wide range of partners so that ETAs are not seen as a barrier to cross-border tourism on the island of Ireland.
This includes developing specific ETA comms for Northern Ireland in conjunction with umbrella organisations for the Northern Irish and Irish tourism industries, and individual members of those organisations.
We have also worked closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government since the inception of the ETA policy. ETAs are crucial in delivering the Government’s commitment to strengthening the security of the UK border and the Common Travel Area. The ETA application is quick and light-touch, and many applications are decided within minutes.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) the (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Ireland tourism industry and (b) other stakeholders on the introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The introduction of ETAs is a significant change to our migration and border system, affecting a cohort of travellers who have previously been able to travel without making any prior application to the Home Office.
To ensure that the requirement is fully understood by eligible nationals, including visitors to Northern Ireland from Ireland, we have been working with a wide range of partners so that ETAs are not seen as a barrier to cross-border tourism on the island of Ireland.
This includes developing specific ETA comms for Northern Ireland in conjunction with umbrella organisations for the Northern Irish and Irish tourism industries, and individual members of those organisations.
We have also worked closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government since the inception of the ETA policy. ETAs are crucial in delivering the Government’s commitment to strengthening the security of the UK border and the Common Travel Area. The ETA application is quick and light-touch, and many applications are decided within minutes.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has held with the (a) Northern Ireland Executive and (b) Irish Government on the introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The introduction of ETAs is a significant change to our migration and border system, affecting a cohort of travellers who have previously been able to travel without making any prior application to the Home Office.
To ensure that the requirement is fully understood by eligible nationals, including visitors to Northern Ireland from Ireland, we have been working with a wide range of partners so that ETAs are not seen as a barrier to cross-border tourism on the island of Ireland.
This includes developing specific ETA comms for Northern Ireland in conjunction with umbrella organisations for the Northern Irish and Irish tourism industries, and individual members of those organisations.
We have also worked closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government since the inception of the ETA policy. ETAs are crucial in delivering the Government’s commitment to strengthening the security of the UK border and the Common Travel Area. The ETA application is quick and light-touch, and many applications are decided within minutes.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve NHS diagnostic processes for glioblastoma brain tumours.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working with NHS England in taking steps to improve diagnostic processes in the National Health Service for all patients with cancer, including those with glioblastoma brain tumours.
We will get the NHS diagnosing cancer, including brain tumours, on time, diagnosing it earlier and treating it faster so more patients survive, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. We will address the challenges in diagnostic waiting times, providing the number of CT, magnetic resonance imaging and other tests that are needed to reduce cancer waits.
To do this, we set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. We have asked systems and providers to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer. Any new CDCs will be expected to include specific capacity for cancer testing as part of activity plans, enabled either through direct provision or via freeing up acute hospital capacity for more complex cancer tests.
In September 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, including glioblastoma, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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.