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 merits of issuing sanctions on individuals associated with the detention of Alaa Abd El-Fattah in Egypt.

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

We remain committed to securing Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's release. We raise his case at the highest levels. The Prime Minister did so with President Sisi on 8 August, the Foreign Secretary with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 7 October and myself with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October. Our approach to the case is under regular review. It is not appropriate to speculate on possible future designations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) the NHS, (b) Daiichi Sankyo, and (c) AstraZeneca to reach a commercial agreement that makes Enhertu available on the NHS in England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England are taken by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the basis of an evaluation of a treatment’s costs and benefits. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is important that they are made independently and on the basis of the available evidence.

We know the NICE’s decision to not recommend Enhertu for use in the treatment of HER-2 low metastatic and unresectable breast cancer, has come as a blow to many women and their families. We understand that the NICE and NHS England have already sought to apply as much flexibility as they can in their considerations of Enhertu for HER2-low breast cancer and have made it clear to the companies that their pricing of the drug remains the main obstacle to access.

The Government wants to see a deal reached to make Enhertu available. The NICE and NHS England remain open to considering an improved offer from the companies through the rapid review process, and we strongly encourage the companies to come back to the table.

The NICE does recommend Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) in advanced breast cancer for treating HER2-positive unresectable or metastatic breast cancer after one or more anti-HER 2 treatments.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department publishes the statistics it collects on detention and returns promptly.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes quarterly data on detention and returns in the “Immigration system statistics release”. Data up to the end of June 2024 was published on 22^nd August 2024 following our usual publication cycle. The Home Office pre-announces these statistical releases in the “Research and statistics calendar”, in accordance with its Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Publishing timescales for returns and detention statistics are in line with other statistical indicators published in the Immigration system statistics release. For information about our statistics, and our quality assurance processes, please see the user guide.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10678 on Deportation and Detainees, what steps she takes to ensure that her Department follows the Office for Statistics Regulation's guidance on data transparency.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics sets out how the Home Office and all Government departments should comply with the Code of Practice agreed by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) and Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

As referenced in the Ministerial Code, Ministers are mindful of the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice which defines good practice in relation to official statistics, though it is not for the Home Secretary to offer guidance to government on the public disclosure of unpublished data.

Our Head of Profession for Statistics meets regularly with the OSR to discuss statistics matters, including the department’s approach to handling requests for operational data that might not be routinely published. OSR have been supportive of the general approach this department has taken. In the note on embedding transparency in government written by the OSR Director General and published on 14^th October, the Home Office was cited as having demonstrated good practice in this regard.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10678 on Deportation and Detainees, if she will issue cross-Departmental guidance on the public disclosure of unpublished data.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics sets out how the Home Office and all Government departments should comply with the Code of Practice agreed by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) and Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

As referenced in the Ministerial Code, Ministers are mindful of the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice which defines good practice in relation to official statistics, though it is not for the Home Secretary to offer guidance to government on the public disclosure of unpublished data.

Our Head of Profession for Statistics meets regularly with the OSR to discuss statistics matters, including the department’s approach to handling requests for operational data that might not be routinely published. OSR have been supportive of the general approach this department has taken. In the note on embedding transparency in government written by the OSR Director General and published on 14^th October, the Home Office was cited as having demonstrated good practice in this regard.