Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the forced eviction of over 300 Palestinians from the village of Wadi al Khalil by Israeli police on 8 May 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Our opposition to the evictions from, and demolition of, Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the movement of unaffected livestock while restrictions for Bluetongue disease are in place.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Upon detection of bluetongue disease in Kent in November and Norfolk in December during our routine surveillance, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officials took immediate and robust action. Affected animals have been humanely culled and Temporary Control Zones have been put in place to prevent potential spread of disease by restricting movements of ruminant and camelid animals. Surveillance of susceptible animals and epidemiological assessments within these zones continue and we will review the need for the Zones when this is complete.
Keepers of ruminants and camelids in the Zones can apply for licences to move for most purposes, including for welfare, movements into and within the zones and direct to slaughter. We continue to work closely with industry representatives to ensure that keepers are kept up to date with developments and that issues and concerns are addressed promptly.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of regulations applying to winemakers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra is currently reforming and implementing retained European Union wine legislation to boost the wine industry, allowing continued innovation and growth to the economy. Our first Statutory Instrument (SI) entered into force on 1 January 2024, and included labelling reforms to benefit importers and exporters, and removal of wine certification arrangements to reduce burdens. Our second SI was approved in Parliament on 17 January 2024, and will come into force in July 2024. This protected the specialist product “ice wine” and updated winemaking practices to enable wine producers to use the latest technological advancements. There are plans for further reforms in 2024, which will cover a wide range of topics including low and no wine and in-market transformation, which will free up industry through increased choice.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the judiciary in Israel on Palestinians in the region.
Answered by David Rutley
Israel’s constitutional arrangements are a matter for Israelis. In meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Cohen in March and September, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary urged Israel to build consensus and avoid societal division, ensuring that the independence of Israel’s judiciary is preserved. Our focus is working with global partners to sustain the prospect of regional peace and stability.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of commissioning unregistered alternative provision places through all referral routes.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department does not hold any information about the annual cost of commissioning unregistered alternative provision places. These commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at that level of detail.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
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 implications for his policies of the implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 31/36 entitled Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; and if he plans to take steps to support initiatives at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on the implementation of the mandate in that resolution.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK abstained on UN Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 in 2016 as part of a common EU position. However, we have long opposed the creation of a public database of companies which we consider unhelpful, and which only risks further hardening positions on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is why we voted against the resolution at HRC53 requesting the implementation and funding for resolution 31/36. The UK's longstanding position on the Middle East peace process is clear: we support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 lines.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the joint statement by over 75 national organisations calling for the appointment of a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
We have no current plans to make a specific assessment.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children of compulsory school age who missed 50 per cent or more of possible sessions in the autumn term of the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the number of children who missed 50% or more of possible sessions in the 2022/23 autumn term will be published in May 2023. The data will be published at the following link, which currently includes data for previous autumn terms: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-term.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a purchase subsidy for electric bikes for the accessibility of those bikes.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has implemented an £8 million national programme to provide opportunities to try electric cycles through short term loans. Active Travel England is also funding local authority-led cycle loan and share schemes.
The Department considered a range of options to increase e-cycling uptake in 2020-21. This concluded that these initiatives were more cost-effective, and better value for taxpayers’ money, than a purchase subsidy.
In addition, the Government already supports affordable access to cycles, including e-cycles, through the Cycle to Work scheme.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the uptake of electric bicycles.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has implemented an £8 million national programme to provide opportunities to try electric cycles through short term loans. Active Travel England is also funding local authority-led cycle loan and share schemes.
The Department considered a range of options to increase e-cycling uptake in 2020-21. This concluded that these initiatives were more cost-effective, and better value for taxpayers’ money, than a purchase subsidy.
In addition, the Government already supports affordable access to cycles, including e-cycles, through the Cycle to Work scheme.