Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
o ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has considered publishing a consolidated UK list of Chinese companies (a) credibly implicated in forced-labour abuses in Xinjiang and (b) linked to the People’s Liberation Army.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. The UK regularly discusses issues of common concern with likeminded partners, including through the G7.
There are a number of ways in which His Majesty's Government currently tackles the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains. The Overseas Business Risk Guidance makes clear to UK companies the risk of operating in certain regions and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence when making business decisions.
Last month, this Government launched a review of its approach to ensuring responsible business conduct, focusing on the global supply chains of businesses operating in the UK. This includes a review of alternative measures to tackle forced labour.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will commission a review of UK (a) pension fund and (b) insurance fund exposure to Chinese corporations sanctioned by allied jurisdictions.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are currently no plans to commission a review of UK pension fund and insurance fund exposure to Chinese corporations sanctioned by allied jurisdictions.
The Government does routinely assess the impacts of its sanctions.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of steps that local authorities are taking to help improve the representation of people with (a) a working class background, (b) a minority ethnic background and (c) disabilities in local government.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces, including recruitment practices. It is the duty of local authorities to comply with all relevant employment and equalities legislation and there is no role for central government intervening in this, except where specific provision has been made in legislation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that local authorities offer adequate reasonable adjustments during recruitment assessments for candidates with declared disabilities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces, including recruitment practices. It is the duty of local authorities to comply with all relevant employment and equalities legislation and there is no role for central government intervening in this, except where specific provision has been made in legislation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 potential impact of NICE’s severity modifier on people with secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. The severity modifier was introduced in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make NICE’s methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.
NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. This showed that the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, 81.1% compared to 69%.
Since the introduction of the severity modifier, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.
NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future methods reviews.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 adequacy of NICE’s definition of a very severe condition.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) introduced the severity modifier in 2022 to replace the existing end of life modifier, based on evidence of societal preferences and as part of a comprehensive review of NICE’s methods and processes. The modifier was designed through extensive public and stakeholder engagement and in line with the principle of opportunity cost neutrality. NICE’s updated methods, including the severity modifier, have enabled it to recommend a number of treatments for conditions such as hepatitis D and cystic fibrosis, that it may not otherwise have been able to recommend for use on the National Health Service. Under these new methods, the proportion of positive recommendations is higher, at 86.5%, than with the end-of-life modifier, at 82.5%.
NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future methods reviews.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 ensure that people with incurable secondary breast cancer have access to world-leading treatments.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England announced in April 2025 that eligible women with secondary breast cancer could soon have access to a new targeted treatment, capivasertib, used alongside fulvestrant, on the National Health Service.
In May, NHS England announced the world’s first roll out of liquid biopsy testing, which is now available for all eligible breast cancer patients, and which aims to speed up diagnosis and inform better treatment options for those with breast cancer.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has considered secondary sanctions on UK-based financial institutions that continue to (a) underwrite, (b) trade and (c) market securities issued by Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps subsidiaries listed in Hong Kong.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In March 2021, the UK, along with international partners, imposed sanctions relating to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, including sanctions against Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. 'Secondary sanctions' can be understood in different ways. UK sanctions apply and are enforced only in relation to UK nationals and entities (wherever they are in the world) and to any activity in the UK or its territorial sea. Consistent with this approach, and across diverse contexts, we continue to keep any potential future sanctions under review.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 potential implications for his Department’s policies of maintaining the BN(O) visa scheme with a five-year pathway to indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. As the Foreign Secretary stated in the latest Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong, our commitment to the BN(O) visa route remains steadfast.
Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.
We regularly engage with representatives of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK on issues related to the BN(O) visa.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 with manufacturers of blood transfusion sampling bottles to improve their design.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting and processing blood donations across England, to meet hospital demand for treating patients.
Blood collection tubes are used to collect blood samples at the time of blood donation. These samples are used to perform mandatory and discretionary infectious disease marker screening and blood grouping at every donation. Additional samples are taken from apheresis donors for tests such as haemoglobin levels, total protein testing. Sample tubes are also used for quality monitoring of components.
NHSBT is not aware of any issues surrounding the current containers and is therefore not actively working with manufacturers of blood transfusion sampling bottles, as the current design meets their needs.