Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to mediate tensions between the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is deeply concerned by the renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia and the implications across the Horn of Africa. We call on all parties to end hostilities, respect international humanitarian law, allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and return to dialogue under African Union-led mediation.

Ministers and senior officials have engaged with Ethiopia and Eritrea to call for restraint and de-escalation. We are also coordinating closely with the African Union, United Nations and international partners. On 14 October the UK released a statement which called for "all parties to respect the sovereignty… of all countries in the region". This followed a statement on 24 September condemning attacks by the Tigray Defence Forces.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to provide education and training to those who will be delivering the Healthy Babies programme, including on infant feeding.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance sets expectations for local authorities to develop and maintain a confident and skilled workforce, supported through ongoing professional development and multi-agency learning. For infant feeding specifically, local systems are expected to take a strategic, collaborative approach to developing a skilled and knowledgeable infant feeding workforce, with appropriate and accredited training at a range of levels, including trained peer supporters.

National support includes a freely available e-learning package for the early years and health workforce on the links between breastfeeding and perinatal mental health, providing tools and guidance to support practical, person-centred care.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the legal advice provided to asylum claimants and foreign national offenders during immigration cases.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has not undertaken a specific assessment of the adequacy of legal advice provided to asylum claimants and foreign national offenders in immigration cases.

Reported cases in which immigration advice may have fallen below expected standards are concerning and underline the important role of the relevant regulators in maintaining standards and investigating misconduct. Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, immigration advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or authorised through a Designated Qualifying Regulator (DQR) in England and Wales, or a Designated Professional Body (DPB) in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The IAA, DQRs and DPBs are responsible for ensuring advisers are fit, competent and meet appropriate professional standards.

For advisers and organisations it regulates directly, the IAA assesses fitness and competence as part of registration, requires organisations to renew their registration annually, conducts audits, and can investigate complaints and take regulatory or enforcement action where appropriate.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) exercises The Law Society of England and Wales' functions as a DQR for solicitors and undertook thematic reviews of immigration and asylum legal services in 2022 (https://www.sra.org.uk/immigration-thematic/) and 2024 (https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/thematic-review-asylum-legal-services/). These reviews found generally good standards of service while identifying areas for improvement. The SRA has also published guidance on solicitors' obligations when providing immigration advice, available here: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/immigration-work-guidance/.

In addition, the Legal Aid Agency monitors providers of legal aid funded immigration and asylum advice through independent peer reviews, which assess the quality of legal work, and contract compliance audits.