Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) Middle Eastern and (b) Palestinian counterparts on reducing the impact of damage to (i) educational and (ii) cultural facilities in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply alarmed by the disproportionate impact of the conflict on children in Gaza. Education is a priority sector, and we are engaging with partners to ensure children's needs are integrated into recovery planning. The destruction of cultural facilities is also highly concerning. The Foreign Secretary welcomed the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, alongside Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy on 8 March. We are funding technical expertise to support Palestinian Authority planning for Gaza's recovery and reconstruction. The UK is engaging with international partners to support a Palestinian-led recovery.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help protect children from (a) deception, (b) bullying, (c) abuse and (d) harmful content online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our priority is the implementation of the Online Safety Act so children benefit from its protections.
The Act requires services to protect users from illegal content. Companies will also need to assess whether their service is likely to be accessed by children and provide safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity, such as abuse, bullying, and content that promotes eating disorders or self-harm. Measures include using age assurance and changing their algorithms to filter out harmful content.
The illegal content duties are now in effect and the child safety duties will be enforceable by this summer.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on improving the running of the Elizabeth line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London (TfL) on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL has overall responsibility for the management of the Elizabeth Line which is operated by their current contractor MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on improving accessibility on the London Underground.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including accessibility of their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to help tackle image-based abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade as part of the Safer Streets mission. This will require a cross-government approach, and Minister Phillips at the Home Office and I co-chair the VAWG Ministerial Group which regularly brings together Ministers from relevant Departments to ensure we are using all government levers available to achieve our mission. The Government’s VAWG strategy will be published this year with contributions from across Whitehall, including on joint steps to tackle image-based abuse.
Tackling intimate image abuse requires a combined effort from colleagues across government, namely, Home Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Justice, as well as Ofcom. As a first step, we have confirmed that we will legislate this parliament to make it a criminal offence to create sexually explicit deepfake images. This is alongside introducing new offences for the taking of intimate images without consent and the installation of equipment with intent to enable the taking of intimate images without consent.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help reduce misogynistic content online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, including illegal misogyny.
Where this type of abuse is not illegal, services likely to be accessed by children must provide safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity, including content which is hateful and abusive. Category 1 services will also need to remove legal misogynistic content, where it is prohibited in their terms of service.
The Act requires Ofcom, the regulator, to publish guidance about protecting women and girls online, which it published in draft for consultation on 25 February.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on reducing pollution in (a) London and (b) Ilford South constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Poor air quality continues to be the biggest environmental risk to human health. Responsibility for air quality is devolved in London, but we welcome the progress made in London to address air pollution and improve people’s health. Defra officials regularly meet with the Greater London Authority to discuss air quality.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) employers and (b) further education providers to help ensure the post-16 curriculum is aligned with the future needs of the UK workforce.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is looking at ensuring all 16 to 19-year-olds have access to rigorous and high-value qualifications and training, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in the changing workplace.
The Review has consulted employers and further education (FE) providers through events and meetings and has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.
The Review Group has now published its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. The interim report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.
The government will consider any changes it wishes to make to the curriculum, assessment and qualifications whilst the Review is conducted, and will respond to the final recommendations in autumn 2025.
The government has engaged extensively with stakeholders, including employers, FE providers, and their representative bodies, through its Review of Qualifications Reform and the establishment of Skills England. Employers and education providers have strongly supported aligning technical qualifications with occupational standards. They also welcome Skills England’s role in uniting businesses, training providers, unions, and both national and local government to assess the UK’s evolving workforce needs. This collaborative approach will help ensure that post-16 education and training remain aligned with current and future labour market demands.
Our recent apprenticeship reforms, which give businesses more flexibility to adapt to real training needs, have shown that we are committed to listening to what businesses and providers need to grow the workforce in support of our Plan for Change. The government is committed to continuing to listen as we work to drive further improvements to how qualifications and the wider skills system can supply the UK workforce with the skills it needs. This will include ongoing engagement work with FE providers, employers, and other skills system stakeholders on the development of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy, Technical Excellence Colleges, and the role of Skills England and the Growth and Skills Offer.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of youth unemployment in (a) Ilford South constituency and (b) London.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is published and available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce levels of poverty among children in Ilford South constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Taskforce continues its urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy and is exploring all available levers across government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change. The Devolved Governments and Local Authorities are a key part of our approach to learning directly about the experience of poverty in different communities and solutions already underway.
The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform the Strategy.
The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April to boost the pay of three million workers. To further support struggling households, funding of £742 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.