Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make an assessment of Russia’s compliance with international humanitarian law in the context of it's military activity in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are fully committed to holding Russian forces to account for any violations of international humanitarian law that have been committed in Ukraine. Established accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court's investigations and Ukrainian domestic judicial processes are investigating allegations of atrocity crimes. The UK, US and EU established the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, specifically to support Ukraine in its efforts to document, investigate and prosecute such crimes.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
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 merits of establishing a programme of routine ECG heart screening in schools and universities.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019, and concluded that screening should not be offered. Further information on this review is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
Research showed that the current tests are not accurate enough to use in young people without symptoms, and that treatments and interventions were not based on good scientific evidence to prevent SCD.
To stop SCDs in young people, the current consensus is to focus on rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD due to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.
NHS England has published guidance for inherited cardiac conditions which requires services to investigate patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease, suggestive symptoms, or from families with sudden unexplained deaths. Where a genetic variation is identified, cascade testing is offered to relatives based on risk.
We are aware that the UK NSC has received a submission via its annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged 14 to 35 years old who engage in sport. The UK NSC is currently reviewing all annual call proposals. More information on the annual call process can be found here:
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce trends in the level of sudden cardiac death amongst (a) school and (b) university aged young people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2017, NHS England published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions (ICC), which defines the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England. This specification covers young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease. The aim of ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with ICCs. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including NHS clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government recognises the Golan Heights as Syrian territory.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our position remains clear: The Golan Heights are occupied territory and we do not recognise Israel's annexation of them. We continue to call on Israel and all actors to uphold their obligations to peace, stability and security under international law.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent on consultants across Government Departments in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Consultancy spend across government is not centrally held and is held by each department.
Cabinet Office spend on consultants is published in the Annual Reports and Accounts which are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on consultants in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Consultancy spend across government is not centrally held and is held by each department.
Cabinet Office spend on consultants is published in the Annual Reports and Accounts which are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether the Israeli Defence Force has committed a breach of international law in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO's International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Cell undertakes regular assessments of Israel's commitment and capability to comply with International Humanitarian Law, as well as aspects of its record of compliance in order to meet our legal obligations under the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). Our assessments have raised concerns about possible breaches of IHL in the areas of humanitarian access and the treatment of detainees. The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. Given our conclusions on 2 September, we suspended relevant export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on consultants since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information regarding expenditure on consultants for the period since 5 July 2024 for the core Department is unavailable, as it is currently unaudited. Fully audited figures for the year from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be available upon the publication of the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) next year. The Accountability Report within the ARA includes a table on expenditure for Consultancy, Agency and Temporary workers.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
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 funding for local government.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking immediate action to begin addressing the challenges facing local government by ensuring that funding goes to the places that need it most.
At the Autumn Budget, we announced over £4 billion in additional funding for local government services, including £1.3 billion which will go through the Settlement.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to equalise the pension age of Defence Fire and Rescue Service workers with their counterparts in (a) Local Authority and (b) Civil Aviation Authority Fire Services.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) have no plans to equalise the pension age of its personnel with their counterparts in Local Authority and Civil Aviation Authority Fire Services.