Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to pause the passage of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill until after the (a) release and (b) full assessment of the Peter Mandelson files by the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill is essential for the protection of the UK's national security. Timings will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to apply the principle of constructive dismissal, when applying the provisions of the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS), to veterans who resigned from the armed forces after being questioned about their sexual orientation and before they could be dismissed.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) was designed to address the broadest range of experiences possible to ensure the inclusion of, and a sense of closure for, all affected by the Ban. There are therefore two types of payment available under the FRS.
Those who were dismissed or administratively discharged from Service because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity are able to apply for the Dismissed and Discharged Payment.
Those who felt or experienced pressure to resign after being questioned, investigated or otherwise subject to other unacceptable experiences are able to apply instead for the Impact Payment. Applications for the Impact Payment are determined by the Independent Panel, which is able to consider all the available evidence, including the veteran's testimony, and award a payment based on the severity of the impact the applicant experienced.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to Work Capability Assessments on severely immunocompromised people who are recovering from (a) stem cell transplants, (b) CAR-T immunotherapy and (c) other long-term conditions resulting from treatments; and if he make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) statutory sick pay and (B) time taken to access other potential state benefits for those patients.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper outlined our plan to end the link between capacity to work and additional financial support and the binary categorisation of claimants as “can or can’t work” by abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Instead, any extra financial support for health conditions in Universal Credit (UC) will be assessed via a single assessment – the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment (in England and Wales) – and be based on the impact of disability on daily living, not on capacity to work.
Due to its link with the PIP assessment, WCA abolition will not take place until after the Timms Review into PIP has reported. We are currently considering how the future system will operate and will provide further information in due course.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is designed to balance support for an individual when they are unable to work due to sickness or ill health, with the costs to employers of providing this support. The Government is strengthening SSP as part of our plan to Make Work Pay, ensuring the safety net of sick pay is available to those who need it most. We are doing this through the Employment Rights Act. From 6 April this year the changes we are making include:
As a result, up to 1.3 million low-paid employees will become eligible for SSP. The removal of the three-day waiting period will mean that all employees receive at least £60 extra at the start of their sickness absence. According to the Government’s impact assessment, these changes will also increase the total amount of sick pay paid to employees by approximately £420 million per year.
For PIP awards, we always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant. In most instances PIP awards can be backdated to the date of claim.
PIP waiting times have decreased since August 2021, with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 16 weeks at the end of October 2025.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to (a) ensure the funding of the BBC Monitoring service and (b) restore dedicated funding for BBC Monitoring by her Department.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Rt Hon Member was told in the response of 10 February 2025 to Question 28444, the Government does not provide any funding to BBC Monitoring. That remains a matter for the BBC itself.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for financial support for patients required to travel very long distances to access (a) stem cell transplants, (b) CAR-T immunotherapy and (c) other specialist treatments; what recent assessment he has made of the financial impact on such patients of claiming reimbursement of substantial travel costs retrospectively under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme; and if he will make it his policy to amend that scheme to allow payment in advance to patients having to undertake expensive journeys to and from treatment centres.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made, and there are no current plans to amend the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS).
It is already the case that where required and appropriate, advance payments may be made to patients on low incomes to allow them to attend their appointments. Further information can be found on the HTCS webpage, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Diego Garcia military base, whether an exemption will exist from the Africa Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone provisions of the Pelindaba Treaty after sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is transferred from the United Kingdom to Mauritius.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 January to Question 103253.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) she and (b) her immediate predecessor had discussions with their United States counterparts on the opt-out provisions applying to (i) Diego Garcia and (ii) the Chagos Islands as a whole as set out in (A) Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, (B) Article 48 of the Constitution of the International Telecommunication Union and (C) the Commonwealth Reservation to the International Court of Justice.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's legal position regarding the British Indian Ocean Territory has been published and discussed at length in both Houses of Parliament. Our international partners are fully aware of our position and the security and operational implications. The agreement between the UK and Mauritius secures the US-UK base and operations on Diego Garcia.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she has had discussions with her United States counterpart the potential security implications of the existence of opt-outs in respect of (a) Diego Garcia and (b) the Chagos Islands under (i) Article 298 of UNCLOS, (ii) Article 428 of the International Telecommunication Union and (iii) the Commonwealth Reservation to the International Court of Justice on the future security of the Diego Garcia military base.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's legal position regarding the British Indian Ocean Territory has been published and discussed at length in both Houses of Parliament. Our international partners are fully aware of our position and the security and operational implications. The agreement between the UK and Mauritius secures the US-UK base and operations on Diego Garcia.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Pelindaba Treaty, what discussions she has with the Secretary of State for Defence on the long-term potential capability of storing nuclear weapons on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided by the Ministry of Defence on 14 January in response to Question 103951, and on 5 December 2024 in response to Question 16455.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Defence to ensure that NHS practitioners are informed of the vulnerability to suicidal ideation of veterans impacted by Lariam; and what steps veterans can take with his Department to help improve awareness within the NHS of the nature and effects of mefloquine toxicity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has updated its safety advice on mefloquine to reflect the risk of neuropsychiatric side effects, advising that it should not be used for chemoprophylaxis in individuals with a history of psychiatric disturbance.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance states that mefloquine should not be prescribed to people with current or past psychiatric disorders, suicidal ideation or behaviour, or with epilepsy or any form of convulsion.
The clinical management of suspected mefloquine intoxication has recently been reviewed with the NHS England Armed Forces Clinical Reference Group. This review advised that clinicians should assess patients individually and are expected to take a full drug and alcohol history, including any previous mefloquine use.
NHS England is considering adding screening for prior mefloquine use and any associated adverse events to initial Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE assessments. Additional clinical guidance on mefloquine and its potential adverse effects is being developed and through the Five Eyes partnership discussions are being arranged with the United States to support continuous learning and best practice in the management of suspected mefloquine intoxication.