Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to remove the requirement to provide a National Insurance number when registering for a postal vote.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer my hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 21147 on 9 January 2025.

The Government has no plans to remove either requirement.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to remove the requirement to renew postal vote applications every three years.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer my hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 21147 on 9 January 2025.

The Government has no plans to remove either requirement.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to remove the requirement to present voter ID at polling stations.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As our manifesto made clear, the government will address the inconsistencies in the voter identification policy so that all legitimate electors have the opportunity to vote. We are continuing to assess and review the policy and if any further changes are found to be necessary or appropriate, we will bring forward proposals for them in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to revert the voting system for (a) mayoral and (b) Police and Crime Commissioner elections to the supplementary vote system.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

With regards to Mayoral elections, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20691 on 19 December 2024.

The Government also has no plans at this time to change the voting system for Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s policy paper entitled UK-Occupied Palestinian Territories development partnership summary July 2023, published on 17 July 2023, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of educational content that (a) incites violence, (b) glorifies terrorism and (c) contains antisemitism in (i) textbooks and (ii) other curriculum materials provided to children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Education is an essential component of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and critical to building the foundations for a sustainable and lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people, grounded in a two-state solution. It is therefore essential that partners delivering education services across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) uphold the highest standards of neutrality. The majority of education services across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are delivered by the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or the Palestinian Authority. Catherine Colonna's Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality notes the most recent UNRWA Rapid Review of textbooks from the Palestinian Authority (2022/2023) "found that 3.85 per cent of all textbook pages contain "issues of concern to UN values, guidance, or position on the conflict," either because they are deemed "educationally inappropriate" or because they are not in line with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) standards." The UK supports the Colonna review's conclusion that "the presence of even a small fraction of problematic content in textbooks, supplemental material and teaching content remains a serious issue." We welcome the initiatives launched by UNRWA to ensure neutrality of its educational material and teaching, in addition to its longstanding work with UNESCO and the Palestinian Authority to reform curricula and educational materials. £1 million of UK funding to UNRWA this financial year has been earmarked for the implementation of the Colonna review's recommendations. We also welcome the Palestinian Authority's commitment to enriching curricula and supporting development of educational material in its Education Sector Strategic Plan (2024-2027), with the support of UNESCO. On January 22nd, I met Marcus Sheff, CEO of the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), to discuss opportunities for further educational development.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his speech delivered at the ADS Annual Dinner on 28 January 2025, what progress he has made on the Snapper system.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Snapper system is a new uncrewed maritime system, which has been rapidly developed specifically to support Ukraine. The system is currently undergoing final testing and further details will be set out in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his speech delivered at the ADS Annual Dinner on 28 January 2025, what progress he has made on the Gravehawk system.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Gravehawk system is a rapidly developed bespoke air defence system, jointly funded by the UK and Denmark. This innovative system, which is able to retrofit air-air missiles for ground-based air defence, can use Ukrainian missiles already in their armed forces' possession. With Ukraine under constant Russian bombardment, the Gravehawk system will boost Ukraine's air defences, allowing them to defend their cities, troops and critical infrastructure. Two prototypes of the air defence capability system were tested in Ukraine in September 2024, and a further 15 will follow this year.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his speech delivered at the ADS Annual Dinner on 28 January 2025, what progress he has made on the Wasp system.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Wasp system is a new uncrewed maritime system, which has been rapidly developed specifically to support Ukraine. The system is currently undergoing final testing and further details will be set out in due course.

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 including Primary Progressive Aphasia in the list of conditions requiring nationally commissioned services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Primary progressive aphasia is a rare type of dementia where the recommended treatment is usually speech and language therapy, which is carried out by a speech and language therapist. NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia, and central to this is the provision of personalised care and support planning for post diagnostic support.

Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population under the Care Act 2014.

Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. It is the responsibility of the IBC to work within their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve service provision for people with (a) Tourette's syndrome and (b) other tic disorders in the North East.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne

The Government has pledged to reform the National Health Service so that it better meets the needs of patients. This includes the current engagement exercise, which will help to shape the 10-Year Health Plan. This will be published in spring 2025 and is expected to underline the large shifts in how healthcare is provided.

The NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) has begun a programme of work with our partners to consider the future efficiency requirements and potential areas of investment for the future. While a Tourette's syndrome service may be considered within this process, it is likely that we will review the alignment of specialist support within the wider children and young people's mental health service pathways, including the links with local authorities on special educational needs and disability provision.

As commissioners, the ICB also undertakes an annual planning exercise to identify pathways that may require review. The pathway for the diagnosis and management of Tourette's syndrome, not only in County Durham, but across the North East and North Cumbria, will be identified through this exercise as an area for potential review in 2025/26. This will help us to understand where there are gaps in the provision of this specialist service that may potentially need to be addressed across the region. This planning exercise will require a prioritisation exercise to consider the clinical and cost benefits of a range of potential investment opportunities.

116th anniversary of the 1909 West Stanley Pit Disaster

Injury on Duty Award Scheme

Found: Luke Akehurst (Labour MP for North Durham) questioned why disabled people had not been included in the