Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to (a) humanitarian organisations and (b) his Israeli counterpart on the expedition of Habiba Al Askari's medical evacuation from Gaza.

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

The case of Habiba Al Askari is tragic and underlines why we need to see more medical evacuation routes open during the first phase of the ceasefire. While we have not discussed this individual case with Israel, we engage routinely on the importance of addressing health needs within Gaza and enabling medical evacuations for all patients needing medical care not available in Gaza.

The UK has announced £1 million for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through World Health Organization Egypt, to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza. The UK is also supporting provision of essential healthcare to Palestinians including funding UK-Med to operate field hospitals in Gaza, where they have established an operating theatre and an emergency department for urgent care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people on home dialysis who do not receive reimbursement of the energy costs of that dialysis; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that number on the ability of his Department to shift care from hospital to community.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Increasing access to home therapies is a priority for NHS England, and this is reflected in its inclusion in the Renal Transformation toolkit that was published in 2023, which recommends that 20% of all patients on kidney replacement treatment should receive treatment at home.

Commissioned renal clinical networks across England have included improving access to home therapies in their work plans as per the recommendations within the toolkit. NHS England’s national team supports renal clinical networks with the implementation of home dialysis transformation.

Commissioned renal providers in England have a contractual obligation to reimburse the additional utility costs for patients who receive home haemodialysis therapy, as stipulated within the Haemodialysis to treat established renal failure performed in a patients home national service specification and the Paediatric medicine renal service specification. Reimbursement costs are managed directly between providers and patients, and therefore there is no central record of how many patients seek reimbursement. Further information on the Paediatric medicine renal service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/paediatric-medicine-renal-service-specification/

Renal clinical networks are working towards increasing home dialysis rates in line with the Renal Service Transformation Programme toolkit recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure a minimum of 20% of dialysis patients in renal centres receive home dialysis.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Increasing access to home therapies is a priority for NHS England, and this is reflected in its inclusion in the Renal Transformation toolkit that was published in 2023, which recommends that 20% of all patients on kidney replacement treatment should receive treatment at home.

Commissioned renal clinical networks across England have included improving access to home therapies in their work plans as per the recommendations within the toolkit. NHS England’s national team supports renal clinical networks with the implementation of home dialysis transformation.

Commissioned renal providers in England have a contractual obligation to reimburse the additional utility costs for patients who receive home haemodialysis therapy, as stipulated within the Haemodialysis to treat established renal failure performed in a patients home national service specification and the Paediatric medicine renal service specification. Reimbursement costs are managed directly between providers and patients, and therefore there is no central record of how many patients seek reimbursement. Further information on the Paediatric medicine renal service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/paediatric-medicine-renal-service-specification/

Renal clinical networks are working towards increasing home dialysis rates in line with the Renal Service Transformation Programme toolkit recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of patients receiving dialysis at home.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Increasing access to home therapies is a priority for NHS England, and this is reflected in its inclusion in the Renal Transformation toolkit that was published in 2023, which recommends that 20% of all patients on kidney replacement treatment should receive treatment at home.

Commissioned renal clinical networks across England have included improving access to home therapies in their work plans as per the recommendations within the toolkit. NHS England’s national team supports renal clinical networks with the implementation of home dialysis transformation.

Commissioned renal providers in England have a contractual obligation to reimburse the additional utility costs for patients who receive home haemodialysis therapy, as stipulated within the Haemodialysis to treat established renal failure performed in a patients home national service specification and the Paediatric medicine renal service specification. Reimbursement costs are managed directly between providers and patients, and therefore there is no central record of how many patients seek reimbursement. Further information on the Paediatric medicine renal service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/paediatric-medicine-renal-service-specification/

Renal clinical networks are working towards increasing home dialysis rates in line with the Renal Service Transformation Programme toolkit recommendations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held discussions with his (a) Egyptian and (b) Israeli counterparts about the expedition of exit permits for Gazans seeking urgent medical evacuations.

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

We engage routinely on the importance of addressing health needs within Gaza. An immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to this crisis. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic, with many in need of urgent medical assistance. Israel should ensure that there is a sustained passage for patients who need treatment not available in Gaza, by reopening routes and increasing the approval rate for medical evacuations.

We have announced £1 million for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through the World Health Organization Egypt, to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza. The UK is also supporting the provision of essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including support to UK-MED for operating their field hospitals.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Iraqi counterpart on the case of Elizabeth Tsurkov.

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

The UK remains concerned over the kidnapping of Israeli-Russian dual national Elizabeth Tsurkov. The Government of Iraq's investigation into her kidnapping is ongoing. Those suspected of criminal responsibility of her kidnapping should be brought to justice in fair trials. The Government has not had any discussion with the Government of Iraq regarding the kidnapping.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help secure the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov.

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

The UK remains concerned over the kidnapping of Israeli-Russian dual national Elizabeth Tsurkov. The Government of Iraq's investigation into her kidnapping is ongoing, and we await the findings. Those suspected of criminal responsibility of her kidnapping should be brought to justice in fair trials. The Government has not had any discussion with the Government of Iraq regarding the kidnapping.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of special constables.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises and values the professionalism, dedication and sacrifice shown by special constables in their work. Special constables, along with the full range of volunteers in policing, make a vital contribution to keeping our communities safe.

As we announced in the Police Funding Settlement in January, this Government is doubling the funding available in 2025/26 to support the first steps in delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel, including special constables. This total £200 million investment underlines our commitment to the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and making the country’s streets safer.

Police forces have been asked to design delivery profiles for their workforce mix that are tailored to local needs and operational contexts, based on what is deliverable within their funding allocation, including special constables. This will ensure that additional neighbourhood personnel in 2025/26 are delivered in a manner that is flexible and easily adaptable to local crime demands.

116th anniversary of the 1909 West Stanley Pit Disaster

Right to protest outside the BBC

Closure of Rathbones Bakery, Wakefield

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bob Blackman (Chair); Jack Abbott; Jess Brown-Fuller; Mary Glindon

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bob Blackman (Chair); Jess Brown-Fuller; Mary Glindon; Alison Hume

Found: Negatived on division_NC5 Mary Glindon .

Found: _NC5 Mary Glindon .

Found: _NC5 Mary Glindon .