Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he had discussions with (a) the Iraqi Prime Minister and (b) his Iraqi counterpart on Elizabeth Tsurkov on 14 January 2025.
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. Recent reports that Prime Minister al-Sudani is making great efforts to secure Elizabeth Tsurkov's release are encouraging. 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.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to establish regulations for AI companies which (a) guarantee ethical practices, (b) safeguard protections for workers and communities and (c) ensure accountability.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The vast majority of AI systems are regulated at the point of use, and the UK's existing expert regulators are best placed to do this. In response to the AI Action Plan, the government has committed to supporting regulators in evaluating their AI capabilities and understanding how these can be strengthened.
The government is also developing legislative proposals which will allow the UK to safely realise the benefits of the most powerful AI systems. These proposals will be highly targeted, build on the voluntary commitments secured at the Seoul and Bletchley AI Summits, and be future-proofed against this fast-evolving technology.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) increasing the termly rates and (b) expanding the eligibility criteria for the Continuity of Education Allowance.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence recognises the unique circumstances faced by our Service personnel and that frequent mobility can disrupt children’s education. Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) helps by providing the children of Service personnel with a stable education that would not otherwise be available in the state-maintained day school sector, due to their family’s mobility.
Termly rates of CEA are recalculated to account for changes to fees made by schools for the new academic year. This is usually an annual event but as schools changed their fees for January 2025 in response to the Government’s new VAT policy, the CEA rates were recalculated in December 2024. New rates will be calculated ahead of changes in school fees for September 2025.
CEA is available to all eligible Service personnel and the eligibility criteria are as expansive as necessary to meet the aim of the allowance. To make a claim, the family of the Service person claiming must remain living together; be likely to move in the succeeding four years; and, agree that having chosen a school, their child will stay there until the end of their education stage.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on (a) the review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy and (b) detention for vulnerable people.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy is ongoing and external engagement is taking place during the first quarter of 2025. A range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), will be invited to view and comment on any proposals for reform, as part of this external engagement work.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to consult with LGBTQI+ sector (a) organisations and (b) individuals on the review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy is ongoing and external engagement is taking place during the first quarter of 2025. A range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), will be invited to view and comment on any proposals for reform, as part of this external engagement work.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support further education colleges to invest in low-carbon (a) technology and (b) infrastructure.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ensuring that every young person has a pathway through further and higher education and into employment is a key pillar of the government’s opportunity and growth missions. The department wants to build a world class further education (FE) system which delivers for the whole nation and supports these missions. A key part of this is ensuring colleges are fit for the future, with better facilities and good quality, sustainable buildings.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, the department announced £950 million of skills capital funding for 2025/26, including £300 million of new funding to support FE colleges to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estate. It will be for colleges to decide how to prioritise funding in line with guidance which the department will publish. However, spend could include investment in low-carbon infrastructure in line with the Further Education Generic Design Brief and Technical Annexes, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-for-college-projects-part-a-and-part-b.
As part of the FE Capital Transformation Programme, which is a six-year programme investing more than £1.5 billion to upgrade the FE college estate, the department is working in partnership with sixteen colleges to address some of the worst condition sites in the country. These schemes are being built to the above specifications. One of these projects is the Ashington Campus of Northumberland College, which is a Gen-Zero development, designed to be ultra-low carbon in both construction and operation.
FE colleges are also able to apply to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, administered by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. A number of FE colleges have benefitted from this scheme to invest in measures to achieve net zero in operation at some or all of their sites.
Future investment will depend on the outcomes of the spending review which will be announced later this year.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make it her policy to establish a commission that includes (a) trade unions, (b) campaign organisations and (c) community groups to help implement the socio-economic duty.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to commencing the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require specified public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to consider actively how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.
We know that the duty will only succeed if central Government works in partnership with public sector leaders, communities and other partners up and down the country. We will therefore work closely with relevant organisations to ensure that implementation of the duty is as effective as possible. We will update further on our work to commence the socio-economic duty in due course.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to (a) establish and (b) support negotiations for a ceasefire in (i) the West Bank and (ii) East Jerusalem.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Stability in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is crucial to ensure that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza can last. The UK will continue to work with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the US, and regional partners to build consensus for a post-conflict Gaza governance and security framework that supports conditions for a permanent and sustainable peace.
The ceasefire marks the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability. Our attention must turn to how we secure a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people - grounded in a two-state solution that will guarantee security and stability for Israel, alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to hormone replacement therapy prescriptions through GPs for trans patients; and what steps he is taking to support trans patients' access to hormone replacement therapy prescriptions through GPs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of assessing council tax value based on the number of bedrooms within a property.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Valuation Office Agency considers a range of factors in determining a dwelling’s council tax band, including the size, layout, location and character of the dwelling. The government has no plans to change how dwellings are assessed for council tax.