Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many assessments for destitution her Department has made for people with no recourse to public funds in the last six months.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes statistics, as part of the department’s migration transparency data, setting out the number of Change of Conditions applications made by those seeking to have their No Recourse to Public Funds condition lifted. This data, for the period up until June 2024, can be found in tab CoC_05 of the immigration and protection data: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q2-2024.
The data includes statistics for other routes, including destitution consideration for fee waiver applications. Whilst the data can be filtered to provide a breakdown of age group; nationality; and gender it cannot be filtered in a way so as to determine how many applications were granted on the basis of destitution, and that information could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of people on NHS waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients are waiting too long to access the care they need, with the total waiting list standing at over 7.5 million. Last week we saw the welcome news that waiting lists have fallen. Since we ended the strikes, we have been ramping up delivery of the 2 million additional appointments that we committed to deliver (which is equivalent to 40,000 per week). The investment delivered by the Chancellor in last month’s Budget will be matched with the reform our NHS needs, to get patients treated faster.Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on travel to and from the UK for people responsible for the disputed 2023 election results in Sierra Leone.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO regularly reviews its sanctions policy and does not comment on any possible future sanctions designations. Exclusion orders are used to prevent a person from entering the UK. The Home Office lead on the policy of exclusion.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the criteria for maintaining diplomatic relations with other states include (a) the strength of democratic institutions and (b) human rights.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and protecting democratic institutions and human rights around the world. The decision to maintain or suspend diplomatic relations is made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the use of UK aid in Sierra Leone.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK aid is guided by UK Government priorities and we work closely with the Government of Sierra Leone to ensure effective implementation of Sierra Leone's own national development plans. The UK does not provide budget support to the Government of Sierra Leone.
All UK development funding is subject to rigorous procurement protocols, due diligence and strong transparency standards. Our programmes are regularly and robustly monitored. The FCDO also works closely with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact to apply the highest standards to our aid spend. These measures ensure the effectiveness of UK aid in Sierra Leone throughout design, delivery and evaluation stages.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 with international counterparts to ensure that future elections in Sierra Leone will be free and fair.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In his first conversation with Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister, Timothy Kabba, Lord Collins, Minister for Africa, highlighted the importance of implementing the Agreement for National Unity and recommendations of the Cross-Party Committee on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies in a bipartisan way. The UK remains committed to supporting a democratic Sierra Leone, and in this vein the British High Commission is currently exploring options to bolster support to governance processes that underpin the 2023-28 electoral cycle, in consultation with our diplomatic partners in Sierra Leone.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Animal Welfare Committee is expected to publish its review on the responsible sourcing of fur.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Honourable Member to the reply I gave to the Honourable Member for Romford for PQ 4519 on 16 September 2024.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Ethics and Integrity Commission will examine donations to MPs from any individual or company that is sanctioned either by the UK or by any other state.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 1251 on 31 July 2024.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many assessments for destitution her Department made for people subject to no recourse to public funds conditions in 2023.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We are unable to provide this information as it is not routinely published, and it can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
When an individual goes through the process of assessment for Change of Conditions, various No Recourse to Public Funds conditions are checked, with ‘destitution’ being one of these conditions.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will distinguish between (a) relocation, (b) estate and (c) property agents within the housing sector in the context of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.
The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.