Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on establishing field hospitals in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Healthcare in Gaza is on the brink following Israel's expanded military operations. It is appalling that nearly all Gaza's hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). We recently announced a £7.5 million package to strengthen medical care in Gaza and the region, including additional funding for UK-Med. Through our partnership with UK-Med, they have provided over 500,000 patient consultations in their field hospitals, emergency departments, and mobile clinics in Gaza since January 2024.
We urgently need more supplies reaching healthcare facilities and better protections for aid and medical workers. As the Minister for International Development said in August, we are straining every sinew to get the aid that is needed in, and quickly.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
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 help de-escalate the conflict in Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are engaging with a range of international partners to coordinate action on de-escalation of the conflict in Sudan, including through our role as penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council. The UK has shown clear leadership on Sudan, including the London Sudan Conference on 15 April, convened by the Foreign Secretary and attended by Foreign Ministers and high-level representatives from 21 countries and multilateral bodies. Discussions focussed on how to make progress on shared goals of ending the conflict, protecting civilians and scaling-up the delivery of humanitarian aid, echoed in the Co-Chairs' Statement. Participants agreed on the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and committed to proactively support efforts to find a peaceful solution. We continue to engage with international partners towards this goal. Senior UK officials also continue to engage with the warring parties to urge them to return to the negotiating table and commit to a meaningful, sustainable ceasefire in Sudan.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will provide clean (a) medical and (b) surgical equipment in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Healthcare in Gaza is on the brink following Israel's expanded military operations. It is appalling that nearly all Gaza's hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). We recently announced a £7.5 million package to strengthen medical care in Gaza and the region, including additional funding for UK-Med. Through our partnership with UK-Med, they have provided over 500,000 patient consultations in their field hospitals, emergency departments, and mobile clinics in Gaza since January 2024.
We urgently need more supplies reaching healthcare facilities and better protections for aid and medical workers. As the Minister for International Development said in August, we are straining every sinew to get the aid that is needed in, and quickly.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration he has given to opening a unit in the UK for surgical emergencies from Gaza.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care helped the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to arrange 21 tonnes of vital, life-saving Government humanitarian aid for displaced civilians in Gaza. Essential supplies included 76,800 surplus trauma kits, 1,350 water filters, and 2,560 solar lights. The Government recently announced a £7.5 million package to strengthen medical care in Gaza and the region, including additional funding for UK-Med and the World Health Organization in Egypt.
The Department is not currently considering opening a unit dedicated to surgical emergencies from Gaza, however we continue to urge the Israeli Government to allow and facilitate the safe, rapid, and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid and ensure that basic services are provided for all Gazan civilians.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she had made of the potential barriers to opportunity for adopted (a) children and (b) young people; and what steps her Department has taken to help tackle these in the last year.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises that many adopted children have experienced trauma and neglect. As part of the government’s Plan for Change, we are working to remove barriers to opportunity for all children, including those who are adopted.
To support adopted children in school, we are prioritising their access to school admissions, providing Pupil Premium Plus funding, and ensuring support from designated teachers and virtual school heads.
This year, we have allocated £50 million to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to provide essential therapeutic services for eligible children. Additionally, we have invested £8.8 million in Adoption England to improve adoption practices. This includes expanding multi-disciplinary teams to offer specialist support, introducing a new early support framework called ‘Becoming a family’ for the first 12 to 18 months of placement, and implementing an Adoption Support Plan to assess and guide families’ support needs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has provided NHS equipment to help manage infection control in health settings in Gaza.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no donations of National Health Service equipment specific to infection control. However, the Government recently announced a £7.5 million package to strengthen medical care in Gaza and the region, including additional funding for UK-Med and the World Health Organization in Egypt. The Government’s funding has provided 1.3 million items of life-saving medicines and enabled UK-Med to support over 500,000 patient consultations across Gaza.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide opportunities for NHS staff to work in (a) Gaza and (b) other conflict zones.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are options for National Health Service staff to voluntarily provide healthcare support on a humanitarian basis and separately to their NHS duties. For example, humanitarian medical charities such as UK Med are active in Gaza, with NHS clinicians volunteering to provide life-saving medical aid to people affected by the conflict.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on restrictions faced by (a) Christians and (b) underground churches in China.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The environment for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. Chinese regulations on religious activity severely restrict religious and cultural expression in China. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to FoRB. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their Chinese counterparts.
More broadly, this Government champions FoRB for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to FoRB through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.
The recent launch of our FoRB strategy on July 8 outlines our approach to promoting and protecting the right to FoRB globally, of which China is one of ten focus countries. We continue to do all we can to encourage FoRB across China.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing the level of ODA spend.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To fund an increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision to reduce our ODA budget to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027. This reflects the world we live in and the threats our country faces. We must do this to maintain economic stability - the foundation of this Government's Plan for Change. The Government is committed to returning to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA when the fiscal circumstances allow.
The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast. The Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within the Parliament.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered updating the Statutory Guidance on Adoption, published on 18 July 2013.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department keeps all statutory guidance under regular review, including that relating to adoption, and considers updates where required.