Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial assessment his Department has made on the effect of the proposed Solvency II reforms on the public purse.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Solvency II reforms strike a careful balance between boosting growth and maintaining high standards of policyholder protection. Insurers will still have to hold enough capital to withstand a 1-in-200-year shock. They will still have to adhere to high standards of risk management and will still be comprehensively supervised by our world-class independent regulator. The Government has announced a suite of additional supervisory measures the PRA will be taking forwards to hold insurers to account in maintaining safety, soundness, and policyholder protection.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of a potential impact of the Government's proposed Solvency II reforms on the level of risk to the financial stability of the banking sector.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Solvency II reforms strike a careful balance between boosting growth and maintaining high standards of policyholder protection. Insurers will still have to hold enough capital to withstand a 1-in-200-year shock. They will still have to adhere to high standards of risk management and will still be comprehensively supervised by our world-class independent regulator. The Government has announced a suite of additional supervisory measures the PRA will be taking forwards to hold insurers to account in maintaining safety, soundness, and policyholder protection.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the liability of British companies supplying aviation fuel to Myanmar to investigation or prosecution for involvement in violations of international law.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are unaware of any British companies that supply aviation fuel to Myanmar. On 28 February 2022, the UK updated its Overseas Business Risk Guidance to make it clear that UK businesses should conduct thorough supply chain due diligence to ensure that commodities such as aviation fuel do not reach the Myanmar military.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's role as penholder of the situation in Myanmar at the United Nations Security Council, what steps the Government is taking to address Myanmar’s non-compliance with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice relating to genocide of the Rohingya.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 25 August 2022, the UK announced its intention to intervene in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case regarding Myanmar's compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in relation to acts committed against the Rohingya. We are also clear that Myanmar should comply with all aspects of the ICJ's Provisional Measures Order, which requires Myanmar to take steps to prevent the commission of genocide against the Rohingya. We understand the ICJ is monitoring Myanmar's compliance with the Provisional Measures Order, which we support.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
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 put pressure on the Egyptian Government to lift the travel bans and asset freezes on (a) Karim Ennarah and (b) other staff of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal rights.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Egypt is a human rights priority country. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Egyptian authorities, including the case of Karim Ennarah. The previous FCDO Minister for Africa, [Gillian Keegan], met with Mr Ennarah and also spoke to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry about the case, during her visit to Cairo in October. We have also specifically raised the issue of travel bans, asset freezes and the importance of civil society in Egypt at the Human Rights Council in March and October 2022.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' findings that the total prescribed long acting reversible contraception excluding injections rate in Tower Hamlets decreased from 34.7 per 1,000 women in 2018 to 22.3 per 1,000 women in 2020, published 2022, whether her Department is taking steps to improve access to contraceptive provision in (a) primary care and (b) specialist sexual and reproductive health services in (i) Tower Hamlets and (ii) England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
National Health Service and local authority commissioners are responsible for planning services to meet the needs of local communities, including appropriate access to contraceptive services. The Women’s Health Strategy for England encourages local commissioners and providers to consider adopting models of care which improve access to services, including contraceptive services, such as women’s health hubs.
From January 2023, NHS England will introduce Tier 1 of a Pharmacy Contraception Service, enabling community pharmacists to provide ongoing management of routine oral contraception which was initiated in general practice or a sexual health clinic. This will allow greater choice and access for those considering continuing their current form of contraception. We will set out further plans to improve sexual and reproductive health in England, including access to specialist services, in due course.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to North East London ICS to support with GP retention for 2022-23; and how much was spent in 2021-22 for that purpose.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
North East London Integrated Care System (NEL ICS) reports that in 2021/22, it was allocated £460,000 and spent £460,000 on projects across all 7 boroughs. Programmes last year included the introduction of mid-career fellowships, the development of peer support groups for GPs at different career stages and widening participation through Primary Care mentorship and work experience.
NEL ICS was allocated £460,000 for 2022/23, which will be invested in existing and new projects.
NHS England advises that a total of £1.9 million for GP retention schemes was allocated and spent by the ICS/CCGs in 2021/22 and £2.3 million allocated to the Integrated Care Board in 2022/23.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to support the appointment of a women’s reproductive health lead on each integrated care board to help ensure women’s health needs are prioritised, in the context of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published August 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of the local population, including whether a women’s reproductive health lead is appointed. We encourage integrated care systems to take into account the ambitions and actions in the Strategy when developing local plans.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published August 2022, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the expansion of women’s health hubs; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Strategy encourages local commissioners and providers to consider adopting these models of care. We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded Birmingham, RAND Europe and Cambridge Rapid Evaluation Centre to undertake scoping work for an evaluation of existing women’s health hubs. This is expected to conclude in early 2023.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will undertake a review of the adequacy of the levels of funding provided to general practices for providing long acting reversible contraception.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are currently no plans to review the levels of funding provided to general practices for providing long-acting reversible contraception. Under the GP contract, contraceptive services are an essential service that practices must provide or arrange for the provision of. Practices are paid for providing essential services via the global sum, which is a capitated payment based on practice patient list size, weighted to account for estimated patient workload and unavoidable costs.
During the pandemic, we made £520 million available to improve access to general practice services and expand general practice capacity, in addition to at least £1.5 billion announced in 2020 to create a further 50 million general practice appointments by 2024 by increasing and diversifying the workforce.