Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant organisms in immigration detention centres.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department's programmes supporting refugees in Jordan address (a) water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure and (b) their impact on the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of the leading donors in supporting refugees in Jordan and has contributed over £704 million in bilateral development assistance to Jordan since 2011. We recognise the pressure of water scarcity in Jordan and are helping the Government of Jordan reform its energy and water sectors to be more financial and environmentally sustainable, which will benefit refugees and Jordanians alike. The UK is supporting Jordan's adaptation through the PHENOMENAL programme, which covers key sectors of the national adaptation plan. This includes a waste-water plant and technical support in water management. The UK does not currently deliver health sector programmes, including on antimicrobial resistance, in Jordan. However, we have funded water, sanitation and hygiene activities in both Za'atari and Azraq refugee camps.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 20 February 2023, Official Report, column 33, how many legal practitioners are being monitored by her Department; and (a) for what reasons and (b) by what methods they are being monitored.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
I refer the Hon. Member to my response to Question 149440 on 28 February: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential link between the level of UK aid spending between 2020 and 2021 on the spread of antimicrobial resistance and the risk of drug-resistant infections in refugee camps in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In 2021, the UK was the third largest development donor in the G7 as a percentage of GNI, spending over £11 billion on aid. The UK is committed to the global eradication of antimicrobial resistance and supports a wide range of activities to do this.
Through our £265m ODA Fleming Fund, the UK builds partnerships with LMICs to strengthen AMR surveillance, diagnostics and laboratory capacity. The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), another UK aid fund, supports early-stage innovative research in underfunded areas of AMR research and development for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries.
We have also used our aid budget to reduce the risks of antimicrobial resistance by helping prevent the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Between April 2020 and December 2021, in partnership with Unilever the UK reached over 4 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) with handwashing messages to prevent the spread of infection in countries such as Bangladesh, Cameroon, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen. The UK also supports the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration and the Red Cross Movement, each of which include work on water, sanitation and hygiene as part of their programming and support displaced persons, including refugees and migrants in camps.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will publish an (a) equality and (b) economic impact assessment of the proposed illegal migration bill prior to the second reading of that bill.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We will publish an equality impact assessment and economic impact assessment in respect of the Illegal Migration Bill in due course.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports were made through the Duty to Notify process for those people who arrived in the UK via small boats crossings between 1 January 2022 and 10 February 2023; and if he provide a breakdown by (a) nationality, (b) gender, (c) whether the person reported on was an adult or a child and (d) the First Responder agency making the referral.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is not possible to match Duty to Notify (DtN) data to individuals who have arrived in the UK via small boats crossings; as the individual has not given their consent to enter the National Referral Mechanism DtNs are often anonymised, and DtN data is not entered onto immigration databases.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he made of the effectiveness of the abstinence-only approaches to drug treatment services in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
NHS England is responsible for commissioning substance misuse services in English prisons, and we work closely with them to ensure that all those who need drug treatment in prison have access to a full range of treatment options to support their recovery. That is why we are investing up to £120m to tackle drug misuse and support more offenders into treatment.
Different prisoners will benefit from different forms of treatment, and the patient and their clinician will decide what is right for them, in line with clinical guidelines. Opioid substitution treatment, such as methadone, can be an important part of recovery for some offenders – but when they are ready to stop, it is important we put appropriate support in place. We are rolling out up to 18 new, abstinence-only Drug Recovery Wings, to provide a supportive environment for prisoners who are ready for abstinence-based treatment. These wings are a new model of support, and we will evaluate their effectiveness.
Alongside this, we are increasing the number of Incentivised Substance Free Living Wings to up to 100, which will continue to support prisoners in all forms of treatment for any substance.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve continuity of care for prisoners released while they are undergoing drug treatment services.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It is vitally important that all prisoners and prison leavers with a substance dependency continue treatment on release and have access to timely and high-quality drug treatment services to recover from the misuse that drives offending. We work closely with health and justice partners through the Adult National Partnership Agreement published on 23 February 2023, one of the goals of which is support access to, and continuity of care throughout the prison estate and into the community.
As part of the Cross-Government Drug Strategy, we are investing up to £120m over the next three-years to keep drugs out of prisons and get offenders off drugs and into recovery. Our work includes focusing on prison “in-reach” by providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release via video calling and recruiting Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local treatment services, ensuring continuity of care upon release.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of drug-related deaths across the secure estate.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we continue to do all we can to keep people safe in prison. We are committed to ensuring all those who need drug treatment in prison have access to a full range of treatment options, including abstinence-based interventions, to support a meaningful recovery and thereby reduce drug related deaths.
As part of the Cross-Government Drug Strategy, the MoJ is investing up to £120m to tackle drugs and support offenders into treatment. This includes working with NHS England to supply life-saving naloxone medication to staff in prisons, to administer to those who have suffered an opiate overdose.
We are also investing in prison security to prevent drugs entering prisons in the first place, recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in all male category C and women's prisons to coordinate a whole system approach to tackling drugs, and rolling out abstinence-based Drug Recovery Wings to help opiate users recover from their substance misuse.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, whether he plans to (a) revoke, (b) retain or (c) replace the (i) Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 and (ii) the Judicial Pensions (Fee Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Secretary of State for Justice is presently considering implications of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill for the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 and the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, and the options available to him. In that context the Secretary of State is mindful of historic pension entitlements.
For service after 31 March 2022, fee-paid judges have accrued pension entitlements in the new JPS22 Pension Scheme which is unaffected by the Bill.