Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending redundancy protection to 18 months for employees experiencing pregnancy loss at any stage of pregnancy.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

If an employee experiences pregnancy loss within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, the redundancy protected period ends two weeks from the end of the pregnancy. After a stillbirth from 24 weeks, the protected period ends 18 months from the date of birth.

The Employment Rights Bill establishes a new right to bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss, and powers to provide protections around redundancy and dismissal. A primary driver of the existing enhanced redundancy protections is to protect those who take lengthy absences from work on statutory family leave and thus may be at a disadvantage in a redundancy situation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of her Department's policies on (a) all people seeking asylum and (b) people seeking asylum whose age is disputed who arrived in the UK by irregular means.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The impact of our policies on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the asylum policy development process, and that includes our policy on age assessment.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders. All policy development is carried out with regard to section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 and in line with our international obligations.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) rights and (b) remedies available to tenants affected by (i) nuisance and (ii) overgrown trees on neighbouring land.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, social landlords, the police and local authorities have been given a range of powers and tools to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), including nuisance. There is also a statutory regime for dealing with a range of nuisances including noise, and it is for individual local authorities to determine the detailed arrangements of the services they provide, taking into account their assessment of local needs and circumstances.

Under the new consumer regulation regime, the Regulator of Social Housing will proactively seek assurances that providers are meeting the outcomes set by the Neighbourhood and Community Standard. Providers will be required to collect and publish data on tenants’ satisfaction with their landlord’s approach to handling ASB, which will ensure that tenants can hold registered providers to account.

Under common law, a landowner can cut the branches from a neighbour's trees at the boundary between the two properties, whether or not they are causing any damage, if they overhang his or her property and are regarded as a nuisance. If you live in a conservation area, or the trees in the hedge are protected by a ‘tree preservation order’, you might need your council’s permission to trim them.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which (a) financial institutions and (b) private corporations attended the Wilton Park conference on the reconstruction of Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK co-hosted a conference at Wilton Park with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt on mobilising private sector finance in support of Palestinian-led planning for the Recovery and Reconstruction of Gaza. Wilton Park Protocol means that we cannot provide exact names or institutions, but the attendees included international investors with particular focus on development impact, multilateral institutions, Palestinian private sector representatives, and our international partners, including European and Arab Governments.

Kashmir Black Day and self-determination

Two-child limit

Freezing of Local Housing Allowance

Media Plurality and Press Freedom in Parliament