Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of (a) buses, (b) trains and (c) other public transport for disabled people; and what steps she plans to take to improve such accessibility.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is fully committed to our promise to deliver reliable, affordable and accessible transport, with accessibility at the heart of our bold reforms for bus and rail reform and improved passenger standards across the transport network.
The Department has recently published an annual evaluation of accessibility through the Inclusive Transport Strategy scorecard, based upon analysis by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). In addition to this the department publishes annual statistics on disability, accessibility and blue badge holding, which includes data on public satisfaction with different aspects of public transport provision. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee is the Department’s expert committee on accessibility, making sure that proper consideration and assessment of disabled people’s views and needs are central to our decision making.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including (a) taekwondo and (b) other martial arts in the activity lists for (i) GCSE, (ii) AS and (iii) A-Level physical education.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The current GCSE, AS and A level PE activity lists were last reviewed in 2018. These lists are based upon the reliability and practicality of activities as a basis for assessing whether students had demonstrated the skills required by the relevant qualification specification.
The government has launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review covering ages 5–18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review will consider the current qualification pathways available at Key Stages 4 and 5. A call for evidence will be published in the coming weeks which will set out the areas where the review group would particularly welcome input. More information about the Review is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-curriculum-and-assessment-review. Decisions on any possible changes to specifications and assessment arrangements for exams will be taken in the light of the Review.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on deaths of Palestinians in Israeli custody since October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in military detention. The UK Government is clear that administrative detention should only be used when it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on reports of torture of Palestinians in Israeli custody.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in military detention. The UK Government is clear that administrative detention should only be used when it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential (a) merits of extending eligibility for Disabled Students’ Allowance to international students and (b) impact of the existing eligibility criteria on educational inequalities in higher education.
Answered by Luke Hall
The government appreciates the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to UK higher education (HE). The department’s offer to international students remains very competitive and the department is committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for the brightest and best international students from across the globe.
To be eligible for Disabled Students Allowance, students must: (a) meet the personal eligibility criteria for student finance within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 and be studying a course designated for student support; and (b) have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
Entitlement to student support and home fee status is limited to eligible students who are undertaking HE courses offered by UK institutions that are designated for support. This is to ensure that the HE student finance system remains financially sustainable. The government has no plans to extend home fee status and student support to international students.
All HE providers must fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in their support for all disabled HE students regardless of whether they are home or international students.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the level of funding of Adult and Community Education since 2010 on that sector; and whether she plans to restore funding to 2010 levels.
Answered by Luke Hall
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the Multiply programme and Skills Bootcamps.
The AEB is worth £1.34 billion in 2023/24 and approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.
In ESFA AEB areas, the department applied a 2.2% increase to the final earnings for all AEB formula-funded provision, excluding associated learner and learning support, in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The department also applied a 20% boost on top of earnings for all AEB formula-funded provision in six sector subject areas: Engineering, Manufacturing Technologies, Transport Operations and Maintenance, Building and Construction, ICT for Practitioners, and Mathematics and Statistics. Additionally, in 2024/25, as part of the AEB transition to the Adult Skills Fund, the department will introduce five new funding rates that will apply to the ESFA Adult Skills Fund with 78% of qualifications seeing a funding increase.
Prior to devolution, the Community Learning portion of the AEB amounted to approximately £230 million in 2018/19. The department does not collect data on what MCAs and the GLA currently spend on Community Learning.
In 2024/25, as part of the Adult Skills Fund, the term Tailored Learning brings together what was the AEB Community Learning, formula-funded AEB non-regulated learning, which was previously delivered through the adult skills, and new employer-facing innovative provision that is not qualification based.
The department is also providing up to £270 million directly to local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy through the Multiply programme. The department is also building the evidence base on what works to improve adult numeracy, including through randomised control trials.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview upon completion. This is supported by £550 million over the current Spending Review period as well as £170 million in grant funding to MCAs and local areas in 2024/25.
Spend by the department on further education is reported through publication of the Annual Report and Accounts. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department plans to take at the UN Security Council as the penholder for Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement following the Security Council visit to that country.
Answered by David Rutley
In February, the UK jointly led the third UN Security Council (UNSC) visit to Colombia in support of the 2016 peace process. The Council met with President Petro and the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace to discuss progress and challenges for implementation of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement and the Government's efforts to broaden peace through dialogue with armed groups. The Council discussed the dialogue and temporary bilateral ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) which it has indicated a willingness to consider mandating the UN to monitor and verify. Through our role as penholder at the UN Security Council (UNSC), the UK will continue to work closely with international partners in support of the peace process in Colombia.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press release entitled Arms exports to Israel must stop immediately: UN experts, published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 23r February 2024, if she will take steps to cease the transfer of (a) weapons and (b) ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza.
Answered by Greg Hands
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
The Export Control Joint Unit will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.
The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely and will take any action the Government considers appropriate as the situation develops. All extant licences are kept under careful review and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke licences as circumstances require.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2024 to Question 9950 on Yemen: Military Intervention and to the Answer of 20 February 2024 to Question 13836 on Gaza: Israel, for what reason his Department maintains a tracker database of alleged instances of breaches or violations of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in Yemen but does not maintain a comparable database of alleged instances of breaches or violations of International Humanitarian Law by Israel in Gaza.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence’s “tracker" listing alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations during the Saudi Led Coalition's Air Campaign in Yemen, does not cover the actions of the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza.
The UK Government continues to assess Israel's commitment and capability to comply with International Humanitarian Law. Those assessments are supported by a detailed evidence base, including analysis of the conflict, reporting from NGOs, international bodies and partner countries, statements and reports by the Israeli Government and military representatives and Israel's track record of compliance.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) people whose alleged offending results from experience of domestic abuse have access to an effective defence and (b) the Victims' Code includes provision to ensure that those people are treated proportionately by the criminal justice system.
Answered by Laura Farris
The Government and the law recognises that some offenders may commit offences as a direct result of being subjected to domestic abuse. There is a need to strike a balance between recognising the impact of abuse whilst ensuring that people do not revert to criminal behaviour.
The law already provides for a number of general defences, both full defences such as self-defence, and partial defences such as of “loss of control” or “diminished responsibility”. We have, however, asked the Law Commission to conduct a review of defences specifically to homicide where the offender was a victim of domestic abuse.
The Victims’ Code sets out the services that all victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse, are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies at the different stages of the criminal justice process. This includes receiving information about the case, participating appropriately in the criminal justice process and accessing support services. However investigation or charging decisions are operational decisions for the police and Crown Prosecution Service.