Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel in 2022 to date.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics’ report. Data on asylum claims from small boat arrivals are published in the ‘asylum claims from arrivals’ section of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ publication. The latest data relates to the end of June 2022. Future irregular migration publication release dates can be found on the research and statistics calendar.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure that asylum seekers settling in England are shared evenly between parliamentary constituencies.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
On 13th April this year, it was announced that with immediate effect we would move to a model of full dispersal for asylum seekers to ensure a fairer distribution of asylum seekers across the UK. Full dispersal means that all local authority areas in England, Scotland and Wales can be expected to participate in the new model. This approach will reduce relative pressures on those local authorities who accommodated asylum seekers prior to April 2022. We have been working collaboratively with LAs through our Strategic Migration Partnerships to generate regional plans that will support the implementation of full dispersal.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken with international partners to help reduce the number of migrant crossings across the English Channel.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Migrant crossings across the Channel are dangerous and unnecessary. This Government is determined to put the people smugglers out of business and make this route unviable.
We have agreed to a new joint strategy and operational plan with our French counterparts, for which the UK will provide up to €72.2 million this year, to drive forward our next phase of cooperation to tackle this issue. This will increase the number of French Officers with UK Officers being embedded
[Whitespace] with French counterparts. Our partnership with the French saw more than 23,000 crossings stopped in 2021 and has seen over 30,000 illegal crossings stopped so far this year.
As a Government, we have also introduced tough new penalties through the Nationality and Borders Act which introduces life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry. Additionally, we have agreed a ground-breaking partnership with Rwanda, and we remain committed to operationalising the scheme as soon as possible.
We are committed to engaging with international partners, in particular Member States and the EU, on a ‘whole of route’ approach to addressing the challenges of, and risks posed by, irregular migration, including through an early meeting convening our near neighbours.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnoses of pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The NHS Long Term Plan includes ambitions to increase early and accurate diagnosis of respiratory conditions. To deliver this commitment, NHS England has established 13 respiratory clinical networks. The National Health Service has been asked to restore spirometry checks to pre-pandemic levels in 2022/23, supported by the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made on the effectiveness of nintendanib for patients suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by Will Quince
Nintedanib is routinely available to eligible National Health Service patients according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which recommends nintendanib for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for patients with a Forced Vital Capacity of between 50 to 80% predicted.
NICE is currently reviewing its recommendations on the use of nintedanib for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in those with a forced vital capacity above 80% predicted and currently expects to publish final guidance in March 2023.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to make nintendanib available on the NHS for patients suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by Will Quince
Nintedanib is routinely available to eligible National Health Service patients according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which recommends nintendanib for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for patients with a Forced Vital Capacity of between 50 to 80% predicted.
NICE is currently reviewing its recommendations on the use of nintedanib for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in those with a forced vital capacity above 80% predicted and currently expects to publish final guidance in March 2023.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the new licensing scheme for practitioners who operate in England for non-surgical cosmetic procedures will be announced.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Officials are currently exploring how a future licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England might be implemented, and a potential timetable for its introduction. The scope and details of any future licensing scheme would be set out in secondary legislation and subject to stakeholder engagement and public consultation.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ukrainian diplomas and other education credentials are recognised (a) in the UK and (b) by UK employers.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The UK and Ukraine are both signatories to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The UK is also a signatory to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Global Recognition Convention, which will soon come into force. The terms of these Conventions oblige the UK to recognise higher education qualifications and qualifications giving access to higher education unless they are substantially different from the UK equivalents.
The UK European Network for Information (ENIC) service provides advice on the comparability of international qualifications at all levels of education with those of the UK, on behalf of Government. The service maintains an extensive database of international qualifications and education systems, including for Ukraine, and are fully prepared to deal with Ukrainian and other refugees’ qualifications.
Organisations and individuals can apply for Statements of Comparability through the standard UK ENIC portal. Within the portal, there is provision for individuals to be able to identify as refugees, meaning more flexibility is given for document submissions. Many organisations, including education institutions and employers, also subscribe to the UK ENIC service and use its database when assessing applications.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that cases of emotional abuse are afforded the same priority as physical abuse cases.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for this Government. The landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced for the first time a legal definition of domestic abuse that is wide-ranging, recognising a range of abuses beyond physical violence; including sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, economic abuse, and controlling or coercive behaviour. Putting the definition on a statutory footing aims to ensure that domestic abuse is properly understood and that all public agencies and relevant parties are applying a common definition in seeking to tackle this abhorrent crime.
Building on this, the Government went further and on 30 March, published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response to domestic abuse in all its forms.
Emotional abuse can form part of a pattern of controlling or coercive behaviour. The Domestic Abuse Act extended the coercive and controlling behaviour offence removing the ‘living together’ requirement to ensure that the offence applies to partners, ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together. We are also in the process of updating the Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance to further support frontline agencies in identifying, investigating and evidencing domestic abuse offences. We launched a public consultation on the draft guidance on 30 April.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that cases of emotional abuse are afforded the same priority as physical abuse cases.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.