Rachael Maskell MP: written questions
450 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Asylum: SlaveryHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30130More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support people who arrive in the UK as a result of being trafficked to apply for asylum.
Answer: The Home Office is committed to identifying and safeguarding those who are exploited or vulnerable in the United Kingdom. All operational staff complete the required Home Office Modern Slavery First Responders training. This content was developed by the H...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordShort-term Holding FacilitiesHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30129More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place a limit on the period of time that someone can remain in a short-term hold facility.
Answer: There are already time limits on detention in short-term holding facilities.Section 147 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 defines a short-term holding facility as a place where a detained person may be detained for not more than 7 days, or such other...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30128More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the non-criminal reasons are that could be lead to a person claiming asylum being deported.
Answer: An asylum seeker whose claim is unsuccessful and has exhausted any appeal rights will be liable for removal where they have no permission to remain in the UK. A person may also be deported on the ground that it is conducive to the public good, which can f...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30127More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what offences would require an asylum seeker to be deported.
Answer: All foreign nationals, including asylum seekers and refugees, can and do face prosecution for criminal offences in the same way as any other individual in the UK, and routinely have their immigration status reviewed if convicted.Under existing legislation...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylumHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30126More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to enter the UK.
Answer: Those individuals who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.Information on the UK’s safe and legal routes is published on gov.uk.
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordXanomeline/Trospium ChlorideDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30123More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Cobenfy; and whether he is taking steps to licence this medication in the UK.
Answer: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not received an application for the Market Authorisation of Cobenfy by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLong CovidDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30092More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the response by Integrated Care Boards to long Covid.
Answer: NHS England has recently completed a long COVID stocktake, aiming to provide a nationwide overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. Executive NHS England board members were updated on the curr...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMedical Laboratory Scientific Officers: TrainingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30091More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of available training positions for qualified graduates to become registered biomedical scientists.
Answer: Decisions on the availability of graduate-entry trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right numb...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26027More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discu...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26026More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support families that are seeking therapeutic support via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond financial year 2025-26.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discu...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26025More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for announcing funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund for financial year 2025-26.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discu...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: Corporal PunishmentDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to legislate for (a) a ban on the physical chastisement of children and (b) penalties for people who do so.
Answer: This government does not condone violence or abuse of children. There are laws in place to protect children against this.Crown Prosecution Service guidance is clear that only the mildest form of physical punishment can be used to justify discipline. Where...
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSaudi Arabia: Capital PunishmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14665More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi counterpart on the (a) policy and (b) scale of capital punishment in that country.
Answer: The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as our joint statement with the EU on World Day Against the Death Penalty made clear. The Saudi authorities are well aware of our opposition. As the Minister for the Middle East, I raised Saudi human r...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood Insecurity: Climate ChangeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12739More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations' report on Hunger Hotspots June to October 2024, published in June 2024
Answer: The UK is closely monitoring the potential development of La Niña conditions and in particular the risk of food security impacts in the Horn of Africa and Southern Africa.The UK is a committed humanitarian donor, channelling over £277 million in humanitar...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDeveloping Countries: Food InsecurityForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12738More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations' report on Hunger Hotspots June to October 2024, published in June 2024
Answer: The UK is deeply concerned by the findings of the June-October 2024 Hunger Hotspots report. We are the second largest government donor to the World Food Programme (WFP) and to date in 2024 have contributed over $360 million to WFP programmes, including in...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDeveloping Countries: Food InsecurityForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12737More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations' report on Hunger Hotspots June to October 2024, published in June 2024
Answer: The UK is deeply concerned by the findings of the June-October 2024 Hunger Hotspots report. We are the second largest government donor to the World Food Programme (WFP) and to date in 2024 have contributed over $360 million to WFP programmes, including in...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCancer: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12437More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a 10-year national cancer plan.
Answer: The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to Lord Darzi’s report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform ...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSmoking: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12436More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will help ensure that smoking cessation is offered as an opt-out, co-located service for lung screening appointments.
Answer: The NHS Lung Cancer Screening programme’s standard protocol includes a mandatory referral to smoking cessation services for all current smokers invited to the programme.The Government is providing £70 million of additional funding this year to support loc...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSmoking: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12435More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) maintain and (b) increase funding for local authority smoking cessation services; and if he will take steps to raise public awareness of those services.
Answer: The Government has invested an additional £70 million in 2024/25 to support local authority-led stop smoking services to help smokers quit smoking, and this funding is being used to build capacity and demand. We encourage local authorities to invest in ma...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordTrade Agreements: ChinaDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 22 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10450More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the release of Jimmy Lai is a prerequisite to any trade agreement with China.
Answer: This Government has no plans to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with China. This Government will stand firm on issues relating to human rights. My Right Honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised the case of Jimmy Lai during his recent visit to China...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: MenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10101More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to inquiry by the Health and Social Care Select Committee into Men's Health in the last Parliament, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) services and (b) the use of digita
Answer: The Government's mission is getting the National Health Service back on its feet, so it is there for everyone. We are developing a 10-Year Health Plan so that we are better able to meet the needs of the population, including men. We recognise there are ar...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPatients: Wearable TechnologyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10100More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that the use of digital wearables in the NHS is accompanied by professional interventions.
Answer: Digital health technologies, including digital wearables, empower patients to manage their own health and get rapid access to peer support and clinical advice. Leveraging digital tools can improve the timeliness of interventions by helping frontline staff...
Answered 29 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCounselling and Psychiatry: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10099More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) psychotherapists and (b) counsellors are subject to (i) professional supervision and (ii) continuous professional development.
Answer: The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) operates a voluntary registers programme, which provides a proportionate means of assurance for unregulated professions, that sits between employer controls and statutory regulation by ...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCounselling and Psychiatry: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10098More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that clinicians who have been found to have posed a risk to patients cannot set up as independent (a) psychotherapists and (b) counsellors.
Answer: The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) operates a voluntary registers programme, which provides a proportionate means of assurance for unregulated professions, that sits between employer controls and statutory regulation by ...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCounselling and Psychiatry: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10097More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the risks of (a) counsellors and (b) psychotherapists working without (i) statutory regulation and (ii) protection of title.
Answer: The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) operates a voluntary registers programme, which provides a proportionate means of assurance for unregulated professions, that sits between employer controls and statutory regulation by ...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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