Written questions by Mitchell.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on the cultural sector in the West Midlands.

The Government highly values the cultural sector and its positive contribution across the country, including in the West Midlands.Due to the difficult economic inheritance from the previous government, we had to take a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability. The Government has considered the implication of this policy change, and the impacts were published in the usual way by HMRC as part of the Autumn Budget process. The cultural sector also benefits from the expenditure on public services that the Budget has enabled.A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN), which gives a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts was published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on 13 November 2024.

If his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding levels for NHS dentists in the West Midlands.

The Government inherited public finances in their worst state since 1945. The National Health Service in England invests £3 billion into dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets, including ringfences. NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has now been published and sets out the funding available to ICBs.The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.Responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to ICBs across England. For Sutton Coldfield constituency, this is NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on dismantling sanctions in support of the new regime in Syria.

As the Foreign Secretary stated in Parliament on 14 January, we are currently reviewing our Syria sanctions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on re-opening the British embassy in Damascus.

We are actively engaging with the new interim authorities in Syria, including via visits to Damascus, to press for progress towards an inclusive political process, which leads to a stable Syria. We are keeping the re-establishment of a permanent presence in Damascus under review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support he is providing to medical facilities in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad, the UK has announced a further £61 million in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable Syrians inside and across the region. This will support the delivery of essential services, including healthcare activities.Overall in 2024, the UK provided over £30 million to support healthcare activities in Syria through UNICEF, UNFPA, Humanitarian Pooled Funds and a dedicated UK-funded health partner. UK funding has helped over 2.3 million people access primary healthcare, supported improvements to medical facilities, and provided a range of specialist mental health and Gender-based violence (GBV) support to the most vulnerable people across Syria. The UK has directly supported 79 health facilities, including 17 hospitals, 21 primary healthcare centres, 16 mental health, protection and specialised services centres, and 25 mobile medical units that can travel to remote areas to provide essential healthcare.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to use evidence-based, responsive vaccination programmes around the world.

The UK supports evidence-based responsive vaccination programmes as part of our dedication to improving global health. The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has vaccinated over a billion children. Gavi's vaccination programmes are guided by the latest scientific evidence and expert advice from the World Health Organisation's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE), coupled with in-depth, evidence-based analysis to ensure the effectiveness of its vaccination programmes.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Remembrance Day travel concession to include The Royal Tank Regiment parade.

The rail industry continues to offer free travel in the same way it has done historically, this includes free travel to Remembrance Sunday events. Eligible passengers can also apply for a Veterans Railcard which offers discounted prices on train fares for...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any in-country programming will be (a) curtailed, (b) cancelled and (c) postponed as a result of changes to budget allocations since 5 July 2024.

We are finalising FCDO ODA allocations for 2024/25 and will publish them shortly. Over the coming months, we will also decide how to allocate our 2025/26 ODA allocations; these will be published in due course. We are determined to deliver our internationa...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Portuguese counterpart on distributing the proceeds generated from the sale of Chelsea FC to support the victims of the invasion o

His Majesty's Government continues to hold discussions with the Portuguese Government, as part of our efforts to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, in line with the UK's unilateral ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the European Union on distributing the proceeds generated from the sale of Chelsea FC to support the victims of the invasion of Ukraine.

The UK Government continues to hold discussions with the European Commission, as part of our efforts to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, in line with the UK's unilateral declarati...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Point of Order of the Rt hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield of 8 October 2024, Official Report, column 163, when he plans to respond to the correspondence

We are grateful to the Honourable member for bringing this matter to our attention. We apologise for the delay. A response will be issued in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2024 to Question 4213 on Israel: Arms Trade, for what reason he decided to suspend export licences to Israel on the grounds that there

On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), given the grave concerns about the conduct and consequences of the war in Gaza for civilians. The review assesse...

What steps he is taking to tackle the shortage of the drug CREON.

The Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with Creon, which is used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting count...