Every parliamentary written question tabled by Shockat Adam this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 181–200 of 215 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, how often his Department reviews its military training arrangements with the Israel Defence Forces.
The Ministry of Defence keeps under careful consideration its policy on training being provided in the UK. Fewer than five IDF personnel are currently enrolled in non-combat military academic courses in the UK.
What estimate she has made of the increase in court translator costs in each region in England and Wales in the last five year.
We do not hold spend data for each region. Total annual spend across all 4 language services contracts, with % increases have been calculated and set out below:Year Total Year on Year % increase Total Growth (since 2020) Sitting Days (Financial Year) 2020£20,217,548.09--2020/21 – 199,2002021£25,062,618.7124%24%2021/22 – 559,8882022£26,883,747.047%33%2022/23 – Over 565,0002023£30,374,050.4413%50%2023/24 – Over 580,0002024£31,625,158.354%56%2024/25 - TBC Off-contract spend:Year Total 2020£1,193,7882021£2,157,7592022£4,856,6162023£6,565,7812024£7,037,731The use of off-contract is typically to cover requirements that arise at short notice and those that are more challenging to fulfil, such as the requirement for languages that are rare or scarce, and as such are more expensive to source. The use of off-contract interpreters allows hearings to go ahead, to continue the delivery of justice.The next generation of contracts, currently being procured, includes the use of a secondary supplier of interpreters, specifically to source those short notice bookings, and to bring this spend on-contract, with benefits such as improved data and value for money.Performance levels can be accessed via the Published statistics, which can be found at: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UKComparison (2020–2024)Year On-Contract Spend (£) Off-Contract Spend (£) Total Spend (£) % On-Contract % Off-Contract 2020£20,217,548£1,193,788£21,411,33694.4%5.6%2021£25,062,619£2,157,759£27,220,37892.1%7.9%2022£26,883,747£4,856,616£31,740,36384.7%15.3%2023£30,374,050£6,565,781£36,939,83182.2%17.8%2024£31,625,158£7,037,731£38,662,88981.8%18.2%
What comparative estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) off-contract bookings and (b) contract-based interpreter services.
We do not hold spend data for each region. Total annual spend across all 4 language services contracts, with % increases have been calculated and set out below:Year Total Year on Year % increase Total Growth (since 2020) Sitting Days (Financial Year) 2020£20,217,548.09--2020/21 – 199,2002021£25,062,618.7124%24%2021/22 – 559,8882022£26,883,747.047%33%2022/23 – Over 565,0002023£30,374,050.4413%50%2023/24 – Over 580,0002024£31,625,158.354%56%2024/25 - TBC Off-contract spend:Year Total 2020£1,193,7882021£2,157,7592022£4,856,6162023£6,565,7812024£7,037,731The use of off-contract is typically to cover requirements that arise at short notice and those that are more challenging to fulfil, such as the requirement for languages that are rare or scarce, and as such are more expensive to source. The use of off-contract interpreters allows hearings to go ahead, to continue the delivery of justice.The next generation of contracts, currently being procured, includes the use of a secondary supplier of interpreters, specifically to source those short notice bookings, and to bring this spend on-contract, with benefits such as improved data and value for money.Performance levels can be accessed via the Published statistics, which can be found at: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UKComparison (2020–2024)Year On-Contract Spend (£) Off-Contract Spend (£) Total Spend (£) % On-Contract % Off-Contract 2020£20,217,548£1,193,788£21,411,33694.4%5.6%2021£25,062,619£2,157,759£27,220,37892.1%7.9%2022£26,883,747£4,856,616£31,740,36384.7%15.3%2023£30,374,050£6,565,781£36,939,83182.2%17.8%2024£31,625,158£7,037,731£38,662,88981.8%18.2%
What estimate she has made of the cost of off-contract bookings for interpreter bookings in the last five years.
We do not hold spend data for each region. Total annual spend across all 4 language services contracts, with % increases have been calculated and set out below:Year Total Year on Year % increase Total Growth (since 2020) Sitting Days (Financial Year) 2020£20,217,548.09--2020/21 – 199,2002021£25,062,618.7124%24%2021/22 – 559,8882022£26,883,747.047%33%2022/23 – Over 565,0002023£30,374,050.4413%50%2023/24 – Over 580,0002024£31,625,158.354%56%2024/25 - TBC Off-contract spend:Year Total 2020£1,193,7882021£2,157,7592022£4,856,6162023£6,565,7812024£7,037,731The use of off-contract is typically to cover requirements that arise at short notice and those that are more challenging to fulfil, such as the requirement for languages that are rare or scarce, and as such are more expensive to source. The use of off-contract interpreters allows hearings to go ahead, to continue the delivery of justice.The next generation of contracts, currently being procured, includes the use of a secondary supplier of interpreters, specifically to source those short notice bookings, and to bring this spend on-contract, with benefits such as improved data and value for money.Performance levels can be accessed via the Published statistics, which can be found at: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UKComparison (2020–2024)Year On-Contract Spend (£) Off-Contract Spend (£) Total Spend (£) % On-Contract % Off-Contract 2020£20,217,548£1,193,788£21,411,33694.4%5.6%2021£25,062,619£2,157,759£27,220,37892.1%7.9%2022£26,883,747£4,856,616£31,740,36384.7%15.3%2023£30,374,050£6,565,781£36,939,83182.2%17.8%2024£31,625,158£7,037,731£38,662,88981.8%18.2%
How many trials have been fully adjourned due to contractors failing to deliver prisoners to trial in each region in 2025.
We have interpreted your question to mean ineffective trials that do not start on their intended start date and need rescheduling. Trials can become ineffective for many reasons – due to the action or inaction of the parties or the courts. Delays or failures to bring prisoners to court are one such reason.Data on trial effectiveness at the criminal courts is published by region and reason, including “14. Ineffective reason: Defendant not produced by prisoner escort custody services” (although it should be noted that this may not have been as a direct result of PECS supplier failure). This data can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e29a65d4a1b0665b8ee201/trials_tool.xlsx.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children facing adoption breakdown.
I refer the hon. Member for Leicester South to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.
Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the outline content of the expected qualification standards for housing managers under the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023.
It is essential that all staff who work in social housing are appropriately skilled to undertake their roles and that they treat social residents with courtesy and respect.That is why the government is introducing a Competence and Conduct Standard for the social rented sector that will ensure staff have the right skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to carry out their roles, including by setting new qualification requirements for senior housing managers and executives.The new requirements will improve professionalism within the sector, ensuring tenants receive a good service and are always listened to and treated with respect and dignity.We are carefully considering the responses received to the consultation on proposals for the Standard which took place last year. Our next steps will be to direct the Regulator of Social Housing in the coming months to set the Competence and Conduct Standard, at which point we will set out the detail of the new requirements and also publish our response to the consultation.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the use of facial recognition and AI technologies by the police is transparent.
Facial recognition is an important tool that assists the police in protecting the public, and identifying the perpetrators of crime, and we want to ensure that we maximise the potential of that technology to support our Safer Streets mission.At the same time, we recognise the importance of ensuring that facial recognition technology operates on a firm footing, and I have been meeting with the police, regulators, civil society groups, industry and others to discuss this matter carefully.We will continue to have those discussions, and I will be meeting with MPs and Peers in the coming weeks.
What steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for access to mental health services.
The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. As part of this, we have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care; these are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivityWe are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services target the longest waits.Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
Whether his Department can exempt from arms export licensing products with a direct military application; and whether any such exemptions have been granted since 2022.
The requirement for an export licence for military goods is set out in the Export Control Order 2008. Export licence applications for all controlled goods are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.Where licence applications include items that are not covered by the 2008 Order, exporters can be informed that no licence is required.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to commemorate the anniversary of the 2003 Darfur genocide; and what steps he is taking to improve stop the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
The UK's long-standing policy is that any determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court. There has been no such determination for Darfur. Irrespective of any such determination, it is clear that atrocities have been committed in this conflict, which the UK condemns. The UK is committed to securing accountability for those responsible. The UK is strongly supporting the humanitarian response in Sudan. The Foreign Secretary visited the Chad-Sudan border in January to see first-hand the impact the UK's recent £113 million aid uplift is making, including providing emergency food assistance to nearly 800,000 displaced people. The Foreign Secretary will soon be hosting a conference in London to mark the two-year point in the Sudan conflict, where we aim to make collective progress on improving the humanitarian response.
Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure effective (a) monitoring and (b) tackling of Islamophobia.
Islamophobia is completely abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their religion or belief, and we are determined to root it out. On 28 February 2025, the Government announced the establishment of a new working group to provide government with a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, advising government and other bodies on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims. With levels of Islamophobia at a record high, this work will improve understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities, supporting wider and ongoing government-led efforts to tackle religiously motivated hate crime and foster cohesion. We continue to work closely with police and community partners to ensure effective monitoring of Islamophobia. The Government has worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We have also made up to £1 million of funding available this year to monitor Islamophobia and provide support to victims.
What steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of eye problems as part of its 10-Year Plan.
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in eye care services to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. More information is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/Alongside the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has been testing how integrating primary and secondary eye care services, through IT connectivity and the development of a single point of access, could improve the referral, triage and management of patients with eye care needs and reduce the time from diagnosis to treatment.
What steps he has taken to maximise take up of the Healthy Start scheme.
The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Those on the scheme have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHSBSA is committed to increasing uptake of the scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.The NHSBSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHSBSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them to promote the scheme. In January 2025, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 people.
With reference to Article 7 of UN Resolution A/78/L.67/Rev.1, if she will take steps to introduce observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica to the National Curriculum.
Schools are free to decide which events to commemorate and what activities to put in place to support pupils’ understanding of significant events and particular months or days dedicated to specific historical events, such as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.Schools also have the opportunity to mark such events though the curriculum, and to teach about the Srebrenica Genocide, for example, through subjects such as history and citizenship.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of poor dietary health on the UK economy.
The Government recognises that poor diet and obesity are major drivers of physical and mental ill health and early mortality. Ill health leads to increased sickness absence and early death which reduces workforce productivity, putting a burden on businesses and the wider economy.Frontier Economics estimates that the total cost of obesity to society was approximately £74.3 billion per year in the United Kingdom in 2021, expressed in 2023 prices. Included in these costs is an £8.9 billion per year cost to businesses and the economy from productivity losses due to obesity related diseases.
What plans he has to extend eligibility for the NHS Learning Support Fund to include pharmacy students.
There are no immediate plans to make changes to the NHS Learning Support Fund scheme design. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times, the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the decision to ban UNRWA operations.
As the Foreign Secretary said on 13 January, Israeli legislation means the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faces a cliff edge in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. We remain opposed to the legislation, and unequivocally reject attempts to undermine or degrade UNRWA. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns on 13 January with Foreign Minister Sa'ar, during his visit to the region. The Minister for Development set out our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 4 December, and the Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also raised this with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs on 23 January.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Israel's decision to ban UNWRA on the humanitarian situation in (a) Gaza and (b) the West Bank.
As the Foreign Secretary said on 13 January, Israeli legislation means the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faces a cliff edge in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. We remain opposed to the legislation, and unequivocally reject attempts to undermine or degrade UNRWA. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns on 13 January with Foreign Minister Sa'ar, during his visit to the region. The Minister for Development set out our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 4 December, and the Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also raised this with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs on 23 January.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the (a) protection and (b) fair treatment of UK citizens who visit Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in Jerusalem.
Supporting British nationals travelling and living overseas who request consular assistance is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). However, the personal safety of British Nationals overseas does not fall within the jurisdiction of the FCDO, as this is the responsibility of the individual and local authorities. We provide information and guidance in our Travel Advice on the issues most likely to be of relevance to British nationals visiting or living in each country/territory for them to consider such as entry requirements, the security situation and local laws & customs.