Written questions by Stephenson.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help (a) end the recent violence and (b) ensure the protection of minority groups in Syria.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 4 September to Question 69285.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the future role of Hamas in the Palestinian Authority.

The former Foreign Secretary held regular discussions with his US counterpart on shared priorities, including bringing an end to the war in Gaza, and the new Foreign Secretary will do the same.

Whether her Department requires sponsoring employers to notify them when an employee whose visa they are sponsoring leaves their employment.

Sponsors are required to report to the Home Office when they stop sponsoring a worker for any reason, including where the worker resigns, is dismissed or is made redundant.A sponsor’s reporting duties are set out in the Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance which is published on the gov.uk website.

How many inspections of Home Office approved visa-sponsoring employers have been made since July 2024.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

If her Department will review the employment history of applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain who have been in the UK on a (a) social care visa, (b) health visa and (c) other work-related visas to ensure compliance with the visa terms.

The process for considering applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain applications from Skilled Worker visa holders is set out in caseworker guidance which is available on gov.uk: Skilled Worker visa: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip.

I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he will take to support the US Government in improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on diplomatic steps to end the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

The former Foreign Secretary held regular discussions with his US counterpart on shared priorities, including bringing an end to the war in Gaza, and the new Foreign Secretary will do the same.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to Hamas on agreeing US proposals to secure a ceasefire.

The UK has long retained a policy of no contact with Hamas who are a proscribed terrorist organisation. We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel anymore.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the safe provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The previous Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 23 August to discuss a number of issues including humanitarian aid. We continue to work with partners, including the United Nations and United States, to push for unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.

With reference to page 82 of the NHS Ten Year Plan, whether ICBs undergoing re-organisation will be further re-organised if their boundaries are not coterminous with new strategic authorities.

To deliver a reduction in running costs, a number of integrated care boards (ICBs) will cluster together to share leadership and functions. Clustering ICBs remain legally separate organisations with their own financial allocations. It will mean that during this financial year, the number of ICB senior leadership teams will go from 42 to 26. These have been published on the NHS England website, available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/integrated-care-in-your-area/more-about-each-integrated-care-system/In the long term, there will be fewer, larger ICBs enabling them to harness a shared budget of sufficient size to improve efficiency and reduce running costs.In areas where the boundaries of strategic authorities are not known, ICBs, including those that have clustered, may undergo future boundary changes to allow for alignment with newly created strategic authorities, and newly established unitary authorities resulting from local government reorganisation. Our aim throughout will be to deliver the best solutions for patients and citizens.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction on levels of fishing at the Blue Hole in the South Atlantic.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in conjunction with the Falkland Islands Government, continue to collaborate closely to assess the implications of the Agreement on fishing in the South Atlantic. During the Informal Consultations of State Parties to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (ICSP-18), held at the UN in May 2025, Defra colleagues recommended initiating further multilateral discussions to explore the implications of the Agreement. In parallel, both departments are continuing to work with the Falkland Islands Government to address concerns around unregulated fishing in the Blue Hole and to ensure their interests are represented in international fisheries meetings.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the safe provision of humanitarian aid to people in need in Gaza.

The previous Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 23 August to discuss a number of issues including humanitarian aid. We continue to work with partners, including the United Nations and United States, to push for unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.

With reference to the press release entitled Landmark plan to rebuild NHS in working-class communities of 25 June 2025, what definition his Department plans to use for working-class communities.

The 10-Year Health Plan has set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.The 10-Year Health Plan refers both to “working class jobs” and “working class communities”, as do other more recent publications. These terms are used in the standard way they are used in English to indicate people who are employed for wages and generally experience greater job insecurity, lower benefits, and less financial security than others in society.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of delivery timescales for New Towns Development Corporations on the ability of those corporations to build beautiful houses.

Development corporations are well placed to achieve significant volumes of housebuilding at the same time as delivering high-quality and well-designed homes and neighbourhoods.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of building regulations on the speed of development of new towns.

The Building Regulations 2010 are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They establish minimum legal performance standards for the design and construction of new building work. The government assesses the impact of any proposed changes to building regulations, including the potential impact on development where appropriate and proportionate.The New Towns Taskforce will submit its final report with detailed recommendations on new towns this summer, including on potential locations. We will start building as quickly as possible, with work beginning in some sites by the end of the Parliament.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the waste hierarchy to encourage councils to assign more black bin waste to the production of sustainable aviation fuels.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Falkirk on 8 May 2025 to Question 49143.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people working for state schools who possess a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification.

The requested information is not collected centrally.

If he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of Ministerial pensions in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year.

MPs and Ministers have membership to the Parliamentary Contributions Pension Fund (PCPF) of which the ministerial share is typically around 8% of the total exchequer contribution. In 2023/24, the Exchequer paid contributions totalling £7,693,885 into the fund and the Ministerial share was £643,123.98. The total contribution information is available in the PCPF 2023-24 accounts (p45) using the link below: https://mypcpfpension.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PCPF-Accounts-2023-24-Final-SIGNED-amended-and-certified-no-signature-10-December-24-002.pdf The 2024-25 figures will be published by the PCPF Trustees in October 2025.

Whether she has considered opening new specialist SEND schools, in the context of trends in the number of education, health and care plans.

We recognise the vital role that special schools play catering to children and young people with the most complex needs.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities. The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.This funding can be used to improve access to schooling for children and young people with a variety of SEND. It is intended to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through Resourced Provision and special educational needs units.