Written questions by Ward.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the possibility of arms supplied from the UK to Israel being used to be used to (a) commit and (b) facilitate serious violations of International humanitarian law in (i) the West Bank and (ii) Lebanon.

The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. Following the Government's decision on 2 September to suspend certain arms export licences to Israel for use in Gaza, there are currently no extant licences that we assess are for use in Lebanon or the West Bank, apart from the licences for the F-35 components which were exempted. We are clear that International Humanitarian Law must be upheld, and civilians protected.

What steps he is taking to tackle the national supply shortage of Methylphenidate.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information is not collected on a local level.The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We anticipate intermittent regional supply disruptions to continue, and we expect supply to improve in the UK from October 2024.In parallel, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients.

How much was spent on maternity pay in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Outturn for Maternity Pay consists of both Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance, and is published by country in the Expenditure by country and region tables, last updated following Autumn Statement 2023. Outturn for Scotland in the last five years available is as below (Expenditure £ million, nominal terms) 2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-23Statutory Maternity Pay Scotland191.0 175.0 187.9 206.9 206.3 2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-23Maternity Allowance Scotland29.8 27.8 25.9 21.6 19.1 Maternity Allowance expenditure figures for Scotland are estimates using national and regional breakdowns from Official Statistics on Maternity Allowance benefit caseload and average amounts of benefit paid, applied to GB outturn expenditure totals. Statutory Maternity Pay Expenditure figures for Scotland are estimates using national and regional breakdown of amounts of SMP paid to employees, applied to GB outturn expenditure totals. Please note, these figures may change with the next publication of data, following Autumn Budget 2024. We are not expecting to publish breakdowns of MA in Autumn 2024 as a new operational system to record MA cases is currently being developed. As such, Maternity Allowance statistics will be suspended from the quarterly statistics release on 13 August 2024 until data can be extracted from the new system. (Maternity Allowance: quarterly statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to develop a new national strategy on atrocity prevention

The FCDO supports a comprehensive approach to mass atrocity prevention. However, we have no plans to develop a new national strategy at this time. Since 2022, the FCDO's conflict directorate has been strengthening monitoring capabilities to identify and escalate atrocity risks before they occur. We will continue to develop our capacity to respond to atrocity risks, drawing on expertise across HMG and beyond, including from civil society, academia and cooperation with bilateral partners and multilateral organisations.

Communities and Local Government, whether the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue after March 2025.

The Government is committed to delivering economic growth across the country and is considering how to best fund long-term local funding in line with wider fiscal and economic priorities.Post-March 2025 funding is a decision for the Budget.