The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely.

The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and are able to be amended, suspended, refused or revoked as circumstances require.

HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely.

The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and are able to be amended, suspended, refused or revoked as circumstances require.

HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely.

The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and are able to be amended, suspended, refused or revoked as circumstances require.

HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely.

The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and are able to be amended, suspended, refused or revoked as circumstances require.

HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

The Department for Business and Trade will publish licensing statistics, including for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in line with its usual process.

Information relating to how many individuals have requested the total sum for their Windrush Compensation award offer to be reviewed is included in the Windrush Compensation Scheme Transparency Data, which is published regularly.

As set out in the Windrush Compensation Scheme Casework Guidance published online, claimants can request a review of the decision to refuse all or part of their claim. Detailed data is not published on which specific category a claimant requests to be reviewed.

The latest published data, covering the period up to November 2023, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-november-2023.

The relevant data can be found on page WCS_09.

The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. The UK is pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. Any future funding decisions will be taken after this point. Further questions on the investigation are a matter for the UN.

However, we remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands. The UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.

We respect the role and independence of the ICJ. However, we have stated that we have considerable concerns about this case, which is not helpful in the goal of achieving a sustainable ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with International Law, as we have said from the outset. Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, which is why we thought South Africa's decision to bring the case was wrong and provocative.

The court's call for the immediate release of hostages and the need to get more aid into Gaza is a position we have long advocated.

We are clear that an immediate pause is necessary to get aid in and hostages out, and then we want to build towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to the fighting.

The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. The UK is pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. Any future funding decisions will be taken after this point. Further questions on the investigation are a matter for the UN.

However, we remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands. The UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.

In January 2024, the Government published the cross-government review ‘Adapting historic homes for energy efficiency: a review of the barriers’, alongside an independent research report ‘Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes’.

The review looks at the practical barriers to energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures in historic homes, and sets out the actions government is taking to overcome these barriers.

The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings, reducing our reliance on fossil fuel heating. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.

Following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, the Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing and to all local authority chief executives, including Leicester City Council. In these letters the Secretary of State set out his expectation that providers should go further than the letter of the Decent Homes Standard, and have particular regard to damp and mould, and that local authorities should take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.

All landlords have legal obligations to remedy disrepair, ensure homes are fit for human habitation and to ensure that homes are free of health and safety hazards at the most dangerous ‘category 1’ level. This includes damp and mould. As a registered provider of social housing, Leicester City Council is also required to ensure its homes meet the Decent Homes Standard.

We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law; we keep under continuous review whether they are abiding by their obligations. We are deeply concerned about the impact on the civilian population in Gaza and recognise that too many civilians have been killed. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. We continue to call for IHL to be respected and civilians to be protected.

Local authorities and integrated care boards are responsible for improving the health of their local population and reducing health inequalities. In 2023/24, the total Public Health Grant to local authorities was £3.530 billion. Leicester – which includes the Leicester East constituency – received £29 million of the grant in 2023/24, which is almost £80 per head of population. Additional funding has been provided to improve cardiovascular outcomes in deprived communities, prevent drug and alcohol deaths, address need, and enhance recovery, and improve mental health for people in Leicester.

In January 2023 the Department announced its plan to publish the Major Conditions Strategy, focusing on six major groups of conditions (cancer, mental ill health, cardiovascular disease (including stroke and diabetes), dementia, chronic respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders) that account for approximately 60% of ill-health and premature death in England.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health, which is why Government has set out plans to introduce a Tobacco and Vapes Bill in parliament and announced new funding to support current smokers, a new incentives programme to support pregnant women to quit, deliver anti-smoking campaigns and crackdown on illicit tobacco and underage sale of tobacco and vapes.

Israel has endured the worst terrorist attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law.

We continue to closely monitor the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including with reference to alleged violations of human rights in Gaza.

In Israel's case, in the first instance, the UK Government would expect the Israeli domestic legal system to investigate and, where appropriate, take action against those accused of human rights violations and abuses, including members of Hamas.

Data on the availability of new homes is not available at constituency level.

Local councils are responsible for allocating housing through local schemes, and as such, are best placed to manage the demand for social housing.

Local councils are responsible for considering what constitutes a ‘suitable’ space for a household to live in within our framework for defining overcrowding.

We are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock.

Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.

In Leicester, between 2010 and 2023, 2,800 affordable homes have been delivered.

In January 2023, we announced our plan to publish the Major Conditions Strategy which will emphasise the importance of working with local areas to address regional disparities in health outcomes and support the levelling up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy by 2030.

This strategy will explore how we can tackle the key drivers of ill-health in England to improve healthy life expectancy, as well as reduce pressure on the National Health Service and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. Our approach will continue to focus on supporting people to live healthier lives, helping the NHS and social care to provide the best treatment and care for patients and tackling health disparities through national and system interventions such as the NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme.

Leicester City Council has been allocated £2.5 million in 2023/24 as part of the £600 million Discharge Fund for local authorities and integrated care boards.

The Department has been working closely with the National Health Service and local authorities to improve data on delayed discharge and ensure every acute hospital has access to a multi-disciplinary care transfer hub. In Leicester, the care transfer hub operates seven days a week and brings together a range of health and social care professionals to support the timely discharge of patients.

In September, NHS England published an intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge.

In Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland a new ward has been developed for patients who would previously have been discharged to a residential home. This has brought a reduction in waiting times in the acute hospital by providing intermediate care through onsite therapy support. Two additional dedicated wards will open in January 2024.

It is the responsibility of local authorities within the Leicester East constituency, specifically Leicester City Council, to assess individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authority in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.

To support local authorities, the Government has made available up to £8.1 billion over this financial year and next to support adult social care and discharge. This includes up to £3.2 billion of additional funding over 2023/24 and up to £4.9 billion in 2024/25. This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care. As part of this, Leicester City Council received £6.1 million in new ringfenced social care grant funding in 2023/24.

In addition, in March 2023, we provided £27 million of targeted funding to digitise and streamline local authority assessments to better manage waiting lists and support individuals to access the right care at the right time. We have also made a landmark shift in how we hold local authorities to account for their adult social care duties through new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments. The CQC will examine how well local authorities deliver their Care Act duties, increasing transparency and accountability, driving improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support.