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1505551

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Schools
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on charitable and faith community-run weekend language schools in England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48197
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2022 answer text <p>The Department does not provide any funding for charitable or faith community-run weekend language schools and has not done so in any of the last five years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stoke-on-Trent North answering member printed Jonathan Gullis question first answered 20/09/2022 15:38:30 answering member 4814 label Biography information for Jonathan Gullis
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505553

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on teaching (a) Punjabi, (b) Bengali, (c) Hindi, (d) Gujarati, (e) Urdu, (f) Sinhalese, (g) Tamil, (h) Pashto and (i) Dari in schools in England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48198
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>Awarding organisations offering GCSEs and A levels are independent, <ins class="ministerial">and mostly</ins> not-for-profit organisations<ins class="ministerial">, with the exception of Pearson Edexcel which is profit making</ins>. They are not contracted to provide assessments for pupils in particular subjects. AQA offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Punjabi and Bengali, as well as a GCSE in Urdu. Pearson Edexcel offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Gujarati and Urdu and International GCSEs (IGCSEs) in Bengali, Hindi, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Cambridge International offer an A level in Hindi, Urdu, and Tamil. There are no qualifications available in Pashto or Dari. Awarding organisations are free to introduce qualifications in any GCSE or A level subject where they consider there to be a case to do so.</p><p>It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum, both at primary and secondary school, and the government does not specify which languages should be taught or how to teach them.</p><p>There has been no funding provided directly for the teaching of Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Sinhalese, Tamil, Pashto and Dari within the previous five years. However, the department has committed to establishing a network of language hubs, as per the Schools White Paper, and are considering ways in which we can support home, heritage and community languages as part of this.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/09/2022 17:23:22 question first ministerially corrected 17/10/2022 09:03:46 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 18097 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505555

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Assessments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which exam bodies are contracted to examine students in (a) GCSEs, (b) A Levels and (c) other exams in (i) Punjabi, (ii) Bengali, (iii) Hindi, (iv) Gujarati, (v) Urdu, (vi) Sinhalese, (vii) Tamil, (viii) Pashto and (ix) Dari in England; how long these contracts are; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>Awarding organisations offering GCSEs and A levels are independent, not-for-profit organisations. They are not contracted to provide assessments for pupils in particular subjects. AQA offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Punjabi and Bengali, as well as a GCSE in Urdu. Pearson Edexcel offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Gujarati and Urdu and International GCSEs (IGCSEs) in Bengali, Hindi, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Cambridge International offer an A level in Hindi, Urdu, and Tamil. There are no qualifications available in Pashto or Dari. Awarding organisations are free to introduce qualifications in any GCSE or A level subject where they consider there to be a case to do so.</p><p>It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum, both at primary and secondary school, and the government does not specify which languages should be taught or how to teach them.</p><p>There has been no funding provided directly for the teaching of Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Sinhalese, Tamil, Pashto and Dari within the previous five years. However, the department has committed to establishing a network of language hubs, as per the Schools White Paper, and are considering ways in which we can support home, heritage and community languages as part of this.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 48198 question first answered 21/09/2022 17:23:22 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505556

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Cultural Heritage: South Asia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department last funded celebrations, exhibitions and programmes related to (a) the contributions of the South Asian community to UK life and (b) the culture, history and religions of South Asian countries; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48200
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2022 answer text <p>My Department has funded many exhibitions and programmes related to the contribution of South Asian culture and history through the bodies it funds.</p><p>Significant projects have been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund between 2003- 2021, in the London Borough of Harrow, with a total investment of £178,732 which explored and celebrated the South Asian community. Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants has also supported a wide range of organisations and events including: the South Asian Heritage Trust, which delivers their annual South Asian Heritage Month observance; Luton Mela, a festival of South Asian arts and cultural heritage; and Croydon’s Beeja Dance Company who play a national role in developing the next generation of Indian dance leaders in the UK.</p><p>Current projects supported by Historic England are celebrating South Asian Places of Worship through thematic listing and research, and two projects have been awarded through their Everyday Heritage programme to the Bengali Photography Archive and the Sikh Development Academy.</p><p>There are also future events to look forward to. In 2023 the Manchester Museum will unveil a new South Asian gallery in partnership with the British Museum and which has been part-funded by a £5m grant from the government. The British Library also plays a part in celebrating South Asian culture and history through their partnership programmes and events such as the upcoming Lahore literature festival in 2023.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 20/09/2022 07:49:37 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505557

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Festivals and Special Occasions: South Asia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much financial support the Government has provided to support South Asia Heritage Month in each of the last five years; what proportion of that funding came from (a) his and (b) other Government departments; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48201
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2022 answer text <p>The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Arm's Length Body, Arts Council England (ACE), via its National Lottery Project Grants funding has supported a wide range of organisations and events focused on engaging with and celebrating South Asian Heritage, including supporting the South Asian Heritage Trust, which delivers their annual South Asian Heritage Month observance.</p><p>South Asian Heritage Month was established in 2020. Since then, ACE awarded a £20,175 National Lottery Project Grant to the South Asian Heritage Trust for their South Asian Heritage Month Online Programme in May 2022. Additionally, ACE awarded £41,700 to 'Tribe Arts' in July 2022 as part of a project to establish partnerships with South Asian Heritage Month.</p><p>Significant projects have also been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund between 2003- 2021, in the London Borough of Harrow, with a total investment of £178,732 which explored and celebrated the South Asian community.</p><p>Current projects supported by Historic England are celebrating South Asian Places of Worship through thematic listing and research, and two projects have been awarded through their Everyday Heritage programme to the Bengali Photography Archive and the Sikh Development Academy.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 22/09/2022 15:07:24 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505558

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: India
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department were based permanently in (a) Gujarat, (b) Delhi and (c) other states in India in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The table below details the Military and Civilian staff working in India for the last five years. All MOD Civilian staff working in India are based in New Delhi. The exact geographical location of Military officials working in India is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Fiscal year</p></td><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td><p>2018-2019</p></td><td><p>2019-2020</p></td><td><p>2020-2021</p></td><td><p>2021-2022</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Civilian FTE total</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Military FTE total</p></td><td><p>50</p></td><td><p>50</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>- Figures reported in fiscal year 01 April to 31 March.</p><p>- Rounded figures are to the nearest five, with numbers below five replaced by the tilde symbol (‘~’) and zeros replaced by full stops (‘.’). All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wrexham answering member printed Sarah Atherton question first answered 27/09/2022 12:29:43 answering member 4855 label Biography information for Sarah Atherton
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505560

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Development Aid: Food Supply
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much financial support her Department has provided to organisations based in (a) India, (b) Sri Lanka, (c) Nepal and (d) Afghanistan to help tackle hunger in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48203
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2022 answer text <p>In India, the FCDO provided £8.6 million in food assistance and basic nutrition support over 2016-2020, and is supporting the Samridhi Fund to invest in the farming sector and contribute to reducing hunger.</p><p>In Sri Lanka, the UK provides support as one of the largest donors to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF provided food assistance through cash transfers to 21,788 people during the drought in 2017, and this year is supporting 22,034 people.</p><p>In Nepal, the UK's broad development programme contributes to reducing hunger through our humanitarian, nutrition, climate resilience and livelihoods work. For example, in 2020-21 the UK provided £5.28 million to support 204,296 women and children, including through a feeding programme.</p><p>Afghanistan remains one of the world's most severe food security crises. Over 2016-2020, the FCDO provided at least £50.3 million towards food assistance and basic nutrition, and has dispersed £159 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan since August 2021.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 30/09/2022 11:16:12 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505561

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Development Aid: Climate Change
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance her Department is providing to help tackle climate change in (a) India, (b) Sri Lanka, (c) Nepal and (d) Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48204
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The UK is fully committed to supporting all countries tackle the impacts of climate change.</p><p>We are partnering with India on its low carbon transition and on climate adaptation, accelerating investment in clean and resilient infrastructure, and mobilising regional and global climate action. For example, the Infrastructure for Climate Resilient Growth programme integrates climate risk and adaptation into social protection and has supported 1.4 million people so far to cope with the effects of climate change.</p><p>The UK's £500 million Blue Planet Fund supports countries, including Sri Lanka and India, to protect the marine environment and tackle climate issues.</p><p>The UK has committed over £350 million of climate support to Nepal in the past 5 years. The Climate Smart Development programme has improved the resilience of 700,000 poor and vulnerable people to floods, landslides, and droughts.</p><p>In Afghanistan, we have been supporting communities impacted by extreme climatic events through emergency humanitarian support through NGO and UN Partners.</p><p>At COP26, the UK launched Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) a 7-year, regional Indo-Pacific programme designed to strengthen climate resilience. The programme aims to mobilise climate finance, strengthen water security, conserve ecosystems and biodiversity, and help vulnerable communities lead local adaptation efforts, with up to £274 million spend. CARA will support countries across the Indo-Pacific, including India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 27/09/2022 15:42:29 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505562

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	India: Development Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding her Department provided to UN organisations working in India in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48205
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2022 answer text <p>The FCDO spends some of its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) bilaterally, meaning the destination/sector for the ODA spend is specified, using multilateral agencies as the delivery channel. Table 1 shows the volume of bilateral ODA the FCDO spent through UN agencies between 2016 and 2020, that benefitted India.</p><p>The UK also provides core contributions to UN agencies' general budgets, a proportion of which will have benefitted India.</p><p>The increase in 2020 reflects funding to help India respond to the COVID pandemic and to provide social protection by helping to build climate-resilient infrastructure.</p><p>Table 1: FCDO bilateral ODA channelled through UN Agencies benefitting India, 2016-2020</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>£</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>550,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>450,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>513,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>1,746,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Statistics on International Development</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 30/09/2022 13:40:12 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505563

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Diseases: Ethnic Groups
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the prevalence of (a) diabetes, (b) heart disease, (c) hypertension, (d) high cholesterol, (e) obesity, (f) cancer, (g) poor eye health and (h) mental illness levels among people from the South Asian community in England; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48206
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2022 answer text <p>‘Health Survey England Additional Analyses, Ethnicity and Health, 2011-2019 Experimental statistics’, published in June 2022, assesses the prevalence of commonly reported longstanding conditions, hypertension, diabetes and adult obesity. This data is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-england-additional-analyses/ethnicity-and-health-2011-2019-experimental-statistics#data-sets" target="_blank">https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-england-additional-analyses/ethnicity-and-health-2011-2019-experimental-statistics#data-sets</a></p><p>There are no recent estimates of raised cholesterol prevalence in South Asian ethnic groups in England. Data on the prevalence of child obesity by ethnic group are available from the National Child Measurement Programme. The latest data for 2021/21 show that prevalence of obesity in children aged four to five years old was below the national average for Indian children and above the national average for Bangladeshi and Pakistani children. In children aged 10 to 11 years old in 2021/20 prevalence of obesity was above the national average for Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani children.</p><p>Cancer prevalence counts the number of people living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis at a fixed point in time. Data from National Cancer Registration Dataset shows that in 2019, 47,761 people in the South Asian community were diagnosed with cancer between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019 and were alive on 31 December 2019.</p><p>There is no national dataset that provides information on the prevalence of the main eye conditions. Estimates are derived from population modelling and information from the Certification of Vision Impairment (CVI) register. While the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is assessing the ethnicity data collected as part of the CVI register, no analysis has yet been completed.</p><p>The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey of 2014 provides prevalence estimates of some mental health conditions by broad ethnic group. The prevalence rates, taking account of age, in Asian/Asian British adults in England were 17.9% for common mental disorders; 5.8% screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder; 0.9% for psychotic disorder in the last year; and 1.4% screened positive for bi-polar disorder. For all conditions except bi-polar disorder, although the prevalence is higher in the Asian group than the White British group it is not possible to say whether this is a statistically significant difference.</p> answering member constituency Sleaford and North Hykeham answering member printed Dr Caroline Johnson question first answered 06/10/2022 14:07:40 answering member 4592 label Biography information for Dr Caroline Johnson
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas