Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure Ahmed al-Doush receives a fair trial in Saudi Arabia.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

For data protection reasons, we are unable to comment publicly on the details of Mr Al-Doush's case; however, the Minister for the Middle East is following the case closely.

The UK Government is bound by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which prohibits interference in the judicial affairs of another state.

Individuals detained overseas are encouraged to seek local legal advice and raise any due process concerns with their local lawyer who is best placed to raise these with the courts. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides families with a list of local lawyers to support them with this process. Our consular staff will aim to stay in regular contact with British nationals detained overseas and where British nationals feel they are not treated in line with international standards, with their consent, the FCDO can raise concerns with the appropriate authorities.

Consular officials do not routinely attend court hearings involving British nationals. Any exceptions to this are made on a case-by-case basis and will depend on several factors including the circumstances of the case and the local context.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Ahmed al-Doush is released by the government of Saudi Arabia.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

For data protection reasons, we are unable to comment publicly on the details of Mr Al-Doush's case; however, the Minister for the Middle East is following the case closely.

The UK Government is bound by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which prohibits interference in the judicial affairs of another state.

Individuals detained overseas are encouraged to seek local legal advice and raise any due process concerns with their local lawyer who is best placed to raise these with the courts. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides families with a list of local lawyers to support them with this process. Our consular staff will aim to stay in regular contact with British nationals detained overseas and where British nationals feel they are not treated in line with international standards, with their consent, the FCDO can raise concerns with the appropriate authorities.

Consular officials do not routinely attend court hearings involving British nationals. Any exceptions to this are made on a case-by-case basis and will depend on several factors including the circumstances of the case and the local context.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will attend the trial of Ahmed al-Doush on 4 May in Saudi Arabia.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

For data protection reasons, we are unable to comment publicly on the details of Mr Al-Doush's case; however, the Minister for the Middle East is following the case closely.

The UK Government is bound by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which prohibits interference in the judicial affairs of another state.

Individuals detained overseas are encouraged to seek local legal advice and raise any due process concerns with their local lawyer who is best placed to raise these with the courts. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides families with a list of local lawyers to support them with this process. Our consular staff will aim to stay in regular contact with British nationals detained overseas and where British nationals feel they are not treated in line with international standards, with their consent, the FCDO can raise concerns with the appropriate authorities.

Consular officials do not routinely attend court hearings involving British nationals. Any exceptions to this are made on a case-by-case basis and will depend on several factors including the circumstances of the case and the local context.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken since July 2024 to pursue justice and accountability for Uyghurs, and what further action they will take within the next year.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghur Muslims. We continue to refer to the OHCHR's 2022 Xinjiang Assessment, which is based on independent evidence and China's own records. We raise our concerns on human rights at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October 2024.

Out of nearly 12 million children living in England, over 400,000 are in the social care system at any one time.[1] Out of these, nearly 84,000 children in England are” in care” (i.e. being looked after by local authorities).[2] Across the UK, it is estimated that 107,000 children are in care.[3]