Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered reversing the burden of proof to require Israeli exporters to demonstrate their goods are not produced in illegal settlements before being imported into the UK.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law. The UK Government encourages accurate labelling of goods in order to avoid misleading consumers and promote transparency, including those goods produced in illegal settlements in Palestine. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify the origin and ensure fiscal compliance.

It is a long-standing position that preferential treatment will be refused to Israeli goods if the production conferring originating status has taken place in a location within Palestine brought under Israeli administration since June 1967. A 2004 technical arrangement, rolled over from the EU, requires that the city, village or industrial zone and postcode where production conferring originating status has taken place appear on all proofs of preferential origin issued or made out in Israel. A change in policy to this long-standing requirement is not currently under consideration.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flinton 4 September (HL Deb col. 918), what is their estimate of the proportion of newly recognised refugees who are single applicants and of working age.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on grants of protection and other leave by age at initial decision in table Asy_D02 of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2025.

In the year ending June 2025, 80% (41,574 people) of grants of protection and other leave at initial decision were to people aged between 18 and 69.

A breakdown by single applicant or family group is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice published on 24 July 2024, what steps, if any, they are taking to prevent trade or investment relations that "assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in Palestine".

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

There is already guidance on gov.uk setting out the clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the Palestinian Authority.