Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they will take to ensure that UK and International charities are able to provide (1) women in Gaza and Lebanon with immediate access to sanitary products and medication, and (2) babies and infants in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon with essential supplies such as water, milk, clothing, nappies.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of ongoing hostilities on civilians, particularly children in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Last financial year, the UK provided £81 million of humanitarian and early recovery support to Palestine, including £9.7 million for UNICEF to support the provision of ready-to-use infant formula, water, sanitation and hygiene services, psychosocial services for children, and social protection for children. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to fully enable the UN and other humanitarian organisations to deliver essential humanitarian aid. The UK has also provided £30 million of vital humanitarian funding to Lebanon to support those most in need during the current crisis.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to prevent children from suffering from malnutrition or serious and life-threatening injuries in the course of Israel's bombing of Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of ongoing hostilities on civilians, particularly children in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Last financial year, the UK provided £81 million of humanitarian and early recovery support to Palestine, including £9.7 million for UNICEF to support the provision of ready-to-use infant formula, water, sanitation and hygiene services, psychosocial services for children, and social protection for children. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to fully enable the UN and other humanitarian organisations to deliver essential humanitarian aid. The UK has also provided £30 million of vital humanitarian funding to Lebanon to support those most in need during the current crisis.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and Lebanon.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of ongoing hostilities on civilians, particularly children in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Last financial year, the UK provided £81 million of humanitarian and early recovery support to Palestine, including £9.7 million for UNICEF to support the provision of ready-to-use infant formula, water, sanitation and hygiene services, psychosocial services for children, and social protection for children. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to fully enable the UN and other humanitarian organisations to deliver essential humanitarian aid. The UK has also provided £30 million of vital humanitarian funding to Lebanon to support those most in need during the current crisis.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the consultation on digital ID, what steps they will take to ensure that the consultation mechanism and information are made available to all communities, including both inner city and rural areas.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has launched a national conversation to ensure the digital ID system is shaped by all communities.
The digital ID consultation will involve 8 weeks of open engagement – running from 10 March to 5 May - where anyone who wants to take part can share their views in ways that work for them. You can do this online via an online form, by email or by post.
We will also support local conversations and events across the UK to spread awareness and encourage participation. This includes roadshows, roundtables, as well as resources such as a ‘workshop in a box’ to help communities run their own discussions in ways that work for them. To request materials for ‘workshop in a box’, please email workshop@digitalid.cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
After the 8-week open engagement period, we will bring together a broadly representative group of 100-120 people from across the UK to take part in a more in-depth deliberative engagement process.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that those who are regarded as digitally excluded are informed of the consultation on digital ID.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has launched a national conversation to ensure the digital ID system is shaped by all communities.
The digital ID consultation will involve 8 weeks of open engagement – running from 10 March to 5 May - where anyone who wants to take part can share their views in ways that work for them. You can do this online via an online form, by email or by post.
We will also support local conversations and events across the UK to spread awareness and encourage participation. This includes roadshows, roundtables, as well as resources such as a ‘workshop in a box’ to help communities run their own discussions in ways that work for them. To request materials for ‘workshop in a box’, please email workshop@digitalid.cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
After the 8-week open engagement period, we will bring together a broadly representative group of 100-120 people from across the UK to take part in a more in-depth deliberative engagement process.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the consultation on digital ID, whether they will make printed information about the consultation available in the premises of public services, including education, local authority and health service premises.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has launched a national conversation to ensure the digital ID system is shaped by all communities.
The digital ID consultation will involve 8 weeks of open engagement – running from 10 March to 5 May - where anyone who wants to take part can share their views in ways that work for them. You can do this online via an online form, by email or by post.
We will also support local conversations and events across the UK to spread awareness and encourage participation. This includes roadshows, roundtables, as well as resources such as a ‘workshop in a box’ to help communities run their own discussions in ways that work for them. To request materials for ‘workshop in a box’, please email workshop@digitalid.cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
After the 8-week open engagement period, we will bring together a broadly representative group of 100-120 people from across the UK to take part in a more in-depth deliberative engagement process.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take steps to make the individuals who signed the House of Commons petition "Do not introduce Digital ID cards" aware of their ability to contribute to the consultation on digital ID.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The digital ID consultation, running from 10 March to 5 May, is open to all members of the public, including those who expressed interest via the House of Commons petition. We have launched a comprehensive communications campaign to ensure broad awareness. Members of the public can contribute via the GOV.UK survey, email or post.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards will be put in place to protect the right to refuse a digital ID.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We want people to have the option to use the digital ID to make their lives easier. There will be no legal obligation for people to have or present the national digital ID. If someone does not want a digital ID they will not have to get it.
Legislation on the digital ID will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way. Any changes to the scope of this legislation after it passes would need further parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of young girls who are currently in danger of online grooming; and what procedures are in place to support their wellbeing.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the year ending September 2025 there were 7,527 recorded offences of sexual grooming (which includes sexual communication with a child). In the same period there were 1,000 defendants prosecuted and 1,085 convicted for sexual grooming offences. Girls are more likely to be affected by sexual offending than boys. However, the majority of CSA remains hidden and under-identified. The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) estimate that 15% of girls experience some form of sexual abuse before age 16 compared to 5% of boys (year ending March 2020). The Home Office funds the CSA Centre to drive system-wide improvements in professionals’ ability to identify and respond to child sexual abuse
The Home Office also equips UK Law Enforcement with the capabilities required to identify and tackle more child sex offenders, including online grooming. The Home Office funds a network of Undercover Online (UCOL) officers based in Regional Organised Crime Units. This network uses specially trained teams and infrastructure to target those who seek to groom children for sexual purposes.
The Home Office also provides funding to voluntary sector organisations to support victims and survivors of CSA through the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse fund. In 2025 as part of our response to recommendation 16 of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Government set out ambitious proposals to strengthen therapeutic support for victims, announcing it will provide up to £50 million in new funding to expand the Child House (Barnahus) model to every NHS region in England. This internationally recognised model—rightly viewed as the gold standard for supporting children who have experienced sexual abuse—will ensure that wherever a child lives, they can access the specialist, trauma-informed care they need to begin recovering and rebuilding their lives.
The Online Safety Act is also deigned to drive down online grooming. This landmark piece of legislation protects citizens, especially children, from abuse and harm online, such as grooming. There are over 40 specific measures in Ofcom’s Codes of Practice, which will protect children from the risk of online grooming. The Government is committed to supporting Ofcom’s effective implementation of the Act.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent cases of online grooming by terrorists by educating people about the consequential danger to their wellbeing and the potential deprivation of their citizenship.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes the threat from online grooming by terrorist individuals and organisations seriously. Terrorist activity online and illegal radicalising content should have no place on the internet. However, the borderless nature of the internet means that the threat remains persistent.
The Home Office works to influence industry partners to increase action to tackle online content used to radicalise, recruit and incite terrorism by providing threat assessment, insight and support.
We also work with international to collaborate on tackling online radicalisation, and influence and align approaches where possible and respond to emerging threats.
Under the Online Safety Act, tech companies are accountable to Ofcom, the independent online safety regulator, to keep their users safe, and they need to have in place systems and processes to remove and limit the spread of illegal content, including terrorist material.
Through our Prevent programme, partners also deliver a range of activity from face-to-face workshops, online sessions, sessions at conferences, school assemblies etc around building resilience to extremist/terrorist narratives, online safety and the impact of terrorism.