Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having, if any, with major supermarkets about the evidence and findings about production of food in the Uyghur Region in the report Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production, published on 10 December 2024.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. We are aware of the December 2024 report and have used these findings to inform current policy.
We are committed to tackling Uyghur forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The Government has launched the responsible business conduct review to provide a neutral, objective appraisal of UK policy to tackle forced labour. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.
We raise our concerns about human rights in Xinjiang at the highest levels: last month, the Prime Minister raised our concerns about Xinjiang directly with President Xi Jinping. We continue to coordinate our efforts with other international partners to hold China to account for their human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production, published on 10 December 2024; and what action they plan to take in response to the report's findings on how state-imposed forced labour in the Uyghur Region is embedded in agricultural production and global supply chains.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. We are aware of the December 2024 report and have used these findings to inform current policy.
We are committed to tackling Uyghur forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The Government has launched the responsible business conduct review to provide a neutral, objective appraisal of UK policy to tackle forced labour. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.
We raise our concerns about human rights in Xinjiang at the highest levels: last month, the Prime Minister raised our concerns about Xinjiang directly with President Xi Jinping. We continue to coordinate our efforts with other international partners to hold China to account for their human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the findings of the report Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production, published on 10 December 2024, on UK procurement and anti-slavery policies.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. We are aware of the December 2024 report and have used these findings to inform current policy.
We are committed to tackling Uyghur forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The Government has launched the responsible business conduct review to provide a neutral, objective appraisal of UK policy to tackle forced labour. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.
We raise our concerns about human rights in Xinjiang at the highest levels: last month, the Prime Minister raised our concerns about Xinjiang directly with President Xi Jinping. We continue to coordinate our efforts with other international partners to hold China to account for their human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS prescriptions for (1) isotretinoin, and (2) spironolactone, have been issued in each year since 2014.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provides the total number of prescription items of each medicine dispensed in the community in England. The table shows the total number of items in each calendar year from 2014 to 2024, as well as the data for January to November 2025 that has been dispensed in England regardless of where prescribed:
Period | British National Formulary chemical substance | |
| Isotretinoin (1306010M0/1306020J0) | Spironolactone (0202030S0) |
2014 | 78,837 | 2,422,758 |
2015 | 84,173 | 2,519,925 |
2016 | 87,505 | 2,612,742 |
2017 | 82,026 | 2,654,486 |
2018 | 69,040 | 2,702,441 |
2019 | 76,223 | 2,783,970 |
2020 | 59,541 | 2,867,166 |
2021 | 76,675 | 2,937,450 |
2022 | 70,196 | 3,152,012 |
2023 | 70,447 | 3,422,584 |
2024 | 64,502 | 3,763,620 |
January to November 2025 | 58,025 | 3,707,325 |
This is based on the information within the PCA for the British National Formulary chemical substance of isotretinoin and spironolactone.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 5 December 2025 (HC94719), what progress they have made in their response to the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I have no further information to provide at this point, but I will continue to keep the House updated as and when there are new developments to report.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Daesh-affiliated members, or families of former Daesh fighters, have been brought to the UK from Syria over the past year; what risk assessment they are undertaking about this; and what steps they are taking to ensure that Daesh-affiliated members do not pose a threat to minorities against whom the FCDO accuse Daesh of committing genocide and crimes against humanity.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided to question HL13920 on 12 February 2026.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the comment of the universities Minister, Baroness Smith of Malvern, that UK education has become "a prime target for foreign states", whether they will publish the details of the threats posed by foreign states to UK universities, and how individual universities have responded to those threats.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is the long-standing policy of successive UK governments not to comment either on individual cases or operational intelligence.
The world-class reputation of our universities makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors, who seek to erode that reputation by promoting, shaping or censoring what universities can offer.
We are working together across government and with universities themselves to defend the UK’s thriving academic environment. By working together and sharing information, we will foster the confidence needed to stand strong in the face of foreign pressure.
To tackle this enduring threat, MI5 and cyber security services delivered a rare briefing to over 70 Vice Chancellors. The government is also investing £3 million to bolster existing support and access to expert advice on national security risk management, including a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they received a warning from MI5 of a threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to British universities; and what action they have taken in response to that warning.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is the long-standing policy of successive UK governments not to comment either on individual cases or operational intelligence.
The world-class reputation of our universities makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors, who seek to erode that reputation by promoting, shaping or censoring what universities can offer.
We are working together across government and with universities themselves to defend the UK’s thriving academic environment. By working together and sharing information, we will foster the confidence needed to stand strong in the face of foreign pressure.
To tackle this enduring threat, MI5 and cyber security services delivered a rare briefing to over 70 Vice Chancellors. The government is also investing £3 million to bolster existing support and access to expert advice on national security risk management, including a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking in response to the warning by MI5's director general that hostile states are shaping research and teaching content, including the use of professional networking sites and financial incentives to form relationships with academic staff and students; and whether they plan to introduce a public register of corporate and personal financial interests of universities and staff.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is investing £3 million to bolster existing support for higher education providers and access to expert advice on national security risk management, alongside a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
The Office for Students has already been clear universities should resist any external state threats to academic freedom, and they have extensive powers to require information from providers and investigate any breach.
We keep all our protections under review, working closely with universities to assess existing approaches to managing foreign interference, to ensure that any new requirements are proportionate and add value to existing protections.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many yellow card reports of Post 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitor Syndrome the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received each year since 2019; and what medications those reports were tied to.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions including amending the product information.
The MHRA has received a total of four United Kingdom reports through the Yellow Card scheme associated with the reaction term Post 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitor Syndrome from 1 January 2019 up to and including 4 February 2026. The following table shows a yearly breakdown of reports associated with Post 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitor Syndrome:
Year | Number of Reports |
2023 | 1 |
2025 | 3 |
Total | 4 |
In addition, the following table shows a yearly breakdown of reports received by substance associated with Post 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitor Syndrome:
| Year | |
Substance Group Name | 2023 | 2025 |
FINASTERIDE | 1 | 3 |
RAMIPRIL |
| 1 |
FLUVASTATIN |
| 1 |
TAMSULOSIN |
| 1 |
Please note that each report may list more than one suspect drug. Therefore, the total number of reports received cannot be accurately derived from the figures presented in the above table.
It is important to note that anyone can report to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme and the recording of these reports in the Yellow Card database does not necessarily mean that the adverse reactions have been caused by the suspect drug. Many factors must be considered in assessing causal relationships, including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication, and the underlying disease. We encourage reporters to report suspected adverse reaction reports, as the reporter does not have to be sure of a causal association between the drug and the reactions, a suspicion will suffice.
The number of reports received cannot be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.