Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of the US government fact sheet, President Donald J. Trump Begins Process to Designate Certain Muslim Brotherhood Chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organisations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, published on 24 November; and whether they plan to adopt a similar designation in the UK in relation to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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

It is our long-standing policy not to comment on intelligence and security matters, including whether or not an organisation is under consideration for proscription.

To proscribe an organisation the Home Secretary must have a reasonable belief that it is currently concerned in terrorism, and it must be necessary and proportionate to do so. This means the organisation participates or commits; prepares for; promotes, encourages, or unlawfully glorifies; or is in some way otherwise concerned in terrorism. The Home Secretary may then exercise her discretion to proscribe an organisation and will consider all the relevant factors in deciding whether to do so.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received wobble boards through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average cost of a wobble board.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average number of items received by successful applicants through Access to Work.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the number of items received by successful applicants is stored as descriptive free-text information. Providing an answer would require manual examination of individual applications, and would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received noise-cancelling headphones through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what is the average cost of those headphones.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people received Microsoft Office subscriptions through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average cost of those subscriptions.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received Trello subscriptions through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average price of those subscriptions.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received farming equipment through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average cost of that equipment.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of AI on the number of individuals who will claim health and disability benefits over the course of this Parliament.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No estimate has been made on the impact of AI on the number of individuals who will claim health and disability benefits over the course of this Parliament.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are claimants of Access to Work whose employment is to help others claim Access to Work.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This data is not held. Determining this would require a manual review of individual claimant applications to examine employment details, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who are eligible for health and disability benefits who have not claimed these benefits over the last five years.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No estimate has been made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Freres musulmans et islamisme politique en France, published on 25 May by the Ministry of the Interior in France, analysing the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood, and the reference the report contains to the United Kingdom.

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

We welcome reports from a variety of organisations and sources.

The Government's approach to threats to the UK is kept under constant review. We continually assess the threat picture and commit to working closely with a wide range of experts and partners to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose.

We do not comment on individual cases.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the calls for international reparations at the International Conference on the Crimes of Colonialism in Africa, under the African Union's 2025 theme "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations"; and what assessment they have made of any potential implications for the United Kingdom.

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

The UK is committed to a strong, forward-looking, relationship with the African Union (AU). We are working with the AU and other African partners to tackle the most pressing challenges of today including security, growth and climate change and building partnerships for the future.

The UK's position remains as set out in the answer of 25 March 2025 to Question HL5718.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Prime Minister's statement on 21 September that he had "directed work to sanction other Hamas figures in the coming weeks", what plans they have to review (1) the continued presence in the United Kingdom of members of Hamas and (2) the continued citizenship of Hamas members who hold British passports but are resident overseas.

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

The Home Department, rather than the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is responsible for all matters concerning the UK residence and nationality status of alleged members of proscribed organisations.

Question

To ask The Leader of the House what plans she has to contact the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to ask why they have not yet answered HL11657, tabled on 5 November but still awaiting an answer in December.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

As Leader, I met Permanent Secretaries from across Government Departments in November this year. During the meeting I stressed the importance of responding to Questions for Written Answer within the 10 day target. Alongside this my office keeps close oversight of departments who have outstanding responses. I also regularly discuss parliamentary performance with Ministers in a group setting and individually.

This specific question HL11657 was answered on the 19th December.