Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to help tackle (a) religious persecution and (b) violence in (i) northern and (ii) central Nigeria.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 3 November to Question 85661.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to support representations for an independent investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings in Tanzania since October 2025.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Alongside her counterparts from Canada and Norway, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on 31 October, stating: "We are concerned by the situation in Tanzania following the national elections of 28 and 29 October. There are credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries, as a result of the security response to protests, which began on 29 October. We urge the authorities - as previously discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to act with maximum restraint and respect the right of assembly and freedom of expression. We remain concerned that the run-up to the elections was marked by harassment, abductions and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists and civil society actors. We call on the Tanzanian authorities to uphold their international commitments and ensure that all citizens can participate freely and safely in public life." We are continuing to monitor the situation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Tanzania on the (a) detention and (b) trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Alongside her counterparts from Canada and Norway, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on 31 October, stating: "We are concerned by the situation in Tanzania following the national elections of 28 and 29 October. There are credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries, as a result of the security response to protests, which began on 29 October. We urge the authorities - as previously discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to act with maximum restraint and respect the right of assembly and freedom of expression. We remain concerned that the run-up to the elections was marked by harassment, abductions and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists and civil society actors. We call on the Tanzanian authorities to uphold their international commitments and ensure that all citizens can participate freely and safely in public life." We are continuing to monitor the situation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to review UK aid to Tanzania, in the context of the human rights situation.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Alongside her counterparts from Canada and Norway, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on 31 October, stating: "We are concerned by the situation in Tanzania following the national elections of 28 and 29 October. There are credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries, as a result of the security response to protests, which began on 29 October. We urge the authorities - as previously discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to act with maximum restraint and respect the right of assembly and freedom of expression. We remain concerned that the run-up to the elections was marked by harassment, abductions and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists and civil society actors. We call on the Tanzanian authorities to uphold their international commitments and ensure that all citizens can participate freely and safely in public life." We are continuing to monitor the situation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to recognise the outcome of the Tanzanian general election of 29 October 2025.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Alongside her counterparts from Canada and Norway, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on 31 October, stating: "We are concerned by the situation in Tanzania following the national elections of 28 and 29 October. There are credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries, as a result of the security response to protests, which began on 29 October. We urge the authorities - as previously discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to act with maximum restraint and respect the right of assembly and freedom of expression. We remain concerned that the run-up to the elections was marked by harassment, abductions and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists and civil society actors. We call on the Tanzanian authorities to uphold their international commitments and ensure that all citizens can participate freely and safely in public life." We are continuing to monitor the situation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the legitimacy of the general election in Tanzania in October 2025.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Alongside her counterparts from Canada and Norway, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on 31 October, stating: "We are concerned by the situation in Tanzania following the national elections of 28 and 29 October. There are credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries, as a result of the security response to protests, which began on 29 October. We urge the authorities - as previously discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to act with maximum restraint and respect the right of assembly and freedom of expression. We remain concerned that the run-up to the elections was marked by harassment, abductions and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists and civil society actors. We call on the Tanzanian authorities to uphold their international commitments and ensure that all citizens can participate freely and safely in public life." We are continuing to monitor the situation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern by the United States.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 3 November to Question 85661.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to consult UK maritime stakeholders on the implementation of the UN Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra will be launching a consultation on implementation of Part IV of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement on Environmental Impact Assessments. Through this consultation, we will seek information from UK maritime stakeholders on marine activities occurring in areas beyond national jurisdiction and views on marine licensing regime arrangements.

The proposed changes in the consultation will be further to provisions in Part 4 of the BBNJ Bill which was introduced in Parliament on 10 September 2025.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress he has made on negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The eighth round of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement with Switzerland took place in Switzerland between 20 and 24 October 2025. The round saw positive progress and Round 9 of negotiations is set to take place in the UK in early 2026.

The UK and Switzerland have agreed a further extension to the existing UK-Switzerland Services Mobility Agreement up to 31 December 2029.

An enhanced FTA with Switzerland aims to deliver long-term certainty for UK services firms, building on the £19.5bn of services we already export to Switzerland[1], which is our 6^th largest services export market.

[1] UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted - Office for National Statistics

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a memorial to commemorate Force 135 and all those involved in the liberation of the Channel Islands during World War Two at the National Arboretum.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

As advised in the answer I gave to Question 78038 on 18 October 2025, the Ministry of Defence maintains a longstanding policy that it does not typically establish or fund memorials. The normal expectation is that new memorials will be supported through private donations or public subscription and established with the agreement of the relevant local authority. On that basis, there are no plans to assess the potential merits of establishing a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, to commemorate Liberation Task Force 135.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to help prevent British newspapers from being subject to foreign influence.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government is committed to a pluralistic media landscape, and it is vital that the UK has in place strong measures to protect this. The Foreign State Influence (FSI) media merger regime is a key part of this; it prevents foreign states from being able - directly or indirectly - to control or influence the policy of UK newspapers and news periodicals.

In July 2025, DCMS passed targeted exceptions to the initial FSI newspapers regime, to allow certain state-owned investment funds - such as sovereign wealth funds or pension funds - to invest up to 15% in UK newspapers and news periodicals.

The 15% threshold is below the level which the Competition and Markets Authority considers to typically give rise to material influence when assessing jurisdiction under the Enterprise Act 2002. This approach will still limit any scope for foreign state control or influence of news organisations while giving them much-needed flexibility to seek business investment that supports their long-term sustainability.

In October 2025, DCMS laid before Parliament further changes to the Enterprise Act, proposing to apply a 15% cap on aggregate holdings of shares or voting rights in a newspaper owner by SOIs acting on behalf of foreign powers of different countries. It also introduces a requirement for SOIs acquiring more than 5% of shares or voting rights in a UK newspaper owner directly to give the Secretary of State a qualifying notification within 14 days of the acquisition being made, and publish appropriate details of that notification within the same timeframe. These Regulations will be debated when Parliamentary time allows, and subject to Parliamentary approval will come into force 31st January 2026.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the levels of the BBC's (a) impartiality and (b) journalistic integrity.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues. It is ultimately for Ofcom, the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences as outlined in the Charter.

The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. That is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive issues such as the conflict in Gaza.

The duty to accurately report on what is happening to people in Gaza is absolutely fundamental. That is why the Government believes that the BBC and others have a responsibility to exercise utmost care and due diligence in the way in which they report on this conflict.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged, where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short and the BBC Chair has recently set out actions to address these which we welcome. The Government does not however believe the BBC to be institutionally anti-semitic nor institutionally biased.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with Ofcom on allegations of antisemitism in the BBC.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues. It is ultimately for Ofcom, the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences as outlined in the Charter.

The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. That is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive issues such as the conflict in Gaza.

The duty to accurately report on what is happening to people in Gaza is absolutely fundamental. That is why the Government believes that the BBC and others have a responsibility to exercise utmost care and due diligence in the way in which they report on this conflict.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged, where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short and the BBC Chair has recently set out actions to address these which we welcome. The Government does not however believe the BBC to be institutionally anti-semitic nor institutionally biased.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with IPSO on (a) Chinese and (b) Emirati links to The Telegraph.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have had no discussions with IPSO about the Telegraph sale.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with Ofcom on the BBC's impartiality in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues. It is ultimately for Ofcom, the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences as outlined in the Charter.

The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. That is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive issues such as the conflict in Gaza.

The duty to accurately report on what is happening to people in Gaza is absolutely fundamental. That is why the Government believes that the BBC and others have a responsibility to exercise utmost care and due diligence in the way in which they report on this conflict.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged, where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short and the BBC Chair has recently set out actions to address these which we welcome. The Government does not however believe the BBC to be institutionally anti-semitic nor institutionally biased.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her Department's policy to remove the legal obligation to pay the TV licence.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has committed to the licence fee for the remainder of this Charter period.

Looking ahead, Charter Review will consider a range of issues, including how the BBC can continue to prosper supported by a sustainable funding model. We are keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and as we consider BBC funding as part of the Charter Review, we will also look at how we can ensure that enforcement is fair and proportionate.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to work to reduce instances of crime against animals.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has taken steps to reduce crime against animals. We have provided over £800,000 in additional funding to the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit to strengthen enforcement against offences such as poaching and illegal wildlife trade. There are strong penalties in place for offences committed against wildlife and kept animals. For kept animals we have Penalty Notices for Animal Health and Welfare Offences, giving enforcement bodies a proportionate tool for lower-level breaches. For serious animal welfare offences courts can now impose up to five years’ imprisonment for the most serious cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act. These measures improve deterrence and ensure justice.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recent attacks on the Christian community in Oromia region, Ethiopia; and what steps she is taking to help ensure their protection.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We remain concerned about the situation in Oromia, and its impact on civilians, and note the 4 November statement of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia condemning recent attacks on Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Muslim communities across Oromia. We continue to call on all sides to engage in dialogue to address the underlying causes of conflict in the region. Through our Human Rights and Peacebuilding Programme, in Oromia, the UK supports dialogue efforts by local peacemakers, women's groups and the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia (IRCE). The UK is also supporting the investigative capacity of Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to follow up on reports of violations affecting civilians in Oromia.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle the illegal (a) sale, (b) possession and (c) use of cannabis.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer we will continue to work across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.

Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug on the basis of clear medical and scientific evidence of its harms. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both; and the maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

This year, we are investing more than £43m in the County Lines Programme to target exploitative drug dealing gangs, whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the Programme has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed and 6,200 arrests, including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders.

We are taking an end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. UK Law Enforcement delivers a significant amount of operational activity overseas and at the UK border to detect and seize illicit drugs being sold and trafficked to the UK. In 2023/24 police forces and Border Force seized the largest quantity of herbal cannabis since the time series began in 1973. This was a 53% increase from the previous year (55.59 to 85.01 tonnes).

We have also committed to driving down drug related harms through prevention and treatment, including by creating local drug partnerships with police forces and public health services.

We will continue to draw on the advice of experts, including our independent advisers in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and follow the evidence for what works in drug prevention and in building the resilience of people to avoid being drawn into drug use.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of violent crime in prisons.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

HMPPS works closely with a range of law enforcement and local authority partners, and the Crown Prosecution Service to tackle the issues of violent crime in prison.

The Ministry of Justice, in close collaboration with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), work jointly to address and reduce violent crime within custodial settings. These steps are aligned with the Crime in Prison Referral Agreement (CiPRA), which establishes clear protocols for the referral of onward investigation, and prosecution of serious offences committed in prison environments. Under this agreement, all serious assaults, sexual offences, and incidents involving conveyance or escapes are referred to the police within strict timelines (immediately for life-threatening incidents and within seven days for other serious offences). This ensures that serious criminal acts are addressed through the justice system rather than solely through internal disciplinary measures.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to support the British Legion's Poppy appeal.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with the Royal British Legion (RBL) on the organisation and delivery of the National Service of Remembrance and the DCMS broadcasts the service, with over 8,000 watching this year’s service.

All participants and volunteers are encouraged to support the Poppy Appeal by wearing a RBL poppy, which are made available alongside a donation point in DCMS HQ during the appeal period.

I attended the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on invitation from the Royal British Legion. Both myself and the Secretary of State attended the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, as well as attending a number of constituency events in Barnsley.

The Department has been delighted to lead on the VE/VJ 80 commemorations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what consultation she has undertaken with UK (a) academic and (b) research institutions on the practical implications of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the explanatory notes and impact assessments published alongside the Bill, as well as the debates that he has taken part in during its passage to date, where these issues and many others have been addressed. Further guidance about the requirements imposed by the Bill, including in relation to Section 2(3), will be published in due course, and post-legislative evaluation will also take place in the normal way. In terms of pre- and post-collection notification, this will only require one notification per research cruise. Engagement with scientific stakeholders indicates that this is unlikely to be a significant burden, and that differentiated reporting requirements are not required.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria she will use to determine whether projects qualify for reduced waiting periods under section 2(3) of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the explanatory notes and impact assessments published alongside the Bill, as well as the debates that he has taken part in during its passage to date, where these issues and many others have been addressed. Further guidance about the requirements imposed by the Bill, including in relation to Section 2(3), will be published in due course, and post-legislative evaluation will also take place in the normal way. In terms of pre- and post-collection notification, this will only require one notification per research cruise. Engagement with scientific stakeholders indicates that this is unlikely to be a significant burden, and that differentiated reporting requirements are not required.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on streamlining Gateway 2 approvals under the Building Safety Regulator.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My department and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) recognises that the delays in assessing Building Control Applications have been unacceptable and that they impact upon all parts of the construction supply chain. This is why we announced reforms to the BSR on 30 June, including plans to establish the BSR as a separate body.

The BSR has listened to feedback from the industry and the reform package announced on 30 June 2025 is already having a positive impact on operations, with twice as many decisions being made by the BSR between June-September 2025 in comparison to January-March 2025.

The BSR has committed to improving BSR operations by December, with faster processing of new build applications and decisions on most of the existing new-build caseload. The BSR published performance data on 16 October and will continue to do so monthly to track progress against this commitment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent people who overstay their visas from working illegally for companies within the UK.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Under UK legislation, access to work is reserved to those who are eligible and have lawful immigration status in the UK. All employers are required to undertake right to work checks on any prospective employee to confirm their legal status. Sanctions exist where these requirements are not complied with.

The Government is leading a UK-wide crackdown on illegal working as part of a whole system approach to tackle illegal migration and to ensure fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. This includes measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ensure companies which contract workers to provide services under their company name, such as agency workers or workers in the gig economy, check a person’s right to work, intensified Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams operational activity across the UK as well as the recently announced introduction of digital ID by the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to help reduce the proportion of highly deprived neighbourhoods.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Pride in Place Strategy sets out how we will deliver up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 places experiencing the highest levels of deprivation, with two key funding streams.

Our Pride in Place Programme will support 244 neighbourhoods with up to £20 million of flexible funding and support over 10 years to unlock the potential of the place they call home. We have used metrics that identify ‘double-disadvantaged’ neighbourhoods – those suffering from a combination of material deprivation and low social capital. The full place selection methodology is set out here.

The Pride in Place Impact Fund provides around £150 million to a further 95 places to make immediate improvements to high streets, community venues and public spaces across the next two years. This funding has been targeted at the places most in-need using deprivation and community pride measures. The full place selection methodology is set out here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of construction supply chain bottlenecks associated with Gateway 2 on the construction plant-hire sector.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My department and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) recognises that the delays in assessing Building Control Applications have been unacceptable and that they impact upon all parts of the construction supply chain. This is why we announced reforms to the BSR on 30 June, including plans to establish the BSR as a separate body.

The BSR has listened to feedback from the industry and the reform package announced on 30 June 2025 is already having a positive impact on operations, with twice as many decisions being made by the BSR between June-September 2025 in comparison to January-March 2025.

The BSR has committed to improving BSR operations by December, with faster processing of new build applications and decisions on most of the existing new-build caseload. The BSR published performance data on 16 October and will continue to do so monthly to track progress against this commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the seven month minimum waiting period for sample collection on UK-led marine research projects.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Section 2(2) of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Bill requires pre-collection information to be provided to the Secretary of State seven months in advance. This is to ensure that the UK can make a submission to the Clearing-House Mechanism established by the BBNJ Agreement within the timeframe of six months set out in the Agreement. These pre-cruise notification requirements mirror to a large extent the information that researchers are already required to provide as part of an application for consent to conduct research within the territorial sea or Exclusive Economic Zone of a State, including the six-month timeframe.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to introduce differentiated reporting requirements for (a) small-scale and (b) non-commercial marine genetic resource collection projects under the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the explanatory notes and impact assessments published alongside the Bill, as well as the debates that he has taken part in during its passage to date, where these issues and many others have been addressed. Further guidance about the requirements imposed by the Bill, including in relation to Section 2(3), will be published in due course, and post-legislative evaluation will also take place in the normal way. In terms of pre- and post-collection notification, this will only require one notification per research cruise. Engagement with scientific stakeholders indicates that this is unlikely to be a significant burden, and that differentiated reporting requirements are not required.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to publish (a) annual and (b) biennial reports to Parliament on the (i) implementation and (ii) enforcement of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the explanatory notes and impact assessments published alongside the Bill, as well as the debates that he has taken part in during its passage to date, where these issues and many others have been addressed. Further guidance about the requirements imposed by the Bill, including in relation to Section 2(3), will be published in due course, and post-legislative evaluation will also take place in the normal way. In terms of pre- and post-collection notification, this will only require one notification per research cruise. Engagement with scientific stakeholders indicates that this is unlikely to be a significant burden, and that differentiated reporting requirements are not required.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the treatment of members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra in Nigeria.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations and due process concerns very seriously including raising with local authorities where appropriate. We assess what action is appropriate to take on the specific facts of the case. The UK Government has raised Mr Kanu's case with the Nigerian authorities on multiple occasions, most recently on 11 November 2025 when Baroness Chapman, Minister for Africa met with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar. Consular officials visit Mr Kanu and attend his trial hearings on a regular basis and remain in contact with his family and legal representatives.

The UK respects the territorial integrity of Nigeria. We encourage dialogue between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of Nigeria. The UK supports and respects the Nigerian Government's commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all its citizens and is committed to working with Nigeria in support of this objective.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Nigerian Government on (a) arbitrary detentions and (b) due process.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations and due process concerns very seriously including raising with local authorities where appropriate. We assess what action is appropriate to take on the specific facts of the case. The UK Government has raised Mr Kanu's case with the Nigerian authorities on multiple occasions, most recently on 11 November 2025 when Baroness Chapman, Minister for Africa met with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar. Consular officials visit Mr Kanu and attend his trial hearings on a regular basis and remain in contact with his family and legal representatives.

The UK respects the territorial integrity of Nigeria. We encourage dialogue between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of Nigeria. The UK supports and respects the Nigerian Government's commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all its citizens and is committed to working with Nigeria in support of this objective.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has raised the case of British citizen Nnamdi Kanu with the Nigerian authorities.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations and due process concerns very seriously including raising with local authorities where appropriate. We assess what action is appropriate to take on the specific facts of the case. The UK Government has raised Mr Kanu's case with the Nigerian authorities on multiple occasions, most recently on 11 November 2025 when Baroness Chapman, Minister for Africa met with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar. Consular officials visit Mr Kanu and attend his trial hearings on a regular basis and remain in contact with his family and legal representatives.

The UK respects the territorial integrity of Nigeria. We encourage dialogue between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of Nigeria. The UK supports and respects the Nigerian Government's commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all its citizens and is committed to working with Nigeria in support of this objective.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken with local authorities to improve children services.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to children’s social care reform to ensure opportunity for all children. Our policy statement ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, outlines our vision and core legislative proposals. We have subsequently introduced several measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a key step towards delivering the government’s Opportunity Mission.

Specifically, we have confirmed the national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and Family Group Decision Making reforms. These reforms are being delivered through the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, a national government programme to support Safeguarding Partners, including local authorities, to implement the reforms. In 2025/26 the reforms are backed by £541 million of funding, more than doubling direct investment in preventative services.

Through the FFP programme, the government is giving families and children access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families to stay safely together.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will implement safeguards to tackle crimes being reported online to open-source AI services.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has already taken steps to tackle crimes linked to the misuse of artificial intelligence, including open-source models, through the illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act (2023) and criminal measures to target the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images in the Data (Use and Access) Act (2025).

The Home Department has also tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a statutory defence for AI testers working to ensure that AI models do not create child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate imagery or extreme pornography when prompted. This defence will help the AI industry to test their models robustly and implement safeguards to ensure that their models cannot be used to create this appalling material.

Presently, there is no national online capability for online crime reporting to open-source AI models. Details of a crime submitted to an open-source AI model would not be submitted to the police. Members of the public who wish to report a crime online must access their local force website and submit details into an online form contained within. Some local forces use AI chatbots as an initial contact channel for the public, however, should details of a crime be submitted, the user will be directed to the local online crime reporting page.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Police Chiefs Council guidance on releasing to the press the ethnicity and nationality of suspects for serious offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

On Wednesday 5 November the College of Policing launched their public consultation of the Media and Communications Authorised Professional Practice (APP), formerly the Media Relations APP.This guidance advises police forces on the information that they provide to the media and the public, particularly with regards to high profile cases.

Earlier this year the College published interim guidance for police forces on the disclosure of suspects’ ethnicity and nationality in serious cases. This interim guidance is included in the new draft guidance for consultation. The public are invited to share their views on this updated guidance as part of this consultation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the new false communication offence in the Online Safety Act 2023 from stifling freedom of speech.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The false communications offence within the Online Safety Act captures communications where the individual knows the information to be false but sends it intending to cause harm to a likely audience, without reasonable excuse.

Protecting freedom of expression is important to this government, and is taken into account throughout the Online Safety Act. For example, the Act requires in-scope services to give particular regard to protecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy rights when implementing safety measures.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether she has made an assessment of the compatibility of (a) ‘Project Spire’ and (b) the ‘Fund for Healing, Repair, and Justice’ with the trustee obligations of the Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

Yes, the Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners has made an assessment of its legal obligations so far as they relate to its response to its predecessor’s links with African chattel enslavement (known internally by the programme/project name ‘Spire’). In taking that assessment, the Board has taken into account all relevant factors, including the Charity Commission’s guidance on decision-making for trustees (CC27). The Board recognises that the discharge of its proposals will require the registration of a new charity (the proposed ‘Fund for Healing, Repair, and Justice’), along with appropriate regulatory authorisations. The Board has authorised the first such step.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) training and (b) support her Department provides to police to investigate (i) coercive control and (ii) other non-violent domestic offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening training on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for policing to ensure that all officers have the right skills to investigate all VAWG offences, including coercive or controlling behaviour (CCB) and other non-violent domestic offences.

The Home Office has already invested £13.1 million this year into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). This funding includes an uplift of nearly £2 million to deliver a robust package of training improvements across public protection, including on domestic abuse and CCB.

Through the NCVPP, we are working closely with the College of Policing to develop strengthened, specialist training for officers across all operational levels - frontline, specialist, and leadership. Grounded in academic research and behaviour change science, new training programmes will ensure that all officers are well equipped to investigate these crimes and provide support to victims.

CCB is also covered extensively in the Domestic Abuse Matters training for police which has now been delivered to over 80% of police forces in England and Wales. This specialist domestic abuse training was created by the College of Policing in partnership with domestic abuse charities, SafeLives, Welsh Women’s Aid and Women’s Aid.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to (a) streamline army recruitment and (b) increase (i) regular and (ii) reserve military personnel numbers.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

As part of the Strategic Defence Review, the Department has committed to increasing the British Army to at least 76,000 full time soldiers in the next Parliament.

Under this Government, we have driven improvements to recruiting process, stripping out outdated medical policies, reducing the time it takes to receive candidate medical records and widening cross-Government data sharing.

These measures, along with targeted recruiting and a restructure of the Army's recruiting organisation, are delivering results. Year on year the Army's soldier intake numbers are up 13%, officer numbers are up 10%.

Regarding specific measures to increase Army reserve numbers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 June 2025 to Question 57778 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben-Obese Jecty) which remains extant.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve patient access to clinically effective new blood cancer treatments for NHS patients.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NHS England funds NICE-recommended cancer medicines from the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of positive draft NICE guidance, bringing forward patient access by approximately five months than would otherwise be the case.

For the years 2023/24 to 2024/25, NICE recommended 25 medicines to treat blood cancer that are now available for the treatment of NHS patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the risk of increasing flu cases amid NHS strikes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service in England has been preparing for winter with the development and better testing of winter plans with surge capacity and escalation plans in place across all NHS and urgent care services. In September NHS England ran seven regionally-led exercises to enable integrated care boards and trusts to stress test whether their plans are sufficient and robust to mitigate winter pressures from baseline, moderate, and extreme levels of respiratory illness and/or flu surge.

As set out in the 2025/26 Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, the NHS is focussing on improvements that will see the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care performance this winter. This includes expanding community access to urgent care, for example for patients to be treated in virtual wards, and improving vaccination uptake among frontline staff.

The priority is to keep patients as safe as possible during any industrial action. The NHS makes every effort through rigorous contingency planning to minimise disruption as a result of industrial action and its impact on patients and the public. Assessments are made by local trusts about the level of resourcing, and they can escalate via regions and nationally, where appropriate.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to tackle the illegal sale of cigarettes in (a) England and (b) the parliamentary constituency of Romford.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to reducing the number of illicit tobacco and vaping products on sale nationally.

In January 2024, HMRC and Border Force published their latest illicit tobacco strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’. This sets out the Governments’ continued commitment to restrict the trade in illicit tobacco with a focus on reducing demand, and to tackle and disrupt organised crime groups. This strategy is supported by £100 million of new smokefree funding allocated over 5 years to boost existing HMRC and Border Force enforcement capability.

HMRC are also working closely with both Trading Standards and Border Force to develop a robust compliance approach for the introduction of Vaping Products Duty (VPD) on 1 October 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of criminal child abuse.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Tackling child criminal exploitation is an important strand of our mission to halve knife crime by reducing the risk of children being drawn into criminality and violence.

Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs to break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals Aof children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.

In addition, we are introducing a new offence of criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring.

We are also going further to confront the wider criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults by introducing a new offence of ‘cuckooing’ and an offence to tackle coerced internal concealment. These three new offences will all work to tackle the interconnected and exploitative practices often used by criminal gangs, especially in county lines.

Moreover, we are also working to ensure that multiagency safeguarding partners are able to identify and respond appropriately to cases and concerns of all forms of child exploitation and abuse. This includes funding the Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children’s Society, to respond to all forms of child exploitation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to provide doctors with a plan to improve (a) pay for NHS doctors and (b) job security for NHS doctors.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government accepted the headline pay recommendations for National Health Service doctors made by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration (DDRB) for 2025/26. Consultant and Specialist and Specialty doctors received pay uplifts above forecast inflation of 4% and resident doctors received 4% plus £750. Resident doctors have received the highest pay uplift in the public sector over the past two years, with pay uplifts amounting to 28.9% over three years. While the Government has been clear that it cannot go further on pay this year, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met with the British Medical Association (BMA) to discuss their priorities and is committed to improving the working lives of all NHS staff.

The Government has taken steps to accelerate the pay setting process for this year to ensure that uplifts are made in a timely manner. To achieve this, we remitted the DDRB on 22 July and submitted written evidence to them on 30 October. Written evidence was submitted a month earlier than last year, which means we are still on track for pay uplifts to go into pay packets earlier than in previous years.

In acknowledgement of doctors’ concerns about jobs and access to training places, the Government made an offer to BMA’s Resident Doctors Committee to double the previously announced increase in specialty training places in the 10-Year Health Plan to 2,000, bringing 1,000 of these forward to next year, to create an alternative training pathway and take steps to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates and doctors with significant NHS experience for specialty posts. On top of this commitment, NHS England has already made changes to the specialty training application process this year to reduce competition and support UK graduates.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to reduce instances of murder.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Halving knife crime remains a top priority for this Government. Since we have been in office knife homicides have fallen by 18% (to YE June 2025) and all knife crime down 5%. Knife assault has dropped by 6% and hospital admissions for assault with a sharp object among under 25s fell by 8%, and by 11% among over 25s.

Under this Government, nearly 60,000 knives have been removed from the streets of England and Wales through weapons surrender schemes, knives seized by Border Force and those recovered through County Lines Programme operations.

We have also introduced tougher knife control measures by banning zombie-style knives and machetes in September 2024 and ninja swords in August 2025. Ronan's Law tightens online knife sales with stricter age checks and penalties and we are introducing new powers to strengthen policing’s ability to seize, retain and destroy dangerous knives.

We know there is much more to do. Our approach to halving knife-crime is centred around smart enforcement, tough laws to remove dangerous weapons from our streets, and working to tackle the root causes of knife-crime through prevention through Violence Reduction Units and the new Young Futures Programme supporting those most at risk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle the illegal (a) sale, (b) possession and (c) use of cocaine.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer we will continue to work across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.

Cocaine is an extremely harmful drug which is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class A drug, with a penalty for possession of up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The maximum sentence for the supply of cocaine is life in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.

This year, we are investing more than £43m in the County Lines Programme to target exploitative drug dealing gangs, whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the Programme has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed and 6,200 arrests, including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders.

We are taking an end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. UK Law Enforcement delivers a significant amount of operational activity overseas and at the UK border to detect and seize illicit drugs being sold and trafficked to the UK. In 2023/24 28.3 tonnes of powder cocaine was seized by police and Border Force in England and Wales. This was an increase from 18.6 tonnes the previous year and the largest recorded quantity of cocaine seized since the time series began in 1973.

We have also committed to driving down drug related harms through prevention and treatment, including by creating local drug partnerships with police forces and public health services.

We will also continue to draw on the advice of experts, including our independent advisers in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD has committed to reviewing the drivers of powder cocaine use. In June my predecessor wrote to the Chair of the ACMD, noting that the Government wishes to receive actionable insights from this review as soon as possible.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Army have taken to improve interoperability.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Strategic Defence Review states that the Armed Forces must compete the journey from 'joint' to 'integrated'. On 1 April 2025, the Chief of the Defence Staff became head of the new Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ) with command over the Service Chiefs. This change ensures that authorities for force design and activity delivery now flow top-down from a single point of military authority. The MSHQ has also appointed an interoperability champion to support NATO in its development of its own interoperability plan. We have already seen tangible progress in improving interoperability with allies, for example, the UK's Carrier Strike Group has recently been under NATO Command, integrated into both Alliance operational and tactical command and control Systems.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of fraud have been committed by (a) foreign-born and (b) British-born perpetrators in every year since 2010.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects information on the number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including violence and fraud.

However, this does not include information on the birthplace of offenders since this is not pertinent to the initial investigation of such crimes and is unlikely to be known by the victim reporting that crime.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of violent crime have been committed by (a) foreign-born and (b) British-born perpetrators in every year since 2010.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects information on the number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including violence and fraud.

However, this does not include information on the birthplace of offenders since this is not pertinent to the initial investigation of such crimes and is unlikely to be known by the victim reporting that crime.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been imprisoned for growing cannabis in every year since 2010.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

The offences should be selected by using the HO offence code filter and selecting:

• 09221 - Production of or being concerned in production of a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)

• 09226 - Production or being concerned in production of a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) (historic)

• 09241 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)

• 09246 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) (historic)

• 09230 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class A (cocaine)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been imprisoned for supplying cocaine in every year since 2010.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

The offences should be selected by using the HO offence code filter and selecting:

• 09221 - Production of or being concerned in production of a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)

• 09226 - Production or being concerned in production of a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) (historic)

• 09241 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)

• 09246 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) (historic)

• 09230 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class A (cocaine)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been imprisoned for supplying cannabis in every year since 2010.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

The offences should be selected by using the HO offence code filter and selecting:

• 09221 - Production of or being concerned in production of a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)

• 09226 - Production or being concerned in production of a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) (historic)

• 09241 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)

• 09246 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) (historic)

• 09230 - Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug - class A (cocaine)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 71834 on Construction: Foreign Investment in UK, how many building control applications managed by the Fast Track innovation unit were (a) approved within the statutory time frame, (b) approved after the statutory time frame, (c) approved within the 65 working day target, (d) approved outside that target, (e) not yet approved and the statutory time frame has expired, (f) not yet approved and the 65 working day target has expired and (g) have been rejected.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The June reforms mark a pivotal step in positioning the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) for the future, reflecting the Government's commitment to enhancing safety and supporting residents.

On 4^th August, the BSR launched the innovation unit to accelerate new-build applications. The new model is working effectively, with the majority of cases progressing in line with expectations, and some already concluded. It will take time for the benefits to be felt across the system, however we would expect the model to start to deliver tangible improvements around December.

To support transparency and accountability, the BSR published performance data on 16 October and will continue to do so monthly to track progress against this commitment. We are expecting the next release of data towards the end of November.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps the Royal Marines and the United States Marine Corps have taken to improve interoperability.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Royal Marines and the United States Marine Corps have an enduring partnership forged through decades of shared operations and tested in demanding environments. This ensures that they can operate seamlessly together. The United Kingdom and United States have permanent exchange positions in operational and capability organisations, and set shared priorities for interoperability across doctrine, training and capability development annually. Recent joint exercises include BALTOPS and BOLD QUEST, which advanced UK/US digital integration to improve command and control.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will make it his Department's policy to reinstate the two-power standard as applied to the Royal Navy Fleet.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The 'two-power standard' was set out by the Naval Defence Act 1889 and dictated that the Royal Navy (RN) should maintain a fleet at least as strong as the next two powerful navies combined. Today our security is underpinned by NATO's collective defence, where capabilities are shared across 32 allies.

Modern naval warfare still demands mass, presence, and resilience. For that reason, The Royal Navy is transforming to a hybrid fleet, moving to a dispersed but digitally connected fleet of crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms. This restores mass and power in a cost-effective way whilst ensuring we retain the cutting-edge capabilities expected of a leading NATO navy.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his Department's policy to reinstate compulsory chapels on Royal Navy vessels.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service (RNCS) provides spiritual, pastoral and moral support to all personnel, regardless of faith and belief. Chaplains are routinely embarked on Royal Navy vessels, particularly major warships and deployed task groups, and will use and suitable quiet space for services, prayers and one-to-one support.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to improve the sonar capabilities of the Royal Navy surface fleet.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Innovation Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Spearhead Programme has focussed on accelerating the Navy's understanding of advanced capabilities. Key areas progressed include sensor optimisation, machine learning and artificial intelligence, to improve the sonar capabilities within the surface fleet.

Investment in the Anti-Submarine Warfare Sonar 2087 system has led to improvements to Type 23 capabilities. These improvements will also be pulled through to the Type 26 programme.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on cancelled programmes in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Army in each year since 2010.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Department's spend on cancelled programmes of over £300,000 is published as part of its Annual Report and Accounts.

As would be expected of any responsible organisation, the Ministry of Defence regularly reviews its programmes and assets to determine how best to meet future threats including taking appropriate action to address changes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the year 8 reading test is used to direct interventions and not be used as a bench marking exercise for schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government is determined to drive up standards for young people. Reading holds the key to the rest of the curriculum, with pupils who struggle to read so often struggling across the board, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The department will introduce a new, statutory reading test in year 8 to ensure a focus on reading in key stage 3. This builds on the wider support we are providing to drive up standards in reading, including training and resources for secondary school teachers to help them support readers at all levels, with a particular focus on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind. This training should reach 75% of secondary schools this academic year.

Development of the new statutory test will be led by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), experts in assessments who will work independently from ministers on the test’s contents. The STA will work with the sector to develop the test, including undertaking trials of test materials. Like the phonics screening check, school-level results will not be published. However, individual schools will receive their own pupils' results and will be able to access national, regional, and local authority data to ensure their pupils are on track.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many domestic abortions using (a) mifepristone and (b) misoprostol have occurred in England in each year since 2020.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department cannot separate out which of mifepristone or misoprostol were administered at home, only whether one or both abortion medications were administered at home.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many instances of (a) suicide and (b) suicide attempts on NHS property have been reported in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency in every year since 2010.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information requested is not held centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce instances of (a) suicide and (b) self-harm.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level, including people who have self-harmed. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.

NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide

The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the Staying safe from suicide guidance.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to encourage more people to attend Sunday services in their local parish church.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

The National Church Institutions have allocated £236million in the next funding window (2026-2028) to the Diocesan Investment Programme. This financial support goes directly to dioceses to advance their missional plans for local parishes and communities.

In the Chelmsford Diocese, which covers the Hon. Member for Romford's constituency, in the current funding period, the Barking episcopal area was granted £14.95m to resource parish churches across the London Boroughs of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest, Newham and Redbridge.

This funding is now being rolled out and will see appointments made to clergy and lay worker posts, children and families’ worker roles and a broad range of missional projects.

The combined effect of this investment will see missional growth stimulated, resulting not only in increased Sunday worship attendance but also greater footfall and take up of missional opportunities and social action projects throughout the week.

The Bishop of Barking or the local Archdeacon would be best placed to speak to if the Hon member has queries about the local context: https://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/about-us/our-areas/barking-area-team#team

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to encourage more people under the age of 40 to attend Sunday services in Romford constituency.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

The Church of England has committed to ‘Growing Younger’ as part of its Vision and Strategy for the 2020s, which prioritises creating a church that is younger and more diverse. The central goal is to double the number of children and young active disciples by 2030.

Most recently, £16.3 million was allocated by the National Church Institutions to youth evangelism projects nationwide, including £6.45 million for the Diocese of Chelmsford’s “Believing in Barking” youth and community mission project, which will also include projects in Romford.

The Diocese of Chelmsford and its clergy are actively engaging people under 40 in the life of the Church, supporting a variety of initiatives and vocations in worship, ministry, youth work, schools, and community outreach.

There are three specific projects in the Romford Constituency about to get underway; the projects detailed below constitute a direct investment in the constituency of over £ 1.25 million across the next 5 years. The Hon member for Romford may wish to visit the projects once they are commenced.

• All Saints Ardleigh Green, where the parish is recruiting a Children, Young People and Families Worker in the new year, is shared with St Andrews Hornchurch. This role will focus on children, young people, and family support, particularly working with NewCity Academy. An additional stipendiary role is also planned at Holy Cross Church in 2026 with another CYPF worker shared with St Andrews.

• St Albans Romford – will be recruiting a missional priest, with specific responsibility for developing a younger demographic within the existing congregation.

• St George’s, Harold Hill – As one of the active estate churches within the diocese, it will receive additional support and funding to support its children and youth provision.

The Barking Episcopal Area of the Chelmsford Diocese has some specific priorities:
• To “double the number of churches with >25 children and young people attending”
• To increase the number of trained lay volunteers within children, young people and family ministry and work

• To have Deanery children, young people and family in place

Further projects that cover the Romford Constituency are in the early stages of development, to support:
• Ministry and support for low-income communities
• Resourcing children and young people's clubs and organisations
• Making worship more engaging/accessible
• Nurturing the faith of children, young people and their families.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact on the decriminalisation of abortion on clergy’s cure of souls.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

In her capacity as Lead Bishop on Health and Social Care, the Bishop of London made a statement related to the proposed changes to abortion law on 20th June 2025, which can be found in full on the Church of England website at: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/abortion-law-changes-comment-bishop-london

It included the following:

“Considering any fundamental reform to this country’s abortion laws should not be done via an amendment to another Bill. There should be public consultation and robust Parliamentary process to ensure that every legal and moral aspect of this debate is carefully considered and scrutinised. We need a path that supports women, not one that puts them and their unborn children in the way of greater harm.”

Assessing the potential impact of such a legal change is a long-term process, and Lords Spiritual continue to engage with the Crime and Policing Bill as it progresses through Parliament.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance the Church of England provides to clergy on gender ideology.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

The Church of England does not provide specific standalone guidance to clergy on gender ideology.

On complex issues the House of Bishops may from time to time publish guidance and advice for clergy, designed to inform local response. This has included the 2020 book ‘Living in Love and Faith’, which is available to view or order on the Church of England website.

Following a vote of the General Synod in 2017 to welcome and affirm transgender people, the House of Bishops provided guidance in 2018 called ‘Pastoral Guidance for use in conjunction with the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith in the context of gender transition.’

Within Church of England schools, clergy and teachers are advised to align with the “Pastoral Principles”: www.churchofengland.org/about/general-synod/structure/house-bishops/pastoral-principles

Guidance is also available in ‘Flourishing for All: Anti-bullying Guidance for Church of England Schools’ (updated April 2025): www.churchofengland.org/about/education-and-schools/education-publications/anti-bullying-guidance-church-england-schools

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance the Church of England provides to clergy on the principle of freedom of speech.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

The National Church Institutions do not provide specific guidance to clergy on the principle of freedom of speech.

In the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy it states that:

“The reputation of the Church in the community depends to a great extent on the integrity and example of its clergy, who should recognize their role as public representatives of the Church. Their lives should enhance and embody the communication of the gospel.” [paragraph 9.1]

“Ministers must not be members or active supporters of any political party or other organization whose constitution, policies, objectives, activities or public statements are incompatible with the teaching of the Church of England, as defined by the House of Bishops, in relation to the equality of persons or groups of different races.” [Paragraph 9.6]

“The clergy must remember that they are public figures whose opinions when proffered have weight and significance. In using social media ministers should always assume that anything they post or contribute is in the public domain and will be shared. The power of the internet for doing harm as well as good must always be borne carefully in mind and weighed before saying anything which may prove be damaging to oneself as well as to others.” [paragraph 11.11 ]

“The clergy are placed in a position of power and authority over others, in pastoral relationships, with lay colleagues, and sometimes with other ministers. In all forms of ministry, in leadership, teaching, preaching and presiding at worship, the clergy should resist all temptation to exercise power inappropriately. This power needs to be used to sustain others and harness their strengths, and not to abuse, bully, manipulate or denigrate.” [paragraph 12.2]

The full Guidelines are published on the Church of England website at The Guidelines | The Church of England

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to revise exam access arrangements to enable dyslexic learners to gain SPaG marks where they can demonstrate correct use of assistive technology.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The independent regulator of qualifications (Ofqual) is responsible for ensuring the exam system is fair and accessible for all students. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations must make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would otherwise be disadvantaged when taking exams and assessments. These adjustments are designed to remove barriers without changing the nature of the assessment.

Exams and assessments must give a valid and reliable measure of the student’s knowledge, skills, and understanding for that qualification.

In line with the recommendations made by the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations to ensure that accessibility implications are fully considered for all young people throughout the qualification development process.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what legal advice the Church of England has received on the proposed use of church funds for slavery reparations through the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

I refer the Hon. Member for Romford to the written answer to the question asked by the Hon. Member for the Weald of Kent published on 6 May 2025 (UIN 47114). Any legal advice received is subject to legal privilege in the usual way

An application to the Charities Commission for a new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice is being prepared

Please note that the response to the historic links with African chattel enslavement (known internally by the programme/project name ‘Spire’) is not “slavery reparations”.

The Church Commissioners hope and pray that the new Fund will be an act of reparative justice and part of a meaningful process of healing and repair to bring about a better, fairer, future for all.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what legal advice the Church of England has received on the proposed use of church funds for slavery reparations through Project Spire.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

I refer the Hon. Member for Romford to the written answer to the question asked by the Hon. Member for the Weald of Kent published on 6 May 2025 (UIN 47114). Any legal advice received is subject to legal privilege in the usual way

An application to the Charities Commission for a new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice is being prepared

Please note that the response to the historic links with African chattel enslavement (known internally by the programme/project name ‘Spire’) is not “slavery reparations”.

The Church Commissioners hope and pray that the new Fund will be an act of reparative justice and part of a meaningful process of healing and repair to bring about a better, fairer, future for all.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of her policies concerning the reported murder of four Christians by Islamic State in Borno State on 11 November.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided to question 85661 on 3 November 2025.

Royal Kennel Club

Cancelled mayoral elections

Asylum reform proposals

National debt

Gig economy and illegal workers

Pink Ladies of Essex

20th anniversary of the death of George Best

Collection and publication of nationality data by Government Departments

Irish Sea herring quotas

Recognising pets in domestic abuse protection orders

Supreme Court judgment on religious education in Northern Ireland

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day on 20 November 2025

Houses of Parliament Shop deliveries to Northern Ireland

Found: species and ensure that scientific benefits are shared fairly and responsibly.43 Shadow minister Andrew Rosindell