Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with international aid organisations on the potential impact of the availability of clean water not affected by cholera in conflict-affected areas of Sudan on levels of insecurity for women and girls in that country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are over 96,700 confirmed cases of cholera across 17 states in Sudan, with the true number likely to be significantly higher. The UK Government is working with international partners - including UNICEF, WHO, SFPA, and UNFPA - to help coordinate an effective response. This includes issuing targeted guidance on managing cholera among vulnerable groups, particularly women, girls, and malnourished children, through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation 2 (SFFGM2) and Women's Integrated Sexual Health 2 (WISH2) programmes. In addition, we have recently match-funded an extra £3.75 million of Kuwaiti support to UNICEF, supplementing UK resources already allocated to combat the outbreak. We continue to urge the UN to scale up its response and ensure that aid reaches those most in need.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the rate of growth in each of the last five years in the (a) absolute number and (b) proportion of nurseries that are backed by (i) private equity firms, (ii) pension funds and (iii) venture capital funds.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
One of the signs of a healthy market is a range of providers offering choice and flexibility for parents.
As laid out in the Best Start in Life strategy, the department keeps the structure of the market, including the role of private equity, debt, profit levels, and the prices that parents pay, under close review.
As of the most recent data available, 7.5% of places are with providers that have private equity backing, up from 4% in 2018.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the financial viability of nursery groups funded by (a) private equity firms and (b) venture capital funds.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
One of the signs of a healthy market is a range of providers offering choice and flexibility for parents.
As laid out in the Best Start in Life strategy, the department keeps the structure of the market, including the role of private equity, debt, profit levels, and the prices that parents pay, under close review.
As of the most recent data available, 7.5% of places are with providers that have private equity backing, up from 4% in 2018.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the extent of unwitting employment by UK firms of hoax remote workers who have concealed the fact that they are North Korean.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On Thursday 12th September 2024, The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published an advisory notice on North Korean Information Technology (IT) workers. OFSI assessed that it is almost certain that UK firms are currently being targeted North Korean IT workers disguised as freelance third-country IT workers to generate revenue for Designated Persons (DPs) operating on behalf of the North Korean regime. DPRK IT workers have skills in areas including, but not limited to, software development, IT support, graphic design, and animation.
The advisory identifies six key threats linked to North Korean IT workers’ activity affecting UK firms, lists red flag indicators for UK firms to identify North Korean IT workers, and makes recommendations for mitigation measures for UK firms to better protect themselves against this threat.
OFSI continues to work with wider Government and international partners to track the deployment of DPRK IT workers abroad and map the development and evolution of this threat of proliferation financing in light of increased industry awareness. OFSI will take robust, proportionate action in response to breaches of financial sanctions. In the most serious cases, we will not hesitate to impose civil monetary penalties or refer cases for criminal investigation where appropriate.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) businesses and (b) sectors on how businesses can protect themselves from the inadvertent employment of hoax remote workers who conceal their North Korean identity.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On Thursday 12th September 2024, The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published an advisory notice on North Korean Information Technology (IT) workers. OFSI assessed that it is almost certain that UK firms are currently being targeted North Korean IT workers disguised as freelance third-country IT workers to generate revenue for Designated Persons (DPs) operating on behalf of the North Korean regime. DPRK IT workers have skills in areas including, but not limited to, software development, IT support, graphic design, and animation.
The advisory identifies six key threats linked to North Korean IT workers’ activity affecting UK firms, lists red flag indicators for UK firms to identify North Korean IT workers, and makes recommendations for mitigation measures for UK firms to better protect themselves against this threat.
OFSI continues to work with wider Government and international partners to track the deployment of DPRK IT workers abroad and map the development and evolution of this threat of proliferation financing in light of increased industry awareness. OFSI will take robust, proportionate action in response to breaches of financial sanctions. In the most serious cases, we will not hesitate to impose civil monetary penalties or refer cases for criminal investigation where appropriate.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to co-operate with EU counterparts on countering foreign information manipulation.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) is a significant national security challenge for the UK and our partners. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has developed and increasingly deployed tools to combat information operations and disinformation. Alongside our EU counterparts, we are committed to expanding our counter FIMI capabilities and ensuring we have the resources, systems, and partnerships in place to address this threat. We will not allow this malign activity to go unchallenged and will look to act jointly wherever possible with our likeminded partners, including the EU and European partners. In the last six months, the UK has signed the UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership, where we have committed to increasing cooperation to tackle hybrid threats including FIMI with the EU; the UK-France Lancaster House Declaration and the UK-Germany Treaty on Friendship and Bilateral Cooperation, both of which also included commitments to increase cooperation to tackle FIMI with France and Germany respectively. I have regularly discussed these issues with my European counterparts and the European External Action Service.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to work with EU counterparts on countering foreign information manipulation and interference.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) is a significant national security challenge for the UK and our partners. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has developed and increasingly deployed tools to combat information operations and disinformation. Alongside our EU counterparts, we are committed to expanding our counter FIMI capabilities and ensuring we have the resources, systems, and partnerships in place to address this threat. We will not allow this malign activity to go unchallenged and will look to act jointly wherever possible with our likeminded partners, including the EU and European partners. In the last six months, the UK has signed the UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership, where we have committed to increasing cooperation to tackle hybrid threats including FIMI with the EU; the UK-France Lancaster House Declaration and the UK-Germany Treaty on Friendship and Bilateral Cooperation, both of which also included commitments to increase cooperation to tackle FIMI with France and Germany respectively. I have regularly discussed these issues with my European counterparts and the European External Action Service.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the proposed timeline for implementing a system to identify children with a parent in prison.
Answered by Janet Daby
Departmental officials continue to work closely with their counterparts at the Ministry of Justice to deliver the manifesto commitment to identify children affected by parental imprisonment as swiftly as possible, to help ensure that they get the support they need to thrive. A multi-year spending review has recently taken place to determine departmental budgets from 2026/27 to 2028/29. We are currently finalising the allocations process to set internal budgets for this spending period. Officials are working through the details of potential delivery options and this will inform timelines once internal budgets are finalised. Last month we published our preliminary market engagement notice for our multidisciplinary training offer for professionals which can be found here: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/050622-2025. This marks an important step towards getting children the support they may need once they are identified.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on ensuring coordination in establishing a system to identify children with parents in prison.
Answered by Janet Daby
The Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice recognise the importance of cross-government coordination to identify children affected by parental imprisonment and to help ensure that they get the support they need to thrive. In June, we held a cross-government workshop with officials from a range of government departments, to help deepen attendees’ understanding of the impact of parental imprisonment and foster collaborative thinking on how policies and strategies can better reflect the needs of families. In July, officials from the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and the Department of Health and Social Care, attended the Family Hub All Party Parliamentary Group meeting with a special focus on families affected by parental imprisonment. Further discussions are ongoing as part of strategic planning.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 58 of the policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, whether Danone's commitment never to introduce a high sugar product to children refers to the recommended levels of sugar for (a) children and (b) adults; and whether this applies to Alpro growing up milks.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out decisive action to tackle the obesity crisis and ease the strain on the NHS, as well as to create the healthiest generation of children ever. It details a number of actions that the Government will take, including plans to introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector, fulfilling commitments to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s and updating the UK Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) 2004/05.
Danone’s published commitment is to never produce a product for children that is high in saturated fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) as defined by the UK Government’s current policy and legislation as a less healthy product.
The Government’s policy and legislation being referred to uses the UK NPM 2004/05 to determine whether a product is classed as being HFSS or non-HFSS. The 2004/05 NPM does not assess individual nutrients in isolation (for example sugar), but it considers the balance of the ingredients and the nutrient composition of foods. The scoring system that underpins the UK NPM 2004/05 was based on dietary reference values for children aged 11 to 16 years’ old, but it was subsequently found to be equally applicable to foods and drinks consumed by those over the age of 5 years. The nutritional needs of infants and young children under 5 years differ from those of older children and adults. Therefore. the UK NPM 2004/05 is not currently regarded as suitable to assess commercially available food and drink products that are to be consumed only by children under 5 years, including Alpro Growing Up Milks.