Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the joint letter from Internet Matters and the Molly Rose Foundation, published on 7 October 2026, what support her Department plans to make available to schools to teach media and digital literacy during 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Media and digital literacy are vital to helping children and young people navigate the online world safely and critically. The department is grateful to the Molly Rose Foundation for its work to promote online safety and highlight the importance of these skills.
Schools already teach media and digital literacy through citizenship, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), English and computing curricula. Updated RSHE statutory guidance, mandatory from 1 September 2026, strengthens content on artificial intelligence (AI) and online safety.
The department expects to hold a public consultation on proposals for the curriculum and assessment system, including media and digital literacy, later this year, following publication of the government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report. We will consider any training requirements for teachers as part of the review process.
Support currently available includes adaptable, high-quality curriculum resources from Oak National Academy and media literacy materials on the Educate Against Hate website. The department-funded National Centre for Computing Education also provides free professional development on a range of topics, including digital literacy and AI.
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 he has had with his US counterpart concerning the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' role in relation to potential chemical weapons use in Sudan.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the response provided to Question HL3376 on 6 October 2026. As we set out in our national statement at the 113th Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 6 October, we note with particular concern reports of chemical weapon use in Sudan and continue to call for the completion of a thorough, transparent, impartial and credible national investigation and for its findings to be shared with the OPCW as soon as possible.
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Sudanese Armed Forces' investigation into chemical weapons use.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the response provided to Question HL3376 on 6 October 2026. As we set out in our national statement at the 113th Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 6 October, we note with particular concern reports of chemical weapon use in Sudan and continue to call for the completion of a thorough, transparent, impartial and credible national investigation and for its findings to be shared with the OPCW as soon as possible.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact on the quality of evidence relating to the alleged use of chemical weapons at the Al Jaili oil refinery of a delay to the examination of that evidence by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the response provided to Question HL3376 on 6 October 2026. As we set out in our national statement at the 113th Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 6 October, we note with particular concern reports of chemical weapon use in Sudan and continue to call for the completion of a thorough, transparent, impartial and credible national investigation and for its findings to be shared with the OPCW as soon as possible.
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 assessment he has made of the progress of the investigation by the Sudanese Armed Forces into the use of chemical weapons.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the response provided to Question HL3376 on 6 October 2026. As we set out in our national statement at the 113th Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 6 October, we note with particular concern reports of chemical weapon use in Sudan and continue to call for the completion of a thorough, transparent, impartial and credible national investigation and for its findings to be shared with the OPCW as soon as possible.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of Ofcom’s progress in implementing the remaining duties under the Online Safety Act 2023, and whether those measures will adequately protect children from exposure to harmful gendered content online.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Act 2023 requires in-scope services to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. Services must also protect children from harmful content, including misogynistic content. The Government has called on all platforms to implement the measures recommended in Ofcom’s guidance, A safer life online for women and girls.
Ofcom has pushed a roadmap setting out the remaining duties to be implemented under the Act. The Government is keeping the regulatory framework under review and will take whatever steps are needed to keep children safe online.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in protecting children from harmful gendered content, including misogynistic content and harmful stereotypes, where that content is recommended or amplified by social media platforms’ algorithmic systems.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Act requires platforms to address algorithmic risks, including promotion of illegal content and content harmful to children, including hateful misogynistic content.
We expect companies to implement Ofcom’s recommended measures for making platforms safer for women and girls, including deprioritising harmful content in recommender algorithms and de-monetising content promoting misogynistic abuse.
Ofcom undertakes and publishes research into online harms, including misogynistic content, which the Department draws on alongside external evidence.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data her Department holds on the extent to which children are recommended or exposed to misogynistic, anti-feminist or other harmful gendered content by social media platforms.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Act requires platforms to address algorithmic risks, including promotion of illegal content and content harmful to children, including hateful misogynistic content.
We expect companies to implement Ofcom’s recommended measures for making platforms safer for women and girls, including deprioritising harmful content in recommender algorithms and de-monetising content promoting misogynistic abuse.
Ofcom undertakes and publishes research into online harms, including misogynistic content, which the Department draws on alongside external evidence.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent by her Department in the last four quarters on paying for asylum seekers to travel from asylum accommodation in Oxford East to the nearest reporting centre in Hounslow.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
Individuals who have claimed asylum may apply for assistance with travel expenses to attend a reporting event where they are in receipt of asylum support and reside more than three miles from their reporting location. Applications from individuals residing within three miles may be considered where there is an exceptional need.
The Home Office does not hold readily available centrally collated data on expenditure specifically relating to travel from asylum accommodation in Oxford East to the reporting centre in Hounslow.
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 resources her Department is giving the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help administer new safe and legal routes to the UK.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are working closely with UNHCR on the development and operationalisation of the UKs safe and legal routes including the resources they require in order to support delivery.