Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of eligible households are not currently in receipt of the Healthy Start scheme in Poplar and Limehouse constituency.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department is currently considering options on whether Healthy Start will be made available to households subject to no recourse to public funds on a permanent basis, and further information will be available in due course.
We do not hold data on the percentage of eligible households who are not currently in receipt of Health Start in the Poplar and Limehouse constituency.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Healthy Start will be available to households subject to no recourse to public funds on a permanent basis.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department is currently considering options on whether Healthy Start will be made available to households subject to no recourse to public funds on a permanent basis, and further information will be available in due course.
We do not hold data on the percentage of eligible households who are not currently in receipt of Health Start in the Poplar and Limehouse constituency.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the UK-France 'one-in-one-out' scheme will be ended after the conclusion of the pilot in October, and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of safeguarding measures during the detention of vulnerable people including children under the scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Our landmark UK-France returns deal means we can send those who arrive on small boats straight back to France – striking at the heart of the gangs’ business model. This has seen us deport more than 1,000 illegal migrants from British soil.
The UK-France returns arrangement remains a pilot scheme and has been extended until October 2026, allowing it to be further scaled and tested over the peak summer period. There is no single silver bullet to end small boat crossings, and this pilot is only one element of our partnership with France, within our wider strategy. I continue to work with my European counterparts to build a comprehensive approach to control migration between the EU and the UK.
The Government takes the welfare and safety of those in its care seriously. Each case considered under the pilot is assessed on an individual basis, including consideration of safeguarding, vulnerability and suitability for removal. Appropriate safeguards are in place, and individuals are able to make representations before any removal takes place.
Where an individual is detained, the suitability of ongoing detention is regularly reviewed, and where there is no legal barrier, removal will proceed.
Individuals are not removed to France where their age is in dispute, given the terms of the Treaty sets out those removed will be individuals who have been determined to be an adult. Removing minors to France is explicitly prohibited under Article 4(2)(d) of the Agreement.
We will continue to work with French authorities to ensure swift, lawful processing under the Agreement and to maintain public safety. We are continuously monitoring and evaluating our pilot, alongside the procedures in place to deliver it.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the answer of 3 June 2026 to Question 3863, what is meant by permissions to utilise UK military bases being considered on a case-by-case basis; and whether each individual strike requires separate authorisation.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations' military operations, including the processes for providing them with host nation authorisation. All UK support to allies for operational purposes considers the legal basis and policy rational for any proposed activity.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel’s report of 18 June 2026, including its conclusions on page 79.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact of the conflict in Gaza on children is a moral outrage, and the allegations in this report that children were deliberately targeted by Israeli forces are deeply alarming. International law is clear that children must always be protected, and their rights upheld, and any violation of those principles must be treated with the utmost seriousness.
On the issue of genocide, the UK's longstanding position remains that any formal judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, which has come to a reasoned conclusion after consideration of all the evidence available, in the context of a credible judicial process.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the sustainability of independent gyms in Poplar and Limehouse constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of gyms and leisure facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities.
We would encourage independent gyms to engage with Sport England’s Moving Communities platform, which gathers data on the performance of leisure facilities and their contribution to getting communities active.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences were handled over the course of the 2026 local elections by the national police unit established for protecting people standing for public office.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Operation Ford is the policing support for locally elected representatives, including Metropolitan Mayors, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Local Councillors.
Working with the police, the Home Office has established the Operation Ford Threat Assessment Centre to coordinate and collate intelligence to build a national picture of threats, including harassment and intimidation, against locally elected representatives across the UK.
The Home Office do not collect data on numbers of offences directly related to Operation Ford or offences recorded during the 2026 local elections.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has conducted any assessments of potential racial, disabilities, or other equalities biases in the use of Facial Age Estimation technology in immigration enforcement contexts.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Throughout 2026, Facial Age Estimation technology will undergo rigorous testing and subject to further decision making, is expected to first be implemented in 2027 for small boat arrivals at Western Jet Foil, where quick decisions are critical.
Extensive testing has already been carried out across diverse groups, including different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, indicating promising performance and accuracy. Further testing is ongoing.
Equalities impacts are being considered through ongoing testing, independent analysis and policy development, in line with legal advice and public sector equality duty obligations.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) - world leading in establishing the most accurate metrology standards, science and technology, has been commissioned to carry out the independent review of testing and trial reports produced by the Home Office.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to question 6647 asked on 3 June 2026 (Israel: Military Alliances), whether the December 2020 agreement has been (a) reviewed, (b) modified or (c) amended at any point since its signing.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK-Israel military cooperation agreement, which was signed in December 2020, remains extant.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Hansard for the 9 June 2026, Middle East column 177, whether her Department issued guidance on the the legality of (a) bricks and mortar, (b) corrugated iron, (c) insurance and (d) other goods and services to Israeli (i) individuals or (ii) entities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 9 June, and her answers to the questions raised in response.