Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to (a) reopen the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme and (b) introduce a similar scheme for all faiths.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Protecting the right of all faith communities to worship in peace and without fear is fundamental. That is why record funding of up to £5 million is available for physical protective security measures through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme in 2026/27.

The next application window for this scheme will open later this year. Sites of all faiths, except Jewish and Muslim, are already eligible for this scheme. Mosques, synagogues and their associated faith community centres and schools can receive protective security through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme and the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant – more information on the Home Office schemes can be found on GOV.uk.

Additionally, the Home Office has launched a brand-new scheme, Faith Security Training (FST), to better protect faith communities in England and Wales.

FST, developed in partnership with policing and faith representatives, is a free scheme designed to help faith communities strengthen their security awareness and preparedness.

I would encourage faith communities looking to improve the security of their places of worship to attend the training.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of barriers preventing women from accessing the full range of contraceptive methods, including long-acting reversible contraception, and what steps he is taking to address those barriers.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring equitable access to a range of contraceptive methods including long-acting reversible contraception.

The renewed women’s health strategy will set out how the Government will take the next steps to improve women's healthcare as part of the 10-Year Health Plan and create a system that listens to women, including consideration of barriers to access. Steps to improve access to contraception are being considered as part of the renewal.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that commitments within the Women’s Health Strategy refresh are implemented equitably to improve access to contraception at a local level.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring equitable access to a range of contraceptive methods including long-acting reversible contraception.

The renewed women’s health strategy will set out how the Government will take the next steps to improve women's healthcare as part of the 10-Year Health Plan and create a system that listens to women, including consideration of barriers to access. Steps to improve access to contraception are being considered as part of the renewal.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to review existing animal welfare legislation following the withdrawal by companies from voluntary commitments to improve chicken farming conditions.

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

As set out in the animal welfare strategy, the Government remains committed to supporting a move away from the use of fast-growing breeds of meat chickens. The Government welcome the fact that those supermarkets who made Better Chicken Commitment pledges have fulfilled them, but it is disappointing to hear of the decision of various restaurant groups to withdraw their commitments to improve animal welfare in this way.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of fast growing broiler breeds on welfare conditions.

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

The welfare implications of fast-growing breeds of meat chickens was considered as part of the Defra funded Systematic Review of Evidence on Livestock Breeding conducted by Queen’s University Belfast. The Government also commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee to conduct a review of livestock breeding and we expect their report to be published this summer.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the sustainable Chicken Forum.

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

The Department remains firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to continue working closely with all stakeholders to deliver high standards.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department made of the potential impact of planned immigration changes, including the extension of qualifying period for settlement, on abuse victims and their ability to leave their abuser.

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

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. Contributions will now be analysed, and the findings will support the development of the final model.

We specifically consulted on victims of domestic abuse and how an earned settlement system may be tailored for this group considering their vulnerability. We will continue to have pathways to settlement for domestic abuse victims.

Economic and equality impact assessments will be conducted on the final model and published in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure victims and survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery criminalised as a result of exploitation are not deported.

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

We want to ensure that all victims of modern slavery, regardless of nationality or residency status, are quickly identified and can access support through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK’s system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015) provides a statutory defence against prosecution for victims of modern slavery who were compelled to carry out criminal offences as a result of their exploitation (adults); or committed offences as a direct consequence of being a victim of modern slavery (children). Schedule 4 to the MSA 2015 contains a list of serious offences to which the section 45 defence does not apply. The list includes the most serious crimes such as sexual offences, some terrorism offences, modern slavery offences and serious violence offences. In cases where the section 45 defence does not apply, prosecutors can take into account other non-punishment principles, such as duress and the public interest test when determining whether to pursue charges against an individual.

Potential victims are entitled to a recovery period in the National Referral Mechanism, unless disqualified on grounds of public order or bad faith. This recovery period protects individuals (who have a Reasonable Grounds decision) from potential removal from the UK for a minimum of 30 days, or until a Conclusive Grounds decision is made on their case, whichever is the longer.

The Nationalities and Borders Act 2022 set the threshold for Public Order Disqualification (POD) on grounds including criminality and national security threats. POD decisions require a balancing of public order risk against the individual’s need for modern slavery specific support, taking account of factors such as relevant convictions and potential exploitation linked to those offences. Decision-making on POD is currently paused.

Adult and child victims of modern slavery with a Conclusive Grounds decision, and where applicable their dependent children, may be considered for Temporary Permission to Stay (TPS) in the UK if they do not already have status in the UK. Individuals granted TPS may still apply for a more advantageous form of leave if eligible. TPS does not lead to settlement in the UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling tenants and residents to pay disputed service charges to the courts while disputes with landlords are being heard.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has not made a specific assessment of the potential merits of paying disputed service charges to the courts while disputes are being heard.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that non-citizen UK residents currently in the Middle East will be included in any repatriation plans in the region.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement I gave to the House on 5 March, and the answers provided to questions raised in response. We will provide further such updates on a regular basis, including the details of any evacuation plans, but for now, our priority remains to secure an end to Iran's attacks on countries in the region, and the resumption of normal commercial flights.

Redundancies of skilled rail workers at Balfour Beatty

Transition of rail workers into Great British Railways

World Social Work Day 2026

Closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan

Payment of employment tribunal awards

Industrial relations at Carlisle Support Services

Trade union de-recognition at GB Railfreight

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (No. 2)

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

British couple detained in Iran

Report on conditions and treatment at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre

Driver-only trains on East West Rail

New United Nations Convention on the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals

Football ticket prices (No. 2)

Use of catapults against wildlife

Found: Labour; Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) Joani Reid (Independent; East Kilbride and Strathaven) Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Joani Reid (Labour, East Kilbride and Strathaven) (added 21 Oct 2024) 33 of 47 (70.2%) Bell Ribeiro-Addy