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 regulations for a) the health and welfare of surrogate mothers and children born through surrogacy and b) ethical concerns associated with cross-border surrogacy arrangements.

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

I refer the Hon member to the answer provided to question HL6361 on 31 March 2025, a copy of which is reproduced below for ease of reference:

The UK does not support international surrogacy involving any form of exploitation and is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. Globally the UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. At the multilateral level, and through our diplomatic and Official Development Assistance partnerships, we advocate that all people have the right to make informed decisions about childbearing, including if, whether and when to have children. Family planning interventions, including surrogacy, must always be voluntary and rooted in a human rights-based approach.

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 help ensure that international surrogacy arrangements meet the same a) standards and b) checks as international adoption laws.

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

I refer the Hon member to the answer provided to question HL6361 on 31 March 2025, a copy of which is reproduced below for ease of reference:

The UK does not support international surrogacy involving any form of exploitation and is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. Globally the UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. At the multilateral level, and through our diplomatic and Official Development Assistance partnerships, we advocate that all people have the right to make informed decisions about childbearing, including if, whether and when to have children. Family planning interventions, including surrogacy, must always be voluntary and rooted in a human rights-based approach.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing prior public notice of visits by members of the Royal Family to Northern Ireland, in the context of practice in other parts of the UK.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As with all Royal visits across the UK, announcement timelines take into account a number of factors, including security advice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the timely processing of domestic abuse cases in courts; and what additional resources have been allocated to minimise case backlogs.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Whilst judges already prioritise cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, including domestic abuse, we know that victims who cases are heard at the Crown Court are waiting too long for justice.

That is why this Government commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. After considering the recommendations made in Part 1 of this report, we have announced our intention to take forward a bold package of structural reforms, designed to improve timeliness in the Crown Court and speed up justice for all victims, including victims of domestic abuse. This financial year we also funded 111,250 Crown Court sitting days – an all-time high.

We have also published our Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy - ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse’ - setting out the Government’s approach to tackling domestic abuse and other offences perpetrated against women and girls. We are already acting by:

• Investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years.
• Repealing the Children Act’s presumption of parental involvement and expanding the Private Law Pathfinder pilot.
• Making trauma-informed training available to all criminal court staff by spring 2026 to improve how courts support victims.
• And exploring the expansion of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts.

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 implement the National Suicide Prevention Plan; and what further steps he is taking to help tackle suicide rates.

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

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

The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.

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 is available at the following link:

https://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 guidance.

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

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the US ambassador on opportunities to attract increased US investment to Northern Ireland; and what steps his Department is taking to facilitate such investment.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government engages regularly with the US administration to promote investment opportunities in Northern Ireland and I met the US Ambassador in Northern Ireland in July. Recent major investments, like Bank of America’s Belfast expansion, bringing with it over 100 jobs, confirm the significant interest in Northern Ireland from US businesses and investors. The UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal provides an important framework to reduce trade barriers, ensuring Northern Ireland remains an attractive destination for American firms.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Iran; and what steps she is taking to support religious freedom and human rights in that country.

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

We continue to monitor Iran's violations of the rights of religious minorities, and are committed to working with international partners to hold Iran to account. My Hon Friend the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, has worked closely on this issue - including hosting events in partnership with with Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. We were integral to the delivery of an Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2025, which called on Iran to ensure Iranians have the right to freedom of religion or belief in accordance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on measures to control the spread of avian influenza in Northern Ireland.

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

Each of the three devolved Governments, along with the UK Government, is an integral part of the decision-making process for avian influenza control. They are core members of the regular chief veterinary officer strategic stocktakes and they also sit on the Animal Disease Policy Group (a UK-wide policy decision making group).

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 adequacy of the current rules around party donations by single donors, with particular reference to donations from foreign entities.

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

As set out in our Manifesto and subsequently in our Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections published last July, we are bringing forward a number of reforms to strengthen our political finance rules on donations to close loopholes and tackle foreign interference in our elections. These reforms include: tighter controls on donations from companies to ensure they have a legitimate connection to the UK; greater due diligence checks on significant donations under a new ‘Know-Your-Donor' scheme; stronger checks and transparency thresholds for unincorporated associations; and requirements for donors to declare connected sources of their funding.

On the 16 December 2025 the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The purpose of the review is to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance and make recommendations. The terms of reference for the review can be found here. Review findings will be delivered to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Security Minister by the end of March 2026.

Honour and gratitude for British armed forces

Rape gang overseas trafficking