Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to representatives of the Government of Israel on the treatment of Marwan Barghouti.

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

The UK is deeply concerned by reports of mistreatment of detainees by Israeli forces and raises this issue with the Israeli government. The UK has been consistently clear that all detainees must be treated with dignity and in full accordance with international law, and that such allegations must be thoroughly investigated. The UK continues to call on the Government of Israel to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross immediate and unrestricted access to all detention facilities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will direct the FSA to publish the terms of reference and timetable for conduct of their review of current and emerging abattoir technologies and their potential regulatory use including what plans they have to consult industry stakeholders.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) works closely with the meat industry on the introduction of new technology in abattoirs. Whilst it is for businesses to determine what technology they wish to invest in and deploy, the FSA is keen to collaborate on these initiatives to understand any impacts on regulation and any associated benefits for food safety, animal welfare standards, and business growth. For example, the FSA and industry trade bodies have recently developed a joint protocol for the deployment of automated faecal contamination technology in abattoirs. The FSA also recently commissioned independent research into new technologies in meat official controls, which involved engagement with both trade bodies and individual businesses. This research will be published later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many billing errors the Food Standards Agency made in charging food business operators for Official Controls in each of the last 3 years, and what was the total monetary value of these in each of these years.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not centrally record billing errors for Official Controls in the format requested. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a definitive count of billing errors made in charging food business operators for Official Controls, nor the total monetary value of such errors, for each of the last three years.

The FSA operates financial management and assurance processes designed to minimise errors in invoicing, including routine reconciliation and review procedures. Where errors are identified, these are corrected through our standard processes, and any necessary adjustments are made to ensure that charges accurately reflect the cost of Official Controls delivered.

The FSA continues to keep its billing and assurance processes under review to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness for food business operators.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the FSA last reviewed and updated the scientific evidence, research and data underpinning the Official Controls legislation referred to in PQ Answer 120762.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2022, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) completed an operational transformation programme and launched a new operational modernisation programme in 2023. These aim to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the delivery of official controls through enhanced capability and better use of technology.

Beyond strategic review programmes, the FSA continually reviews how Official Controls Regulations are implemented in FSA-approved establishments and regularly updates the publicly available Manual for Official Controls. The FSA conducts and commissions research to ensure regulations remain evidence-based and proportionate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many major food incidents have there been in each of the last 5 years and of those how many were meat related.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In responding to food and feed safety incidents and foodborne disease outbreaks, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) categorises its handling of incident responses at Routine or Non-routine levels.

Non-routine incident and outbreak responses are escalated where it is considered that their successful management requires levels of resources and authority beyond those available for routine incident handling.

In the calendar years 2021 to 2026, the FSA escalated three meat related incidents and outbreak responses to Non-routine status. This was from a total of 15 Non-routine incidents in that period. All three of these meat related incidents were escalated within the calendar year 2023. The following table shows the number of incidents/outbreak responses escalated to Non-routine status for the calendar years 2021 to 2026:

Communications blackout and human rights in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026

Government response to Israel’s West Bank annexation plan

Found: . 148) Current membership Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts

Found: . 148) Current membership Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Clive Betts (Chair); Sarah Green; Chris Kane; Catherine McKinnell

Found: Dhesi: Spending of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Maximum Personnel Lewis Atkinson, Mr Clive Betts

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Clive Betts; Sarah Green; Lloyd Hatton; Chris Kane; Rupert Lowe

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Sarah Green;

Found: . 148) Current membership Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah

Found: . 148) Current membership Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts

Found: . 148) Current membership Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Clive Betts; Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Sarah Hall; Chris

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Clive Betts; Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Sarah Hall; Chris