Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her counterpart in Nigeria on the detention of eight children from the Du Merci Christian orphanage; and whether she is taking diplomatic steps to secure their release.

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

The UK government welcomed the return of eight children to the custody of the Du Merci Centre. We are aware that a further eight children remain in the custody of Kano State authorities as court proceedings are ongoing. We have raised this case at senior official level with the Nigerian authorities and stressed the need to prioritise the welfare of the children involved. The enforcement of the court ruling is however a matter for the Nigerian authorities.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make it her policy to reduce the Passive Infrastructure Access charges to broadband providers installing their own cabling parallel to existing Openreach broadband infrastructure.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.

PIA rental charges are set by Ofcom and based on the total cost of the physical infrastructure that Openreach needs to recover. While we are engaging with Ofcom on this issue, it is for the regulator to assess the fair level of these rental charges and DSIT has not made any formal assessment with regard to PIA charges.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, following the Memorandum of Understanding with the Palestinian Authority of April 2025, what step she is taking to help to ensure that content which promotes (a) hatred and (b) is excluded from the Authority's school curriculum.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided to question 83047 on 29 October 2025.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to continue financial support for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given on 11 November to my hon Friend the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill (Kate Osamor) to Question UIN 87351.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has he had with the Palestinian Authority on ensuring that content which promotes hatred is excluded from the Authority's school curriculum.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 29 October to question 79968.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill on 14 October – a significant step in fulfilling our commitment to repeal and replace the Legacy Act.

The Bill received its Second Reading yesterday, and I look forward to continued debate and scrutiny as it progresses through Parliament.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she had had with her counterpart in Bangladesh on recent targeted attacks on St Mary’s Cathedral and St Joseph’s School in Dhaka; and what steps she is taking to help ensure the protection of Christians in Bangladesh.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We condemn all acts of violence in Bangladesh, including those on 7-8 November, and we regularly raise issues of justice, accountability and the protection of fundamental rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Bangladesh's Interim Government.

In February 2025, the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, discussed these issues on her visit to Bangladesh, and during her visit on 13-14 November, the Minister of State for International Development and Africa highlighted to Chief Adviser Professor Yunus the importance of democratic transition, human rights and reconciliation.

The UK's commitment to these issues is also reflected in our £27 million Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme in Bangladesh, which aims to protect civic space, foster inclusive dialogue and address tensions that can lead to violence.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that Pupil Premium Plus is not absorbed into school budgets but is spent spent specifically on adopted the children that qualified for the payment.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The pupil premium grant provides funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. ‘Pupil premium plus’ (PP+) refers to the portion of the pupil premium grant for children who are looked after by the local authority or were previously looked after by a local authority or other state care.

Pupil premium funding, including PP+, is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including looked after and previously looked after children. Statutory guidance is clear that the school’s designated teacher should ensure the specific needs of the PP+ cohort are understood by the school’s staff and reflected in how the school uses PP+ to support these children. They should encourage parents and guardians’ involvement in deciding how the PP+ is used.

Maintained schools and academies must publish strategy statements setting out their planned use of pupil premium.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the level of fuel duty that is now outstanding following the closure of the the Lindsey oil refinery.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC cannot comment on specific businesses due to taxpayer confidentiality.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Nigerian counterpart on the recent abduction of students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure their release.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 27 November 2025.

Warm Homes Plan

Found: Gordon; Afzal Khan; Lord Murray of Blidworth; Lord Sewell of Sanderstead; Peter Swallow; Sir Desmond Swayne

Found: Gordon; Afzal Khan; Lord Murray of Blidworth; Lord Sewell of Sanderstead; Peter Swallow; Sir Desmond Swayne

Found: Rusholme) Alex Sobel (Labour; Leeds Central and Headingley) Peter Swallow (Labour; Bracknell) Sir Desmond Swayne