Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions have been held with the Government of the Irish Republic on what increases in co-operation are required to deal with the numbers of Russian shadow fleet vessels operating in British and Irish territorial waters.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Deterring and disrupting the Russian shadow fleet is a priority for the UK, and we are working closely with our allies and partners to do so.
Earlier this year the Secretary of State for Defence and the Irish Minister for Defence signed the refreshed UK-Ireland Memorandum of Understanding.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding, the UK Armed Forces and the Irish Defence Forces will strengthen their maritime security cooperation to develop improved response mechanisms to maritime security incidents in British and Irish territorial waters.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Pursuant to WPQ 118152, on how many occasions were Border Force personnel involved in dealing with the more than five hundred sanctioned shadow fleet vessels.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force is a law enforcement command within the Home Office. We secure the UK border by carrying out immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the UK.
Maritime teams in the Home Office maintain a permanent presence around the UK as part of its maritime border security. This involves the deployment of Cutters, Coastal Patrol Vessels and other maritime assets.
The vessels are regularly out on proactive patrol, but we do not comment on specific operational deployments or operations.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will investigate trends in the number of applications for asylum from people from (a) Pakistan and (b) Bangladesh who are falsely claiming to be gay and in fear for their lives if returned to their home country.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Where we encounter abuse of the asylum system, we take action. Protection status will be revoked where evidence emerges that it was obtained by deception.
All asylum and human rights claims, including those raised by Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals on grounds of sexuality or gender identity are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
A decision maker will not accept that someone is gay simply because they claim to be so. Such declarations constitute the starting point in the consideration process and are subject to probing at interview and a proper assessment of the facts and circumstances.
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. Our assessment of the situation of a given group in a given country is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Credit Union Movement representative groups in Northern Ireland responded to the call for evidence on Credit Union Common Bond Reform proposals.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond in Great Britain. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK.
The call for evidence only sought views on the common bond for credit unions in England, Wales, and Scotland. This is because responsibility for credit unions in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. The Northern Ireland Executive launched its own consultation in 2025 to gather views on proposed reforms to modernise and strengthen the credit union sector in Northern Ireland.
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co‑operative and mutual sector. In line with devolution arrangements, this includes legislating for reforms in Great Britain while continuing to engage with the Northern Ireland Executive on credit union policy in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) fund research into and (b) help reduce the number of live births with at least one congenital condition.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), commissions a range of research to improve neonatal health outcomes.
For example, The NIHR recently funded a project which investigated whether artificial intelligence (AI) could help to identify heart conditions in babies, before birth. The study found that AI assistance in the routine foetal anomaly ultrasound scan results in significant time savings, and a reduction in sonographer cognitive load, without a reduction in diagnostic performance.
In addition, the NIHR is currently funding a £2.68 million study to improve maternal and infant outcomes in pregnant women with epilepsy through early identification of women and their babies at risk of complications and ensuring timely specialist epilepsy input with evidence-based information on the risks-benefits of their treatment. This study will therefore assess the longer-term effects of newer anti-epileptic drugs on children’s development to inform pregnant women and promote safe anti-epileptic drug use.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including research on congenital conditions.
The 10-Year Health Plan addresses common causes of congenital anomalies including plans to address smoking, end the obesity epidemic, and tackle harmful alcohol consumption. The 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
The plan includes proposals for universal newborn genomic testing, subject to evidence from the Generation Study. This study is assessing the use of whole genome sequencing to screen 100,000 newborns for over 200 rare genetic conditions, with more than 15,000 families enrolled so far. Sequencing will complete by summer 2027, after which the findings will be evaluated and considered by the UK National Screening Committee. Subject to evidence and funding, genomic testing could be available to all newborns by 2035. The Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle includes evidence-based interventions to address common causes of congenital anomalies such as smoking, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, and management of diabetes in pregnancy. Further information on the bundle is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/saving-babies-lives-version-3-2/
In addition, from December 2026, non-wholemeal wheat flour will be fortified with folic acid. It is estimated that this will reduce neural tube defect rates by approximately 20% in the United Kingdom. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/folic-acid
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of new artificial intelligence models on the risk of financial market manipulation.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s ambition is to make the UK a global leader in AI. Encouraging safe adoption is an essential part of realising that ambition. We will continue to work closely with regulators and industry to ensure innovation proceeds safely and responsibly and that any risks to financial markets are identified and mitigated.
In particular, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying, monitoring and taking action to remove or reduce systemic risks to the UK financial system. The FPC’s April 2025 Financial Stability in Focus publication set out potential risks to financial stability that could result from increasing AI use, including in relation to market manipulation, and their response to these.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will ensure that HMRC approved software required for sole traders to make returns under the Making Tax Digital framework remains at no cost to the user for the remainder of this Parliament.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has worked closely with the software industry to ensure the availability of a broad range of MTD-compatible products to suit different needs and budgets.
This includes free products supporting those with the simplest affairs, low-cost bridging software for those who prefer to continue using spreadsheets and more sophisticated products that integrate with other business software.
Currently, there are more than 15 free products (excluding free trials) covering a range of different scenarios including bookkeeping, quarterly updates and end-of-year submissions.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the change in the proportion of NHS GP's that are female between 2015 and 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the proportion of female full-time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) between September 2015 and September 2025, broken down by GP role:
GP type | September 2015 (%) | September 2025 (%) | Change (%) |
All doctors in GPs | 46.1 | 52.8 | 6.7 |
GP partners | 36.9 | 42.4 | 5.5 |
Salaried GPs | 65.9 | 65.7 | -0.2 |
GPs in training grades | 60.2 | 52.8 | -7.5 |
GP retainers | 89.8 | 76.3 | -13.4 |
GP regular locums | 33.6 | 46.2 | 12.5 |
Notes:
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when does he expect the next phase of the review of the UK Foundation programme to be concluded.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The first phase of The Medical Training Review has concluded. Phase 1 identified key challenges and areas for improvement across postgraduate medical training, including for foundation training, alongside what currently works well. The Phase 1 diagnostic report can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/the-medical-training-review-phase-1-diagnostic-report/
Phase 2, which is already underway, will involve working with a wide range of stakeholders across the system to design a package of reform.
NHS England is also conducting a review of the Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) method, which was introduced in 2024 as the process for allocating applicants to the UK Foundation Programme to foundation schools.
Timelines for Phase 2 of the postgraduate medical training review and the PIA review will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to ensure that in instances where serious injury or death results from the distribution of illegal substances, the distribution itself is made an offence directly linked to the injury or death.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no plans to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”) in this way. The maximum sentences for unlawful supply of controlled drugs under the 1971 Act are life imprisonment, a fine or both for Class A drugs, and 14 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both for Class B and C drugs. The classification of drugs under the 1971 Act is broadly based on harm, so longer sentences are available for those drugs considered the most harmful.
When considering the appropriate sentence for a person who has been convicted for supply offences under the 1971 Act, in addition to any statutory aggravating factors, judges may consider a range of factors. In England and Wales these are set out in sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council. These can be found at this link:
Factors increasing the seriousness of an offence, which may result in a longer sentence, include exposing a drug user to the risk of serious harm over and above that expected by the user, exposing those involved in drug dealing to the risk of serious harm and exposing third parties to the risk of serious harm. These factors are not exhaustive and judges may consider other factors, including those raised in victim personal statements.
In Northern Ireland judges rely on caselaw when considering sentencing in the Crown Court. Relevant caselaw can be found here: https://www.judiciaryni.uk/judiciary-decision-types/type/drug-offences-39.