Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure controlled UK miliary items are not exported without proper authorisation.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Any exporter seeking to export controlled items is subject to the UK’s Export Control regime as established under the Export Control Act 2002. All applications for export licences are assessed against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
Overall responsibility for enforcement of export controls rests with HMRC. HMRC works closely with Border Force to conduct customs checks to ensure exports are appropriately licences and, where necessary, seize goods at the port.
The export of goods in contravention of our licensing controls is a serious offence and can result in a substantial prison sentence.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to the findings and recommendations of relevant select committee inquiries on SEND provision when developing recent reform proposals.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Charity Commission on the risk of charities offering to help British citizens move to illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to publish the number and proportion of responses to the consultation entitled SEND reform: putting children and young people first, published on 23 February 2026, that supported the proposed changes to tribunal arrangements.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On Monday 23 February, we launched a 12‑week national consultation on our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, so we can hear directly from people across the country with an interest in these changes.
To do this, we are building on our national conversation and delivering one of the broadest engagement programmes we have ever run, bringing together professionals, families, children, and young people to help shape these reforms.
We are hosting a series of online and in‑person events throughout the 12-week consultation period, including sessions delivered in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children (CDC). This includes:
Since the Consultation launched, there have been more than 100 engagement events across a broad spectrum of sectors.
The consultation, including an equalities impact assessment and children’s right impact assessment of the reform proposals, can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first. We will publish a response once the consultation has closed.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish all (a) analysis, (b) impact assessments and (c) internal summaries of stakeholder responses used to inform decisions on SEND reform proposals.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On Monday 23 February, we launched a 12‑week national consultation on our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, so we can hear directly from people across the country with an interest in these changes.
To do this, we are building on our national conversation and delivering one of the broadest engagement programmes we have ever run, bringing together professionals, families, children, and young people to help shape these reforms.
We are hosting a series of online and in‑person events throughout the 12-week consultation period, including sessions delivered in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children (CDC). This includes:
Since the Consultation launched, there have been more than 100 engagement events across a broad spectrum of sectors.
The consultation, including an equalities impact assessment and children’s right impact assessment of the reform proposals, can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first. We will publish a response once the consultation has closed.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Gift Aid is not given to charities linked to illegal activity.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government implements safeguards to prevent payments to charities associated with illegal activity. Most charities are required to be registered with their local regulator such as the Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW), Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI). In order to claim Gift Aid, they must also be registered with HMRC. This ensures that only organisations subject to regulatory oversight, trustee accountability and enforcement powers can access tax reliefs such as Gift Aid. HMRC conducts validation and risk-based checks at registration and thereafter.
These checks involve reviewing Gift Aid claims supplied by the charity. Charities must also obtain valid Gift Aid declarations from all donors in respect of whom Gift Aid is claimed. They must maintain records linking each donation to a valid declaration, including donor identity and donation details.
HMRC monitors charities through risk assessments and sector trends to ensure funds are used appropriately and reliefs are granted only where entitled.
The government introduced legislation, enacted in Finance Act 2026, which strengthens HMRC’s ability to challenge illegal and abusive arrangements.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Every Child Achieving and Thriving, published on 23 February 2026, how much of the teacher training will be delivered in person; who will deliver the training; and how will the training be funded.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper set out proposals for a package of professional development on special educational needs and disabilities, backed by over £200 million of funding. The department is currently in the design phase, listening to feedback coming through the special educational needs and disabilities consultation and working with a wide range of experts to identify what will be most impactful in supporting settings to be more inclusive. More information on the structure of the training will be released in due course.
The department has confirmed that the courses for teachers and leaders in schools and colleges will include a mixture of flexible online self-study sessions and live facilitated sessions, which may be in-person or online to support access. We have also announced a package of materials for schools and colleges to support the development and delivery of in-house, in-person training.
We will adhere to public sector procurement regulations to select suitable providers to deliver the different elements of the package.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of consultation undertaken in the development of proposed reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system, particularly in relation to proposals on the role of tribunals.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is consulting extensively on the full set of proposals set out in the ‘SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First’ consultation document, during the 12-week consultation period. We welcome and will carefully consider comments and representations on all aspects of the consultation paper and subjects related to the proposed reforms, including on the role of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) tribunal.
In addition to the online consultation, we are undertaking a national public engagement programme to ensure that families, practitioners and settings can engage meaningfully on the proposals. Ministers have established the SEND Development Group and the Complex Needs Group to provide expert challenge from local authorities, parent groups and campaigners.
This engagement activity ensures broad, balanced and representative engagement while following consultation principles around transparency, accessibility and fairness.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish the legal direction under Section 254 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 that disapplies patient opt-outs for the NHS Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
All directions made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, under section 254 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 are published at the following link:
The National Data Opt-Out does not currently apply to the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP). This is not because of a direction but because there are currently no products within the NHS FDP which are required to apply the National Data Opt-Out. If the purpose of processing means that the National Data Opt-Out should apply, then the data controller must apply the opt-out. This is covered in the NHS FDP Information Governance Framework, which can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/federated-data-platform-information-governance-framework/
Further information on where the National Data Opt-Out does not apply is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/where-your-choice-does-not-apply/
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to SEND tribunal arrangements on the ability of families to challenge local authority decisions.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform: putting children and young people first’ consultation document explains our proposals for reforming the SEND Tribunal as part of broader SEND reform.
The department expects more disputes to be resolved much earlier through mediation without the need for a Tribunal appeal, meaning that children and young people get the support they need more quickly. However, we are also clear that the SEND Tribunal will remain an important legal backstop for families who disagree with decisions made by a local authority regarding not undertaking a needs assessment, the outcome of an assessment, the specialist provision package identified, and/or the placement named in an education, health and care plan.
We also propose measures to improve local authority accountability to act on Tribunal judgments and improve their decision-making processes where the Tribunal finds against them. These measures should give parents confidence that local authorities will get more decisions right first time in future.
The department will set out further detail following the consultation.