Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his arms licensing policy in relation to Indonesia of the human rights situation in West Papua.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most robust export control regimes in the world.
We assess all export licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including Criterion 2 which requires us to consider the current human rights situation in the country which is the final destination of controlled exports, as well as respect by that country for international humanitarian law. The Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We also keep extant licences under constant and continual review on this basis.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether B61-12 nuclear bombs have been delivered to the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any location.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support households with increases to water bills.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to this end.
We are clear as Government that we expect water companies to ensure their customers know what support schemes are available and how to access them if they need help. We expect water companies to put robust support in place for vulnerable customers and keep current support schemes under review to ensure vulnerable customers are supported and access the support they are entitled to.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether Israel is in possession of nuclear weapons.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel has never declared a nuclear weapons programme. The UK Government continues to encourage Israel to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non nuclear-weapon State. We regularly monitor all global nuclear developments and will continue to work with international partners to reduce nuclear risks, strengthen the non-proliferation regime and advance multilateral nuclear disarmament.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure water companies are accountable to their users.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Water (Special Measures) Act provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers for the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies in the next investment period. The Act also enables the public to hold companies to account through introducing new, statutory reporting requirements for emergency overflows and pollution incidents.
As announced in July 2024, consumers will gain powers to hold water company bosses to account through powerful new customer panels. The Water (Special Measures) Act now provides Ofwat with the power to make rules on company governance, including rules which achieve having arrangements in place for involving consumers in decisions that are likely to have an impact on consumer matters. Ofwat will conduct a consultation this summer that will determine the new rule and allow for the establishment of the panels.
The Independent Commission published its results today. This can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-water-commission-review-of-the-water-sector.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to encourage schools to buy food from local food cooperatives through the updated school food standards.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts. The department believes our high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet this. It is important that schools have flexibility in how they procure.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will support the establishment of an independent public inquiry into the UK's involvement in Israeli operations in Gaza since October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government does not support the establishment of an independent public inquiry into the UK's involvement in Israeli operations in Gaza since October 2023. The government has already set out the role of UK military operations in relation to Gaza. In support of ongoing hostage rescue activity, the Ministry of Defence has conducted surveillance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including in airspace over Israel and Gaza. Surveillance aircraft are unarmed, do not have a combat role and have been tasked solely to locate hostages in order to uphold the government's primary responsibility: the security of its citizens.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which defence contractors and associated corporate entities were granted sight of the Strategic Defence Review prior to its official presentation to the House.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For the launch of the Strategic Defence Review, the Government offered embargoed briefings to our people and senior defence leaders, plus certain parliamentarians, trade unions, businesses, allies and media. This was broadly consistent with the approach for previous defence reviews. At no point did stakeholders receive any commercially sensitive information ahead of publication.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many families are receiving Healthy Start in Islington North constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The number of people on the scheme in March 2025 in Islington North was 1,763.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 35627 on Strategic Defence Review, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the risks identified by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Answered by Maria Eagle
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 29127 from the hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead on 14 February 2025.