Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Yes, I absolutely reaffirm that commitment. The right hon. Member will know that we are increasing our defence spending, and alongside that is the work we are doing in our Department. The defence sector is critical for jobs and backing the research and development that will lead to further demand and further innovation. I really hope that next year I may be able to visit Northern Ireland, and I would very much like to see what is happening in his constituency.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

2. What steps she is taking to help tackle online content promoting the torture of animals.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Kanishka Narayan)]

Online content depicting or promoting animal torture is horrific and—let me be clear—unacceptable. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, animal cruelty is a priority offence, which needs proactive steps from platforms to counter it. We will keep the pressure on to enforce that.

[Johanna Baxter]

Earlier this year, two teenagers were prosecuted for the torture and killing of kittens in a public park. A BBC investigation has since uncovered a disturbing international network sharing videos of extreme cruelty to cats and kittens, and users here in the UK and those prosecuted have been found to be in possession of that material. Online animal abuse is not a harmless niche; it is a recognised warning sign for escalating violence, including serious crimes against women and girls. I am pleased that the Prime Minister’s Christmas card promotes kindness towards animals. Will my hon. Friend outline what further work his Department is doing to ensure that we address harmful content?

[Kanishka Narayan]

May I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend—and indeed her cats Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam—for being right at the vanguard of campaigning on this serious issue. Animal cruelty is a priority offence in the law, as I mentioned, and Ofcom must enforce it and platforms must act on it. The Government will keep the pressure on, as we have done in our engagements with the platforms, to ensure that our cats—our animals—are safe from cruelty.

G20 and Ukraine

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

I appreciate that this is a developing situation, but we know that at least 19,546 children from Ukraine have been stolen by Russia and sent to more than 400 locations across eight time zones. We know that 1.6 million children in the occupied territories are being subjected to militarisation and indoctrination. We know that 200 military training camps turn Ukrainian children into Russian soldiers. And we know that one in 10 of the Ukrainian children rescued from Russia have reported that they have been sexually abused. Will the Prime Minister remind President Trump that behind every one of those figures is a child? Will he assure the House that any peace plan agreed will deliver the safe return of all the Ukrainian children who have been stolen, and that Russia will be held to account for the war crimes that it continues to commit?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her campaigning and all her efforts to keep a constant light on that appalling situation. It is shocking that Russia is treating those children as a weapon of war, kidnapping and subjecting them to all sorts of abuse and ill treatment. We are doing and must do everything we can to safeguard those children and get them back to their families, where they belong.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this important issue, and reassure him that we do want to keep the huge expertise and knowledge of the UK Space Agency staff, including those working in his constituency. We have already secured almost £300 million in contracts from the European Space Agency and this will cut costs, reducing duplication, so we can really focus on growing this important sector.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

Since the start of the full-scale invasion into Ukraine, Russia has stolen, abducted and indoctrinated at least 19,546 children. It is one of the most heinous crimes of this war. I warmly welcome this morning’s announcement of an additional package of sanctions on those perpetrating these crimes, and will the Prime Minister assure the House that he will do everything possible to return these children to their homes?

[The Prime Minister]

I acknowledge my hon. Friend’s campaigning on this really important issue. Russia’s policy of forced deportations and indoctrination of Ukrainian children is despicable, and anybody who has heard the stories or seen the pictures cannot be other than profoundly moved. We have taken firm action. This was one issue that we discussed two weeks ago in Washington when I went over with other leaders to ensure that we are all imposing maximum pressure. Among the very many horrors of the Ukraine conflict, this is right up there as one of the absolute worst.

Government Resilience Action Plan

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Tuesday 8th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

During the covid pandemic, I was a trade union official representing 200,000 local government workers across Scotland. I saw at first hand their extraordinary dedication to our public services, but I also saw when they were let down by a lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the UK Government and the Scottish Government. Will my right hon. Friend outline how the resilience action plan will encourage greater co-operation between Governments across our devolved nations?

[Pat McFadden]

When there is an emergency, there should be no place for performative politics from anyone. My experience over the past year has been that co-operation on these issues has been good. This is an arena in which we should be less partisan—perhaps that should be the case in other parts of our national life too—because in the end, the public who send us to this place want to know that help is there, no matter the colour or level of Government. That should be the spirit in which we approach emergency preparedness and resilience.

G7 and NATO Summits

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 26th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have said that we need to alleviate the threat, and that we have taken a huge step towards alleviating the threat. I have discussed that with G7 and NATO colleagues, and with President Trump. Everybody was very pleased that there was such unity on it.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

The forced deportation of children is illegal under international law, yet Russia continues to steal Ukraine’s future, one child at a time. Was the issue of Ukraine’s stolen children discussed with our allies? What more is being done to return those children to their homes and families?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the matter. She has campaigned hard on this. It is central that if there is to be a ceasefire and a lasting peace in Ukraine—and I hope that there is—it must involve the return of the children. We have discussed that many times, and will continue to do so.

National Security Strategy

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

The Government agree that food security is important. Our farmers, food producers and food retailers have been burdened with far too many increased costs and delays in recent years, but the recent sanitary and phytosanitary agreement we reached with the European Union will lift that burden. That will be good news for food producers in the UK, who will be able to grow and sell their magnificent produce with much greater ease than in recent years.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

It is vital that the UK has robust defences against biological incidents, accidents and attacks. What steps are the Government taking to invest in our biosecurity, and how that will help to protect our country from the range of bio-threats that we face?

[Pat McFadden]

There is a £1 billion investment in biosecurity. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for DEFRA has been able to announce only today new investment in critical resources at Weybridge as part of that.

UK-EU Summit

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The detail of the agreement we reached yesterday was set out in a document which we released during the course of yesterday. If the right hon. Gentleman has not had the chance to see that, I will make sure that he does. On the detailed text that follows, obviously that needs to be drafted in legal form so that everybody can see it, of course, and we can debate and scrutinise it. None of this can go through without legislation, so he will have that opportunity. It is quite right that he presses for it.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

The new UK-EU agreement is a welcome and pragmatic step towards rebuilding a strong trading relationship with our closest economic partner:

“this deal will help reduce costs, cut red tape, and make it easier for Scottish businesses to compete and grow across European markets.”

Those are not my words, but the words of the chief executive of the Scottish chambers of commerce. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that when Labour negotiates, businesses and customers in my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire South benefit?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There are reasons why the Scottish chambers of commerce is coming out in support of the deal. It recognises the huge benefits. It is very important that we do everything we can for working people and businesses in Scotland. That is what we are delivering.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

There is no such link, and the right hon. Gentleman knows that the current arrangements will come to an end in 2026. We will negotiate in the interests of our fishers and are looking at our responsibilities to the marine environment.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

T7. It is right that the Government have ensured that funding is in place to compensate victims of the infected blood scandal, but many of them, particularly those in my constituency, are still concerned that the process is taking too long. Will my right hon. Friend say a little more about what we are doing to speed up getting compensation to those victims?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for her constituents. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority is of course operationally independent, but I stand ready to take all the steps I can to ensure that compensation is made as soon as possible. Payments to the infected started at the end of last year; payments to the affected will start by the end of this year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

We are fully alive to the threat posed by Russian cyber-attacks. I mentioned in my previous answer the threat from state and non-state actors, and there is sometimes a threat from state-backed actors against our public infrastructure. We will work as hard as possible to protect our institutions against such attacks, and our intelligence co-operation with the United States remains a very important part of our defences.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

3. What recent progress his Department has made on strengthening cyber-security.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)]

The Government are taking action to strengthen our cyber-security and protect our digital economy. The Home Office has launched a public consultation on proposals to tackle ransomware�one of the most malicious types of attack�to protect UK businesses, improve reporting and strike a blow against those who use this model of organised crime. However, this is a major challenge, as I have said, and it is an ongoing battle against those who seek to us do harm, to extort money and to undermine the delivery of crucial public services.

[Johanna Baxter]

I share some of the concerns expressed by the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney). Last week I spoke to businesses and officials working on Ukraine�s critical national infrastructure, who are on the frontline of Russian cyber-attacks. They told me that, since the invasion, there have been cyber-attacks on virtually every aspect of Ukrainian life, and highlighted the scope of the damage they have done to civilian and military operations. Can my right hon. Friend say a little more about how we are learning the lessons from this conflict and what we are doing to protect our own national infrastructure from Russian cyber-attacks?

[Pat McFadden]

The Government are helping Ukraine�s cyber-defenders to detect, disrupt and deter Russian cyber-attacks. The programme is back by �16 million of UK funding, using world-leading expertise from both the private and the public sectors to protect Ukraine�s critical national infrastructure. We understand that the protection of cyber-assets is part of modern warfare, and we are providing this help for Ukraine, just as we have supplied it with a large number of weapons over the past three years.

Ukraine

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Monday 3rd March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The mineral deal is not enough on its own. May I just remind the hon. Gentleman that Russia is the aggressor and Zelensky is a war leader whose country has been invaded? We should all be supporting him and not fawning over Putin.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, and I congratulate him on the excellent leadership that he has shown on the international stage. Does he agree that in order to achieve any lasting peace in Ukraine, Russia must return the 19,546 children it has stolen from Ukraine?