Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to review Gurkha pay and pensions in accordance with the 1947 Tripartite Agreement.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Government holds the Gurkhas in the highest regard and deeply values their unique and enduring contribution to the United Kingdom. Their bravery, loyalty, and dedication have been an integral part of the British Armed Forces for over two centuries. The Government remains fully committed to recognising their service and ensuring they are treated with fairness and respect.

Gurkha terms and conditions of service were originally established under the 1947 Tripartite Agreement and have been adapted over time to reflect changes in the Brigade’s circumstances. Since 2007, Gurkhas have served under the same terms as the rest of the British Army, with certain provisions retained to preserve the unique identity of the Brigade of Gurkhas.

The Defence Secretary has not engaged in discussions with Cabinet colleagues regarding the uprating of legacy Gurkha pensions, as retrospective changes or enhancements are generally not applied to public service pension schemes. This principle is consistently upheld across the public sector.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to her Pakistani counterparts on reports of escalating human rights violations in Balochistan.

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

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given on 2 June to Question 51410.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she requires the train companies contracted to her Department to include trade union health and safety representatives in post violent incident activity including safety inspections, violence at work policy reviews and reviews of safety risk assessments.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment she has made of the sharing of violence at work data with trade unions by the train companies contracted to her Department.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment she has made of the triggers for violence perpetrated on the rail network.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What instructions has she given to the train companies contracted to her Department on the consideration of violence at work as part of workplace stress risk assessments.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment has she made of the adequacy of reporting procedures for workplace violence at the train companies contracted to her Department.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What instructions has she given to the train companies contracted to her Department on the need to undertake violence at work risk assessments.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What instruction she has given to the train companies contracted to her Department on the lone working of rail staff and the impact on staff safety and security.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment has she made of the training provided to frontline rail workers on dealing with conflict at work.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Government has authorised any export licences for military equipment or dual-use items to Pakistan that could be used in drone operations or internal security actions in Balochistan.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Pakistan, including in Balochistan. Advocating for civil and political rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement with Pakistan. To that end, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan has raised human rights issues on several occasions with Ministers in Pakistan. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan in accordance with its constitution and international standards.

All export licences for military and dual-use equipment are assessed on a case-by-case basis against our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Once granted, all our licences are kept under close and continual review and can be revoked or suspended if necessary.

As our most recent data on export licences show, last year licences have been refused to Pakistan both where there has been a risk of diversion for an undesirable end use, and due to concerns the items may be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.

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 level of the risk that UK-supplied equipment could contribute to human rights violations in Balochistan.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Pakistan, including in Balochistan. Advocating for civil and political rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement with Pakistan. To that end, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan has raised human rights issues on several occasions with Ministers in Pakistan. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan in accordance with its constitution and international standards.

All export licences for military and dual-use equipment are assessed on a case-by-case basis against our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Once granted, all our licences are kept under close and continual review and can be revoked or suspended if necessary.

As our most recent data on export licences show, last year licences have been refused to Pakistan both where there has been a risk of diversion for an undesirable end use, and due to concerns the items may be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment has been made of the adequacy of training in the use of body worn cameras for rail staff on Train companies contracted to her Department.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train Operating Companies (TOCs) must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the aforementioned 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc. The Secretary of State also requests through National Rail Contracts that TOCs measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly. We encourage rail operators to consider the personal safety of its rail staff, including encouraging greater use of Body Worn Video (BWV), which was proven in a 2019 trial to reduce violence against BWV wearing staff at railway stations by 47%.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what are the findings of the department’s business case on new private finance in the NHS.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy (the Strategy) and the 10-Year Health Plan, in addition to significant capital investment, the Government would explore the feasibility of using new Public Private Partnership (PPP) models for taxpayer-funded projects in very limited circumstances, where they could represent value for money. This included the potential use of PPPs to deliver Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs).

A business case was developed by the Department and supported by National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA). The business case was considered by ministers and has resulted in the announcement in the Budget published on 26 November 2025.

The Budget builds on the Strategy and the 10-Year Health Plan by confirming that the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme will deliver new NHCs through upgrading and repurposing existing buildings and building new facilities through a combination of public sector investment and a new model of PPPs.

This new PPP model is being developed by NISTA, and is supported by the Department, and will ensure private sector expertise is harnessed to deliver these assets on time and on budget.

The new model will build on lessons from the past and other models currently in use, and will draw on lessons learnt, including the National Audit Office’s 2025 report on private finance.

To ensure the NHC PPPs are managed transparently and are fiscally sustainable, these partnerships will be budgeted for as if they are on a balance sheet.

Delivering new NHCs through a combination of public investment and PPPs will also allow, for the first time, for evidence to be built and compared between different delivery models.

NEU dispute at Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCLH

Driver-only trains on East West Rail

Food insecurity amongst workers in food processing, manufacturing and retail sectors

Sinking of SS Tilawa

Missing Evri deliveries

Centenary of the derailment of the Flying Scotsman

Parliamentary screening of The Removed and historic forced adoptions

UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons

International sport and alleged United States violations of international law

US military attack on Venezuela

10th anniversary of Boxing Day floods

Border violence

Freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria

Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the Occupied West Bank

US military build-up in the Caribbean

Higher education pension cuts

Right to trial by jury

Thanking postal workers

Kidnapping of school children in Nigeria

Supporting shopworkers

Professional integrity of BBC journalists

Armed exports to the United Arab Emirates and the situation in Sudan

Habitat regulations