Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, entitled Religious Persecution of Palestinian Muslims, published on 13 March 2026.

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

The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all around the world, including in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The UK Special Envoy for FoRB discussed the issue of access to holy sites during his visit to the Holy See in March 2026. We condemn the record levels of settler violence in the West Bank, and we are carefully monitoring restrictions on movement and access that affect holy sites.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of Israeli settlers carrying out attacks on mosques during Ramadan in the occupied West Bank.

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

The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all around the world, including in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The UK Special Envoy for FoRB discussed the issue of access to holy sites during his visit to the Holy See in March 2026. We condemn the record levels of settler violence in the West Bank, and we are carefully monitoring restrictions on movement and access that affect holy sites.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to secure the immediate re-opening of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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

The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all around the world, including in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The UK Special Envoy for FoRB discussed the issue of access to holy sites during his visit to the Holy See in March 2026. We condemn the record levels of settler violence in the West Bank, and we are carefully monitoring restrictions on movement and access that affect holy sites.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications fir her policies if the impact of Israeli restrictions on access to religious sites on Palestinian Muslims in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

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

The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all around the world, including in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The UK Special Envoy for FoRB discussed the issue of access to holy sites during his visit to the Holy See in March 2026. We condemn the record levels of settler violence in the West Bank, and we are carefully monitoring restrictions on movement and access that affect holy sites.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with Israeli counterparts on restrictions on access to religious sites for Palestinian Muslims in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

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

The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all around the world, including in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The UK Special Envoy for FoRB discussed the issue of access to holy sites during his visit to the Holy See in March 2026. We condemn the record levels of settler violence in the West Bank, and we are carefully monitoring restrictions on movement and access that affect holy sites.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of commissioning a digital industrial strategy to support public and private sector organisations in modernising their digital and cyber processes and capabilities.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government published the Modern Industrial Strategy in June 2025. Drawing on extensive analysis and stakeholder engagement, it set out our priorities and actions for supporting business and sectors to grow, including through adopting technologies. There are no plans for a further digital industrial strategy. The Government is also progressing the recommendations of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Digital Adoption Taskforce.

For the public sector, the Roadmap for Modern Digital Government and the Government Cyber Action Plan set out cross-government efforts to replace outdated legacy systems, build data-sharing platforms, strengthen cyber security, and invest in long-term capability in the workforce.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that organisations critical to national security and critical national infrastructure have secure and resilient digital processes and platforms.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The government is working tirelessly to improve the cyber resilience of our most critical services and systems, including the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

The Resilience Action Plan, published in July 2025, sets out a strategic ‘all hazards approach’ to building national resilience for the whole of society. The Action Plan includes specific pledges to improve cyber resilience levels of our CNI.

The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, currently going through Parliament, will also strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that the essential and digital services that the public relies upon are more secure.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered in what way the UK's operational responsibility for providing air traffic services in the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area could help support operational trials of contrail-mitigation routing.

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

The Government recognises that aviation has non-CO2 impacts such as contrails which may have significant warming impacts on the climate, although significant scientific uncertainties remain.

The Government has funded 14 projects as part of our Non-CO2 R&D Programme to better our understanding of aviation’s non-CO2 impacts and to identify and develop potential mitigation options.

The Department also established a Contrail Impact Mitigation Task and Finish Group under the Jet Zero Taskforce which assessed the UK’s capability to undertake contrail avoidance manoeuvres as a means of reducing aviation’s non‑CO₂ climate impacts.

The report highlighted that the atmospheric conditions in the North Atlantic make it prone to forming persistent warming contrails. The report was published on 17 March 2026 and one of the key recommendations from this report was for the UK to undertake large-scale trials in the North Atlantic. The Department is carefully considering all the recommendations and is currently exploring options to fund a large‑scale trial in UK controlled airspace.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using the atmospheric and geographic features of the North Atlantic to support contrail-mitigation measures to reduce aviation's climate impact.

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

The Government recognises that aviation has non-CO2 impacts such as contrails which may have significant warming impacts on the climate, although significant scientific uncertainties remain.

The Government has funded 14 projects as part of our Non-CO2 R&D Programme to better our understanding of aviation’s non-CO2 impacts and to identify and develop potential mitigation options.

The Department also established a Contrail Impact Mitigation Task and Finish Group under the Jet Zero Taskforce which assessed the UK’s capability to undertake contrail avoidance manoeuvres as a means of reducing aviation’s non‑CO₂ climate impacts.

The report highlighted that the atmospheric conditions in the North Atlantic make it prone to forming persistent warming contrails. The report was published on 17 March 2026 and one of the key recommendations from this report was for the UK to undertake large-scale trials in the North Atlantic. The Department is carefully considering all the recommendations and is currently exploring options to fund a large‑scale trial in UK controlled airspace.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of contrail-mitigation measures in reducing aviation's climate impact.

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

The Government recognises that aviation has non-CO2 impacts such as contrails which may have significant warming impacts on the climate, although significant scientific uncertainties remain.

The Government has funded 14 projects as part of our Non-CO2 R&D Programme to better our understanding of aviation’s non-CO2 impacts and to identify and develop potential mitigation options.

The Department also established a Contrail Impact Mitigation Task and Finish Group under the Jet Zero Taskforce which assessed the UK’s capability to undertake contrail avoidance manoeuvres as a means of reducing aviation’s non‑CO₂ climate impacts.

The report highlighted that the atmospheric conditions in the North Atlantic make it prone to forming persistent warming contrails. The report was published on 17 March 2026 and one of the key recommendations from this report was for the UK to undertake large-scale trials in the North Atlantic. The Department is carefully considering all the recommendations and is currently exploring options to fund a large‑scale trial in UK controlled airspace.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Government can access sensitive information and data from overseas cloud software providers in the event of contract cancellation or expiration.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

When departments procure cloud software, the Government requires that contracts include clear provisions on data ownership, control and exit, so that government data can be securely accessed, transferred or deleted when contracts expire or are terminated.

Under UK data protection law, government acts as the data controller and sets binding contractual instructions on how suppliers may process government data, including requirements covering data access, retention and deletion at the end of a contract. These arrangements are underpinned by standard contractual security and data protection terms and are assured by departments in line with the sensitivity of the data involved.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure (a) cross-departmental communication and (b) information sharing in the event of a major cyber-attack that would impact primary platforms and servers.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Under the Government’s National Cyber Incident Management Framework, the cross-government response to major cyber incidents is coordinated and managed by the National Cyber Security Centre, with the Cabinet Office’s National Security Secretariat taking the lead for those incidents that would be considered a national cyber emergency. This framework ensures cross-departmental communication and information sharing during a crisis.

GP access

Democracy and human rights in Myanmar

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Dr Scott Arthur; Olly Glover; Alex Mayer; Baggy