Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the intimidation against Armenian Christians in Jerusalem; and whether his Department plans to take steps to help preserve their presence in the Old City of Jerusalem.

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

The UK recognises that Jerusalem holds particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It has been the position of the UK Government since 1967 that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) are not lawfully part of the State of Israel. In line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, we regard East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our officials at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem regularly meet with members of the Christian community and Churches in Jerusalem, including the Armenian Patriarchate, to understand the impact of issues affecting their community.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will send a formal delegation to (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories to (i) visit the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, (ii) meet the Armenian community and (iii) meet with the Save the Arq movement.

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

The UK recognises that Jerusalem holds particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It has been the position of the UK Government since 1967 that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) are not lawfully part of the State of Israel. In line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, we regard East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our officials at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem regularly meet with members of the Christian community and Churches in Jerusalem, including the Armenian Patriarchate, to understand the impact of issues affecting their community.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation of the Armenian community in Jerusalem.

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

The UK recognises that Jerusalem holds particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It has been the position of the UK Government since 1967 that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) are not lawfully part of the State of Israel. In line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, we regard East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our officials at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem regularly meet with members of the Christian community and Churches in Jerusalem, including the Armenian Patriarchate, to understand the impact of issues affecting their community.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his Israeli counterpart on (a) threats and (b) attempts by Israeli settlers to forcibly take over parcels of land in (i) Goverou Bardez and (ii) other parts of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

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

The UK recognises that Jerusalem holds particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It has been the position of the UK Government since 1967 that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) are not lawfully part of the State of Israel. In line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, we regard East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our officials at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem regularly meet with members of the Christian community and Churches in Jerusalem, including the Armenian Patriarchate, to understand the impact of issues affecting their community.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the average number of men who have committed suicide in each of the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 26th June is attached.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the proportion of boys and men aged between 10 and 50 that have suffered from mental health issues.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the percentage of male children and young people with a probable disorder, sorted by age group:

Source: Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Survey 2023.

In addition, the following table shows the percentage of male adults with a common mental health condition, sorted by age group:

Source: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support university students with the cost of living.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government recognises the impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on students.

The government has therefore announced that maximum loans for living costs will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year. A 3.1% increase is in line with forecast inflation based on the Retail Prices Index Excluding Mortgage (RPIX) inflation index.

We continue to provide means-tested non-repayable grants to low-income full-time students with children and adults who are financially dependent on them.

In addition, students with disabilities can apply for non-means tested disabled students’ allowance to support additional disability-related study costs. For the 2025/26 academic year, maximum dependants’ grants and disabled students’ allowance are being increased by 3.1%.

Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses also qualify for additional non-repayable grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

The department aims to publish our plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White paper in the summer, and work with the sector and the Office for Students to deliver the change that the country needs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted for carrying cannabis in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for possession of cannabis at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of cricket participation rates among state school pupils.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey for Academic Year 2023-24 shows that 252,500 (6.6%) children in academy schools have participated in cricket at least once a week or more, and 253,000 (7.3%) children in maintained schools have participated in cricket at least once a week or more.

The Government is committed to protecting time for physical education in schools. The Prime Minister recently announced a new School Sport Partnerships approach and a new Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. The ongoing independent expert-led review of the curriculum will ensure that all children can engage with a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the National Governing Body for cricket, has committed to making the sport as inclusive as possible for children and young people through their new strategy and state school action plan. I have also seen the work of their charitable arm, Chance to Shine, to encourage more children to take up cricket, at the Mill Academy in Worsbrough last year.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. The ECB receives £10.2 million funding from Sport England across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of (a) the long-term viability, (b) the financial position and (c) levels of participation in cricket clubs in cities.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

This Government is committed to ensuring everyone, no matter their age, background or ability, should be able to play sport and be active.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding.

This includes long term investment to the England and Wales Cricket Board, the National Governing Body for cricket, which receives up to £11.6 million for five years to invest in community cricket initiatives. This includes programmes that will benefit everyone, including people who live in cities, as set out in their “Inspiring Generations” strategy for 2025-2028.

On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK following the Spending Review, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on increasing levels of access to cricket in cities.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

This Government is committed to ensuring everyone, no matter their age, background or ability, should be able to play sport and be active.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding.

This includes long term investment to the England and Wales Cricket Board, the National Governing Body for cricket, which receives up to £11.6 million for five years to invest in community cricket initiatives. This includes programmes that will benefit everyone, including people who live in cities, as set out in their “Inspiring Generations” strategy for 2025-2028.

On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK following the Spending Review, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the cost of policing the supply of cannabis.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Dame Carol Black Independent Review of Drugs (2020) is the most recent estimate of the total cost of drug-related enforcement costs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of failed asylum seekers scheduled for deportation are known to have mental health issues.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is no specific figure available of the type described in these questions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reporting rate is of failed asylum seekers to her Department.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is no specific figure available of the type described in these questions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportations have taken place to Somalia since 8 July 2024.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Statistics on returns from the UK by nationality and destination are published on a quarterly basis. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, and are currently available to the end of March 2025, available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many failed asylum seekers still in the UK hold criminal records.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 19 June to Question 58400.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has undertaken a risk assessment on solar radiation modification.

Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification (SRM). Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.

The Department works closely with the research community to evaluate the latest research on the potential risks and impacts of solar radiation modification.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the UKRI on its funded research projects on solar radiation modification.

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

The Department engages regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its constituent Councils, on a range of research and innovation priorities.

In April 2025, UKRI’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) invested £10 million in four research projects on solar radiation modification (SRM). These projects cover stratospheric aerosol intervention; marine cloud brightening; the environment’s response to SRM; and the cooling potential of lesser-known SRM approaches. These projects will not involve outdoor experiments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of children aged 12-16 who are vaping.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes estimates of the prevalence of vaping in children in the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England Survey. This survey covers children in years 7 to 11 in secondary school, the majority of whom will be aged 12 to 16 years old, although some 11 year olds will also be included.

The latest figures for England are from the 2023 survey, which showed that 5% of children were regular vapers, 4% were occasional vapers, and 25% reported having ever tried vaping. The report is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2023

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children aged between 12 and 16 years inclusive that have taken illegal drugs.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are two official national surveys on illicit drug use among children. NHS England’s Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People surveys pupils aged between 11 and 15 years old in England. In 2023, 13% of pupils reported that they had taken drugs.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, published by the Office for National Statistics, reported that in the year ending March 2024, 15% of young people aged 16 to 19 years old reported using any drugs in the past 12 months.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to (a) schools and (b) teaching bodies on using vapes in school settings.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In the UK, it is against the law to sell nicotine vaping products to under 18s or for adults to buy them on their behalf. Young people should not have these products in schools.

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including which items are banned from school premises. School staff can search pupils for banned items as outlined in the department’s Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance.

Schools have an important role in educating pupils about the dangers of harmful substances. Primary pupils should be taught about legal and illegal harmful substances while secondary pupils are also taught about the associated legal and psychological risks. The relationships, sex and health education curriculum is currently being reviewed and will consider vaping as part of the review of the statutory guidance.

FRANK, the government-funded national drug and alcohol advisory service, has also been updated with relevant information on vapes, including the risks, physical effects and addictiveness of nicotine vapes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools reported finding students in possession of illegal drugs.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not collect such information centrally.

The Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance emphasises the importance of the school’s duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils. Searching can play a critical role in ensuring that schools are safe environments. Authorised members of school staff have the statutory power to search a pupil when they have reasonable grounds to suspect them to be in possession of prohibited items, such as illegal drugs. At all times, schools must ensure they continue to adhere to their statutory safeguarding duties as outlined in the Working Together to Safeguard Children and Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance documents.

The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including drug-taking. To support schools to deliver this content, the department has published a suite of teacher training modules, including one on drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with schools on the potential impact of (a) children buying vapes from their peers and (b) preventing the use of vapes in schools on levels of (i) behaviour and (ii) teacher morale.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The sale of vapes to under 18s is illegal, and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban the sale of all consumer nicotine products to anyone under 18.

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. The ‘Behaviour in schools’ guidance outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour and the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour, including vaping anywhere in school.

The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks. This includes smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing legally-binding poverty reduction targets.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government is committed to tackling Child Poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious child poverty strategy which we will publish in the autumn. The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty.

The Taskforce will be guided by the leading, internationally-recognised measure of poverty - Relative Poverty After Housing Costs (the proportion of families with below 60% of the median income, after deducting housing costs).

We will also measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty, which we are considering how best to measure as we develop the strategy.

These headline metrics will be supported by a range of other metrics as part of a monitoring framework to ensure the Strategy is on track to meet its aims.

The strategy is focused on metrics related to child poverty, but we are working closely with colleagues on complementary metrics across government. An example is the Plan for Change measure on the percentage of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage assessment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the average weekly cost of (a) student accommodation, (b) food and (c) living for university students in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The latest Student Income and Expenditure Survey for 2021/22 collects data on income and expenditure across the academic year, assumed to be 39 weeks.

In the 2021/22 academic year, full-time undergraduate students’ total median living costs were £5,841 including spending on food, entertainment, personal items and other spending not directly related to students’ courses.

Full-time undergraduate students had a median spend of £1,814 on food in the 2021/22 academic year.

The median expenditure on housing costs across full-time undergraduate students who incurred those costs was £4,940.

Birthday of James Furlong

Government policy on the Hillsborough Law

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Alberto Costa (Chair); Paula Barker; Gill Furniss; Mehmuda Mian;

Found: Current membership Alberto Costa (Conservative; South Leicestershire) (Chair) Paula Barker (Labour; Liverpool

Found: Presented by Ian Byrne supported by Kim Johnson, Paula Barker, Peter Dowd, Derek Twigg, Sorcha Eastwood

Found: Blake Jon Trickett Kate Osborne Imran Hussain Bell Ribeiro-Addy Adrian Ramsay Kim Johnson Paula Barker

Found: Not called_2(a) Richard Burgon Andy McDonald Rachael Maskell Cat Eccles Neil Duncan-Jordan Paula Barker

Found: Amendment 2:— _2(a) Richard Burgon Andy McDonald Rachael Maskell Cat Eccles Neil Duncan-Jordan Paula Barker

Found: Blake Jon Trickett Kate Osborne Imran Hussain Bell Ribeiro-Addy Adrian Ramsay Kim Johnson Paula Barker

Found: Amendment 2:— _2(a) Richard Burgon Andy McDonald Rachael Maskell Cat Eccles Neil Duncan-Jordan Paula Barker

Found: Amendment 2:— _2(a) Richard Burgon Andy McDonald Rachael Maskell Cat Eccles Neil Duncan-Jordan Paula Barker

Found: Amendment 2:— _2(a) Richard Burgon Andy McDonald Rachael Maskell Cat Eccles Neil Duncan-Jordan Paula Barker

Found: Amendment 2:— _2(a) Richard Burgon Andy McDonald Rachael Maskell Cat Eccles Neil Duncan-Jordan Paula Barker

Found: Peter Dowd supported by Patrick Hurley, Kim Johnson, David Baines, Ian Byrne, Derek Twigg and Paula Barker

Found: Nadia Whittome John McDonnell Sarah Russell Sadik Al-Hassan Ms Diane Abbott Kim Johnson Paula Barker

Boxing APPG
Friday 18th July 2025

Found: Virtual meeting, Zoom In attendance: Name Organisation Chris Evans MP Chair of APPG Boxing Paula Barker

Boxing APPG
Friday 18th July 2025

Found: Meeting, Zoom In attendance: Name Organisation Chris Evans MP Chair of APPG Boxing Paula Barker

Maternity APPG
Thursday 10th July 2025

Found: attendance (45): Lewis Atkinson MP (Sunderland Central), Antonia Bance MP (Tipton and Wednesbury), Paula Barker