Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen (a) counter-extremism measures and (b) public order enforcement following the recent attack on the Israeli Embassy in London; and how the Department plans to ensure the continued safety of diplomatic (i) premises and (ii) staff from politically motivated violence.

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

The Government takes the protective security of diplomatic missions extremely seriously. The UK Government's protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' and sites' security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking with police forces to (a) help prevent antisemitic marches and (b) ensure that public order legislation is effectively enforced where protests involve (i) incitement, (ii) intimidation and (iii) groups that are known to have previously perpetrated hate crimes; and if her Department will issue national guidance to police forces on the protection of Jewish communities from (A) harassment and (B) abuse during protests.

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

The Government is committed to tackling antisemitism and other forms of hate crimes and supports the police in taking robust action where protests cross the line into criminality. Where protest activity does involve criminality, the police have a broad range of powers to respond. The use of these powers and the management of demonstrations are operational matters for individual forces, and Government ministers are unable to intervene in these decisions.

On the issue of antisemitism, I would also refer the Hon Member to the Speech given by the Home Secretary at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust on 26 March, which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-speech-at-the-community-security-trust

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what reason funding was allocated to the Advanced Research and Invention Agency to support research into solar radiation modification techniques.

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

As set out in ARIA's Framework Agreement, ARIA has unique operational freedoms, including over its research and project choice and its procedures. This independence allows ARIA to take bold steps to better understand the world we live in, and the Government supports ARIA exploring critical areas like this.

The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification. ARIA is an independent research body, and they are conducting cautious, controlled research aimed at improving understanding of its risks and impacts. This will produce important information for decisions around the world.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Iranian nationals have been detected arriving in the United Kingdom via small boat crossings in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025 to date.

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

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on small boat arrivals by nationality and year is published in table Irr_02b of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK summary tables’, with the latest data up to the end of December 2024. Data up to the end of March 2025 will be published on 22 May 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many confirmed Avian Influenza outbreaks there have been in Boston and Skegness constituency, by site size; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) location of Avian Influenza testing in that area; what the (i) volume and (ii) origin of imported poultry and hatching eggs entering local markets is; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that restrictions are (A) proportionate and (B) fairly applied to small-scale producers and vendors in Boston and Skegness constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

During the current outbreak there has been one outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the Boston and Skegness constituency in a commercial duck rearing enterprise near Skegness, East Lindsay, Lincolnshire and was confirmed on the 28 January 2025.

All diagnostic testing undertaken by HM Government for avian influenza is conducted at the avian influenza National Reference Laboratory (NRL) at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Weybridge laboratory using United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) validated tests. Testing is in line with World Animal Health Organisation (WOAH) standards as set out for Avian Influenza in the WOAH Terrestrial Manual. Defra have published further information on Avian influenza and influenza of avian origin diagnostic testing, controls and reporting obligations on gov.uk.

Defra does not hold data on the volume and origin of imported poultry and hatching eggs entering local markets.

To ensure controls are proportionate to the risk bird keepers face, Defra’s approach to avian influenza considers the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice. Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to (a) improve value for money, (b) prevent profiteering, (c) remove conflicts of interest in referral practices and (d) otherwise improve (i) oversight and (ii) regulation of private companies delivering NHS-funded eye care.

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

All National Health Service patients must receive safe and high-quality care, whether being treated by private providers or directly by the NHS. While the independent sector has a role to play in tackling the waiting list backlog, we will not tolerate any overpriced or sub-par care. We will also not tolerate any distortion of patient choice, and the recently published Partnership Agreement between NHS England and the Independent Healthcare Providers Network commits to ending incentives that can lead to this, supporting equal access and genuine choice for all patients. We are now working together to deliver on this.

Improving value for money is a priority across all NHS pathways, not just in eyecare. This has been emphasised in various documents such as the Provider Selection Regime, the NHS Standard Contract and most importantly the Independent Sector Agreement, published in January 2025.

NHS-funded eye care is funded based on national prices and funded equitably across all providers with no opportunities to gain increased payment; prices are adjusted each year to reflect expected improvements in efficiency and are set to cover costs but not margins.

To prevent profiteering, providers are paid based on national prices, based in turn on the average cost of providing the service and adjusted to reflect the complexity of the procedure and the patient. This ensures that the provider is appropriately reimbursed, and they do not make excess profits by targeting the simplest cases.

NHS England expects all its providers to support patient choice and to act in accordance with the Law, with Good Practice and this is supported by the requirements of the NHS Standard Contract, the NHS Provider License, the General Ophthalmic Services contract and the Law itself. The NHS Standard Contract gives a useful overview of the Provider Selection Regime, which are the regulations the NHS must adhere to when commissioning health care services, including conflict of interest declarations.

Finally, private companies are commissioned and managed by integrated care boards under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract which applies the same standards of oversight and regulation as are applied to NHS providers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of Regulation C9 of the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 that removes survivor benefits on (a) widows and (b) widowers who (i) remarry and (ii) cohabit.

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

From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.

Mauritius Treaty

Found: _NC15 Ms Stella Creasy Greg Smith Richard Tice James MacCleary Ellie Chowns Stephen Gethins Llinos

Found: Not called_NC40 Nigel Farage Richard Tice Lee Anderson James McMurdock Sarah Pochin 33 REPORT STAGE