Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many males have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for unlawful abortions in England and Wales in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions across 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 - GOV.UK.
The offences that constitute unlawful abortion include procuring an illegal abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. Information on the number of males and females who were proceeded against and convicted for these offences is available within the published data and can be accessed by filtering the ‘overall volumes’ dataset by sex. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many females have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for unlawful abortion in England and Wales in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions across 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 - GOV.UK.
The offences that constitute unlawful abortion include procuring an illegal abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. Information on the number of males and females who were proceeded against and convicted for these offences is available within the published data and can be accessed by filtering the ‘overall volumes’ dataset by sex. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many serious, non-fatal, adverse reactions associated with the use of misoprostol have been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in each of the last ten years; and how many fatal adverse reactions associated with the use of misoprostol have been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in that period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions.
It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental.
The following table shows the number of Yellow Card reports classified as serious, excluding fatal outcomes, and those with a fatal outcome, received for misoprostol from initial licensing of the medicine up to 13 May 2025:
Year | Serious reports | Reports with a fatal outcome |
2015 | 10 | 0 |
2016 | 11 | 1 |
2017 | 28 | 2 |
2018 | 4 | 0 |
2019 | 7 | 1 |
2020 | 13 | 0 |
2021 | 19 | 1 |
2022 | 19 | 1 |
2023 | 9 | 2 |
2024 | 21 | 0 |
2025 | 8 | 0 |
Reports received via the Yellow Card scheme can contain more than one suspect medicine. It should be noted that misoprostol is used in combination with mifepristone, as such 60 of the serious reports and five reports with a fatal outcome include both products as the suspect drug.
Misoprostol is licenced for a variety of indications, including gastroprotection in duodenal and gastric ulcers, termination of pregnancy, and induction of labour. Mifepristone is licenced for termination of pregnancy and induction of labour.
A list of the possible side effects of mifepristone and misoprostol are provided in the product information document for healthcare professionals, the Summary of Product Characteristics, and in the UK Patient Information Leaflet.
A Yellow Card report is considered serious according to two criteria. Firstly, a reported reaction can be considered serious according to our medical dictionary. Secondly, if the original reporter considers the report to be serious, they can select from the six serious criteria available, which are: patient died due to reaction; life threatening; resulted in hospitalisation or prolonged inpatient hospitalisation; congenital abnormality; involved persistent or significant disability or incapacity; or if the reaction was deemed medically significant.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the closure of churches in the Kabylia regions of Northern Nigeria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK champions Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, including in the Kabylia regions of Northern Algeria. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe. Our Embassy in Algiers raises FoRB with the Algerian authorities, doing so most recently when our Ambassador met the Minister of Religious Affairs on 10 February. Our Embassy remains in regular contact with minority religious groups on how best to support FoRB. We will continue to raise the issue and advocate for freedom of expression for all, including in Kabylie and for the operation of the Protestant Church of Algeria.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure mobile gaming operators disclose the (a) presence of loot boxes and (b) probabilities of obtaining rewards.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to ensuring all video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.
In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections. Measures include disclosing the presence of loot boxes prior to purchase, and giving clear probability disclosures so players can easily access clear and simple information to inform their decision to purchase.
The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she considered including the (a) role and (b) conduct of HMRC within the remit of the Independent Review of the Loan Charge.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
The Government does not think it is right for people affected by the Loan Charge to have to wait years for any progress on bringing this matter to a close for them and has therefore ensured that the review has a focused remit, allowing it to report by this summer. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the regulation of gambling advertising considers the potential impact on public health.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Gambling operators providing services to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions of their operating licences. The Commission expects operators to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and requires them to report any regulatory investigation or finding into their activities in any other jurisdiction.
Operators must inform the Commission if they have a substantial customer base outside of Britain and state why they consider themselves legally able to offer facilities to those customers. It is for authorities in other jurisdictions to investigate whether operators are complying with their gambling laws, but where a licensee is found to be operating illegally overseas, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence in Britain.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK, and operates independently of the Government. There are a range of robust rules in place through the Advertising Codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure that gambling advertising and marketing is socially responsible and does not exacerbate harm.
Compliance with the Codes is required as part of Gambling Commission licence conditions. The ASA continually reviews the best available evidence to ensure rules are effective and updates protections as required.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Gambling Commission requires gambling operators to disclose information on their overseas operations in order to gain a UK license.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Gambling operators providing services to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions of their operating licences. The Commission expects operators to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and requires them to report any regulatory investigation or finding into their activities in any other jurisdiction.
Operators must inform the Commission if they have a substantial customer base outside of Britain and state why they consider themselves legally able to offer facilities to those customers. It is for authorities in other jurisdictions to investigate whether operators are complying with their gambling laws, but where a licensee is found to be operating illegally overseas, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence in Britain.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK, and operates independently of the Government. There are a range of robust rules in place through the Advertising Codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure that gambling advertising and marketing is socially responsible and does not exacerbate harm.
Compliance with the Codes is required as part of Gambling Commission licence conditions. The ASA continually reviews the best available evidence to ensure rules are effective and updates protections as required.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Uzbekistan on in relation to reports of (a) harassment of Christian converts, (b) restrictions on house church gatherings and (c) employment discrimination against members of religious minorities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief for all. Whilst the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has not made direct representations to his counterparts in Uzbekistan regarding these issues, our Embassy in Tashkent regularly raises human rights with the relevant authorities in Uzbekistan and maintains a dialogue with human rights groups in the region. In Uzbekistan's most recent UN universal periodic review the UK raised our concerns regarding upholding freedom of religious belief amongst other human rights concerns and we continue to seek opportunities to raise concerns where appropriate.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of allegations of electoral fraud during the Georgia elections held on 26 October 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports the findings and conclusions of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election observation mission following Georgia's 26 October parliamentary elections. That includes reports of election-day irregularities which demonstrate that the elections were not conducted according to international standards. We call on the Georgian Dream Government to implement all ODIHR recommendations as a matter of urgency. On 15 May, I raised my concerns over Georgia's negative democratic trajectory with Georgian Dream representative, Deputy Prime Minister Davitashvili. I am currently considering how to support election monitoring in the upcoming municipal elections.