Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what humanitarian support her Department is helping to provide for displaced families in Gaza affected by severe weather.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Hon Member is right to raise concerns about the impact of worsening weather conditions on the already appalling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the UK Government is doing all that we can alongside our international and civil society partners to alleviate that crisis.
Earlier this month, the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched a new appeal to help support vulnerable families over the winter months, and warned of a dire shortage of shelter and essential items that means children are facing cold nighttime temperatures without warm clothes or blankets, a situation exacerbated by severe flooding in many areas of Gaza, and the increased risk of waterborne diseases due to severely damaged water and sewage infrastructure.
The UK Government has agreed to match donations to the DEC appeal up to £3 million, with the Foreign Secretary stating in her announcement that: "The situation in Gaza remains critical, with winter weather taking conditions from bad to worse. Innocent families are facing icy winds and biting rain, forced to live in exposed conditions. We must act now to get vital winter aid to those that need it."
Earlier this month UK-funded tents entered Gaza after months stuck at the border, to provide urgent shelter for families which are desperately needed now that winter has arrived. We are continuing to urge the Israeli authorities to open all crossings and routes, and lift all restrictions so that the UN and other humanitarian relief agencies can get supplies of shelter kits, medicine, food, and other essentials into Gaza at the volume and pace required to meet the scale and urgency of this crisis.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports of BIA-ALCL there have been in the UK; and which manufacturers of breast implants those reports have been associated with.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As has been previously shared in evidence submitted to the Women and Equalities Select Committee in July 2025, with further information in the document attached, the Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) closely monitors Breast Implant Associated- Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a cancer of the immune system, not a breast cancer, and publishes the output from this monitoring on the GOV.UK webpage, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/breast-implants-and-anaplastic-large-cell-lymphoma-alcl
The MHRA has developed, with advice from independent expert advisory group, a follow up strategy to collect further data on adverse incidents reporting BIA-ALCL. This has informed the information that is published on the MHRA webpage relating to BIA-ALCL which includes the most up to date number of confirmed reports of BIA-ALCL made to the MHRA, and the breakdown of the number of confirmed reports of primary BIA-ALCL cases by manufacturer of breast implant.
Please note that the data on the GOV.UK webpage should be interpreted in the context of the ‘Notes and limitations to the data’ section also provided on the webpage.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of the research programmes that are underway on the safety of breast implants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is not currently funding any specific research into the safety of breast implants but welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
The Department does not hold information related to breast implant safety research funded by other sources.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing child poverty on the economy.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Child Poverty Action Group estimate the cost to the country at £40bn per year, which is one of the reasons why the government is removing the two-child limit and lifting 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on wait times for (a) general cases and (b) cases before the case examiner.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC is independent of Government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees the bodies that regulate health and care professionals in the UK, which includes the NMC.
As Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), I monitor the NMC’s performance and meets with the organisation regularly, which includes discussion on the timeliness of the NMC’s fitness to practise processes. In line with the Ministerial Code, details of all ministerial meetings, including those with the NMC, are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the impact of Sport England’s consultee status on planning applications for playing fields.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
A consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system is underway and can be found on gov.uk here.
The consultation asks for views on the impacts of removing Sport England’s status as a statutory consultee as part of our work to align the statutory consultee system with the development and economic growth objectives set out in our Plan for Change.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect leaseholders from (a) poor-performing managing agents and (b) excessive service charges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the proposals set out in the consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services published on 4 July 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here) and the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure fire safety for new (a) high rise buildings, (b) complex or mixed use developments and (c) sites with known access or water-supply constraints and (d) other new build major residential developments.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has taken steps to strengthen fire safety in all new buildings, including those that are high-rise, complex, or located on constrained sites.
The Building Safety Act 2022 established the Building Safety Regulator, which since October 2023 has acted as the Building Control Authority for Higher Risk Buildings. Fire safety is considered from the earliest design stages through Planning Gateway One and Gateway Two.
Approved Document B (Fire Safety) is subject to continuous review. Updates since 2017 include the ban on combustible materials in external walls over 18 metres, sprinkler requirements for buildings over 11 metres, evacuation alert systems, and provision for second staircases in buildings over 18 metres, which will apply to new buildings where applications are submitted after 30 September 2026.
For complex or mixed-use developments, applications are assessed by multi-disciplinary teams. Where standard guidance is insufficient, expert advice should be sought.
For sites with access or water-supply constraints, developers must demonstrate compliance with fire service access provisions or justify alternative approaches.
All new residential developments, regardless of size, must comply with the Building Regulations, including Part B (Fire Safety). Approved Document B provides statutory guidance on how these requirements may be met in common building situations, but developers may choose alternative approaches provided they can demonstrate compliance with the functional requirements of the Regulations.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support victims of rape and sexual violence through the court system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I recognise that the experience of attending court can be distressing, particularly for vulnerable victims, such as those of rape and sexual violence.
Special measures can help vulnerable witnesses who may otherwise feel unable to give evidence.
The Ministry of Justice-funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day support to victims at court.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the use of X for Government communications is in accordance with the (a) propriety and ethics guidance of the Government Communications Service, (b) Civil Service Code, and (c) Public Sector Equality Duty.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) SAFE (Safety and suitability, Ads context, Freedom of speech, and Ethics and enforcement) Framework is the single, comprehensive framework that the government uses to regularly provide thorough guidance ensuring use of digital advertising environments is appropriate. SAFE supports the principles of GCS propriety and ethics guidance, the Civil Service Code and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The platform X is currently used for non-paid communications activity only (also known as 'organic' activity). We review the use of different platforms as needed, to ensure we meet the high standards set out in the SAFE Framework.