Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 37 of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what specific issues the item "significant issues of concern regarding farm and large animal facilities" refers to.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All licensed establishments must uphold the standards for animal welfare set out in ASPA and in the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) takes instances of potential non-compliance very seriously and thoroughly investigates all non-compliance concerns.
ASRU publishes an annual report that sets out all confirmed non‑compliance cases along with any enforcement actions taken (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#annual-reports).
With reference to page 37 of the ASRU Annual Report 2024, the item “significant issues of concern regarding farm and large animal facilities” refers specifically to a breach of Establishment Licence Standard Condition 4.7. This condition requires licence holders to maintain standards of care and accommodation set out in the Code of Practice available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-housing-and-care-of-animals-bred-supplied-or-used-for-scientific-purposes.
ASRU’s published Compliance Policy (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) provides information on how the regulator identifies, investigates and responds to potential incidents of non‑compliance, and how proportionate measures and sanctions are applied where breaches are found which seek to prevent future recurrence.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what were the reasons for three establishment licences being revoked.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report is the regulator’s public account of its work overseeing the use of animals in science under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. It includes information on licensing, compliance activity and enforcement outcomes to provide transparency and assurance about the operation of the regulatory framework.
The three establishment licences reported as revoked in 2024 were withdrawn because the establishments had stopped conducting regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. In such cases, licence revocation is an administrative step, confirming that an establishment is no longer required to maintain a licence.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information she holds on the reasons for China’s recent mobilisation of fishing boats to form floating barriers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of media reporting regarding a recent mobilisation of Chinese fishing vessels in the East China Sea. The UK has enduring interests in the Indo-Pacific and is committed to maintaining regional security and stability. We are committed to international law, the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to freedom of navigation and overflight.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many a) US military personnel and b) their dependents and spouses are stationed in the UK.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
There are approximately 12,300 United States Military and Civilian Defence personnel in the UK at various defence sites and 11,300 dependants and spouses.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will write to the hon. Member for Slough outlining (a) why the High Court of Justice King’s Bench Division Administrative Court has been (i) writing to the hon. Member for Slough and (ii) sending him sealed court orders regarding a court case to which he is not a party, (b) why this has continued after correspondence from his office, (c) whether all parties for this case are aware of (A) this case and (B) the orders relating to it, (d) whether all parties for this case are aware that the hon. Member for Slough has been sent this information and (e) whether, if required, the Information Commissioner's Office will be informed.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) processed the claim accurately and in accordance with the information provided by the claimant.
HMCTS has advised that the hon. Member for Slough’s parliamentary email address was included on the claim form by the claimant to the proceedings as the contact address for the Second Defendant. As a result, this was added to the court database and would generate court correspondence including court orders to the hon. Member’s parliamentary email address.
HMCTS received an email from the MP’s office on 29 December 2025 and the court issued a response to him on the same day. The MP continued to receive correspondence because his office did not specify that the email address should be removed. The court would usually require notification and evidence that an administrative error has been made so the individual's details can be removed from the court record.
Documents were sent to the hon. Member for Slough who is not a party to this case rather than to the second defendant. HMCTS has corrected this and is ensuring service on the second defendant and will notify all parties.
This is not a matter for the Information Commissioners Office as HMCTS has followed the process and accurately recorded the claim details from the claimant’s form.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what checks are undertaken to ensure Hon Members and other individuals are not sent court orders to which (a) they are not party and (b) have sensitive personal information of others.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) processed the claim accurately and in accordance with the information provided by the claimant.
HMCTS has advised that the hon. Member for Slough’s parliamentary email address was included on the claim form by the claimant to the proceedings as the contact address for the Second Defendant. As a result, this was added to the court database and would generate court correspondence including court orders to the hon. Member’s parliamentary email address.
HMCTS received an email from the MP’s office on 29 December 2025 and the court issued a response to him on the same day. The MP continued to receive correspondence because his office did not specify that the email address should be removed. The court would usually require notification and evidence that an administrative error has been made so the individual's details can be removed from the court record.
Documents were sent to the hon. Member for Slough who is not a party to this case rather than to the second defendant. HMCTS has corrected this and is ensuring service on the second defendant and will notify all parties.
This is not a matter for the Information Commissioners Office as HMCTS has followed the process and accurately recorded the claim details from the claimant’s form.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps courts take to comply with data protection laws.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. The Department is the data controller for HMCTS data, and the Ministry of Justice Data Protection Officer (DPO) covers HMCTS.
HMCTS has a Data Protection Governance team which works closely with the Ministry of Justice DPO, to maintain a Data Protection Framework. The framework supports HMCTS staff to discharge their duties in compliance with data protection laws. HMCTS publishes Personal Information Charters for court and tribunal users, to help them understand how HMCTS uses and protects personal data. The HMCTS Personal Information Charters can be found here.
HMCTS maintains Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) for processing activities and produces data sharing agreements where HMCTS data is shared with partners across the justice system.
All HMCTS staff must complete annual mandatory data security training which covers handling and protecting personal data. These measures ensure that courts uphold high standards in the handling and protection of personal data in accordance with data protection legislation.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many phone calls to court phone numbers are unanswered on average per day; and what is this number as a percentage of all calls.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are unable to provide data on calls made to local Court and Tribunal venues. However, HM Courts & Tribunals Service regularly publishes data on calls made to service centres which can be found through the following link: HMCTS management information – modernised services - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of support available to parents applying to the Court of Protection for an order authorising access to their child's (a) Child Trust Fund and (b) Junior ISA when their child lacks capacity to manage their financial assets.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Where a young adult lacks mental capacity, the law requires parents or a guardian to have legal authority to make decisions on their behalf about financial assets or property. This longstanding requirement is vital in ensuring that vulnerable people are safeguarded and protected from potential financial abuse. The requirement for legal authority extends to accessing funds held in a Child Trust Fund or a Junior ISA.
On 9 June 2023, the Ministry of Justice published the ‘Making Financial Decisions for young people: parent and carer toolkit’ explaining the process by which parents and guardians of disabled children who lack capacity can obtain legal authority if no other arrangements are in place to provide such authority. This can be done by making an application to the Court of Protection for an order authorising access to monies held in a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA. The toolkit is available on Gov.UK. Information to assist parents or carers in the completion of one of the required court forms can be found here: How to apply to make property and finance decisions on someone’s behalf (including Child Trust Funds) - GOV.UK
Ministers are working closely to consider what further steps could be taken to ameliorate the process for supporting young people without capacity to access small value capital assets. The Ministry of Justice will continue to engage with key stakeholders to understand more about the difficulties and potential changes to address these while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of court phone numbers that, when called, tell you to call a different number.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is committed to improving the experience of users contacting us by telephone. We have migrated call handling for a number of services from local courts and tribunals to centrally managed National Service Centres. Since migration telephony wait times continue to improve, for example, average call waiting times in our digital service centres have fallen year on year, from 17 minutes in December 2023, to 15 minutes in December 2024, and to 13 minutes in December 2025, against our 15-minutes target.
A proportion of callers continue to use older phone numbers that appear on historic paperwork or in third‑party online sources retained by citizens and professionals. To avoid leaving these callers without guidance, HMCTS maintains recorded messages on such lines to signpost to the correct, active number or service.