Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if he will suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement .
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 8 September, the Foreign Secretary announced measures to restrict trade with Illegal Israeli Settlements. These measures reflect our view that Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful. In May 2025, this department paused further negotiations on an upgraded FTA in response to the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. However, as the Foreign Secretary mentioned during the 8 September statement, the UK remains committed to a strong trading relationship with "Green Line" Israel and to the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement. Exports to Israel support thousands of jobs in the UK and the suspension of any trade agreement risks unpredictable consequences and significant economic disruption for British businesses.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ban short-term holiday rental plaforms, such as AirBnB and Booking.com, from advertising short-term rental accommodation in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary set out in his statement of 8 September, we will ban the advertising of illegal settlements in the UK.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international counterparts to provide support to children in Gaza and the West Bank with trauma caused by the humanitarian crisis in these areas.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply concerned by the impact of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including on women and children. The deterioration of the health sector and ongoing restrictions on medical equipment has meant that women and children have been unable to access the urgent healthcare support they require. This UK is providing £88 million in humanitarian and early recovery support for Palestinians this financial year. This funding will help deliver essential healthcare, clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, and protection support. This includes £1 million to support rehabilitation for children with blast injuries. In September, alongside Jordan and Qatar, I co-hosted a ministerial meeting with the Foreign Secretary at the UN General Assembly on humanitarian access and healthcare in Gaza. Following the meeting, the UK and international partners issued a Call to Action urging Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access and the entry of critical items.
In addition, a cross-Government taskforce, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), supported 50 sick and injured children to leave Gaza and receive specialist treatment in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals across the UK in 2025. As stated in the Written Ministerial Statement dated 24 June 2026, the UK intends to continue this effort for a further set of sick and injured children.
I have recently met with a number of humanitarian organisations to hear directly about the circumstances on the ground in Gaza.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made with international counterparts of the potential impact of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank on the (a) number of miscarriages, (b) number of premature births and (c) rate of new born survival in those areas.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply concerned by the impact of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including on women and children. The deterioration of the health sector and ongoing restrictions on medical equipment has meant that women and children have been unable to access the urgent healthcare support they require. This UK is providing £88 million in humanitarian and early recovery support for Palestinians this financial year. This funding will help deliver essential healthcare, clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, and protection support. This includes £1 million to support rehabilitation for children with blast injuries. In September, alongside Jordan and Qatar, I co-hosted a ministerial meeting with the Foreign Secretary at the UN General Assembly on humanitarian access and healthcare in Gaza. Following the meeting, the UK and international partners issued a Call to Action urging Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access and the entry of critical items.
In addition, a cross-Government taskforce, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), supported 50 sick and injured children to leave Gaza and receive specialist treatment in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals across the UK in 2025. As stated in the Written Ministerial Statement dated 24 June 2026, the UK intends to continue this effort for a further set of sick and injured children.
I have recently met with a number of humanitarian organisations to hear directly about the circumstances on the ground in Gaza.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made with international counterparts of (a) the level of trauma being experienced by children in Gaza and (b) the potential impact of this trauma on these children's wellbeing.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply concerned by the impact of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including on women and children. The deterioration of the health sector and ongoing restrictions on medical equipment has meant that women and children have been unable to access the urgent healthcare support they require. This UK is providing £88 million in humanitarian and early recovery support for Palestinians this financial year. This funding will help deliver essential healthcare, clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, and protection support. This includes £1 million to support rehabilitation for children with blast injuries. In September, alongside Jordan and Qatar, I co-hosted a ministerial meeting with the Foreign Secretary at the UN General Assembly on humanitarian access and healthcare in Gaza. Following the meeting, the UK and international partners issued a Call to Action urging Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access and the entry of critical items.
In addition, a cross-Government taskforce, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), supported 50 sick and injured children to leave Gaza and receive specialist treatment in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals across the UK in 2025. As stated in the Written Ministerial Statement dated 24 June 2026, the UK intends to continue this effort for a further set of sick and injured children.
I have recently met with a number of humanitarian organisations to hear directly about the circumstances on the ground in Gaza.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if he will take steps to introduce an independent regulator for Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Superintelligence.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The government is ensuring that the UK is ready for both the challenges and opportunities that AI will bring. We have taken important steps to ensure that many AI systems are already regulated at the point of use by our existing expert regulators. This is both through sector-specific regulations such as medicines regulation, and cross-cutting legal safeguards including data protection, competition, product safety, and equalities laws. The safety of the British public is a non-negotiable priority. Where new protections are needed, we will act, legislating wherever necessary.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to repeat the Men B vaccinations for 17 and 18 year olds to ensure that children born before the Men B vaccination was added to the Childhood Immunisation Schedule in 2015 have access to immunisation against Meningitis B.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the response given on 10 September to Question 25149.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether negotiations of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement will include the alignment of regulations on herbal remedies and nutritional supplements.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Legislation relating to food supplements is within scope of the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.
The term ‘herbal remedies’ may refer to herbal medicinal products or herbal products. Traditional herbal medicinal products are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The regulation of herbal medicinal products is not within scope of the SPS agreement.
Herbal products do not fall within a single regulatory category. Some herbal products may be regulated as food supplements and some others as herbal medicinal products. Whether a herbal product falls within medicines or food supplements legislation depends on its composition, presentation, and intended use, and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the threshold of the Inheritance Tax exemption for gifts to a similar comparative value to its first introduction in 1981.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Lifetime gifts to individuals, including money, only use up some of the inheritance tax nil-rate band if the individual giving the gifts dies within seven years. There are also several exemptions and reliefs for gifts made in those seven years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of exempting gifts given to family members to help them purchase their first home from Inheritance Tax.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Lifetime gifts to individuals, including money, only use up some of the inheritance tax nil-rate band if the individual giving the gifts dies within seven years. There are also several exemptions and reliefs for gifts made in those seven years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.