Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will increase the level of funding for import of medication from abroad to treat Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that patients with acute myeloid leukaemia can access safe and effective treatments when they need them. The Government’s priority is to maintain the continuity of supply of all medicines, including those sourced from abroad, and to take action with suppliers, National Health Service organisations, and regulators where supply issues arise.
Where there are no licensed available medicines in the United Kingdom, companies may manufacture or import unlicensed medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency operates established routes that can enable clinicians and pharmacists to obtain unlicensed medicines for individual patients. Funding for these medicines is not set nationally. Instead, decisions on commissioning, procurement, and reimbursement for unlicensed medicines are made locally by NHS commissioners, who are best placed to determine how resources are allocated to meet the needs of their populations.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a unit to promote import substitution; and what assessment they have made of the potential for such a unit to improve the UK's balance of payments.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
Our modern Industrial Strategy is a 10‑year plan to back the UK's strengths and realise our potential, creating a connected, high‑skilled, and economically growing country. We are also establishing a new Supply Chain Centre to analyse key inputs for priority sectors, assess future demand and identify where action is needed to increase our economic resilience - such as building domestic capability, diversifying supply routes and forming strategic international partnerships to ensure resilient and competitive supply chains. We will announce more details in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 Cabinet colleagues about the role (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) Border Force will have in verifying compliance with the vaping product registration and testing regime at the point of import.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Officials in the Department regularly meet with officials from other departments, including HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force, to share intelligence and ensure a coordinated approach to the enforcement of our rules on vaping products. This coordinated approach to enforcement will continue once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law.
We are strengthening the enforcement of vape regulations through the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. We are also investing £30 million of new funding in total for enforcement agencies in 2025/26, including Trading Standards, HM Revenue and Customs, and Border Force. This increase in investment will help to stamp out criminal activity by boosting enforcement against illicit tobacco and illicit vapes.
We are also introducing a new Vaping Products Duty in October 2026 which will provide civil and criminal powers for HM Revenue and Customs to assess for duty and seize products and equipment used to produce or transport illicit products. HM Revenue and Customs will collaborate with agencies such as Border Force and Trading Standards, who will have enhanced their capabilities around vaping by the time the duty is introduced. We are working closely with colleagues in HM Revenue and Customs to understand how the new product registration scheme can work effectively with the Vaping Products Duty to increase compliance. We expect to consult on policy proposals later this year.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed UK-China bilateral services partnership on trends in the level of UK service exports.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK‑China Bilateral Services Partnership (BSP) is designed to deliver high‑value benefits for UK businesses in the world’s second-largest services import market.
UK services exports to China rose 81% in current prices between 2016 and 2024. However, in 2024 the UK had nearly a three times greater share of the global services import market (at 8.0%) than of China’s market (at 2.6%) [ONS and UNCTAD data].
The BSP therefore aims to help UK firms access China’s large and expanding services market. It is a mechanism to push for improved market access as well as deliver practical support to help drive UK services exports to China, supporting growth.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a UK-China services partnership on economic growth.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK‑China Bilateral Services Partnership (BSP) is designed to deliver high‑value benefits for UK businesses in the world’s second-largest services import market.
UK services exports to China rose 81% in current prices between 2016 and 2024. However, in 2024 the UK had nearly a three times greater share of the global services import market (at 8.0%) than of China’s market (at 2.6%) [ONS and UNCTAD data].
The BSP therefore aims to help UK firms access China’s large and expanding services market. It is a mechanism to push for improved market access as well as deliver practical support to help drive UK services exports to China, supporting growth.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what grounds Border Force might allow (a) sodium nitrate and (b) other toxic materials onward passage to a postal address.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force controls imports and exports of sodium nitrate and other toxic materials in line with legislation. Where appropriate, Border Force uses powers in the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA), The Police and Crime Evidence Act 1984, The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, and common law powers to detain or seize such goods, when they are liable to forfeiture under CEMA or evidence of an offence, referring to other law enforcement agencies for actioning as necessary.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what Border Force's policy is on the interception of (a) sodium nitrate and (b) other toxic materials at the border.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force controls imports and exports of sodium nitrate and other toxic materials in line with legislation. Where appropriate, Border Force uses powers in the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA), The Police and Crime Evidence Act 1984, The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, and common law powers to detain or seize such goods, when they are liable to forfeiture under CEMA or evidence of an offence, referring to other law enforcement agencies for actioning as necessary.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of implementing a total ban on the (1) import, and (2) domestic sale, of dangerous weapons, including zombie-style knives.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are 22 different weapons prohibited as offensive weapons, and they include items such as knuckledusters, curved swords and truncheons. This legislation is kept under constant review and on 24 September 2024 we added zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes to the list, and more recently, from 1 August 2025 we banned ninja swords. It is illegal to sell, manufacture, import or possess these weapons. It is currently possible to own specifically prohibited weapons if a legal defence applies, such as the weapon is owned for sporting purposes, is made by hand according to certain specifications, is of historical importance, or if it’s owned for the purpose of making it available to a museum.
On 16 December 2026 the Government launched a public consultation on plans to introduce a comprehensive licensing scheme for those who sell knives or other bladed articles, including importers, retailers and private sellers, making them subject to strict regulations and conditions. The consultation closes on 24 February and is available on GOV.UK: Licensing for knife sales - GOV.UK. This follows recommendations made in Commander Clayman’s Independent End-to-End Review of Online Knife Sales to introduce a registration scheme for knife sellers and an ‘import licensing scheme to prohibit unlicensed importation of knives and prohibited weapons’.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changing US to UK import levels of (a) wheat, (b) maize and (c) ethanol on (i) food security and (b) agricultural businesses.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, our food security and uphold our high food, animal welfare and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.
For the first time ever, the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal has opened up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market.
The Government has been engaging closely with the bioethanol industry, and the Department of Business and Trade continue to work with the affected companies and wider industry.
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, including around 80% self-sufficiency for cereal crops. Strong domestic production supports food security alongside supply from diverse sources and imports through stable trade routes. As internationally traded commodities, cereal supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with European counterparts on the potential merits of introducing sanctions against refineries that are buying Russian crude oil.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2025 we sanctioned several refineries and terminals in third countries for importing Russian energy. Our action, and that of our partners, is having an impact. Russia's oil export revenues are now at their lowest since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Russia's overall energy revenues fell by over 24 per cent in 2025 compared to the year before. In October 2025, we also announced our intention to ban the import of oil products refined in third countries from Russian-origin crude oil.
On the question of potential further sanctions, we keep these matters under constant review, but it has been the long-standing policy of the UK under successive governments not to comment on specific future designations as to do so would risk lessening their impact.