theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Chris Bloore:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of (a) asylum hotel and (b) community accommodation in each year between 2010 and 2024. \p Alex Norris: Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, How many hotels are being used as contingency accommodation for irregular migrants as at 20 October 2025. \p Alex Norris: The Home Office has been clear that the use of hotels is a temporary and short-term measure to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate destitute asylum seekers, while we tackle the systemic challenges due to the previous government’s decisions.

Accommodation data is published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels which can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 71964 on Asylum: Finance, what criteria qualifies a person for (a) Section 4 and (b) Section 95 Asylum Support. \p Alex Norris: Asylum seekers and their dependents who would otherwise be destitute can obtain support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The destitution threshold is the minimum an individual needs to enable them to obtain adequate accommodation and meet other essential needs. The guidance used to assess and calculate destitution for those applying for support is set out at: Assessing destitution: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK

To be eligible for support under section 4, a person must be a failed or inadmissible asylum seeker or the dependant of a failed or inadmissible asylum seeker, appear to the Secretary of State to be destitute, and meet at least one of the five conditions set out in Regulation 3(2) of the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum Seekers) Regulations 2005.

The exception to this is families – where an asylum-seeker’s household includes a child dependant under the age of 18, they will remain eligible for support under section 95 of the 1999 Act after their asylum claim is refused or declared inadmissible.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 72 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what recent progress he has made in launching the Range of the Future programme. \p Luke Pollard: To improve the long-term productivity and capacity of both MOD and commercially operated UK test ranges, the Defence Industrial Strategy announced the launching of a ‘Range of the Future’ programme at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. This programme will work with SMEs, range operators and regulators to derisk T&E technology and make ranges more available, affordable, and capable of supporting the next generation of Defence capability

A project is underway within DSTL to lead the work to scope out the programme, plan how it will be delivered in partnership with UK industry and identify its priorities and operating model. Whilst the formal programme is developed, DSTL are actively engaging with the UK T&E enterprise, including recently supporting a hackathon for the UK T&E Community of Interest.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 75 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to establish a scenario planning capability within the National Armaments Director Group. \p Luke Pollard: The National Armaments Director Group is actively progressing plans to establish a dedicated strategic supply chain scenario planning capability as a core component of its Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP). This initiative will underpin a structured programme of scenario testing exercises—integrating wargaming, simulation, and strategic foresight—to stress-test supply chain resilience and inform defence policy and planning.

The capability will be delivered in collaboration with industry and government partners, leveraging our new supply chain illumination capability and aligning with the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub. The capability will work with the wider landscape of existing scenario planning and wargaming activities that already take place within the Ministry of Defence and across government. Early development phases include pilot exercises across three service levels, with a proof-of-concept capability targeted by March 2026.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made in establishing the Defence Office for Small Business Growth. \p Luke Pollard: Planning for the new Defence Office for Business Growth is well underway. The operating model has been produced following wide ranging consultation with industry. The Office will provide services to both small businesses and MOD teams, which will focus on growth and shaping the defence industry landscape to develop resilient supply chains.

The detail of how the service will operate, including scope and launch date will be released shortly and it is expected that initial operating capability will be achieved in spring 2026.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average procurement cycle time to delivery was in the latest period for which data is available. \p Luke Pollard: The Defence Industrial Strategy set out average times to contract for major projects (such as tanks, frigates and aircraft) of six years, and for pace-setting modular upgrades (such as comms, sensors and weapons upgrades) of three years. We have set targets to reduce these averages to two years and one year respectively, and a target of three-month cycles for rapid commercial exploitation.

The introduction of this segmented approach to procurement, with associated timescale targets, is a key element of our acquisition system reforms. This initiative, and our move to a portfolio-driven approach, will drive greater to increase pace and agility in delivery. Our support to Ukraine has shown the pace at which we can deliver.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 72 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, how much funding his Department plans to provide for more mobile test technologies. \p Luke Pollard: As set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy, investing in mobile test technologies has the potential to accelerate innovation, particularly amongst smaller companies for whom geographically remote and highly capable test ranges may be prohibitively expensive. The same technology will also help Defence undertake more testing in the field, under operationally representative conditions, contributing towards the industrial, innovation and warfighting readiness ambitions in the Strategic Defence Review.

Mobile testing is one aspect of the Department’s Test and Evaluation Transformation programme, which is forecast to spend over £1 million on mobile test technologies this year. The scale of future funding is dependent on the outcome of the Defence Investment Plan.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 76 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to introduce a supplier resilience maturity assessment (a) framework and (b) tool. \p Luke Pollard: The Ministry of Defence plans to introduce a supplier resilience maturity assessment framework and tool as part of the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP). This will be a phased approach involving piloting and testing in a live environment during the remainder of financial year 2025/26, with full implementation commencing in April 2026.

The framework—developed as part of a suite of proactive risk management mechanisms - and piloted with industry—enables structured assessment across twelve resilience domains, covering leadership, people, place, and operations, with sixty criteria in total. It is designed for use at both organisational and programme levels and supports MOD-led, supplier-led, or joint assessments. The accompanying tool provides both qualitative and quantitative scoring and visualisation. Final recommendations for implementation are expected following the pilot phase, which is currently underway.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Defence Reform and Efficiency Plan. \p Luke Pollard: The Defence Reform and Efficiency Plan will be published later this year alongside the Defence Investment Plan. It will set out our plans to deliver relevant recommendations in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure was on research and development in the latest period for which data is available. \p Luke Pollard: The Departments expenditure on Research and Development for the latest period is £19,701,778.03 (exVAT).
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) tableware and (b) crockery used in (i) his Department and (ii) military bases is made by a British manufacturer. \p Luke Pollard: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what financial support the Government has provided the Commonwealth War Graves Commission since July 2024. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: The Government provided £59.24 million to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission during the Financial Year 2024-25.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will allocate funding to support mental health services for armed forces (a) personnel and (b) reservists in the Autumn Budget 2025. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: The mental health and wellbeing of our Armed Forces is a priority for the Government and will continue to be funded.

All Service personnel have access to mental health support throughout their career, including medical and non-medical services. This includes, but is not limited to, preventative support such as wellbeing services, digital content, access to trained mental health first aiders, interventional support, and appointments with clinical staff.

For Armed Forces personnel requiring dedicated mental healthcare, the Defence Medical Services provides a responsive, flexible, accessible, and comprehensive treatment service.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help increase awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty amongst service personnel. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: Defence has made a concerted effort and is absolutely committed to raising awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty through our election manifesto commitment to fully extend the duty into law. This includes the creation of a Duty toolkit which explains the practical implications for the Armed Forces community and outlines the key policies that it encompasses. The toolkit is held on the Covenant’s dedicated website, available at the following link: https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/

Questions concerning the Duty are embedded within both the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey and Families Continuous Attitude Survey, helping to assess awareness levels and identify areas where Service personnel and families may face disadvantage. Through the implementation of the Covenant Legal Duty Extension, we will be producing and providing educational and communications’ resources to support understanding further.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty to include all (a) (i) UK and (ii) devolved government Departments and (b) policy areas. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: The Government’s election manifesto committed to placing the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law. During Armed Forces week in June, the Prime Minister announced that Service personnel, Veterans, their families and the bereaved are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central and devolved Governments for the first time under new plans to extend the Covenant Legal Duty to more policy areas and across the UK. It is our ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made with his EU counterparts on further military cooperation between the UK and Common Security and Defence Policy exercises. \p Al Carns: The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May 2025 is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO.

We will continue to prioritise engagement and cooperation on the issues that are most important in helping to safeguard European security and prosperity – all in support of this government’s NATO First defence policy as set out in the Security and Defence Review.

The Security and Defence Partnership outlines that the UK will consider its participation in EU CSDP civilian and military crisis management activity. This cooperation can take many forms and officials are in discussions with the EU to explore potential options.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the appointment of the National Armaments Director. \p Luke Pollard: The National Armaments Director (NAD) was appointed on 13 October 2025 and started the role on 14 October 2025.

The hon. Gentleman met him on 27 October in the House and I hope he found it useful.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the share of the global defence export market held by UK-based companies. \p Luke Pollard: The UK publishes annual Official Statistics on defence exports. The five-year moving average of UK defence exports orders has shown a trend of modest growth since 2018 and stands at approximately £10 billion. Market intelligence on other countries’ exports is also published. But because Official Statistics and market intelligence use different methodologies, respective results are not comparable. There are publicly available defence export datasets, such as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which make their own assessments independent of His Majesty's Government.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the level of venture capital investment there is within UK defence companies that sit within the Defence Industrial Strategy. \p Luke Pollard: This Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) (published on 8 September 2025) sets how we will deliver a more competitive, innovative, resilient and integrated defence sector to make defence an engine for growth. To assess progress against the priority outcomes of the strategy we will consider a range of indicators, including levels of venture capital investment in UK defence companies. This is being considered as part of our DIS implementation plan, ensuring that we improve the data we hold on venture capital investment in defence.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure with industry groups was spent in each region in the latest period for which data is available. \p Luke Pollard: The Ministry of Defence publishes annual statistics on expenditure by region, with the latest publication for the 2024-25 period available GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-regional-expenditure-with-industry-index.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 85 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what steps he is taking to improve the demand signal. \p Luke Pollard: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is strengthening how it communicates its demand signal to industry through the establishment of a new Market Engagement (ME) Coordinating Authority within the NAD Group. This new authority will set the standard for how the MOD engages with industry during the early ‘options’ phase of the defence capability development cycle.

The ME Authority will lead structured, early engagement with suppliers, to help refine the MOD’s requirements ahead of procurement and support the development of capability roadmaps that clearly communicate the Department’s long-term needs.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials were investigated under their Department's disciplinary processes in each of the last 5 years. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: In this instance, ‘disciplinary process’ has been defined as a misconduct and discpline case and ‘officials’ as Civil Servants. The table below shows the total number of misconduct cases over the last five years.

Financial Year

Number of Misconduct cases

2020-21

151

2021-22

151

2022-23

209

2023-24

304

2024-25

334

The total numbers of misconduct cases that had full investigations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of protection of British satellites from (a) stalking and (b) disruption. \p Al Carns: The Strategic Defenvce Review reinforced this Government's commitment to increasing defence spending and strengthening the UK's space capabilities, with clear recommendations to invest in nationally separable capability to control the domain at a time and place of our choosing, global decision advantage, and space-based sensors to understand and act.

Owing to the sensitive nature of UK Space Command's mission and work, we cannot disclose details on its capabilities or assessments on the resilience of UK military space systems.

The Ministry of Defence cannot comment on the decisions made by other British satellite manufacturers and operators regarding measures to protect against stalking and disruption.
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Sir Andrew Mitchell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress she has made in helping to tackle (a) TB (b) HIV/Aids and (c) Malaria. \p Chris Elmore: The Government remains committed to work to meet Sustainable Development target 3.3, including to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, and supports several of the organisations at the forefront of the response including the Global Fund, Gavi, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the Stop TB Partnership, UNAIDS and WHO.

For example, in 2024, through our support to the Global Fund - whose Eighth Replenishment we are proud to be co-hosting with South Africa - 25.6 million people are on antiretroviral therapy for HIV, 7.4 million people were treated for TB, and 162 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were distributed.

We are also encouraged by the recent steps towards expanding access to lenacapavir as a key HIV prevention tool, thanks to effective coordination across UK-supported partners including the Global Fund, Unitaid and CHAI.
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Sir Desmond Swayne:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the murder of Christians in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria on 14 October 2025; and what discussions she has had with her Nigerian counterpart on taking steps to end targeted attacks on Christians. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided by Baroness Chapman to question HL10250 on 23 September.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers in her Department have met with abortion providers since July 2024. \p Chris Elmore: All ministerial meetings with external organisations, and relevant Special Adviser meetings, are published in the usual way on gov.uk.
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Monica Harding:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what is the breakdown of financial (a) commitments and (b) disbursements in relation to the UK’s 2021 Nutrition for Growth pledge to spend at least £1.5 billion on nutrition objectives from 2022-2030 to date. \p Chris Elmore: Since 2010, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has reported on its nutrition-related spend across our Official Development Assistance (ODA). The latest available report captures data up to 2023 and shows that FCDO dispersed over 40 per cent of our 2021 Nutrition for Growth spend pledge during the first two years. FCDO Ministers have decided to move away from a spend focused target and instead focus on a more meaningful results target to better demonstrate the impact achieved through our programme and policy efforts to improve nutrition.

FCDO officials are currently working on proposals for a nutrition results target and will share more information on this in due course with the aim to report on nutrition results from 2026. Whilst we will no longer be reporting spend against the 2021 spend target, we do intend to continue to share our nutrition spend data as part of our established accountability mechanisms.
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of (a) tableware and (b) crockery used in (i) his Department and (ii) British Embassies and Consulates is made by a British manufacturer. \p Chris Elmore: The requested information is not centrally collated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance her Department has issued on recognising premises as a diplomatic mission of a foreign government. \p Chris Elmore: The process of applying for Diplomatic and Consular Status for Official Mission Premises is set out in Section 1(1) of the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/46). Diplomatic missions are required to obtain the consent of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs for land to be regarded as diplomatic or consular premises.
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Sir Andrew Mitchell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to sanction (a) General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and (b) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo; and whether she plans to request that the International Criminal Court issue an international arrest warrant for them. \p Chris Elmore: Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, the UK has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the parties involved in the conflict: five entities linked with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and four entities linked with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). These sanctions were designed to press the parties to engage in a sustained and meaningful peace process, allow humanitarian access and to commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK also supported the imposition of UN sanctions on two RSF generals for their crimes against civilians in Darfur in November 2024.

We do not speculate on future designations as it would undermine their effectiveness. The UK strongly supports the International Criminal Court's (ICC) active investigation into the situation in Darfur, including allegations of crimes committed since April 2023. The Prosecutor of the ICC is independent, but we welcome the conviction on 6 October of former Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb for war crimes and crimes against humanity, carried out in Darfur between 2003-2004. This is a victory for accountability and shows that justice can be served no matter how many years ago the crimes took place.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Cuban counterpart on the resentencing of Donaida Pérez Paseiro on 11 June 2025; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure her release. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 20 October 2025 to question 78060 which sets out our position. The UK continues to call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Cuba, without condition. We are monitoring the situation closely.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role her Department will have in reforming the (a) UN, (b) International Monetary Fund and (c) World Bank. \p Chris Elmore: The UK supports the UN80 reform initiative and is working closely with the Secretary-General and member states to deliver meaningful reform. We are advocating for a bold vision of a UN that focuses once again on core tasks and maximum impact. The UK, as a major shareholder of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, will also continue to influence and shape these institutions in line with our modernised aid approach.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission since her appointment. \p Chris Elmore: All meetings with external bodies will be published in the normal way on gov.uk.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she held discussions with her Rwandan counterpart on the security of the British cycling team who competed in the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 October to Question 82441.
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Marie Goldman:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the work of the British Council. \p Chris Elmore: The British Council plays a crucial role supporting the UK’s interests around the world, including helping people to learn English, and promoting British arts, culture and education. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is providing over £160 million Grant-in-Aid to the Council this year, which underlines our continued support for their important work.
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Layla Moran:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international counterparts on post-ceasefire governance in Gaza. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Prime Minister attended the Peace Summit in Egypt on 13 October where he pledged a £20m aid package to deliver essential water, sanitation and hygiene services to 10,000s of Palestinians across Gaza. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 18 October following the announcement of a ceasefire deal. The Foreign Secretary welcomed the release of hostages and urged the need for immediate humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. I co-hosted with the Egyptian government and Palestinian Authority on 13-15 October which was the first conference to look at how we can leverage sustainable private finance to support Gaza’s reconstruction.
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Wendy Chamberlain:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to Official Development Assistance spending on women and girls in Afghanistan. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: With £151 million allocated this year, Afghanistan remains one of the UK’s largest bilateral aid programmes. We aim for women and girls to make up at least 50% of those reached, and continually assess programme effectiveness to support that goal. We regularly engage with a range of Afghans and partner organisations to inform and shape our policy and programmes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_163

Rachel Gilmour:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on collective sanctions against Russia. \p Stephen Doughty: Exerting maximum economic pressure on Russia is a central part of our support for Ukraine, and our best tool to force Putin to de-escalate the war and engage in meaningful talks. The UK continues to lead international efforts, including coordination with our European and US partners. Together, we have sanctioned major Russian oil companies, including Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, and sanctioned over 500 Russian shadow fleet vessels.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_164

Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving the UK’s relationship with the EU. \p Stephen Doughty: Since coming to office, this Government has worked to strengthen our relations with the EU, to grow our economy, boost living standards for British people and keep the UK safe. We will continue to drive forward this long-term strategic partnership over the coming months and years, and use it to deliver what the British people want; jobs, security, and effective action to counter illegal migration.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_165

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made a recent estimate of the value of Russian owned assets held in the Overseas Territories. \p Stephen Doughty: The Overseas Territories (OTs) stand with the UK in condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine. The OTs have committed to implement UK sanctions in full. The Governments of the Territories take seriously their responsibility for the implementation and enforcement of sanctions within their jurisdictions. The Territories have frozen assets worth approximately US $9 billion. OT Governments have informed us that the vast majority of these assets belong to persons designated under the Russia sanctions regime.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_166

Seamus Logan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving relations with the EU. \p Stephen Doughty: Since coming to office, this Government has worked to strengthen our relations with the EU, to grow our economy, boost living standards for British people and keep the UK safe. We will continue to drive forward this long-term strategic partnership over the coming months and years, and use it to deliver what the British people want; jobs, security, and effective action to counter illegal migration.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_167

Lauren Edwards:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to families whose relatives have died abroad in suspicious circumstances. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We recognise how heartbreaking it is for families in Britain when their loved ones die in suspicious circumstances overseas, and they are left desperate for support and for answers. When the worst happens, Foreign Office staff are available around the clock, with dedicated teams ready to help families navigate local legal systems, to advise on repatriation and connect them to professional support services But we know there is always room to improve this service, and my door is always open to members of this House to discuss specific cases on behalf of their constituents.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_168

Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with the UN on its estimate of the number of rocket attacks into Israel in the 12 months before and since 7 October 2023. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK Government has consistently condemned the rocket attacks launched by Hamas and other terror groups at civilian populations within Israel, both before and after the horrors of October 7 2023. Those attacks reinforce our determination that there will be no place for Hamas in the future governance of Palestine, as we continue working with international partners to support the US peace plan. We also condemn the Iranian attacks which saw Iran fire over 600 rockets, missiles and drones since October 7, leading to the deaths of 29 Israelis. I equally condemn the Houthi attacks, which have targeted Israeli civilians with over 100 ballistic missiles and drones.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_169

Steve Witherden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure humanitarian funding for (a) conflict-affected and (b) climate-vulnerable regions following the planned reduction of Official Development Assistance. \p Chris Elmore: Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through following the Spending Review and through resource allocation processes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is focused on ensuring that every pound is spent in the most impactful way.
wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_170
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_170

Monica Harding:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the provision of funding to increase the number of Crown Court sitting days. \p Sarah Sackman: Operational capacity in the criminal courts does not refer solely to judicial sitting days. Consideration of court capacity necessarily includes consideration of capacity in terms of numbers of advocates, defence and prosecution, legal advisors and other court staff of which there is a finite supply. To fund additional sitting days, the Lord Chancellor needed to be confident that the extra days were both deliverable and affordable.

The Crown Court is currently sitting the most sitting days since records began. The previous Lord Chancellor had already funded a significant increase over previous years’ allocations for this year. Having assessed regional delivery performance and confidence across criminal justice partners required for delivery, and considered the Department’s broader financial position, the Lord Chancellor chose to fund a further 1,250 Crown Court sitting days, taking the total to a record 111,250 this financial year.

The additional sitting days will be distributed to areas of the country able to support higher sitting levels and will enable the courts to sit at record levels this year, meaning more trials will be able to be heard. New courts and prison projections which include the assumed 111,250 days will be published in December.

Whilst the Crown Court sitting days allocation is at a record level, it is not even higher due to capacity constraints and the Department’s wider financial position. This means while we are prioritising Crown Court funding we also have to consider the capacity not just of HMCTS, but the capacity and cost of the judges, lawyers, prosecutors, legal aid and defence barristers that underpin the rest of the system. We do not hold data for the number of cases not heard each month as a result of the cap on sitting days. We consider capacity across the year and have adjusted sitting day levels accordingly, as detailed below.

The Lord Chancellor and his officials engage regularly with the Treasury on court resourcing and funding. This increase in sitting days reflects the Government’s commitment to ensuring the Crown Court has the resources it needs to deliver timely justice. This year we have secured record investment in the courts system – up to £450 million by the end of the Spending Review period.

While extra sitting days will help to tackle delays in our courts, only major reform will address the crisis in our courts. That is why the previous Lord Chancellor commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to lead an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, to propose bold and ambitious reforms to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swifter justice for victims.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_171

Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy that requests by district judges to transfer up to the High Court for enforcement should always be allowed (a) where the County Court bailiff delay locally is three months or more and (b) where it is possible that reasonable force may have to be used. \p Sarah Sackman: The Government has noted the findings of the High Court Enforcement Officer Association’s recent report about the process for transferring possession cases to the High Court for enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers and is considering its recommendations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_172

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many officials were investigated under their Department's disciplinary processes in each of the last 5 years. \p Jake Richards: The following table contains the number of Ministry of Justice (inc. HMPPS) employees who had a disciplinary investigation case opened against them between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2025, by financial year:

Financial Year

Number of Employees who had an investigation case opened against them

2020 - 2021

1,470

2021 - 2022

1,443

2022 - 2023

1,610

2023 - 2024

2,079

2024 - 2025

2,467

Caveats

This is based on the latest available investigations data as at 30 September 2025 and includes all cases where the investigation was commissioned or opened between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2025 by financial year.

A small proportion of individuals will have been subject to multiple investigation cases. Within each financial year, individuals are only counted once in this table, regardless of how many investigations are opened against. However, where an individual has an investigation opened in more than one year, they will be counted once in each of those years.

This only includes cases where the individual that the case was opened was employed by MoJ HQ, HMPPS, HMCTS, OPG, LAA, and CICA, and will include all cases regardless of outcome. This excludes non-payroll employees such as agency staff and contractors.

Within HMPPS, all investigation cases related to disciplinary processes and so all investigation cases have been included here. Within MoJ, investigations can relate to either disciplinary processes or grievances processes. Therefore, only investigations relating to disciplinary processes have been included.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_173

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department intends to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Stephen Sleaford. \p Jake Richards: HM Prison and Probation Service responded to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Death Report following the inquest into the death of Stephen Sleaford on 9 December 2024, which was within the statutory deadline of 56 days from the date of the report. The response is now available on the Chief Coroner’s website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-28 conversation_174

Steve Witherden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the restriction zone requirement in the Sentencing Bill would apply to convicted murderers on a life sentence; and whether the conditions of convicted murderers would be independently managed by the parole board. \p Jake Richards: It is crucial that we have a justice system that punishes offenders and supports victims. That is why increasing restriction on serious sexual and violent offenders is part of our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets safer.

Through the Sentencing Bill, we are introducing a new power which will allow restriction zones to be imposed on offenders on licence, where appropriate. These will restrict certain offenders to specific areas – so their victims know they are safe wherever else they want to go. We are working to finalise the operation of, and eligibility for, the new restriction zones, subject to the passage of the Sentencing Bill

Where an offender is serving a life sentence, they may only be released once they have completed their minimum term (or tariff) set by the court and where the independent Parole Board is satisfied that they no longer need to be detained for the protection of the public. If the Board directs the release of a life-sentence prisoner, it will also decide what licence conditions will apply to safely manage the offender in the community. Any subsequent variation of the conditions on a life licence will also be a matter for the Parole Board to decide.