theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Kate Osamor:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Syrian counterpart on recent clashes between the Syrian Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Aleppo. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political settlement and discussed the situation in Aleppo with the Syrian Government during her recent visit to Damascus.
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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Israeli counterpart on the Knesset Bill entitled Application of Israeli Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, 2025. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK Government condemns any calls to annex the West Bank and has also consistently opposed the expansion of illegal settlements. Annexation threatens regional stability, the viability of a Palestinian state and lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
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Dr Rupa Huq:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Pakistani counterparts on the attack on the Ahmadiyya community at Bait-ul-Mahdi Mosque in Rabwah on 10 October 2025. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 29 October to question 82128.
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Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with international partners to encourage the Government of Pakistan to prevent mob violence against (a) the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and (b) other religious minorities. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We are concerned by incidents of violence against religious minorities in Pakistan and continue to monitor the situation. I raised my concern over violence against the Ahmadiyya community in a meeting with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister in August. Our High Commission in Islamabad regularly raises the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims with the Government of Pakistan at the highest levels, and has raised the recent attack at Baitul Mahdi Mosque in Rabwah with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister. On the international stage, the UK continues to highlight Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) violations and abuses through our position at the UN, G7 and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department will provide travel support to elderly British residents seeking to visit (a) family and (b) friends in northern Cyprus. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: As stated in our Travel Advice, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can only provide limited consular support for British Nationals visiting areas in the north of Cyprus that are not under control of the Republic of Cyprus.
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Wendy Chamberlain:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether ODA spending for Afghanistan will be ringfenced in the upcoming spending decisions. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 September to Question 70974.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of UK Overseas Territories on progress made on adopting publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statements of 3 July and 22 July which provide an update on progress achieved to date and details of next steps. We have clearly conveyed to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the urgency of meeting previously agreed deadlines and expect prompt action. I raised these points directly with the elected leaders of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands on my visit to those Territories last month, and in my recent conversations and correspondence with the Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Baroness Hodge visited the BVI at my request in September and I recently met with her to discuss her findings. This issue will also be discussed at the upcoming Joint Ministerial Council. The registers should offer streamlined access to a broad range of legitimate users, supporting proactive investigations, deterring the concealment of illicit gains, and promoting maximum transparency.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with the government of Israel on removing its new registration requirements for INGOs in Gaza. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.
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Luke Akehurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled UK-Occupied Palestinian Territories development partnership summary July 2023, published on 17 July 2023, whether the Palestinian Authority has informed her that it has (a) completed textbook reforms for grade 12 and (b) introduced revised textbooks for grades 1 to 4; and what mechanisms are in place to verify that these materials meet UNESCO standards. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: In President Abbas' letter to President Macron, dated 9 June 2025, he set out his commitment to the principles of non-violence, the organisation of elections, the development of a school curriculum that is free from incitement, and the implementation of a new social security system, which will revoke so-called prisoner payments, and ensure that any future welfare payments are needs-based and delinked from violent actions. The Palestinian Authority must now ensure that an independent audit is conducted to verify that these reforms have been completed.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with international partners on the implementation of the International Court of Justice ruling of January 2024 on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 2 June 2025 to Question 52416.
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Ian Roome: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 reports that Israeli naval units intercepted vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza given international maritime law; and what representations her Department has made to the Government of Israel on the matter. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 October to Question 77868.
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Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the risk of state sponsored terrorism from Palestine. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 September to Question 74028.
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Louise Haigh:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to offer support to members of the Russian Anti-War Committee living in the UK. \p Stephen Doughty: The Government condemns the continued deterioration in the Kremlin's dire domestic human rights record and its use of repressive legislation to crush political opposition, repress anti-war voices and maintain a climate of fear. We regularly use multilateral fora to highlight the Russian authorities' human rights violations and hold them accountable. For example on 7 October the UK co-sponsored a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council urging the Russian authorities to uphold fundamental freedoms and renewing the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) engages a wide range of Russian civil society figures. The FCDO, Home Office, operational partners and other government departments work closely to ensure UK residents are safe and secure.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on levels of religious freedom in that country. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Promoting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement with Pakistan. Ministers and senior officials have consistently raised this issue with Pakistani counterparts, including in August 2025 when I voiced concern over violence against the Ahmadiyya community with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister. Our High Commission in Islamabad also continues to engage regularly on the persecution of religions minorities, as well as wider issues of misuse of blasphemy laws, desecration of places of worship, and the need to uphold fundamental rights in line with international standards. The UK Government remains concerned by the FoRB situation in Pakistan and will continue to urge the Pakistani authorities to guarantee the rights and safety of all religious communities.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of state actors in Pakistan targeting UK residents with (a) political intimidation and (b) interference on those residents. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 March 2025 to Question 36232.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support available to young people up to the age of 25 with education, health and care plans who are no longer accessing education. \p Georgia Gould: As part of our Plan for Change we are determined to improve outcomes for young people. We will set out plans for SEND reform in our Schools White Paper.

We are already taking action to improve preparation for adulthood, including continuing to invest in supported internships by providing up to £12 million to March 2026, delivered through the Internships Work consortium, building on previous investment from 2022-25. Supported internships are a work-based study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an education health and care (EHC) plan, want to move into employment and need extra support to do so.

Arrangements under an EHC plan can continue up to age 25. As a young person is nearing the end of their time in formal education and their EHC plan is likely to be ceased within the next 12 months, the annual review should consider good exit planning.

Support, provision and outcomes should be agreed that will ensure the young person is supported to make a smooth transition to whatever they will be doing next, such as moving on to higher education, employment, independent living or adult care.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help children and young people understand the circular economy. \p Georgia Gould: The government recognises the importance of ensuring that children and young people are taught about and understand sustainability and the circular economy, which is why this topic can already be covered across a range of subjects, including science and design and technology. The national curriculum in England provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own school curriculum.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report is due to be published this autumn, along with the government’s response. The Review is looking at where the evidence suggests that curriculum and qualifications content needs to be updated to reflect rapid social, environmental and technological change, including a greater focus on sustainability.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question (a) 74612 and (b) 74613, tabled on 3 September 2025. \p Georgia Gould: The responses to Written Parliamentary Questions 74612 and 74613 were published on 22 October 2025.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions on levels of redundancies in schools. \p Georgia Gould: School funding is increasing by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This includes the additional funding being provided to support schools and high needs settings, with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions from April 2025.
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Mark Garnier:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing supported internship funding arrangements for young people aged between 16 and 19 who require additional support to enter the workplace but do not have an education, health and care plan. \p Georgia Gould: The department is continuing to invest in supported internships by providing up to £12 million to March 2026 to support local areas to sustain their progress and develop their supported internship offers.

This includes funding to expand the department’s pilot that is testing supported internships with young people who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) but don’t have an education, health and care plan and are furthest from the labour market, to support hundreds more young people with SEND to transition into paid employment.

This will help to build the department’s evidence base and inform our evaluation of the pilot, which will inform future policy planning on supported internships. An evaluation of our wider investment is expected to be published next summer, including some learning from the pilot, and a follow-up report with more detailed learning from the pilot is expected in summer 2027.
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Mark Garnier:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional intervention funding for the provision of education re-engagement programmes for 16 to 18 year olds who have defaulted their initial course but who could be re-engaged. \p Josh MacAlister: Under Section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, local authorities are required to make available the support it considers appropriate to encourage, enable or assist all young people aged 16 to 19 to effectively participate in education or training.

Local authorities must also collect information about young people to identify and give reengagement support to those who are not participating or are not in employment, education, or training. They are expected to meet any costs incurred in the delivery of the above from their overall budgets, including central government grants.

Funding for education and training provision for 16 to 19-year-olds and those up to the age of 25 with an education, health and care plan is provided to schools, colleges and training providers.

The funding formula for 16 to 19-year-olds includes extra funding for disadvantaged students to recognise that there are additional costs incurred in engaging, retaining and supporting young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and to account for the additional costs incurred for teaching and supporting students who have low prior attainment to achieve their learning goals.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software, on university students in receipt of the Disabled Students' Allowance. \p Josh MacAlister: I refer the hon. Member for Yeovil to the answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 71715.
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Mark Garnier:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing in year growth funding to schools affected by additional starts relating to provision intended to (a) prevent and (b) reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. \p Josh MacAlister: The department funds any 16, 17 or 18-year-old who wants a place in post-16 education.

Typically, this is through lagged funding, where the main funding is based on student numbers in the year before. However, for those institutions with a significant growth in students, we recognise that there are additional costs and provide in-year funding to help with these.

To support providers to offer places to young people across the country, we announced our plans for In Year Growth in the 2025/26 academic year on 27 August 2025. This should support providers to offer places to all young people who want one, including young people not currently in education, employment or training. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-funding-in-year-growth-for-2025-to-2026.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions prior to its decision to withdraw funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software for university students receiving the Disabled Students' Allowance. \p Josh MacAlister: This change is entirely within the remit of the department. My right hon. Friends. the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions therefore did not meet to discuss this matter prior to the decision being made. The department has made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through DSA.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures her Department has in place to run critical services in the event of a major internet outage. \p Josh MacAlister: In preparation for potential major incidents, the department has undertaken Business Impact Assessments across all critical assets. These assessments have informed the development of Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), which outline the procedures and contingencies necessary to maintain essential services during such incidents. These plans are regularly reviewed and tested to ensure operational resilience and continuity of service delivery.

To further strengthen response capabilities, the department’s Central Major Incident and Cyber Incident team is equipped to manage such events end-to-end. In parallel to BCPs, Disaster Recovery Strategies are in place to restore affected services swiftly, minimising downtime and ensuring operational continuity.
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Mark Garnier:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help re-engage young people with education, health and care plans who are not in employment, education or training. \p Josh MacAlister: There are 165,000 16 to 25 year-olds with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Of these, it is estimated that approximately 22,000 are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Published data for the reporting year 2025 shows that approximately 11% of 16 to 19 year-olds with EHC plans and 21% of 20 to 25 year-olds with EHC plans were NEET. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/da86f4d8-c536-4e7d-5ab8-08ddf5e2701a.

The department is acting to tackle the number of young people who are NEET.

The recently published post-16 education and skills white paper commits us to building a system that leaves no learner behind.

We are tackling NEETs by ensuring that every young person has access to education, training or support to move into work, backed by measures such as automatic college places for 16 year-olds without a post-16 plan, subsidised paid work placements, and a guaranteed job for those on Universal Credit unemployed for over 18 months.

The Youth Guarantee trailblazers are testing focused support for vulnerable groups such as care leavers, young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and those from alternative provision. This focused support includes mentoring, confidence building, coaching and financial management skills. This testing will inform the future roll out of the Youth Guarantee.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential contribution of higher education institutions to reducing (a) national and (b) regional skills shortages. \p Josh MacAlister: Skills England analysis estimates that two thirds (66%) of the projected additional employment demand in priority occupations to 2030 will require workers with a qualification at level 4 or above. In higher education (HE), half (53%) of employed recent education leavers are working in priority occupations. Overall, HE accounts for over half (51%) of all recent education leavers entering priority occupations from the skills system in England.

The government published plans for HE reform as part of the post 16 education and skills white paper on 20 October 2025. This set out a target of two-thirds of young people participating in higher level learning academic, technical or apprenticeships by age 25, and a sub target of at least 10% of young people participating higher technical education or apprenticeships by age 25 by 2040.

The white paper sets out a number of policies to deliver this target, including reforming the strategic priorities grant to align with priority sectors and strengthened guidance on HE providers engaging with Local Skills and Improvement Partnerships.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available at age 18 to young people who were in care during early childhood before being (a) adopted or (b) placed under alternative permanency arrangements. \p Josh MacAlister: Young people who were in care before being adopted or placed under a Special Guardianship Order or Care Arrangements Order remain eligible for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund until the age of 21, or 25 if they have an education, health and care plan.

Adopted individuals aged 18 and over also have the legal right to access their birth and adoption records. Support is available through local authorities and registered adoption agencies to help them understand their adoption history and, where appropriate, reconnect with birth relatives.

Additionally, some children with kinship foster carers are entitled to leaving care support. This includes support from a Personal Adviser up to the age of 25, and support to engage in education, employment or training. This also includes providing continuity of support and relationships through the Staying Put programme and investing in family-finding, mentoring and befriending programmes.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73118 on Social Security and Child Support Tribunal: ICT, whether any (a) personal and (b) sensitive information was exposed. \p Sarah Sackman: No personal or sensitive information was exposed as a result of the IT system bug referenced.
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of levels of access to legal aid in the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access. \p Sarah Sackman: This Government recognises the important role that legal aid plays in helping some of the most vulnerable in society access legal advice.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate access to legal aid services in Ely and East Cambridgeshire across all categories of legal aid.

We have confirmed that we are increasing fees for all housing & debt, and immigration & asylum legal aid work. This is a significant investment of £20 million a year – the first increase since 1996. In addition, we are looking at other potential changes that could support providers, for example, (civil) contractual requirements regarding provider offices and limits to the provision of remote legal aid that providers say are burdensome. Any changes would aim to give providers more autonomy in meeting client need, while maintaining effective in-person provision for clients who need this.

Further, in December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to help support the sustainability of the criminal legal aid sector. The consultation launched in May 2025, and we will publish the response later this year.

This is in addition to our response to the Crime Lower consultation, confirming an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel in certain circumstances. Together, these changes provided a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73115 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data Protection, whether (a) financial penalties and (b) contract management actions were taken against any delivery partner. \p Sarah Sackman: We have no central record of any financial penalties against any supplier/delivery partner in relation to this issue.

Contract management actions are undertaken as standard; HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice engage suppliers via frameworks managed by the Crown Commercial Service and did so over the course of the HMCTS Reform Programme (for example on the Digital Outcome and Specialists and G Cloud frameworks). These frameworks are designed to enable Government Departments to procure digital and technology services in a compliant, flexible, and value-for-money manner. Both frameworks operate under pre-approved terms and conditions that set clear expectations for supplier performance, financial management, and contract governance, providing Departments with consistent mechanisms to manage delivery risk and ensure accountability across multiple suppliers.
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Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving the Enforcement Conduct Board the power to (a) grant and (b) revoke EC2 certificates, in the context of its forthcoming response to the Regulation of the debt enforcement sector consultation. \p Sarah Sackman: The Government is committed to strengthening the regulation of enforcement firms and agents who use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on proposals to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms, when parliamentary time allows. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should have a role in certificating enforcement agents.

The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help support smaller solicitors' practices in rural areas to (a) prevent their closure and (b) maintain local choice. \p Sarah Sackman: The Government recognises the vital role that solicitors’ practices play in supporting access to justice and sustaining local economies, including in rural communities. However, solicitors’ firms operate as independent businesses, and decisions about where they open, or close are commercial matters for those firms.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with representative and regulatory bodies, including the Law Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), and the Legal Services Board (LSB), to help ensure that the wider legal services market remains effective, competitive, and accessible to people across England and Wales.

The Government is also taking wider steps to support the sustainability of the legal aid and legal services sectors. Ensuring that solicitors and firms remain able to operate effectively across England and Wales underpins the justice system as a whole.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many occupation orders have been issued against joint tenants in the last 12 months for which data is available. \p Sarah Sackman: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_168

Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to legislate to protect the rights of children to communicate with (a) grandparents and (b) others members of extended family in cases where (i) one and (ii) both parents seek to prevent such contact. \p Alex Davies-Jones: I acknowledge and respect that grandparents and other extended family members often play an important role in children’s lives and can provide stability in families, particularly where parents are separating.

Any contact with the child should always be in their child's best interests. This is why there is no statutory right for any adult to have contact with a child. It is already possible for extended family members to seek leave of the court to apply for ‘spending time with’ or ‘living with’ arrangements through a Child Arrangements Order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (‘the Act’). The requirement for grandparents or others to seek the leave of the court first is to ensure that their application is in the child's best interests; but in certain circumstances, applicants may be entitled to apply without the leave of the court under section 10 (5) of the Act. These circumstances include where the child has lived with them for a period of at least three years. Therefore, the Government has no current plans to legislate further on this issue.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_169
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_169

Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the criteria for parental involvement in decision-making for young people who lack mental capacity after becoming 18 years of age. \p Alex Davies-Jones: Anyone who wishes to make decisions for a person who lacks the mental capacity to do so for themselves must have the legal authority to act. The provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 reflect that principle and provide safeguards to protect the interests of persons who lack mental capacity.

Parents are often unaware they need legal authority to make decisions once their child reaches 18, when legal parental responsibility ends. The Government acknowledges this lack of awareness and in relation to property and finance has produced a toolkit ‘Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ to raise awareness: Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK.

Parents and carers can still be involved in decisions regarding the young person. Section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, outlines the principles for making decisions in a person’s best interests for whom they care and confirms that the decision maker should consult with anyone engaged in caring for the person as well as close family and friends.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_170
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_170

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the style guide entitled Writing about ethnicity, updated in October 2024, for what reason references to travellers were capitalised. \p Seema Malhotra: In October 2024, the style guide ‘Writing about ethnicity’  on the Ethnicity facts and figures website was updated. While the guide makes no direct reference to the capitalisation of references to Travellers, a capital letter was used to align with the Government Analysis Function's harmonised standard for ethnicity, based on the 2011 Census.

This standard is also followed by the Office for National Statistics in its service manual.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_171
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_171

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government collects data on complaints of racial discrimination made by white British employees in the public sector. \p Seema Malhotra: We are committed to upholding Britain’s long-standing record of protecting the rights of individuals against unlawful discrimination, and ensuring the Equality Act 2010 protects everyone.

The government does not hold this data centrally. The Courts and Tribunal Service collects data on claims made to Employment Tribunals relating to discrimination in the workplace, including racial discrimination. However, it is not possible to disaggregate this by the specific ethnic group of complainants in the public sector.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_172
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_172

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department provides guidance to public bodies on ensuring that positive action does not result in unlawful discrimination against white applicants. \p Seema Malhotra: Section 158 of the Equality Act 2010 permits the use of positive action measures to alleviate disadvantages experienced by people who share a protected characteristic, reduce their under-representation in relation to particular activities, and meet their particular needs. It allows measures to be targeted to particular groups, including internships and training, to enable them to gain employment.

Section 159 permits an employer to take a protected characteristic into consideration when deciding whom to recruit or promote, where people who hold the protected characteristic are at a disadvantage or are under-represented. This can only be done where the candidates are as qualified as each other. The question of whether one person is as qualified as another is not a matter only of academic qualification, but a judgement based on the criteria the employer uses to establish who is best for the job. This could include matters such as suitability, competence and professional performance. Section 159 does not allow employers to have a policy or practice of automatically treating people who share a protected characteristic more favourably than those who do not have it in these circumstances; each case must be considered on its merits.

Any action taken in light of either Section 158 or 159 must be a proportionate means of addressing such disadvantage or under-representation. The Equality Act 2010 provides protections for people from discrimination in the workplace and in society which make it unlawful to treat someone unfairly or discriminate against anyone based on certain personal characteristics. This includes race and ethnicity. Guidance to help employers understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination is available on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-action-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_173
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_173

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the defence capabilities of the Armed Forces in response to China's (a) Dongfeng-5C intercontinental ballistic missile and (b) second-strike capability. \p Al Carns: The Ministry of Defence does not comment on specific capabilities, as doing so could provide an operational advantage to those who may seek to harm the UK.

The UK has a suite of capabilities to tackle the missile threat which is advancing, proliferating and converging. The Government has announced an investment of £1 billion to enhance our homeland air and missile defence through the Strategic Defence Review. The UK’s nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to the UK and our Allies. Its purpose is to preserve peace, prevent coercion, and deter aggression.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_174
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_174

Colum Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) legal costs and (b) other support provided to Soldier F relating to the case of the alleged murders of James Wray and William McKinney. \p Al Carns: The Ministry of Defence is committed to supporting veterans and their families. As part of this, Soldier F has received legal and welfare support throughout his legal proceedings at public expense.

The legal fees associated with these proceedings (including associated judicial reviews) amount to £4.3 million, which may rise marginally once final bills are received. These costs cover the period from when Soldier F was initially charged in March 2019. This includes costs associated with the Judicial Review leading to the PPS recommencing proceedings in 2022. Legal representation has been provided by the same experienced legal team since the Saville Inquiry, supplemented by leading solicitors and barristers, including King's Counsel, based in Northern Ireland.

Other costs associated with the support of Soldier F, such as pastoral care, arrangement and payment of travel and accommodation, etc, are met from a central budget and involve the time of various employees for which a specific cost cannot be calculated.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_175
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_175

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, if he will make an assessment of the lessons learned from the first joint wargame undertaken by his Department with industry. \p Luke Pollard: Wargaming, such as the December 2024 Industry Wargame, helps the Ministry of Defence, industry, and wider society identify and address risks, enhancing operational resilience and ensuring mission continuity in contested environments. The exercise yielded critical insights across multiple areas essential for surging capacity and scaling to full warfighting readiness. Achieving this requires strengthening strategic collaboration with industry and international partners, alongside further developing enablers such as appropriate legislation, financial frameworks, specialist skills development, and digital transformation.

Considerable progress is already underway, including work on a Defence Readiness Bill, the formation of a dedicated scenario planning and modelling capability, accelerated digital system upgrades for secure information sharing, and cross-Government efforts to access vital defence skills.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_176
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_176

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel were categorised as NATO dental fitness Category (a) 2, (b) 3 and (c) 4 on the basis that they needed dental care or treatment in order to be fully deployable in each of the last 10 years. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: The following table provides the numbers of UK Armed Forces personnel categorised as NATO Category 2, 3 and 4, as at 1 April each year from 1 April 2015 to April 2025:

NATO Category

2

3

4

2015

10,096

8,015

28,767

2016

9,893

6,948

22,478

2017

9,496

6,081

19,435

2018

10,409

6,306

23,712

2019

9,966

6,421

18,066

2020

10,005

7,261

19,927

2021

13,237

13,523

43,947

2022

13,318

12,348

26,962

2023

11,451

10,687

23,358

2024

17,221

12,283

21,699

2025

21,461

13,742

20,870

Personnel categorised as NATO Category 2 and 3 are those who require either preventative or interventive treatment to achieve optimal dental fitness.

Personnel categorised as NATO Category 4 are those who require a periodic dental examination, have an undetermined dental status, or have missing or incomplete dental records.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_177
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_177

Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data his Department holds on the reasons for passengers travelling on the Chinook Mk2 aircraft involved in the Mull of Kintyre crash in 1994. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: I refer the hon. Member to The Mull of Kintyre Review undertaken by the Rt Hon Lord Philip published on 13 July 2011. This review states that “This was an annual tasking to transport Northern Ireland based senior intelligence and security officers to a security conference outside the Province (p12)”.
wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_178
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-29 conversation_178

Gideon Amos:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the current eligibility criteria for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for Regular Officers who were (a) discharged before 29 July 2014 and (b) served the same qualifying period as those who have received the medal under the revised rules; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending those criteria to ensure that all veteran officers are given equal recognition for their service, in the context of the Armed Forces Covenant. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: This Government has the utmost admiration and appreciation for the loyal service of all our Armed Forces Veterans, however, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no current plan to recommend that the eligibility criteria for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal are amended to include Regular Officers who served in the Armed Forces before 29 July 2014. In any case, the MOD cannot unilaterally amend the eligibility criteria for the medal, and any recommendation in this respect would be subject to endorsement by the Committee on the Grant of Decorations, Honours and Medals, and approval by His Majesty The King.