Baroness Uddin

The £625 million Construction Skills Package investment is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers, supporting a sustainable talent pipeline across the sector. This includes increased teaching provision, improved teaching quality through ten Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (C‑TECs), teacher industry exchange programmes, and expanded on-site experience for learners. A new Foundation apprenticeship will provide a clear entry route into the sector, alongside existing apprenticeships, and supported by close collaboration with industry and targeted incentives for employers.

As part of the Construction Skills Package, we are using targeted communications campaigns to raise awareness of opportunities in construction and highlight the sector’s role in creating pathways to good jobs and progression. This includes tailored promotion of construction skills opportunities for individuals, including women, and those returning to the workforce, working closely with partners across government such as DWP and local job centres.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) supports a range of initiatives designed to encourage more women into construction careers, including Onsite Experience hubs, SkillBuild, Go Construct and Women into Home Building. These programmes help raise awareness of opportunities in the sector, support entry into training and employment, and widen the pipeline of talent available to employers.

I recognise the significant contribution that non-EU NATO Allies make to European defence and security, including the United Kingdom, Türkiye, Norway and Canada. As NATO Allies, we share responsibility for collective defence and Euro-Atlantic security, providing substantial military capabilities, operational expertise and leadership that underpin the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture. The UK works closely with other non-EU NATO Allies to strengthen NATO's collective capability and readiness, including through major bilateral partnerships such as the UK-Norway Lunna House Agreement, which deepens defence cooperation and is supporting the delivery of a joint Type 26 frigate programme.

The UK engages regularly with NATO and EU partners to promote cooperation that complements NATO and enables non-EU NATO Allies to contribute fully to fundamental Euro-Atlantic security.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 29 April in response to Question HL14316.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the responses I gave when this issue was raised in the House on 6 July by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, Official Report, vol. 858, cols. 5-8.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the responses I gave when this issue was raised in the House on 6 July by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, Official Report, vol. 858, cols. 5-8.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the responses I gave when this issue was raised in the House on 6 July by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, Official Report, vol. 858, cols. 5-8.

Shamima Begum had her British citizenship removed, as upheld by UK courts, which we support.

We do not comment on individual cases, operational intelligence or security matters and it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of Ms Begum’s case whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.

Depriving an individual of British citizenship keeps the very worst, high harm offenders out of the UK. Each case is assessed individually on the basis of all available evidence and always comes with a right of appeal..

The Government’s top priority remains maintaining our national security and keeping the public safe.

The Ministry of Justice is investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years, including funding to Police and Crime Commissioner areas to commission victims support services locally, as well asfunding to over 60 specialist support organisations through the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund. These organisations provide support for victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including recent and non-recent victims of child sexual abuse, to cope and move forward with their lives. The Home Office’s Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund also supports seven voluntary and community sector organisations to have national reach and supports victims and survivors of child sexual abuse with a range of one-to-one and peer and survivor led support groups. These services support all victims and survivors irrespective of personal characteristics such as faith and race.

In 2025 as part of our response to recommendation 16 of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Government set out ambitious proposals to strengthen therapeutic support for victims, announcing it will provide up to £50 million in new funding to expand the Child House (Barnahus) model to every NHS region in England. This internationally recognised model—rightly viewed as the gold standard for supporting children who have experienced sexual abuse—will ensure that wherever a child lives, they can access the specialist, trauma-informed care they need to begin recovering and rebuilding their lives.

Children’s Independent Sexual Violence Advisor’s also provide practical and emotional support to children and young people aged 4 to 17 years, who have experienced rape, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation at any time during their life. They provide emotional and practical support and liaise between the police, courts and other agencies, acting as an advocate for the survivor.

The Government takes the threat from online grooming by terrorist individuals and organisations seriously. Terrorist activity online and illegal radicalising content should have no place on the internet. However, the borderless nature of the internet means that the threat remains persistent.

The Home Office works to influence industry partners to increase action to tackle online content used to radicalise, recruit and incite terrorism by providing threat assessment, insight and support.

We also work with international to collaborate on tackling online radicalisation, and influence and align approaches where possible and respond to emerging threats.

Under the Online Safety Act, tech companies are accountable to Ofcom, the independent online safety regulator, to keep their users safe, and they need to have in place systems and processes to remove and limit the spread of illegal content, including terrorist material.

Through our Prevent programme, partners also deliver a range of activity from face-to-face workshops, online sessions, sessions at conferences, school assemblies etc around building resilience to extremist/terrorist narratives, online safety and the impact of terrorism.

In the year ending September 2025 there were 7,527 recorded offences of sexual grooming (which includes sexual communication with a child). In the same period there were 1,000 defendants prosecuted and 1,085 convicted for sexual grooming offences. Girls are more likely to be affected by sexual offending than boys. However, the majority of CSA remains hidden and under-identified. The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) estimate that 15% of girls experience some form of sexual abuse before age 16 compared to 5% of boys (year ending March 2020). The Home Office funds the CSA Centre to drive system-wide improvements in professionals’ ability to identify and respond to child sexual abuse

The Home Office also equips UK Law Enforcement with the capabilities required to identify and tackle more child sex offenders, including online grooming. The Home Office funds a network of Undercover Online (UCOL) officers based in Regional Organised Crime Units. This network uses specially trained teams and infrastructure to target those who seek to groom children for sexual purposes.

The Home Office also provides funding to voluntary sector organisations to support victims and survivors of CSA through the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse fund. In 2025 as part of our response to recommendation 16 of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Government set out ambitious proposals to strengthen therapeutic support for victims, announcing it will provide up to £50 million in new funding to expand the Child House (Barnahus) model to every NHS region in England. This internationally recognised model—rightly viewed as the gold standard for supporting children who have experienced sexual abuse—will ensure that wherever a child lives, they can access the specialist, trauma-informed care they need to begin recovering and rebuilding their lives.

The Online Safety Act is also deigned to drive down online grooming. This landmark piece of legislation protects citizens, especially children, from abuse and harm online, such as grooming. There are over 40 specific measures in Ofcom’s Codes of Practice, which will protect children from the risk of online grooming. The Government is committed to supporting Ofcom’s effective implementation of the Act.

Custody images used for retrospective facial recognition searches are stored on the Police National Database. The data is held at a secure location in the UK.

Police use of facial recognition is governed by data protection legislation, which require that any processing of biometric data is lawful, fair, proportionate and subject to appropriate safeguards.

Police forces act as the data controllers for facial recognition use and must manage data, including any international transfers, in line with data protection law and established policing standards.

On 4 December last year, we launched a public consultation on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used, and what safeguards and oversight are needed. Following analysis of the responses, we will publish a formal government response in due course.

The Government takes the protection and sovereignty of UK data seriously. Within the Ministry of Defence, all Defence data used and developed through Palantir software remains under the ownership and control of the Ministry of Defence. None of the UK Defence Data is held by Palantir. The data remains sovereign, is managed within UK-governed security frameworks, and is subject to contractual, technical and governance controls designed to protect it from unauthorised access or transfer. Any changes to arrangements governing Defence data require Ministry of Defence consent. Government departments keep supplier, security and data protection arrangements under regular review to ensure they remain appropriate and compliant with UK legal and security requirements.

The Government regularly engages with representatives of British Muslim communities to understand their concerns, including around the rise in attacks against Muslim communities and Muslim women.

As part of this engagement, the Government also works closely with the British Muslim Trust, which we fund to monitor anti-Muslim hate and provide a helpline service to support victims. Data shared through this work helps improve our understanding of the nature and scale of anti-Muslim hatred and informs our policy response.

The Government remains committed to tackling anti-Muslim hatred in all its forms and ensuring that Muslim communities feel safe and supported. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.

Together with our cross-government work to tackle the root causes of all forms of hatred and strengthen cohesion through the suite of measures set out in our Protecting What Matters action plan, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred.

This includes: adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility that protects individuals while safeguarding freedom of speech; providing record funding of £40 million for the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme; launching a new Faith Security Training Scheme; committing up to £4 million to help tackle anti-Muslim hostility including funding the British Muslim Trust to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and support victims; and committing to appoint a Special Representative to champion efforts across the UK to tackle anti-Muslim hostility.

Ministers stand with Muslim communities against all forms of anti-Muslim hostility, and we will continue to work closely with Muslim communities and relevant organisations to ensure that our actions are effective, proportionate and grounded in lived experience – and that they, too, drive real change.

Ministerial engagement has included visits to mosques and Muslim community centres by the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, Home Office and MHCLG Ministers. These visits include targeted places of worship:

• Minister Jones visited Peacehaven Mosque on 6 October 2025.
• The Prime Minister and Home Secretary visited Peacehaven Mosque on 23 October 2025.
• Minister Fahnbulleh visited Peterborough Darassalaam Mosque on 15 Jan 2026.
• Minister Caliskan and Lord Lemos visited the British Muslim Heritage Centre on 17 June 2026 as part of a wider visit. The centre had also been targeted with religiously motivated graffiti in December 2025.
• Minister Caliskan also visited Lincoln Green Mosque in Leeds on 20 May 2026, following the attack on a mosque in San Diego, to listen to their views and to reassure Muslim communities in the UK of the Government’s commitment to tackling anti-Muslim hostility.

There are further ministerial visits to places of worship scheduled for the coming months, providing continued reassurance to communities across the country that the Government is taking action to tackle anti-Muslim hostility.

Together with our cross-government work to tackle the root causes of all forms of hatred and strengthen cohesion through the suite of measures set out in our Protecting What Matters action plan, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred.

This includes: adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility that protects individuals while safeguarding freedom of speech; providing record funding of £40 million for the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme; launching a new Faith Security Training Scheme; committing up to £4 million to help tackle anti-Muslim hostility including funding the British Muslim Trust to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and support victims; and committing to appoint a Special Representative to champion efforts across the UK to tackle anti-Muslim hostility.

Ministers stand with Muslim communities against all forms of anti-Muslim hostility, and we will continue to work closely with Muslim communities and relevant organisations to ensure that our actions are effective, proportionate and grounded in lived experience – and that they, too, drive real change.

Ministerial engagement has included visits to mosques and Muslim community centres by the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, Home Office and MHCLG Ministers. These visits include targeted places of worship:

• Minister Jones visited Peacehaven Mosque on 6 October 2025.
• The Prime Minister and Home Secretary visited Peacehaven Mosque on 23 October 2025.
• Minister Fahnbulleh visited Peterborough Darassalaam Mosque on 15 Jan 2026.
• Minister Caliskan and Lord Lemos visited the British Muslim Heritage Centre on 17 June 2026 as part of a wider visit. The centre had also been targeted with religiously motivated graffiti in December 2025.
• Minister Caliskan also visited Lincoln Green Mosque in Leeds on 20 May 2026, following the attack on a mosque in San Diego, to listen to their views and to reassure Muslim communities in the UK of the Government’s commitment to tackling anti-Muslim hostility.

There are further ministerial visits to places of worship scheduled for the coming months, providing continued reassurance to communities across the country that the Government is taking action to tackle anti-Muslim hostility.