Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the finding in the report Safety and Survival by Women for Refugee Women that women banned from working are being forced into abusive and exploitative situations and relationships.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.

The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of policies banning women seeking asylum from working and their objective of preventing violence against women and girls.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.

The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the impact of the work ban for people seeking asylum upon levels of violence against women and girls is being monitored.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.

The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the finding in Women for Refugee Women's report that 71 per cent of women were under supervision by male staff despite the requirement under the Detention Services Order 06/2016 that detained women should wherever possible be supervised by female staff.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order (DSO) 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate' sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld. In addition, DSO 09/2012 ‘Searching Policy’ sets out the requirements for searching women in detention, providing clear guidance that women must only be searched by members of the same sex.

All staff working with women receive appropriate gender specific training (such as the protocol for entry to bedrooms), in addition to any generic training they receive when they undergo initial training or undertake appropriate refresher training. This includes equality and diversity, human trafficking and modern slavery.

The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the finding by Women for Refugee Women that 48 per cent of the women they spoke to were searched by male staff despite the ban on this practice under Detention Services Order 06/2016.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order (DSO) 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate' sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld. In addition, DSO 09/2012 ‘Searching Policy’ sets out the requirements for searching women in detention, providing clear guidance that women must only be searched by members of the same sex.

All staff working with women receive appropriate gender specific training (such as the protocol for entry to bedrooms), in addition to any generic training they receive when they undergo initial training or undertake appropriate refresher training. This includes equality and diversity, human trafficking and modern slavery.

The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of women's experiences of violence and abuse in the asylum system.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order (DSO) 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate' sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld. In addition, DSO 09/2012 ‘Searching Policy’ sets out the requirements for searching women in detention, providing clear guidance that women must only be searched by members of the same sex.

All staff working with women receive appropriate gender specific training (such as the protocol for entry to bedrooms), in addition to any generic training they receive when they undergo initial training or undertake appropriate refresher training. This includes equality and diversity, human trafficking and modern slavery.

The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to contribute to the initiative at the UN Security Council to refer the human rights situation in North Korea to the International Criminal Court.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK remains committed to working with international partners to hold the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) to account for their human rights violations. We hold regular meetings with other UN Security Council member states to identify ways in which we can improve the DPRK's human rights record. The UK also regularly cosponsors resolutions on the human rights situation in DPRK at the UN Human Rights Council and UN General Assembly Third Committee. We will continue to engage with key partners and allies to ensure the need for accountability remains at the heart of the international community's work to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of prospects for removing the UN Security Council P5 veto right in cases of genocide and other atrocity crimes.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The veto rights of the permanent members of the UN Security Council are set out in the UN Charter. Removing those rights would require amending the Charter. As specified in Articles 108 and 109 of the Charter, any such amendments would ultimately require ratification by all the permanent members of the Security Council.

The UK Government supports responsible use of the veto. The veto is a great responsibility, which should be used to preserve global peace. The UK is a proud supporter of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency (ACT) Code of Conduct, through which we have committed not to vote against - and therefore not to veto - a credible draft Security Council resolution which would end or prevent a mass atrocity. We continue to encourage other members of the Security Council, and the wider UN membership, to become signatories to the ACT Code of Conduct.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the volume of munitions North Korea has sent to Russia in its war against Ukraine; and whether they plan to engage with the International Criminal Court to ensure that the involvement of North Korea is considered as part of its investigations into crimes in Ukraine.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Russia's increasing reliance on support from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) to help wage its illegal invasion of Ukraine demonstrates its underlying weakness. As we have said publicly, the DPRK is believed to have supplied 20,000 containers of munitions to Russia, and its artillery and mortar shells account for 60% of those used in Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. DPRK must immediately withdraw its troops and stop its provision of thousands of munitions, arms and other materiel. Together with our partners, we are taking action against those who enable Russia's war, including through sanctions.

The UK is fully committed to holding Russia to account for its illegal and barbaric actions in Ukraine. We welcome the progress the International Criminal Court (ICC) is making in its investigation, including the issuing of arrest warrants. The ICC is an independent judicial institution, and it is for the ICC Prosecutor to determine who should be prosecuted.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current human rights situation in North Korea; and how they are planning to respond to the recommendations of the APPG on North Korea's report Inquiry into Human Rights Violations in North Korea 2014-2020/1, published on 20 July 2021.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK remains deeply concerned by unacceptable reports of ongoing, widespread, and systematic human rights violations in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UK remains active in many of the APPG's 2021 report recommendations and regularly calls on the DPRK government, through multilateral and bilateral channels, to address its appalling human rights record. Most recently, in April 2025, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Right Council resolution renewing the UN Special Rapporteur mandate for a further year and requesting that the High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) provide updates to the UN Human Right Council to include options for strengthening accountability.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeframe for considering improvements to east-west rail links; what progress they have made in providing a regular passenger service on the Hellifield Link between Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In May 2024 Northern Trains launched the Yorkshire Dales Explorer, which links Manchester and Ribblehead, restoring passenger services to the line between Clitheroe and Hellifield for the first time in more than two decades. Northern has worked with local bus providers to co-ordinate services and with stakeholders including the Yorkshire Dales National Park and rambling groups, who organised walks around the timetable. This service has been a great success and won a silver award in the tourism category at the 2025 Community Rail Awards.

Rail North Partnership and Northern are now working with stakeholders including Lancashire County Council and York & North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to assess whether additional services on this line could be operationally practical and offer value for money.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, bilaterally or through international forums, to support humanitarian access, civilian protection and accountability in the light of reports of armed non-state actors operating in the Kurram region of Pakistan.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK urges the Government of Pakistan to prioritise the protection of civilians in Kurram, work to restore unrestricted access for humanitarian assistance, and undertake transparent investigations into attacks on civilians. It is imperative that aid organisations can deliver essential supplies and services without delay or obstruction. Our High Commission in Islamabad has raised the humanitarian and security situation in Kurram with senior government representatives.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of potential violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Parachinar, particularly in regard to freedom of movement and access to medical care.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK's long-term commitment to promoting human rights in Pakistan is unwavering. Our position is clear - any allegations of human rights violations must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. We urge the Government of Pakistan to prioritise the protection of civilians in Parachinar, including religious minorities, and the safe and voluntary movement of people. Our High Commission in Islamabad has raised the humanitarian and security situation in Parachinar with senior government representatives.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede on 22 April (HL Deb col 550), what is their expected timescale when they say that the publication of the proposed 'Hillsborough Law' is being taken forward “at pace”.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Families have waited decades to get justice and we are fully committed to bringing legislation forward.

Having consulted with those groups and their representatives, it is clear more time is required to draft the best version of a Hillsborough Law. We will continue to work with those families to ensure they receive the justice they deserve.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan regarding the ongoing blockade of Parachinar.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government is concerned by restrictions on humanitarian access in Kurram. To ensure the rights and dignity of all people, we urge the Government of Pakistan to prioritise the restoration of full, unhindered access for humanitarian assistance. It is essential that aid organisations can deliver essential supplies and services without obstruction or delay. Our High Commission in Pakistan has raised the humanitarian and security situation in Kurram with senior government representatives.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what practical steps they are taking to ensure the expeditious release of Jimmy Lai from prison, his reunion with his family, and whether they will arrange for the Prime Minister to meet Jimmy Lai’s son.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

This Government, from the Prime Minister down, continues to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and release Jimmy Lai. The Prime Minister raised his case with President Xi at the G20, and the Foreign Secretary raised it most recently with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in April.

The Prime Minister is following Jimmy Lai's trial closely. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific remains in regular contact with Mr Lai's son and last met him on 28 April and raised this case with the Hong Kong Government on 30 May.

Jimmy Lai's case remains a priority, and we will continue to press for consular access.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether changes to immigration rules, particularly the proposed extension from a five-year to a ten-year settlement route, will apply retrospectively to British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders; whether the new English language requirement for indefinite leave to remain will apply BNO visa holders already in the UK; and whether changes to immigration rules will be backdated to 2020.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in the future. We will consult new earned settlement and citizenship rules announced in the Immigration White Paper, including on the potential impacts on those on the BN(O) route.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the impact of the amendments to immigration rules, particularly those associated with the new contribution-based settlement model, to British National (Overseas) visa holders currently residing and working in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in the future. We will consult new earned settlement and citizenship rules announced in the Immigration White Paper, including on the potential impacts on those on the BN(O) route.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards securing the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah from prison in Egypt.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is committed to securing Mr El-Fattah's release and we continue to press his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case in a phone call to President Sisi on 22 May. I raised the case with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 25 May, and with the Egyptian Ambassador on 31 May. The Foreign Secretary also raised the case with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 1 June.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of the Panchen Lama, what representations they have recently made to the government of China to encourage it to disclose his whereabouts and to respect religious freedom in Tibet.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK Government stands firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. We have serious concerns regarding the welfare and whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and we call for his release.

We will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad, and work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through the UN and bilateral engagement.  For example, the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi, Foreign Minister Wang, Vice Premier He and Vice Premier Ding respectively). The UK also joined a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October 2024.

Found: Dan Jarvis MBE MP Security Minister Rt Hon Lord Alton of Liverpool 2 Marsham Street

Found: Yours sincerely, Lord Alton of Liverpool Chair, Joint Committee on Human Rights

Found: repression in the UK, HC 681 Wednesday 21 May 2025 1.20 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Alton of Liverpool

Found: repression in the UK, HC 681 Wednesday 21 May 2025 1.20 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Alton of Liverpool

Found: Current membership House of Lords Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench; Life peer) (Chair) Lord Dholakia

Found: Immigration Bill, HC 789 Wednesday 14 May 2025 2.15 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Alton of Liverpool