Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how often the UK Special Representative to Sudan has consulted the Sudanese diaspora about humanitarian needs in Sudan; where those meetings have taken place; and who those meetings were with.

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

Our Special Representative for Sudan and officials regularly meet with a wide range of Sudanese civil society and diaspora groups in the UK and across the region to listen to their concerns, gain their valuable insights, and help to build an inclusive, united approach for transitioning to a civilian-led government once a lasting ceasefire is in place.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficiency and effectiveness of delivering humanitarian aid to Sudan through international organisations compared to directly to local emergency response rooms using mobile money services.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement on Sudan I made in the House on 19 November, and to my remarks in the House of Lords debate on Sudan on 27 November. I will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the restriction of entry of humanitarian aid by the Sudanese Armed Forces to areas of need, and what action they will take to ensure consistent and unfettered access of aid.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement on Sudan I made in the House on 19 November, and to my remarks in the House of Lords debate on Sudan on 27 November. I will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they will take to ensure that countries that supply weapons to militia in Sudan abide by international conventions aimed at preventing mass atrocities.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement on Sudan I made in the House on 19 November, and to my remarks in the House of Lords debate on Sudan on 27 November. I will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are working with the UK branch of the Sudan Doctors Union about the most effective and impactful way to direct humanitarian aid in Sudan.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement on Sudan I made in the House on 19 November, and to my remarks in the House of Lords debate on Sudan on 27 November. I will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to respond to the humanitarian needs in the Kordofan regions of Sudan.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement on Sudan I made in the House on 19 November, and to my remarks in the House of Lords debate on Sudan on 27 November. I will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times the UK Special Representative to Sudan has met representatives of the Sudanese diaspora in Uganda, Kenya, Chad, Egypt and the UK since September 2024, and who he met as part of any such meetings.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 8 December to his previous question, HL12222, where I outlined the wide-ranging nature of our Special Representative for Sudan's engagements with civil society and diaspora across the region and in the UK. These meetings are necessarily confidential.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they intend to take in response to reports of drone attacks by the Sudanese army on civilians and children in the Nuba Mountains; and whether they will provide direct humanitarian assistance to the affected community.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to my statement on Sudan on 19 November, Official Report, vol. 850, cols. 884-887 (https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-11-19/debates/AF154555-6D0E-4F4A-B2DF-A9F4CB2F391B/GazaAndSudan), and my remarks in the House of Lords debate on 27 November, Official Report, vol. 850, cols. 1465-1468 (https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-11-27/debates/81C37BE5-A832-4CC1-A83A-A73FD1937E8C/Sudan). I will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on international efforts to end the fighting, and on the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in response to the seizure of power by the military in Guinea-Bissau, and what assessment they have made of the location and safety of the political leaders who have been detained, targeted or disappeared since the coup.

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

The UK is concerned by recent developments in Guinea-Bissau and is monitoring the situation closely. It is essential that all parties respect constitutional order and democratic principles. We welcome the swift response of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, and support their efforts to bring about a return to constitutional order.

Following his initial detention, former President Embaló has now left Guinea-Bissau. We remain concerned over the safety of other political leaders who are still in detention or seeking refuge abroad, and we support ECOWAS efforts to ensure that the rights of all those individuals are respected.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Mass Atrocity Prevention Hub is operational.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 2 December to question HL12019.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why a Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability report on Sudan has not been commissioned.

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

As I told the Noble Lord in my answer to Question HL11438, regular and ongoing analysis of the situation in Sudan is taking place across government, with support from external experts, to inform the UK's policy-making, and as such, there has been no requirement to commission a separate analysis of the type he describes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that references to genocide were removed from a risk assessment of Sudan.

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

Ministers in the current Government are not in a position to comment on the preparation of assessments under a previous administration, but I would note that official spokespeople for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have rejected the reports to which the Noble Lord refers, and explained that the UK only makes formal determinations of genocide based on the judgement of a competent court, after consideration of all the evidence available, in the context of a credible judicial process.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of preliminary warnings of atrocity crimes in Darfur.

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

Ministers in the current Government are not in a position to comment on the preparation of assessments under a previous administration, but I would note that official spokespeople for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have rejected the reports to which the Noble Lord refers, and explained that the UK only makes formal determinations of genocide based on the judgement of a competent court, after consideration of all the evidence available, in the context of a credible judicial process.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether anyone in the Attorney General's Office advised against proceeding in the China spy case for diplomatic reasons, and if so, what that advice was.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

No one in the Attorney General’s Office advised against proceeding in these cases for diplomatic (or any other) reasons.

As I set out in my evidence to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on 29 October 2025, in this case, consent to prosecute was given on 3 April 2024 by the then Solicitor General. Following that date, no Law Officer intervened in the case at any stage.

The decision to offer no evidence in this case was made by the CPS without input or advice from the Law Officers.

Decisions to not proceed because of evidential reasons are made independently by the CPS. The requirement on the CPS is to inform the Attorney General of the decision after it has been taken, not to consult prior to that decision.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether anyone in the Prime Minister's Office advised against proceeding in the China spy case for diplomatic reasons, and if so, what that advice was.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Director of Public Prosecutions took an independent decision to not proceed with the case as the evidential bar was not met. There was no political interference or direction in the provision of evidence.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 1 December (HL12276), how many Yellow Card reports of tinnitus (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities code 10043882), broken down by the medications to which they were linked, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency received in each year since 2014.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions, including amending the product information.

The MHRA has received a total of 11,348 United Kingdom reports through the Yellow Card scheme associated with reaction term tinnitus, including worsening of tinnitus, from 1 January 2014 up to and including 27 November 2025. The table in the document attached provides a yearly breakdown of reports associated with tinnitus. It also provides a yearly breakdown of reports received by the substance associated with tinnitus. Please note that each report may list more than one suspect drug. Therefore, the total number of reports received cannot be accurately derived from the figures presented in the table in the attached document. The following table shows a yearly breakdown of reports associated with tinnitus received from 1 January 2014 up to and including 27 November 2025:

It is important to note that anyone can report to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme and the recording of these reports in the Yellow Card database does not necessarily mean that the adverse reactions have been caused by the suspect drug. Many factors must be considered in assessing causal relationships, including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication, and the underlying disease. We encourage reporters to report suspected adverse reaction reports, and the reporter does not have to be sure of a causal association between the drug and the reactions, as a suspicion will suffice.

The number of reports received cannot be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many yellow card reports of aphantasia (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities code 10090610) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency received in each year since 2021; and what medications those reports were linked to.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions, including amending the product information.

The MHRA has received a total of eight United Kingdom reports through the Yellow Card scheme associated with the reaction term aphantasia, from 1 January 2021 up to and including 12 December 2025. The following table shows a yearly breakdown of reports associated with aphantasia received from 1 January 2021 up to and including 12 December 2025:

In addition, the following table shows a yearly breakdown of reports received by substance associated with aphantasia from 1 January 2021 up to and including 12 December 2025:

Please note that each report may list more than one suspect drug. Therefore, the total number of reports received cannot be accurately derived from the figures presented in the above table.

It is important to note that anyone can report to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme and the recording of these reports in the Yellow Card database does not necessarily mean that the adverse reactions have been caused by the suspect drug. Many factors must be considered in assessing causal relationships, including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication, and the underlying disease. We encourage reporters to report suspected adverse reaction reports. The reporter does not have to be sure of a causal association between the drug and the reactions, as a suspicion will suffice.

The number of reports received cannot be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what operational and legal actions the Government and Crown Prosecution Service will take to ensure that high-profile national security prosecutions do not fail for similar procedural reasons as the China spy case.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

National security is of the utmost importance to this Government.

On 16 October 2025, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy launched a formal inquiry into the issues surrounding the case to which this question refers. On 3 December 2025, the Joint Committee published its report on Espionage cases and the Official Secrets Acts. The Government is carefully considering the Joint Committee’s conclusions and recommendations and will respond in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their official policy to omit mention of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai when ministers discuss the UK-Hong Kong bilateral relationship in the press.

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

On the contrary, ministers and officials regularly raise the continued detention of Jimmy Lai, and China's obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, in interviews with the media, statements to Parliament, public speeches, the government's Six-monthly Reports to Parliament on Hong Kong, and discussions we have with our Chinese counterparts. For example, the Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case both in her working dinner with G7 foreign ministers in Canada on 11 November, and a phone call with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on 6 November.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce limits on the circumstances in which police forces can add children to facial recognition watchlists.

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

Facial recognition is a crucial tool that helps the police locate missing people, suspects, and those wanted by the courts.

In some cases, under the existing legal framework this includes vulnerable individuals such as missing children. When using facial recognition technology, police forces must comply with legislation including the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Data Protection Act 2018, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as well as their own published policies. For live facial recognition, police forces must also follow the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Live Facial Recognition.

This sets out the categories of people who may be included on a watchlist. These include individuals wanted by the police or the courts, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing a risk of harm to themselves or others.In each case, inclusion on a watchlist must be justified and authorised, and must pass the tests of necessity, proportionality and use for a policing purpose.

On 4^th December the Government launched a consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. During the consultation we want to hear views on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used, and what safeguards and oversight are needed.

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

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

Found: Alex Davies-Jones MP Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State The Lord Alton of Liverpool Chair

Found: Inspectorate of Prisons, 3rd Floor 10 South Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 4PU Lord Alton of Liverpool

Found: independentpublicadvocate.org.uk 15 December 2025 [Delivered by email to:JCHR@parliament.uk] Lord Alton of Liverpool

Found: regulation of AI (HC 1262) Wednesday 17 December 2025 3.40 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Alton of Liverpool

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