Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing an advisory body to provide advice on food security, as recommended in the National Preparedness Commission executive summary report Just in Case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap, published in January.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the importance of civil preparedness in resilience alongside industry’s role in responding to supply chain disruptions. Officials have been reviewing with interest the recommendations of ‘Just in case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap’ since its publication on 6 February 2025.
Food is one of the 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors in the UK and Defra takes its role as Lead Government Department for food supply very seriously. Defra works closely with the resilience and CNI community across government to ensure impacts to food supply are considered in risk assessments and contingency planning.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to treat food security as a core component of national infrastructure planning, as recommended in the National Preparedness Commission executive summary report Just in Case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap, published in January.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the importance of civil preparedness in resilience alongside industry’s role in responding to supply chain disruptions. Officials have been reviewing with interest the recommendations of ‘Just in case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap’ since its publication on 6 February 2025.
Food is one of the 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors in the UK and Defra takes its role as Lead Government Department for food supply very seriously. Defra works closely with the resilience and CNI community across government to ensure impacts to food supply are considered in risk assessments and contingency planning.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a "Food Security and Resilience Act", as recommended in the National Preparedness Commission executive summary report Just in case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap, published in January.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the importance of civil preparedness in resilience alongside industry’s role in responding to supply chain disruptions. Officials have been reviewing with interest the recommendations of ‘Just in case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap’ since its publication on 6 February 2025.
Food is one of the 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors in the UK and Defra takes its role as Lead Government Department for food supply very seriously. Defra works closely with the resilience and CNI community across government to ensure impacts to food supply are considered in risk assessments and contingency planning.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent reports they have received on the whereabouts of Sombath Somphone.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no recent reports from the Lao authorities on the whereabouts of Sombath Somphone. During a bilateral meeting with the UK's Minister for the Indo-Pacific in 2023, the Lao Government stated that they were continuing to investigate the disappearance but had no new information.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to counterparts in Laos regarding the fate of civil society activist Sombath Somphone.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain very concerned as to the whereabouts of Mr Sombath Somphone. The UK regularly raises the disappearance of Sombath Somphone bilaterally and through the UN Human Rights Council. Most recently, on 15 December 2024 our Embassy in Laos publicly raised the disappearance and continued to push for a thorough and impartial investigation into this case. We intend to continue to raise the case at the highest levels and to continue to stay engaged with Sombath's family who are still based in Laos.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise the case of civil society activist Sombath Somphone at the UN's fourth Universal Periodic Review of Laos on 29 April.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will continue to use the UN Human Rights Council as a platform to raise the case of Sombath Somphone and other human rights cases. In the upcoming Universal Periodic Review in April, the UK will urge the Lao Government to follow and implement the recommendations from Member States. This includes undertaking impartial, thorough, and transparent investigations into all enforced disappearances, including Sombath Somphone.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 29 January (HL4121), whether they intend to make an assessment of the number of parents illegally accessing cannabinoid epilepsy treatments for their children.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are currently no plans to make such an assessment but the Government keeps all regulations under close review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the rise in shoplifting.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under the previous Government, shop theft soared to record highs and it continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shop workers. We will not stand for this.
Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work and this Government is committed to tackling retail crime.
We will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shop theft of goods of and under £200. This will remove any perception that offenders will escape punishment.
As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, we will provide over £7 million over the next three financial years to help police in tackling retail crime and supporting local businesses.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to engage positively with Muslim communities, including the Muslim Council of Britain.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of engaging meaningfully with faith and belief groups. HMG does not engage with the Muslim Council of Britain. There has been no change to this policy. This has been set out consistently in Parliament.
Since being appointed Faith Minister, I have been engaging with Muslim communities nationwide, connecting with women, young people, and community leaders through extensive outreach efforts. This has included engagement with numerous Muslim leaders in the aftermath of the Southport incident and subsequent riots, hosting a Muslim women’s roundtable, and supporting a number of community-led initiatives including interfaith youth forums. Looking ahead, I am planning further engagement in preparation for Ramadan to continue fostering dialogue and strengthening collaboration.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Iran concerning the execution sentences of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are aware of the reports relating to the death sentences of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. We have repeatedly called on Iran to establish a moratorium on executions, including at the UN Human Rights Council and UN Third Committee last year. We continue to raise human rights issues directly with the Iranian government, including through our Ambassador in Tehran, and are committed to working with international partners to expose Iran's application of the death penalty in multilateral fora.