Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of Belgium and the Netherlands about the activities of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government condemns the despicable attacks claimed by Harakat Ashab al Yamin al Islamia, and - while we do not routinely disclose operational details - we continue to work with other governments, including in Belgium and the Netherlands, to exchange information and tackle shared security threats. During the Foreign Secretary's talks with Dutch Foreign Minister Berendsen on 25 March, she conveyed the UK's solidarity with the Jewish community in the Netherlands, following the attacks they have suffered.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many antisemitic hate crimes involving arson have been recorded in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the year ending March 2025, the police forces in England and Wales recorded four arson offences that were identified as being religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when applications for funding from the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund will reopen.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No date has yet been confirmed for the next funding round of the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. We will provide an update in due course, and information will be published on the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund website once future rounds are scheduled to open. Defra remains firmly committed to global efforts to address drivers of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, including environmental crimes such as the illegal wildlife trade.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase funding for the Biodiversity Challenge Funds.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has an official development assistance (ODA) allocation of £115 million per year from 2026-2027 until 2028‑29. Defra will use a significant portion of this to continue to support the Biodiversity Challenge Funds. A new round of the Darwin Initiative should launch in May, and IWT Challenge Fund and Darwin Plus will be sharing updates in due course.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rate of state-sponsored antisemitism within the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not routinely comment on the detail of operational matters or specific threats. But the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. We continually assess potential threats to the UK and its residents and will continue to take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
We are also taking broader action on antisemitism - rooting out extremism, tackling it in schools and universities, and in the NHS.
We are committed to tackling those who spread views that sow divisions between or within communities and oppose the values we share as a society.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the monitoring of domestic extremist groups.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is delivering a fundamental reset of how we counter extremism, ensuring we have the tools, capabilities, and partnerships to match the scale and nature of an evolving threat.
As announced in the Government’s Protecting What Matters publication, the Home Office is expanding the Prevent Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, with additional resource to understand and disrupt extremist networks at a national and local level. This builds on strong action by the team over the past two years, where the highest harm extremists from across the political spectrum were targeted and stopped from spreading their divisive views.
We will also publish an annual ‘State of Extremism’ report which will arm frontline, public sector workers with the information they need to identify and confront extremism in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve information sharing between the Community Security Trust and the Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the importance of effective engagement between policing and communities, including representative bodies, in protecting communities from hate crime, terrorism, and wider security threats.
Whilst it would not be appropriate to comment on specific arrangements, the Government continues to support strong partnership working between the police and communities, including through established relationships with organisations such as the Community Security Trust.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering further legislative measures to strengthen the UK's response to hostile state espionage.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Security Act 2023 overhauled and updated our espionage offences and created a suite of measures to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.
The Government keeps all counter-espionage legislation under review to ensure it continues to allow us to tackle the growing and diversifying range of state threats that have evolved since the UK last substantively legislated on this issue.
Last year, the previous Home Secretary commissioned Jonathan Hall KC (the Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation) to conduct a review evaluating what powers under terrorism legislation could be emulated to tackle state-based security threats to the UK. Mr Hall KC recommended introducing a State Threats Proscription-style Tool that would be more effective in disrupting state-linked organisations, along with several other recommendations. The Government will legislate to take forward these recommendations, as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of UK-based organisations with connections to the Iranian regime.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We work closely with a range of partners to tackle malign state-backed influence in our society. Where there is clear evidence that Iranian-linked or aligned organisations are undertaking unacceptable activity, the Government will respond accordingly.
We have introduced a comprehensive set of additional measures aimed at countering threats posed by the Iranian regime.
The enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) requires individuals and organisations to register arrangements with specified foreign powers or entities that may pose a risk to the UK's safety and interests.
We have placed the entire Iranian State on the enhanced tier of FIRS. This means that anyone being directed to do any activity in the UK on behalf of the Iranian government faces a choice between registering with the scheme or committing a criminal offence punishable by a substantial fine or up to five years in prison.
The Government's top priority is national security, and we will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and its people, from any Iran-linked threats.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review charity law to address risks arising from foreign state influence operations.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Charity Commission’s recent Charity Sector Risk Assessment noted that hostile foreign states may seek to gain influence in the UK by using charities as a vehicle for promoting their worldview. The Charity Commission is alive to these threats and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited.
The Charity Commission has a range of powers at its disposal to take action against abuse of charitable status, including freezing bank accounts, directing trustees to take corrective action, or disqualifying trustees. DCMS keeps the Charity Commission’s powers and charity law under regular review and is actively seeking to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers.
The Charity Commission currently has three statutory inquiries open involving charities with alleged links to Iran: the Islamic Centre of England, Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust and Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust, as well as other non-inquiry casework.
The Charity Commission has guidance on protecting charities from abuse for extremist purposes and earlier this month published updated guidance for charities on the evolving situation in Iran.