Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 12 November, whether they will now answer the question put, namely, on how many occasions their representatives have met or had discussions with members or representatives of Hamas since 7 October 2023.

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

We are clear that there can be no role for Hamas in the governance of Palestine. Hamas is a terrorist organisation whom we proscribe in its entirety. We have a long-standing policy of non-engagement with Hamas.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) region, (2) ethnicity, (3) religion, (4) age, and (5) disability of parents with families of three children or more.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Statistics related to households on Universal Credit with three or more children, affected by the Universal Credit two child limit policy, are published annually. The last publication was published on 10 July 2025 with data for April 2025.

The relevant information is shown in the data tables attached:

1, table 10A for country and region

2, table 09A for ethnicity

4, table 07A for age group of any claimant

5, table 04A for health and disability benefit entitlement

The full publication is available here: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

Data broken down by 3) religion is not available.

Alternatively, statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit by family type and number of children are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore. Universal Credit statistics are available in the Households on Universal Credit dataset.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much aid the UK has provided to the Palestinian Authority in each of the last 20 years.

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

The UK has delivered multiple programmes over the period in question to support Palestinian institutions and humanitarian needs, and the available data shows that £932 million was supplied in aid to Palestine between 2009 and 2024. More detailed breakdowns of individual programmes can be found at the Development Tracker website. We are clear that a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA) is essential to long-term stability in the region and making progress towards a two-state solution.

Found: Lord Liddle (The Chair); Lord Altrincham; Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted; Baroness Fairhead; Lord Leigh of Hurley