Asked by: Lord Massey of Hampstead (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to establish specific enforceable benchmarks, sanctions, or funding conditions linked to Palestinian Authority curriculum reform in the 14 months since signing the UK–Palestinian Memorandum of Understanding.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK-Palestinian Memorandum of Understanding sets out the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to reform. The PA is undergoing a multi-year curriculum reform in which textbooks are systematically being updated to meet the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) standards. We welcome initial progress since 2018 to strengthen alignment of PA textbooks with UNESCO recommendations but, we are clear that further progress is needed. We regularly engage the Palestinian Authority on the implementation of these commitments.
Asked by: Lord Massey of Hampstead (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's exposure to sanctions evasion by hostile state actors as a result of Iranian-backed companies and financial service providers that rebrand or restructure in order to evade sanctions.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
The UK has a robust sanctions enforcement regime in place, and - while it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases - we will continue to investigate and take action against any individuals and entities, including hostile state actors, involved in any unlawful attempts to circumvent our sanctions regime.
Asked by: Lord Massey of Hampstead (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are undertaking to ensure that students arriving from Gaza to study at British universities are not members of proscribed organisations.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has outlined plans to support the departure from Gaza of a group of Chevening Scholars and students with full scholarships so they can take up university places in the UK in Autumn for the 2025/26 academic year.
We are now in the process of supporting these departures, whilst working across government to identify any students who might not yet have been included
The Home Office will conduct robust security checks to uphold national security and protect the UK border from those who may pose a threat to the UK. Biometrics will be collected as part of the visa application process prior to travelling to the UK.
The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by terrorists, by criminals and by individuals excluded from the UK; previously deported from the UK; or using lost, stolen or revoked documents and visas. This includes the use of domestic and international watchlists.
The Home Office works with both law enforcement and wider government partners to ensure appropriate action is taken before travel or at the border when individuals of concern are identified.
Asked by: Lord Massey of Hampstead (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners in Category A prisons are foreign nationals; and how many of the total prison population are undocumented migrants without proof of a UK visa or granted asylum.
Answered by Lord Timpson
As of 30 June 2025, 577 foreign national offenders were held in Category A prisons. The immigration status of individual foreign nationals is a matter for the Home Office, and the Ministry of Justice does not hold information in relation to it.
All foreign nationals given a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to consider whether they should be removed from the UK on account of their criminality or immigration status.