Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to provide support for people who are disabled and on benefits when their condition deteriorates; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an assessment mechanism to allow people to change from Limited Capability for Work to Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Individuals claiming Employment and Support Allowance or the health element of Universal Credit are encouraged to report any changes to their health condition to DWP immediately, whether an improvement or deterioration.
If an individual with Limited Capability for Work reports a deterioration or new condition, the mechanism for determining if they have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity is a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessment.
If, at reassessment, they are found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-related activity and they are entitled to a higher rate of benefit, that rate will be backdated to the date they notified DWP of the change to their condition.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to limit the import and sale of fur produced from unethical practices overseas.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will publish the results of the previous government’s call for evidence on the fur trade and publish and consider carefully the report from our independent expert Animal Welfare Committee on the responsible sourcing of fur.
Building on this evidence, Defra will bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur, to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes in gender and conflict advisory capacity on the ability of the Integrated Security Fund to mainstream Women, Peace and Security and conflict sensitivity; and who is accountable for delivery of that mainstreaming across portfolio boards.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Security Fund-supported Gender and National Security portfolio has a total budget of £4.85 million in 2025/26, of which approximately £1.6 million (33 per cent) is targeted specifically to tackling Violence against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New international coalition launched to end violence against women and girls globally, published on 2 December 2025, how much and what proportion of that Integrated Security Fund package has been allocated to meet her commitments on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG); and what assessment her Department has made of the national security and domestic resilience implications of potential changes in international VAWG and gender based violence programming.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Security Fund-supported Gender and National Security portfolio has a total budget of £4.85 million in 2025/26, of which approximately £1.6 million (33 per cent) is targeted specifically to tackling Violence against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of (i) Official Development Assistance allocations to peacekeeping and multilateral commitments and (ii) and bilateral or locally-led conflict prevention and stabilisation programmes in contexts of weak governance.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department assesses the effectiveness and value for money of UK-funded projects in the areas mentioned through its business case process, quarterly progress reports, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews, including checks on financial performance, risk management and delivery against agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners within the Department apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework to monitor progress, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the UK Integrated Security Fund will deliver programmes through contracting and pre-qualified partners during 2026 to 2029; and whether he plans to amend the UK Integrated Security Fund's procurement and partnership models.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
From 2026 to 2029, the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) will continue to deliver programmes through a range of delivery mechanisms, including contracting and prequalified partners where this provides the most effective and agile route to achieving national security outcomes. This includes via the ISF Commercial Framework Agreement, a commercial arrangement with organisations who have been pre-assessed on their capability, thematic expertise, resources and gender and conflict sensitivity.
The existing Commercial Framework is due for renewal in 2027 and arrangements for refreshing the framework will be considered in due course.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the projected level of loss of UK soft power in the Western Balkans in the next five years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last year, the Government invested over £31 million in programmes in the Western Balkans, supporting women and girls, protecting democratic values, and enhancing resilience to hostile state influences, including funding for counter-disinformation and cyber defence support. We will set out details of future funding allocations in the coming months, we continue to be committed to pursuing a wide range of objectives in partnerships across the region focussed on stability, security, and prosperity among other issues.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set out the basis for determining the funding level of the UK Integrated Security Fund multi-year allocations for (a) conflict prevention and (b) Women, Peace and Security, including the advice and impact assessment she received; and whether it remains her policy to implement conflict prevention programmes.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) will narrow its focus towards the UK’s top national security priorities, as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 10 February 2026. This includes tackling five key threat areas (Russia; Iran & its proxies; threats emanating from the Asia Pacific region; Serious & Organised Crime; and Terrorism) and building UK sovereign capabilities in four other areas (Cyber & Tech, Biosecurity, Counter State & Hybrid Threats and Economic Security). ISF allocations to each of these areas were driven by an assessment of the UK’s most acute national security threats and programmes’ alignment with the ISF’s principles (agility, integration, high risk appetite and catalytic effect).
The ISF will also continue to deliver conflict and instability programming, where there is a direct link to UK national security. ISF teams are also expected to continue to mainstream gender throughout their work across the ISF’s priorities, including through projects which focus specifically on gender and social inclusion.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department made of the potential impact of the level of conflict prevention on UK national security when determining the of the multi-year level of funding for the UK Integrated Security Fund; and for what reason was the level of prioritisation for conflict prevention so determined.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) will narrow its focus towards the UK’s top national security priorities, as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 10 February 2026. This includes tackling five key threat areas (Russia; Iran & its proxies; threats emanating from the Asia Pacific region; Serious & Organised Crime; and Terrorism) and building UK sovereign capabilities in four other areas (Cyber & Tech, Biosecurity, Counter State & Hybrid Threats and Economic Security). ISF allocations to each of these areas were driven by an assessment of the UK’s most acute national security threats and programmes’ alignment with the ISF’s principles (agility, integration, high risk appetite and catalytic effect).
The ISF will also continue to deliver conflict and instability programming, where there is a direct link to UK national security. ISF teams are also expected to continue to mainstream gender throughout their work across the ISF’s priorities, including through projects which focus specifically on gender and social inclusion.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking in the context of the University of Sheffield’s findings that gambling advertisements during the 2022 FIFA World Cup significantly influenced betting behaviour; and what measures she plans to put in place to ensure adequate protections before the 2026 tournament.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We consider a wide range of evidence when making policy and regulatory decisions. This includes consideration of Sheffield University’s recent report on World Cup advertising and its impact on gambling behaviour.
All operators advertising in the UK must comply with robust advertising codes. These codes are regularly reviewed and updated. In this context, those include a ban on gambling advertisements during pre-watershed live sports broadcasts lasting from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after the event itself.
The Government recognises that exposure to gambling advertising is an important issue. We continue to consider a wide range of evidence in this space and will work closely with relevant stakeholders to further strengthen protections. This includes our recent announcement of an intention to consult on banning sports sponsorship by unlicensed gambling operators.