Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty to include all of her Department's responsibilities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation that those who serve, or have served, in the Armed Forces, and their families, including the bereaved, will be treated fairly and not disadvantaged in accessing public and commercial goods and services as a result of their military service. It also allows for special provision, when justified, for those who have sacrificed the most, such as the bereaved and injured. The Covenant Legal Duty helps promote better outcomes for the Armed Forces community when accessing key public services of healthcare, housing, and education, and this will soon be extended to transport.
The Department for Transport is well-equipped to meet its obligations under the Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty, ensuring that armed forces personnel and their families do not face undue disadvantage when accessing transport services.
The Department will continue to work with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on the Covenant’s Statutory Guidance and implementation.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international partners on Nigeria’s ongoing use of blasphemy legislation; and what steps she is taking to ensure religious freedom is promoted in the country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Dialogue on human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), remains a vital part of the UK's partnership with Nigeria, and the UK Government is concerned by the use of blasphemy laws that undermine human rights including FoRB in Nigeria.
Our High Commission in Abuja regularly engages with the Nigerian Government and religious leaders on freedom of religion and belief, including on blasphemy cases. Additionally, the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) is building capacity in Nigeria's security forces to tackle violence against all civilian communities, including religious communities.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Kenyan counterpart on targeted killings of Christian workers in Mandera County in June; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure the protection of religious minorities in that country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is aware of frequent attacks in the north-eastern border regions, most of which are attributed to Al Shabaab. The UK-Kenya Security Compact, signed in July 2025, commits UK support to Countering Violent Extremism, which will help protect vulnerable communities, including religious minorities. The UK also provides support to the Government of Kenya to degrade Al Shabaab influence in Mandera (and the wider Kenya - Somalia- Ethiopia borderlands) through the UK's Integrated Security Fund (ISF) funded Deris Wanaag programme, which aims to enhance peace and stability efforts in the East Africa. We will maintain a constructive dialogue with the Government of Kenya on these issues.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterparts on increases in the number of arrests of (a) human rights defenders and (b) religious minorities in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has strongly condemned the arrest of human rights defenders and religious minorities in Iran. In the past ten months, the UK was integral to the delivery of two Iran human rights resolutions. The first, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release persons arbitrarily detained for the exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including human rights defenders, journalists and all those who remain under detention for taking part in peaceful protests. The second, adopted by the Human Rights Council in April 2025, renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission to investigate a wider breadth of violations, and to establish the facts, circumstances and structural causes of such violations, including discrimination on grounds of religion or belief. Our Ambassador in Iran and I continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian Government.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the application of General Product Safety Regulation requirements on the cost of new vehicles in Northern Ireland; and what steps he is taking to help reduce the cost of vehicles in Northern Ireland, when compared to other parts of the UK.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to reducing barriers to trade between the UK and the EU, and to protecting the UK internal market. To that end, the Government has recently written to vehicle manufacturers to confirm that we intend to align requirements and ensure consistency between the type approval regimes that apply in Great Britain and the EU in order to reduce potential administrative burdens. On the specific point about the General Product Safety Regulation, we do not consider this will impact the cost of new vehicles in Northern Ireland.
In relation to Northern Ireland, the Government meets regularly with individual manufacturers, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and has met the National Franchise Dealers Association to understand their concerns. To that end, I draw attention to the recent statement by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in relation to measures being taken on Benefit-in-Kind taxation matters in relation to Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, which will mitigate the increase in tax from higher CO2 emission standards that will apply in Northern Ireland next year and the Government will shortly consult on introducing these standards in Great Britain.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of (a) violent and (b) abusive pornography on (i) the normalisation of misogynistic (A) attitudes and (B) violence against women and girls and (ii) society.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Independent Pornography Review looked at the relationship between online pornography and violence against women and girls; its findings and recommendations continue to be assessed in detail by the government.
The Review found violent pornography is common and widely accessible on mainstream pornography platforms, leading to acts like strangulation becoming normalised in real-life sexual encounters, with women and girls being the main victims.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the government will make pornography depicting acts of strangulation illegal and from 25 July the Online Safety Act will prevent children from accessing pornography through highly effective age assurance.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking through (a) teacher training, (b) early screening and (c) other methods to ensure (i) early identification and (ii) effective support for pupils with dyslexia in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that all pupils, including those with dyslexia or other types of SEND, are given the best possible opportunity to achieve. To support all teachers, the department is implementing a range of teacher training reforms to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed. From September 2025, Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Teacher induction training must be based on the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) which contains significantly more content on adaptive teaching and supporting and improving inclusivity for pupils with SEND. From September 2025, the department has also enhanced the requirement on providers of early career teacher training to develop training materials that support the needs of children with SEND.
This academic year, Reading Ambition for All, a continuous professional development programme was launched. The programme explores the appropriate teaching, support and provision for the lowest attaining children in reading, with a particular focus on those with SEND. It is delivered by English Hubs and is primarily aimed at reading leaders, special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinators and senior leaders.
Reading Ambition for All draws on the latest research about how children learn to read and explores effective approaches to teaching those who need specific adaptations to make progress.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in response to kidnappings and killings of Christians in the North-East and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on ensuring the delivery of (a) baby formula and (b) other essential humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We highlighted the critical situation for Gaza's children at a session of the UN Security Council which we co-called on 16 July, and at the International Development Committee on 16 July. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar about the humanitarian situation in Gaza on 12 July. The UK continues to demand that a full and unhindered resumption of aid into Gaza takes place immediately. Israel must immediately allow the UN and aid partners to safely deliver aid at scale and in line with humanitarian principles.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to (a) implement (i) individual healthcare plans for pupils at risk of anaphylaxis and (ii) other allergy policies and (b) provide regular staff training on allergy management.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Governing bodies must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This includes the duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions and the duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’, recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. They can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate. ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ce6a72e40f0b620a103bd53/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf.