Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of (a) trends in the level of (i) trade facilitation, (ii) economic cooperation and (iii) market access within the Commonwealth and (b) the potential merits of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council in promoting trade.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Commonwealth includes some of the UK’s biggest trading partners including Canada, and South Africa. Trade values have increased steadily in current prices from £105.6bn in 2014 to £170.2bn (12 months to end September 2024) through economic cooperation initiatives with Commonwealth members, such as Free Trade Agreements, negotiations with India, and trade facilitation work such as the Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore updating rules affecting exporters of goods and services.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office leads on Commonwealth engagement including with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council who are preparing for the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit in London, April 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of the Darwin Plus budget is contributed from the Official Development Assistance budget.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

For 2024-25, Official Development Assistance accounts for 30% of the programme.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to protect British businesses against the effects of grey zone attacks on undersea cable communication infrastructure between Taiwan and Europe.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Subsea cables are critical to UK telecommunications digital infrastructure, and we are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of that infra- structure. We continue to co-ordinate with HMG partners, particularly DSIT who own subsea cables policy, as well as security partners, the subsea cables industry and international bodies to assess and understand risks to subsea cables.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) proposed designation of Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations and (b) the potential impact of that proposal on UK-Mexico relations.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They have not discussed the US's designation of cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. This is a decision for the US. It is unlikely to have any significant impact on our bilateral relationship with Mexico.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to ensure that underwater fibreoptic cables in the (a) Mediterranean, (b) North Sea and (c) Baltic Sea are strengthened to help prevent sabotage.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK regularly engages international partners and industry on strengthening the resilience of subsea infrastructure, including from potential sabotage. We work closely with NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Allies to address threats, which has recently included UK support to NATO and JEF operations in the Baltic Sea. In December, the Prime Minister discussed cooperation with JEF leaders and signed a Strategic Partnership with Norway's Prime Minister committing to closer cooperation to tackle subsea threats. In February, the Foreign Secretary discussed coordination to protect subsea infrastructure with Finland's Foreign Minister while I raised cooperation with European External Action Service Deputy Secretary General Charles Fries. I have also discussed these issues with counterparts from the three regions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to help increase levels of marine accessibility to the Cayman Islands.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Marine access is an area of responsibility devolved to the Cayman Islands Government. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Transport (DfT) work closely with the Cayman Islands' maritime authorities to ensure appropriate oversight and good governance, including providing technical advice and training through the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to the Cayman Islands to help counter illegal migration.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is developing plans to deliver Refresher Training and Train the Trainer courses in the Cayman Islands to enable their Customs and Border Control (CBC) officials to deliver asylum training to new staff. This builds on previous bespoke asylum casework training delivered in September 2022 and November 2023, February 2024 and March 2025 to upskill new and existing CBC staff and equip them with the knowledge and skills to consider requests for protection under international law.

The Home Office is also delivering a regional asylum training programme aimed at building asylum capability in all of the Overseas Territories (OTs) including the Cayman Islands. As part of the regional programme, an Overseas Territories Asylum Network has been launched which seeks to promote the sharing of expertise and best practice across all OTs and fosters shared learning.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the ban on XL Bully dogs.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is continuing to engage closely with the Police, local authorities, and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban. These measures are vital to protect the public and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the conditions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to the Overseas Territories to assist with people overstaying visas.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Immigration functions are devolved to the Overseas Territories. Any decisions relating to individuals overstaying their visa are matters for local immigration teams.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve learning support for pupils with ADHD in (a) primary and (b) secondary state education.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other neurodiverse conditions.

The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND.

The SEND code of practice is clear that schools should apply a “graduated approach” to identify a child’s needs, plan appropriate support, implement that support and review it regularly to ensure it continues to meet their identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils. Schools should involve pupils and their parents in this process, taking their views into consideration.

In November 2024, the department established a Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg from the University of Birmingham, to provide an expert view and make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings. Professor Anita Thapar, the chair of the independent ADHD Taskforce convened by NHS England, is a member of this group.

The department also runs a Universal SEND Services contract to provide SEND-specific professional development and support for the school and further education workforce. The programme helps professionals to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including ADHD, earlier and more effectively. Since the programme commenced, school and college staff have completed over 20,000 online training modules.

Additionally, the department has introduced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, a cross-government collaboration between the department, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England, backed by £13 million of investment.

PINS brings together integrated care boards, local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodivergent children and their families.

PINS deploys specialists from health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children in around 1,650 (10%) mainstream primary schools.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Crown Dependencies to tackle illegally-operated online gambling in the (a) Isle of Man and (b) Channel Islands.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As set out by the Gambling Act 2005, the Gambling Commission regulates gambling in Great Britain only.

Both DCMS and the Commission stand ready to support the Crown Dependencies on matters relating to gambling if requested. The Gambling Commission has a Memorandum of Understanding on Gambling with the Isle of Man regulator, the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support legal professionals reliant on legal aid fees.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of both the civil and criminal legal aid sectors and we are keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies to look at how best we can address this.

Regarding criminal legal aid, in November 2024 we announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation. We confirmed an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introduced a new Youth Court fee scheme, and subsidised for travel time in certain circumstances. Together, these changes amount to a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.

In addition, in December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. The precise allocation of this funding is subject to consultation. We are committed to continuing to work with the criminal legal aid profession on further opportunities for reform this Parliament and to support the overall sustainability, diversity, and efficiency of the system.

In respect of civil legal aid, the Ministry of Justice has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which will inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year once fully implemented. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish our response. We will continue to consider the fees paid in other categories of civil legal aid, and the wider themes from the Review, in order to support the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid sector.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote cultural awareness of patron saints of the United Kingdom.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has no such plans, but we know that St David, St Andrew, St Patrick and St George are as well-sewn into the fabric of our national identities as they are inscribed on many of our buildings, including in the mosaics above Central Lobby in the Palace of Westminster.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with relevant authorities to support the education of dyslexic children in (a) Romford constituency and b) England.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions.

The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND.

Early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia. There are already a number of measures to help teachers do this, including the phonics screening check and statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2.

Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high quality phonics programmes for schools.

The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.

Romford’s local English Hub is New Vision. Further information is available here: https://newvisionenglishhub.co.uk/.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a ban on the (a) marketing and (b) advertising of (i) e-cigarette and vaping products, (ii) non-medically licensed nicotine products and (iii) heated tobacco products on the number of adults switching from cigarettes to alternatives.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The health advice is clear that vaping is only recommended for adult smokers who wish to quit smoking. Youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years with one in four children aged between 11 and 15 years old having tried vaping in 2023. It is unacceptable that vapes are deliberately promoted and advertised to children, and this must be stopped to prevent future generations from being hooked on nicotine.

The Government has published a thorough impact assessment of the measures included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including the prohibition on the advertising of vaping products and nicotine products.

Public health messaging and campaigns will continue to support the promotion of vapes as a quit aid for smokers, as outlined on the Better Health and National Health Service websites. Additionally, the Government is committed to supporting smokers to quit, through a range of services. We are investing an additional £70 million in 2025/26 for local Stop Smoking Services in England and are working to ensure all NHS hospitals offer ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation purposes.

All tobacco products are harmful to health. There is evidence of toxicity from heated tobacco in laboratory studies. The aerosol generated by heated tobacco also contains carcinogens, and there will be a risk to the health of anyone using these products.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products, and that prohibition applies to tobacco products intended to be smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed. It is the Department’s view that the legislation applies to any tobacco product, regardless of when it was developed, and that heated tobacco products and the heating device to be used with it are caught under this legislation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support Australia following Cyclone Alfred; and whether he has held discussions with his Australian counterpart on natural disaster relief.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK stands ready to support our Australian partners as they recover from Cyclone Alfred. The Prime Minister expressed his support for the Australian people when he spoke to Prime Minister Albanese on 8 March.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve biosecurity for farmed animals.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Robust measures are in place to maintain and improve our ability to understand, detect, prevent, respond and recover from outbreaks. We monitor for new and emerging threats to our biosecurity through our Veterinary Risk Group (VRG) and the Human and Animal Infections Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) Group.

We are also promoting best practice while providing practical support to livestock keepers in England through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. As part of the Pathway cattle, sheep and pig keepers can apply for funded visits by their choice of vet.

Alongside access to disease testing and advice on improving the health, welfare and productivity of their animals these visits are a chance to get bespoke advice on improving biosecurity that reflects the circumstances on each individual farm.

We will also be opening a further application window of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund this spring. This includes £16.7 million of funding towards the costs of a list of items that improve the health and welfare of livestock, with a range of items that can also be used to improve biosecurity on farms.

When outbreaks of exotic notifiable disease do occur Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) stand up their established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist recovery.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of argon gas in the slaughter of livestock.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. A post implementation review of The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 is underway and should be completed this year

There are long standing animal welfare concerns with high concentration carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs. We recently commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee to provide an up to date and comprehensive animal welfare assessment of the evidence on high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and potential alternative stunning methods. We are also tracking the progress of the EU PigStun project, which is seeking to develop non-aversive stunning systems for pigs. Results from this project are expected this year.

Research has shown that pigs do not avoid an environment containing high concentrations of inert gases, such as argon. However, there are practical constraints to the use of inert gas mixtures for slaughter that have restricted commercial uptake so far. These include the need to expose pigs for longer periods of time in the inert gas mixture for unconsciousness to last until death.

We accept that there is a pressing need to address the welfare concerns associated with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and look forward to receiving the Animal Welfare Committee’s report.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to uphold welfare standards for imported livestock.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

When animals are transported into Great Britain, their transportation must comply fully with legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare. The rules relating to the commercial transportation of animals are set out in assimilated Regulation (EC) 1/2005 and The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006, with equivalent domestic regulations in Wales and Scotland.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) acts as a national regulator for the welfare of animals in transport rules and is able to take regulatory action following non-compliance. This can include suspension or revocation of transporter authorisations. APHA works closely with its local authority enforcement partners to support enforcement action and prosecution of those involved in breaches of the welfare in transport legislation.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the welfare of livestock undergoing slaughter.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. A post implementation review of The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 is underway and should be completed this year

There are long standing animal welfare concerns with high concentration carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs. We recently commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee to provide an up to date and comprehensive animal welfare assessment of the evidence on high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and potential alternative stunning methods. We are also tracking the progress of the EU PigStun project, which is seeking to develop non-aversive stunning systems for pigs. Results from this project are expected this year.

Research has shown that pigs do not avoid an environment containing high concentrations of inert gases, such as argon. However, there are practical constraints to the use of inert gas mixtures for slaughter that have restricted commercial uptake so far. These include the need to expose pigs for longer periods of time in the inert gas mixture for unconsciousness to last until death.

We accept that there is a pressing need to address the welfare concerns associated with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and look forward to receiving the Animal Welfare Committee’s report.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to phase out the use of carbon dioxide in the slaughter of pig livestock.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. A post implementation review of The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 is underway and should be completed this year

There are long standing animal welfare concerns with high concentration carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs. We recently commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee to provide an up to date and comprehensive animal welfare assessment of the evidence on high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and potential alternative stunning methods. We are also tracking the progress of the EU PigStun project, which is seeking to develop non-aversive stunning systems for pigs. Results from this project are expected this year.

Research has shown that pigs do not avoid an environment containing high concentrations of inert gases, such as argon. However, there are practical constraints to the use of inert gas mixtures for slaughter that have restricted commercial uptake so far. These include the need to expose pigs for longer periods of time in the inert gas mixture for unconsciousness to last until death.

We accept that there is a pressing need to address the welfare concerns associated with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and look forward to receiving the Animal Welfare Committee’s report.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Kenya on the potential impact of the recent drought on UK-Kenya agricultural cooperation.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has strengthened its partnership with Kenya to enhance agricultural resilience amid worsening droughts. The Kenyan Government, with support from the UK through the Hunger Safety Net Programme, makes monthly cash transfers to 133,800 households in the North East Arid and Semi-Arid lands of Kenya. These cash transfers have provided a consistent source of income to households, minimising the impact of the recent drought. Water shortages have also heightened the need for sustainable irrigation and climate-smart agriculture, areas where UK programmes like Commercial Agriculture for Smallholder Agribusiness (CASA) and Sustainable Urban Economic Development (SUED) play a key role through a combination of technical assistance, grants, and access to investment to grow climate resilient agribusiness. The Foreign Secretary last spoke to His Excellency Musalia Mudavadi on 29 January when they had a wide ranging conversation across our shared priorities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Congolese counterpart on illegal mining activities by armed groups in North Kivu.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is deeply alarmed by the events unfolding in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We also condemn the recent offensives by the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Rwanda Defence Force, including the capture of Goma and Bukavu, as an unacceptable violation of DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of the UN Charter. The Foreign Secretary visited Kinshasa in February and met with President Tshisekedi. During their meeting they discussed reports of illicit mineral extraction in eastern DRC. We are deeply concerned by reports from the UN Group of Experts about M23 and Rwanda illegally extracting critical minerals from the DRC. We have been clear that illegal economic activity must stop.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the recent increase in the number of internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on UK humanitarian aid distribution.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is a leading humanitarian partner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have allocated over £80 million in humanitarian support this financial year, supporting emergency lifesaving assistance and providing access to clean drinking water treatment for malnourished children, as well as life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. The humanitarian crisis is dire and rapidly worsening. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since January.

Humanitarian access to the areas with populations of displaced people is a key challenge, due to the ongoing insecurity and closure of airports, for example. The UK is working with partners to improve humanitarian access and humanitarian partners are active and adapting to deliver life-saving services. We call on all parties not to obstruct the vital services that humanitarians are providing, and to cease hostilities and uphold the protection of humanitarian workers, as outlined in international humanitarian law.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 34796 on China: Cook Islands, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that strategic agreement on (a) his policies and (b) the policies of the Overseas Territories in the Indo-Pacific.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government will continue its policy of working to maintain a free, secure and open Indo-Pacific where international norms are respected. As part of the UK Government's constitutional responsibility for the defence, external relations and internal security of the British Overseas Territories, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has considered the impact of the strategic agreement on the one Territory in the Indo-Pacific (Pitcairn). This constitutional responsibility is different from that between New Zealand and the Cook Islands. As the UK retains the responsibility for external relations of the British Overseas Territories, the Territories are not able to enter into bilateral international treaties.

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