Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September to Question UIN 74744 on Western Sahara: Self Determination of States, whether she has received any information from Morocco on the details of what autonomy within the Moroccan State could entail.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No. We continue to engage with all relevant parties in support of the UN-led process to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, based on compromise, which conforms with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principle of respect for self-determination. The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office continues to engage extensively with the Moroccan government to request expanded details on its 2007 autonomy proposal.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September to Question UIN 74747 on Western Sahara: Visits Abroad, whether the blocking of visits by (a) parliamentarians, (b) researchers, (c) journalists and (d) lawyers to occupied Western Sahara was discussed in the bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with Morocco in December 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights globally, including in Morocco and Western Sahara.
In the joint UK-Morocco strategic dialogue communiqué of 1 June 2025, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on human rights issues. The third iteration of the UK-Morocco Human Rights Dialogue took place on 24 November 2025 in London, where senior officials discussed areas including freedom of expression, rights of minorities, and judicial reforms.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of Critical Time Intervention programmes for local authorities on preventing homelessness amongst people leaving prison.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the importance of public sector organisations working closely together to support people during key transition points. Within the National Plan to End Homelessness, we have worked collaboratively across Government to set ambitious targets to reduce the number of people leaving institutions into homelessness, enabling local authorities and local partners to deliver better support at transition points.
This includes a commitment to a 50% reduction in the proportion of people who become homeless on their first night out of prison and are subject to probation supervision by the end of this parliament.
To deliver on this commitment, we want to ensure the right support is available as people transition out of prison. This includes continued investing in Community Accommodation Service models and embedding as standard practice local partnerships, co-location and pre-release planning.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart to Bahrain on (a) the protection of the rights of and (b) access to medical treatment for (i) Ebrahim Sharif, (ii) Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and (iii) Hassan Mushaima and his family.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided to questions 100851 on 6 January 2026, and HL12137 on 2 December 2025.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take legislative steps to reverse the effects of R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and provide for the changes to apply retrospectively.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We intend to introduce legislation to clarify that Litigation Funding Agreements (LFAs) are not Damages-Based Agreements when Parliamentary time allows. This will mitigate the effect of the PACCAR judgment and improve access to justice by reassuring funders that LFAs can be used to fund cases. We intend to make this change with prospective effect.
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has set a timeline for publication of legislation to reverse the effects of R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We intend to introduce legislation to clarify that Litigation Funding Agreements (LFAs) are not Damages-Based Agreements when Parliamentary time allows. This will mitigate the effect of the PACCAR judgment and improve access to justice by reassuring funders that LFAs can be used to fund cases. We intend to make this change with prospective effect.
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to implement proportionate regulation of third-party litigation funding agreements in this parliament.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have carefully considered the recommendations from the Civil Justice Council's review and, as well as seeking to mitigate the effects of the PACCAR judgment, we wanted to tighten up regulation of third-party litigation funding.
We intend to introduce legislation to implement proportionate regulation of Litigation Funding Agreements when Parliamentary time allows. The new regulatory framework will aim to enhance claimant protection, transparency and the effectiveness of the litigation funding market. The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assurances the UK has received from the US authorities that CMCC drone surveillance monitoring the ceasefire in Gaza will identify and record potential violations whether by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, other militias or Israel.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The small team of UK personnel embedded in US-led Civil Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) engages continually with their US counterparts to ensure a sustainable ceasefire, delivery of humanitarian aid and progress in building Gaza's stability.
Drone surveillance is one of a range of US capabilities used for ceasefire monitoring. The UK contribution to the CMCC does not include monitoring the ceasefire.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assurances the UK has received from the US authorities that UK personnel at the Civil Military Co-ordination Centre will not be assisting or participating in actions that could breach International Law or International Humanitarian Law.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Civil Military Co-ordination Centre (CMCC) is a US-led body supporting the humanitarian response to Gaza and delivery of the 20-point plan. The UK team engage routinely with their US and other international counterparts to understand and monitor the work of the CMCC and can raise concerns if required. UK personnel are briefed on their responsibilities under International Law and International Humanitarian Law.
The UK is fully committed to upholding our responsibilities under domestic and international law and we act at all times in a manner consistent with our legal obligations.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's planned timelines are for considering the introduction of a national social tariff for water bills; and whether she is taking steps to ensure that the potential design for a national social tariff reaches those most in need.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable and is working with industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.
As such, we have carried out a consultation on reforms to WaterSure - the statutory scheme which caps water bills for low-income customers with higher water usage due to medical conditions or large households, including whether additional customers should be brought into scope of the scheme.
The Government also expects all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them if they need help. All companies have measures in place such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.