Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support (a) women and (b) political prisoners under threat from the Iranian regime.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to support women and political prisoners in Iran through sustained action alongside international partners in multilateral fora. In the past eight 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, condemned Iran's intensified and targeted repression of women and girls, and 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 gender and political views. Our Ambassador to Iran and I continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian Government.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the availability of fuel in Gaza for (a) desalination and (b) healthcare services.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We remain deeply concerned at the lack of fuel supply in Gaza, which puts vital services such as water desalination at risk. On 18 July, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) described the deepening fuel crisis in Gaza, including the impact on solid waste collection and availability of clean water supplies and health services. We highlighted the impact of the lack of fuel on water supplies and hospitals and the critical situation for Gaza's children at a session of the UN Security Council which we co-called on 16 July. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of ensuring adequate healthcare for Palestinians in a call with Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 July. As the Prime Minister stated on 29 July, the UK will recognize the state of Palestine in September unless Israel takes substantive steps to end the crisis, including restarting without delay the supply of humanitarian support to the people of Gaza to end starvation.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question HL5327 on Israel and Palestinians: Development Aid and in the context of discussions held in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the potential impact of the Associations Bill (Amendment—Donation from Foreign State Entity) 2024 on the UK’s overseas development assistance to (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian (i) humanitarian and (ii) human rights organisations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply troubled by the proposed non-governmental organisation (NGO) taxation bill which threatens to undermine the ability of NGOs to operate effectively and continue their essential work in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We continue to raise these concerns with the Israeli government. Israel must immediately allow the UN and NGOs to safely deliver aid at scale and in line with humanitarian principles.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of telecommunications infrastructure in Sudan on the delivery of UK aid in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
More than two years of sustained conflict has devastated Sudan's essential infrastructure including telecommunications networks. Millions of people across the country continue to experience significant communications disruptions with the limited availability of internet access severely impacting humanitarian agencies. Ongoing internet outages affects people's ability to access life-saving assistance such as mobile money services and it hinders Sudanese communities from communicating about their plight. The UK continues to advocate with the warring parties to respect the civilian nature of critical infrastructure. In addition, we continue to support the World Food Programme who are leading work on behalf of humanitarian agencies through the Telecommunications Cluster to help provide communications and connectivity services to relief actors.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 outbreak of cholera in Sudan on the delivery of UK aid in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The conflict in Sudan and the widespread destruction of sanitation and health services has caused a devastating cholera outbreak with more than 83,000 cases and 2,100 deaths since July 2024. More than 33.5 million people are at risk. Humanitarian agencies, against a backdrop of continued violence and access impediments, are working to respond to the current outbreak alongside other priorities. In response the UK is supporting the United Nation's Children Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies who are delivering lifesaving emergency health interventions, including cholera vaccines, treatment, and prevention. Via an aid match agreement alongside the State of Kuwait we provided an additional $5 million to UNICEF. The UK is also advocating with UN organisations to deliver a sufficiently scaled-up cholera response. We continue to urge all parties in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian access so that aid reaches those most in need.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK aid has been used to support water and sanitation services for people at risk of contracting cholera in Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The conflict in Sudan and the widespread destruction of sanitation and health services has caused a devastating cholera outbreak with more than 83,000 cases and 2,100 deaths since July 2024. More than 33.5 million people are at risk. Humanitarian agencies, against a backdrop of continued violence and access impediments, are working to respond to the current outbreak alongside other priorities. In response the UK is supporting the United Nation's Children Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies who are delivering lifesaving emergency health interventions, including cholera vaccines, treatment, and prevention. Via an aid match agreement alongside the State of Kuwait we provided an additional $5 million to UNICEF. The UK is also advocating with UN organisations to deliver a sufficiently scaled-up cholera response. We continue to urge all parties in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian access so that aid reaches those most in need.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to protect Iranian (a) dissidents, (b) activists, and (c) journalists residing in the UK from (i) harassment, (ii) surveillance (iii) and intimidation by agents of the Iranian regime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK Government will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK and its people against any threats from the Iranian state. Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and will be thoroughly investigated.
The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our legal powers to counter transnational repression and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats. In March, I announced a package of measures to tackle state threats from Iran. This included our decision to place Iran on the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).
I also announced new training for all frontline police officers on state threats; further sanctions against Iranian-linked criminal groups; an independent review of the parts of our counter-terrorism framework which could be applied to state threats; continued support to the Jewish community; and strengthened enforcement of our immigration measures to protect the UK from Iranian interference. Finally, the National Protective Security Authority and Counter Terrorism Policing will continue to provide protective security advice and support to individuals and organisations threatened by the Iranian regime and its criminal proxies, including Persian language media organisations.
In line with recommendations from the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Transnational Repression Review, new guidance is available on GOV.UK to provide those who believe themselves to be at-risk of TNR with practical advice for their safety both physically and online. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 64542 on Immigration, what steps she is taking to speed up decisions being taken on applications for (a) leave in line and (b) status in line.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement to speed up decision making and improve the quality and consistency of our leave in line and status in line applications.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce decision times for children’s applications under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The vast majority of Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme applications are being processed within Service Level Agreements. There may be applications which have varying levels of complexity and we have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, which can cause a delay to an application.
Information on visa processing times for applications made outside of the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK.
Information on visa processing times for applications made from within the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress Active Travel England has made on creating a disabled people's panel to help inform its work.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Active Travel England (ATE) does not have any current plans to create a disabled people’s panel and does not set policy. ATE routinely works with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and disabled representative organisations to improve its output, such as guidance products.
ATE is setting up a technical advisory group to help improve its products and processes so they better address the barriers people face to active travel, particularly those from underrepresented groups.