Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report entitled Understanding asylum seeker and refugee vulnerabilities and needs, published on 22 May 2025, what was the methodology for the vulnerability identification framework: and how (a) gender and (b) sexual orientation fit this framework.

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

The report in question was produced under the previous government in 2022. Sections 2 and 3 of the report detail at length the methodologies and definitions underpinning the research.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of the potential impact of air pollution from domestic wood burning on public health.

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

Following the publication of the Air Quality Information System (AQIS) review in March, we are working to increase awareness about air pollution and make air quality part of everyday conversations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to track the final destination of military equipment transiting through UK airports.

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

Responsibility for the enforcement of UK export controls on military and dual use and sanctioned goods rests with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). HMRC works closely with Border Force, other government departments and international partners to assist in identifying high-risk movements, conduct customs checks, and where necessary, seize goods at the port.

Military exports transiting the UK do not require a licence if they comply with certain handling conditions, do not include specific goods and are not for specific destinations, as set out in Article 17 of the Export Control Order 2008.

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 promote the protection of minority rights in India.

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

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously. We have a broad, deep and respectful partnership with the Government of India. This includes sharing perspectives on human rights and minority issues and finding common ground. Our High Commission in New Delhi and our network across India monitor human rights across the country. We engage Indian stakeholders on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with civil society. This includes raising issues of concern where we have them.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of alleged misinformation from India on diaspora communities in the UK.

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

India and the UK have a broad and deep relationship. The unique Living Bridge, including a 1.9 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK, connects our countries and people across culture, education, food, sport and more. The UK Government is committed to media freedom. An independent and responsible media is an essential feature of robust democracies. We are conscious that mis/disinformation overseas can be picked up by diaspora communities in the UK. This is one reason we support independent media reporting and engage with legitimate concerns in the UK and globally around the ramifications of online hate speech and polarisation. These are issues that we work alongside partners, including India, to address.

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 Indian counterpart on reported human rights violations in India.

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

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously. The UK Government has a broad, deep and respectful partnership with the Government of India. This includes sharing perspectives on human rights and minority issues and finding common ground, including at Ministerial level. In 2024, I held a roundtable with stakeholders to discuss Freedom of Religion in India.

Our High Commission in New Delhi and our network across India monitor human rights across the country. This includes raising issues of concern where we have them.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide financial support for children’s centres (a) in general and (b) serving (i) disadvantaged and (ii) minority ethnic communities.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Local authorities have a duty under Part 1 of the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure there are sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families, including disadvantaged families and those from minority ethnic communities. Part 1 of the Act can be read in full here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/21/part/1.

Funding for children’s centres is made available through the local government finance settlement. In addition, other government funding, including that for public health, may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, through children’s centres.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Delivering this will require strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme, which build on the lessons from Sure Start children’s centres.

75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year Spending Review.

There are three Family Hubs in the Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency that have been funded by the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, as listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-family-hub-sites.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to provide sustainable funding for community-based support centres working with children and young adults (a) at risk of exclusion, (b) living in poverty and (c) experiencing poor mental health and wellbeing.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. Our Plan for Change will strengthen and join up family services, including continuing to invest in the family hubs and start for life programmes.

We are investing £126 million in 2025/26 to build up the family hubs and start for life programmes, to provide access to vital services to improve the health, education and wellbeing of children, young people, and their families.

Family hubs are focussed on universal, preventative services, targeting disadvantaged families. They can also serve as a non-stigmatising gateway for more targeted, intensive, support delivered by local family help services and other interventions. 75 local authorities on the programme have opened more than 400 family hubs. These are based in some of the most deprived areas in the country.

The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025. The government will also recruit 8,500 mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 50912 on Students: Loans, what demographic data her Department holds on borrowers whose loan balances have increased.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Below is a table of the number of borrowers whose loan balance has increased between the start and end of the financial year 2024/25, broken down by age group and sex. This table covers Student Finance England loan borrowers only, whereas the previous number provided to Question 50912 included borrowers from all UK funding bodies.

These figures cover Plan 2, 5 and 3 undergraduate and postgraduate loan borrowers funded by Student Finance England. It has been generated by comparing borrowers’ loan balances on 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. These numbers include all borrowers whose loan balance has increased, regardless of the number of payments they have made across the financial year. There were a small number of borrowers (<5) for whom age and sex were unknown. These borrowers have been suppressed.

At the end of a borrower’s loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, will be written off. This write-off, a government subsidy, is a deliberate investment in our people and the economy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to introduce safeguards for pensions against future (a) sale and (b) transfer of pension funds to (i) insurance companies and (ii) other entities.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Insurance buyout is a long-established way of ensuring members get the full value of their promised defined benefit (DB) pensions from an insurer, backed by a 100 per cent compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This is widely regarded as a positive outcome for scheme beneficiaries.

The Pension Schemes Bill 2025 introduces a regulatory framework for “superfunds”, which can consolidate closed DB schemes where buyout is unaffordable. Member security is at the heart of the new regime, which has rigorous safeguards and robust funding requirements. Superfunds will also continue to be overseen by the Pensions Regulator and underpinned by the Pensions Protection Fund.

Trustees must be satisfied that transferring the liabilities of the scheme to an insurer, or to a superfund, is in the best interests of the members before any transfer can take place.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent companies sponsoring pensions from reducing pension indexation rates below promised levels.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Defined Benefit schemes are legally required to increase pensions in payment annually (for pension rights earned from April 1997 onwards) to provide pensioners with a measure of protection against the effects of inflation.

Before April 1997, there was no statutory requirement on defined benefit schemes to increase pensions once in payment, apart from any Guaranteed Minimum Pension element (paid in place of the additional State Pension) earned between April 1988 and April 1997 which must be increased by inflation capped at 3 per cent.

Defined Benefit schemes must meet the legal minimum requirements. However, schemes can and do make more generous arrangements through the scheme rules. If the scheme rules provide for increases above the legal requirements these increases must continue to be paid.

If a member thinks the trustees or sponsoring employer have acted outside the scheme rules, they can take the matter up with the pension scheme through the Internal Dispute Resolution arrangement the scheme is required to have in place.

If the Internal Dispute Resolution arrangement does not provide a satisfactory conclusion, they may wish to consider taking the case to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Funding for training of professional journalists

Government policy on the Hillsborough Law

Outsourced cleaners on Tyne and Wear Metro

Fairtrade tea campaign

Safe Inside Prisons Charter

Import of goods from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Durham Miners' Gala 2025

Prison education insourcing

Found: Karen Bradley (Chair); Mr Paul Kohler; Ben Maguire; Robbie Moore; Chris Murray; Joani Reid; Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Karen Bradley (Chair); Mr Paul Kohler; Ben Maguire; Robbie Moore; Chris Murray; Joani Reid; Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Not called_164 Kim Johnson Bell Ribeiro-Addy Apsana Begum Richard Burgon Zarah Sultana Siân Berry

Found: Not called_NC54 Jon Trickett Apsana Begum Bell Ribeiro-Addy .