Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which a) governments, b) multilateral organisations, c) private sector companies and d) other key stakeholders, will be invited to participate in the Illicit Finance Summit.

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

The Illicit Finance Summit will take place in London on 23-24 June 2026 and will convene a diverse group of governments, civil society organisations, and private sector representatives to build an international coalition to tackle flows of dirty money around the world and strengthen the UK's national security. Further updates, including details of the invitees, will be provided in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the National Youth Strategy will join up youth worker training and parent support.

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

This Government recognises the vital role that youth workers play in the lives of young people. We are backing the first steps of the National Youth Strategy with over £500 million of DCMS funding to increase local access to enriching activities, trusted adults and welcoming spaces. This includes investing £15 million over 3 years in youth workers, volunteers and other trusted adults including helping organisations to recruit, train, and keep more individuals to support young people.

The National Youth Strategy will deliver better recognition for paid and volunteer youth workers as well as more fit-for-purpose training, qualifications, and employment routes into the youth sector. Through the Strategy, the Government will also work closely with parents to ensure they get the support they need to guide their children. The Best Start in Life Parent Hub website launched on 1 September, as the first step in developing the Best Start digital service to support parents.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 95257 on Children: Data protection, if she will publish a Data Privacy Impact Assessment on the entire Bill.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

A single Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) cannot be conducted on the entire Bill. DPIAs are intended to evaluate specific data processing activities that may present high risks to individuals’ data protection rights, rather than entire pieces of legislation. The department has ensured that all Bill provisions involving personal data comply with data protection legislation by consulting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under Article 36 of UK GDPR.

We continue to engage with the ICO key measures, such as the Consistent Identifier and Children Not in School (CNIS) measures, to identify and mitigate any data protection risks. In line with our commitment to transparency, we will publish summaries of these DPIAs to provide assurance that children’s data will be processed lawfully and securely once the measures become operational.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been referred to Professional Standards Unit in last five years, how were they categorised and how many were (a) upheld and (b) rejected.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Professional Standards Unit (PSU) received 1265 referrals of complaint between 1 April 2020 to 5 December 2025

The complaints were categorised as, Assault, Corruption, Failure in Duty or Care, Honesty and Integrity Issues, Racism and other Discrimination, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Theft, Unfair Treatment and Unprofessional Conduct

Of the referrals received, 291 were investigated by the PSU with the remaining referrals cascaded to local complaint teams in the Home Office.

42 investigations substantiated or partially substantiated the allegations made by the complainant and 249 were unsubstantiated.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, what changes, if any, are being considered to visa processes for African business travellers and researchers as part of the Global Partner Programme.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, how the Developing Countries Trading Scheme is being adapted to align with the Government’s new Africa strategy.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, which African nations did her department meet with representatives from during the "listening exercise".

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the summary of consultation responses published on 2 June 2025, which can be found on GOV.UK at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation-june-2025

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance to Africa is expected to be delivered through investment vehicles rather than grant funding in each of the next three financial years.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, whether her department intends to renegotiate any of the existing trade agreements with African nations to better reflect the government's new approach.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, what specific support the UK is providing to African small and medium-sized enterprises to enable them to benefit from UK-Africa trade initiatives.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, which a) nations and b) sectors the British International Investment and UK Export Finance will prioritise under the new approach.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, whether she will provide a breakdown of the sectors covered by the 600 organisations consulted with.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the summary of consultation responses published on 2 June 2025, which can be found on GOV.UK at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation-june-2025

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, what plans her department has to develop new trade agreements with African nations the UK does not have agreements with.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, which areas her department will prioritise when expanding trade opportunities.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out our commitment to unlock investment and trade with our African partners. We will provide further updates in due course on specific priorities and initiatives arising from that commitment.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's Africa Approach launch on 15 December 2025, what approach her department took to determine suitable organisations to consult with.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the summary of consultation responses published on 2 June 2025, which can be found on GOV.UK at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation-june-2025

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what quantity of plutonium has been recovered from the dismantling of the Mk4A Trident warheads since the start of the dismantlement programme; what proportion has been re-cycled and re-used in new warheads; where is the surplus plutonium currently stored; and what has been the cost to date of the dismantlement programme.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to the hon, Member for Newton Abbott (Martin Wrigley) on 1 September 2025 to Question 70223.

Situation of Kurdish people in Syria

Changes to Right To Protest in the Public Order Act 2023

Situation in Iran

Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce research funding

Food insecurity amongst workers in food processing, manufacturing and retail sectors

Grok AI generation and dissemination of sexually explicit and non-consensual images of women and children on X

Centenary of the derailment of the Flying Scotsman

Newborn bloodspot screening for spinal muscular atrophy

International sport and alleged United States violations of international law

Bank holiday for celebrations if England win the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Hunger strike by pro-Palestinian activists

10th anniversary of Boxing Day floods

US military attack on Venezuela

Armed exports to the United Arab Emirates and the situation in Sudan