Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to impose sanctions on Israel to help prevent mass civilian casualties in Lebanon.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 17 March, and her answers to the questions raised in response.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish any legal advice on UK participation in military operations connected to the conflict in the Middle East.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

A summary of the government’s legal position was published on gov.uk on 1 March 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what oversight mechanisms are in place to monitor the use of ACS and APS tools; and whether any independent audits have been (a) conducted and (b) planned.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All members of the Department were required to complete a mandatory 'AI for all' learning package in 2025. All caseworkers were given comprehensive training on the use of APS before it was operationalised. Both ACS and APS underwent user acceptance testing and evaluation was conducted following pilots of both tools.

A specific inbox was set up for Decision Makers to feed back any issues found with the tool. All questions asked of the tool, have and will be logged, and are auditable. Subject Matter Expert (SME) testing continues after operationalisation, in conjunction with the CPIT (Country Policy & Information Team) for APS.

ACS has not yet been operationalised, but our Analysis and Insight team plan to conduct further follow up evaluations in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training has been provided to caseworkers on the use of AI-supported tools during the pilot phase of ACS and APS.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All members of the Department were required to complete a mandatory 'AI for all' learning package in 2025. All caseworkers were given comprehensive training on the use of APS before it was operationalised. Both ACS and APS underwent user acceptance testing and evaluation was conducted following pilots of both tools.

A specific inbox was set up for Decision Makers to feed back any issues found with the tool. All questions asked of the tool, have and will be logged, and are auditable. Subject Matter Expert (SME) testing continues after operationalisation, in conjunction with the CPIT (Country Policy & Information Team) for APS.

ACS has not yet been operationalised, but our Analysis and Insight team plan to conduct further follow up evaluations in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the proportionality of the police using live facial recognition technology to identify suspects for low-level offences.

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

The Home Office has not formally assessed the potential impact of police facial recognition cameras on levels of local crime rates or effectiveness against traditional policing methods. However, when the Government introduces legislation on a new framework this will be accompanied by an impact assessment. This will include consideration of operational benefits, costs and wider impacts, alongside legal, ethical and equality considerations.

When using live facial recognition, police forces must comply with existing legal obligations including the requirement that its use is necessary and proportionate to a specific policing objective.

National guidance issued by the College of Policing requires forces to define the purpose of a deployment in advance and ensure watchlists are focused and limited to appropriate categories of people, which may include wanted individuals, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing risks. Watchlists must be tailored to the policing objective and reviewed before each deployment to ensure the legal tests of necessity and proportionality are met.

Last year, we launched a public consultation on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used by law enforcement, and what safeguards and oversight are needed. This consultation included questions on when the use of such technologies should be considered necessary and proportionate. We are currently considering the responses, which will inform the scope and content of any legal changes brought before Parliament

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of facial recognition technology when compared against traditional policing methods.

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

The Home Office has not formally assessed the potential impact of police facial recognition cameras on levels of local crime rates or effectiveness against traditional policing methods. However, when the Government introduces legislation on a new framework this will be accompanied by an impact assessment. This will include consideration of operational benefits, costs and wider impacts, alongside legal, ethical and equality considerations.

When using live facial recognition, police forces must comply with existing legal obligations including the requirement that its use is necessary and proportionate to a specific policing objective.

National guidance issued by the College of Policing requires forces to define the purpose of a deployment in advance and ensure watchlists are focused and limited to appropriate categories of people, which may include wanted individuals, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing risks. Watchlists must be tailored to the policing objective and reviewed before each deployment to ensure the legal tests of necessity and proportionality are met.

Last year, we launched a public consultation on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used by law enforcement, and what safeguards and oversight are needed. This consultation included questions on when the use of such technologies should be considered necessary and proportionate. We are currently considering the responses, which will inform the scope and content of any legal changes brought before Parliament

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police facial recognition technology is being used in conjunction with (a) body-worn video and (b) drones.

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

The Government supports police innovation, including the responsible use of facial recognition technologies. The Government recognises that facial recognition and similar technologies can support the police to prevent and detect crime and protect the public, when used appropriately and responsibly.

Police forces must comply with the existing legal framework for any use of facial recognition technology. As part of this, any use of facial recognition technology must be necessary and proportionate to a specific policing objective.

The Home Office launched a public consultation which closed on 12 February 2026 on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used by law enforcement, and what safeguards and oversight are needed. This consultation included questions on when the use of such technologies should be considered necessary and proportionate. We are currently considering the responses, which will inform the scope and content of any legal changes brought before Parliament. However, there are currently no plans for the Government to fund body worn video or drone projects in relation to facial recognition technologies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of police facial recognition cameras on levels of local crime rates.

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

The Home Office has not formally assessed the potential impact of police facial recognition cameras on levels of local crime rates or effectiveness against traditional policing methods. However, when the Government introduces legislation on a new framework this will be accompanied by an impact assessment. This will include consideration of operational benefits, costs and wider impacts, alongside legal, ethical and equality considerations.

When using live facial recognition, police forces must comply with existing legal obligations including the requirement that its use is necessary and proportionate to a specific policing objective.

National guidance issued by the College of Policing requires forces to define the purpose of a deployment in advance and ensure watchlists are focused and limited to appropriate categories of people, which may include wanted individuals, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing risks. Watchlists must be tailored to the policing objective and reviewed before each deployment to ensure the legal tests of necessity and proportionality are met.

Last year, we launched a public consultation on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used by law enforcement, and what safeguards and oversight are needed. This consultation included questions on when the use of such technologies should be considered necessary and proportionate. We are currently considering the responses, which will inform the scope and content of any legal changes brought before Parliament

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the publication of Trussell’s End of Year food bank stats, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Universal Credit’s standard allowance covers essential costs.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has taken important steps to improve the support available to help people with the cost of essentials and has legislated to deliver the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. In April 2026, the standard allowance rose by 3.8% in line with the Consumer Prices Index to September 2025, followed by a further 2.3%, meaning a single person aged 25 or over will receive around £295 more this year - over £110 more than if uprated by inflation alone.

Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, disability, and childcare costs. Each household will always have different requirements depending on their circumstances.

We will continue to consider evidence and insights from a range of organisations and people with lived experiences, to ensure the social security system provides the support people need.

The Government recognises that the level of household food insecurity in the UK is unacceptable. We have announced action to expand free school meals, support parents with the cost of healthy food in the school holidays with the Holidays and Activities and Food Programme and transform our food system to ensure it delivers access to affordable, healthy food. Over £600m has been confirmed for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27.

Government has also taken further action to support low-income households including through the increase in the National Living Wage to £12.71 an hour from April 2026.

On 1 April 2026 we launched a new Crisis and Resilience Fund. This longer-term funding approach aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis, to support our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has considered commissioning independent advice, including from people with direct experience of living on a low income, on the adequacy of Universal Credit’s standard allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has taken important steps to improve the support available to help people with the cost of essentials and has legislated to deliver the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. In April 2026, the standard allowance rose by 3.8% in line with the Consumer Prices Index to September 2025, followed by a further 2.3%, meaning a single person aged 25 or over will receive around £295 more this year - over £110 more than if uprated by inflation alone.

Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, disability, and childcare costs. Each household will always have different requirements depending on their circumstances.

We will continue to consider evidence and insights from a range of organisations and people with lived experiences, to ensure the social security system provides the support people need.

The Government recognises that the level of household food insecurity in the UK is unacceptable. We have announced action to expand free school meals, support parents with the cost of healthy food in the school holidays with the Holidays and Activities and Food Programme and transform our food system to ensure it delivers access to affordable, healthy food. Over £600m has been confirmed for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27.

Government has also taken further action to support low-income households including through the increase in the National Living Wage to £12.71 an hour from April 2026.

On 1 April 2026 we launched a new Crisis and Resilience Fund. This longer-term funding approach aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis, to support our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is in place relating to the quality of images required for facial recognition searches using the police national database, in the context of composite photofit images.

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

Guidance for forces using the Police National Database is provided through the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing and reflects established standards relating to the capture, handling, and use of facial images. This includes consideration of image quality and the need to manage the risk of misidentification.

Any potential matches are reviewed by trained officers and must be corroborated before any operational or investigatory action is taken.

Police forces must have regard to the Home Secretary’s Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, which sets out expectations for the use of surveillance camera systems and includes requirements around necessity, proportionality, and appropriate safeguards.

Individual police forces remain responsible for local policies and procedures in line with national guidance and the law.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration his Department makes of trends in the costs of essential goods and services when setting the basic rate of Universal Credit during the uprating process.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) estimates how the prices of goods and services bought by households rise or fall and is used as an indication of inflation in Universal Credit uprating. Last year, The Secretary of State increased most working age benefits across Great Britain for 2026/27 by 3.8% in line with CPI in the year to September 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department intends to publish the draft statutory guidance for the Mental Health Act 2025 for consultation; and if he will commit to consulting by and for specialist VAWG organisations in the development of that guidance.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed

Following Royal Assent of the Mental Health Act 2025, our priority for 2026 is to update the revised Code of Practice. We will engage extensively, including with people with lived experience and their families and carers, staff, and professional groups, commissioners, providers, voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations, and others to do this. There will also be a formal public consultation in early 2027, where we will encourage responses from anyone who wishes to input, including specialist violence against women and girls organisations.

We will be updating the Code of Practice, not just to reflect the new primary legislation, but to provide further guidance and clarity on non-legislative aspects relevant to the reforms, as well as more broadly to make general improvements and updates.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Mental Health Act 2025 and accompanying statutory guidance adequately address disparities in access, quality of care, and outcomes in commissioned mental health services for Black and minoritised women who are survivors of VAWG.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed

We recognise that there are significant and concerning racial disparities in the rates of detention under the previous Mental Health Act and driving reductions in inequalities is a guiding principle for the Mental Health Act 2025. The Government will be working very carefully with the wider mental health system to support the effective implementation of the provisions in the 2025 act, to reduce racial disparities in decision making under the act. The updating of the Code of Practice will be a key way in which we achieve this, and we will be formally consulting on the updated code.

We also recognise that some of the disparities arise from social, economic, and environmental factors outside the scope of the act, and these are being addressed separately. For example, earlier access to mental health support prior to mental health crisis is being driven through improved community-based mental health services and NHS England’s Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework is looking at transforming culture in wider mental health services, not just under the Mental Health Act.

Domestic abuse, sexual violence, and other forms of trauma are known risk factors for mental ill health, and we are committed to improving our national response to trauma through cross-Government action. The Department is taking specific steps to improve trauma-informed support for victims and survivors of abuse. This includes implementing the “Steps to Safety” referral service for domestic abuse and sexual violence across all integrated care boards, and investing £5 million each year for the next three years to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of menopause symptoms on women’s labour market participation.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has conducted a literature review to collate evidence on women’s employment and menopause, which was published in July 2025: Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review - GOV.UK

The economic costs of the menopause on the labour market has been estimated by the following study: Womens health economics investing in the 51 per cent

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans she has to evaluate the effect of mandatory Menopause Action Plans following their introduction.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to assess the effectiveness of voluntary Menopause Action Plans.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department has considered encouraging employers to introduce menopause-related leave as part of Menopause Action Plans.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure that Menopause Action Plans reflect the needs of women managing menopause symptoms at work.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Imkaan’s research paper, Out of Sight Out Of Mind, published in March 2026, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are tacking health inequalities for Black and minoritised survivors of VAWG through commissioning by and for services.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

UN General Assembly Resolution A/80/L.48 on declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement as a crime against humanity

48th anniversary of the murder of Altab Ali

Hillsborough Law

Protection and restoration of ancient woodland

International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026

13th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh

Changes to State Pension age affecting 1950s-born women

BBC Charter review

International Mother Languages Day 2026

Billionaire wealth

Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr

Fipronil and Imidacloprid Pesticides

Ketamine

Industrial action and the cost of living

Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence law

Escalating settler violence in the West Bank

Restructuring at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Higher education funding (No. 2)

Israeli death penalty law and military courts

Animal protection disclosure scheme

Universal Credit health for under-22s

Illegal waste operations

Mehran Raoof

World Curlew Day

Planned reductions to BBC staff

Use of restraint of children in the asylum system removal process

Health and Social Care

Bermuda and oil industry tax

Impact of war in the Middle East on the cost of living

Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners

Palestinian Nakba commemoration march

Higher education pension cuts

Found: Labour; Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) Joani Reid (Independent; East Kilbride and Strathaven) Bell Ribeiro-Addy