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 merits of prioritising aid for Christians and ethnic faith groups in Myanmar following the recent earthquake.

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

The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the earthquake in Myanmar, including ethnic and religious minorities.

The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground who can directly access affected populations and will prioritise the most in need.

The UK Government is committed to defending religious freedom for all in Myanmar. In April this year, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar, emphasising the importance of eliminating all forms of discrimination against ethnic and religious minority groups and stressing the importance of equal access to health services, education, livelihood opportunities, and basic services.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what types of humanitarian aid his Department is providing to Myanmar; and what assurance his Department has that the aid will reach those in need.

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

The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar. This includes up to £5 million to match the British public's generous donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground who can directly access affected populations. UK-funded food, water, healthcare and shelter supplies are already reaching affected areas, helping over 86,000 people so far.

Since the 2021 coup the UK has provided more than £170 million in live-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare and education support, and work to support civil society and local communities in Myanmar.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of microplastics in UK drinking water sources; and what steps he has taken to regulate and reduce microplastic pollution in the water supply chain.

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

Drinking water quality is a devolved matter and therefore I can only respond in relation to England.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published two research projects on microplastics in drinking water – one in January 2019 reviewing the potential risks from nanoparticles and microplastics and another in October 2022 looking at the removal of microplastics by drinking water treatment processes. This found that more than 99.99% of microplastic particles were removed through conventional drinking water treatment processes and that microplastics were present at very low levels in drinking water. Their contribution to total daily exposure, and presenting a potential risk to human health, was likely to be low or insignificant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended that routine monitoring of microplastics in drinking water was not necessary at this time.

The DWI published a report in December 2024 recommending revisions to some of the parameters listed in the drinking water regulations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining bee and pollinator populations on UK food production; and what steps he plans to take to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature. We are committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042.

For our pollinator species we are considering lessons learned from the recently completed review of our Pollinator Action Plan (PAP), which set out plans to fulfil the vision, aims and objectives of the National Pollinator Strategy over the last three-year period from 2021-24.

Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are stable.

Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase (a) funding and (b) other resources for enforcement agencies for the (i) detection and (ii) prevention of illegal meat imports at ports.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Border Force is responsible for securing our borders and officers have powers to stop and search vehicles and passengers at ports and airports. Border Force may call on Port Health Authorities for assistance in seizing any illegal meat detected. Border Force is funded by the Home Office.

We are not complacent about illegal meat smuggling, which may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities

This includes Defra’s offer of funding to Dover Port Health Authority to support Border Force with enforcement in 2025/26.

The Secretary of State is also working with Home Office and Border Force on plans to seize the cars, vans, trucks and coaches used by criminal gangs to smuggle illegal meat into our country and crush them so they can’t be used again.

90th anniversary of Edgarstown Accordion Band

65th anniversary of Girlguiding Waringstown

20th anniversary of the Upper Bann Fusiliers Flute Band

Publication of the Police Ombudsman’s Report on the Kingsmill Massacre

Grand Central Station, Belfast

Comments made by Kneecap

Incitement of violence against political representatives

Mass deportation of illegal migrants

70th anniversary of First Comber Presbyterian Church Girls Brigade

Glastry College success

Supreme Court ruling on legal definition of a woman

Omagh Bomb Inquiry

Belfast Giants

Trailblazers Powerchair Football Club

Found: Carla Lockhart (DUP), for example, argued that the bill would halt debate on how to “properly fund the

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart

Found: Allister Gavin Robinson Sammy Wilson Jim Shannon Alex Easton Robin Swann Mr Gregory Campbell Carla Lockhart