Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Heads of Churches in the Holy Land on their (a) attendance at and (b) participation in the Israel-Palestine peace summit of 12 March 2026.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will announce further details in the near future of the 12 March conference to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine, including attendees, and I thank the Hon Member for her constructive proposals. On her letter of 7 November 2025, I apologise for the delay in responding, and I will ensure that a reply is with her shortly.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will reply to the letter of 7 November 2025 on Christianity in the Holy Land from the hon. Member for East Wiltshire and the hon. Member for and Lancaster and Wyre.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will announce further details in the near future of the 12 March conference to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine, including attendees, and I thank the Hon Member for her constructive proposals. On her letter of 7 November 2025, I apologise for the delay in responding, and I will ensure that a reply is with her shortly.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will visit Dr Sophie Nightingale at Lancaster University and her specialist lab investigating generative AI and its use to create sexual digital forgeries to discuss the contribution of that research to the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises and shares concerns about the proliferation of AI-enabled products and services that facilitate the creation of sexual forgeries, including deepfake non-consensual intimate images (NCII).
The Data (Use and Access) Act inserts new offences into the Sexual
Offences Act 2003, criminalising the creation and requesting the creation of
an intimate deepfake without consent (or reasonable belief in consent).
In addition to this offence, the Government announced that it will ban nudification apps and other tools designed to create synthetic NCII to stop victims’ images being tampered with and exploited without their consent. This was announced in the Freedom from Violence and Abuse: Cross-government Strategy to Build a Society for Women and Girls, which was published on 18 December.
The Home Office introduced world-leading measures, making the UK the first country to outlaw the possession, creation and distribution of AI tools for generating child sexual abuse material, as well as criminalising paedophile manuals that instruct others on developing such tools. We have also introduced an AI testing defence to help strengthen safeguards against AI models being used to create sexual digital forgeries.
We recognise the important role of academics in this space, including Dr. Sophie Nightingale, with whom Government officials have engaged. We look forward to continuing this engagement to combat and prevent AI-enabled harms.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of research by Dr Sophie Nightingale at Lancaster University into generative AI and its use to create sexual digital forgeries.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises and shares concerns about the proliferation of AI-enabled products and services that facilitate the creation of sexual forgeries, including deepfake non-consensual intimate images (NCII).
The Data (Use and Access) Act inserts new offences into the Sexual
Offences Act 2003, criminalising the creation and requesting the creation of
an intimate deepfake without consent (or reasonable belief in consent).
In addition to this offence, the Government announced that it will ban nudification apps and other tools designed to create synthetic NCII to stop victims’ images being tampered with and exploited without their consent. This was announced in the Freedom from Violence and Abuse: Cross-government Strategy to Build a Society for Women and Girls, which was published on 18 December.
The Home Office introduced world-leading measures, making the UK the first country to outlaw the possession, creation and distribution of AI tools for generating child sexual abuse material, as well as criminalising paedophile manuals that instruct others on developing such tools. We have also introduced an AI testing defence to help strengthen safeguards against AI models being used to create sexual digital forgeries.
We recognise the important role of academics in this space, including Dr. Sophie Nightingale, with whom Government officials have engaged. We look forward to continuing this engagement to combat and prevent AI-enabled harms.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions were issued for each drug categorised under the (a) (i) clonazepam and (ii) other benzodiazepines, (b) z-drugs, (c) antidepressants, (d) opioids, (e) pregabalin and (f) gabapentin drug groups in the last 12 months and the total number of unique identified patients for each drug.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHSBSA holds patient identifiable information for the number of items dispensed and claimed for reimbursement. The following table shows the total number of prescription items for clonazepam and other benzodiazepines, z-drugs, antidepressants, opioids, pregabalin, and gabapentin drug groups, as well as the percentage and number of unique identified patients for those drug groups for 2024/25:
Drug Group | Total number of prescription items | Total number of unique identified patients | Percentage of items where the patient has been identified |
Clonazepam | 1,073,708 | 84,379 | 98.19% |
Other benzodiazepines | 6,560,170 | 1,122,860 | 97.01% |
Clonazepam and other benzodiazepines | 7,633,878 | 1,193,477 | 97.17% |
Z-drugs | 4,888,101 | 721,641 | 98.20% |
Antidepressants | 92,642,110 | 8,888,229 | 99.25 |
Opioids | 39,015,440 | 5,559,691 | 98.99 |
Pregabalin | 9,607,609 | 851,696 | 99.44** |
Gabapentin | 7,413,842 | 783,591 | 99.44** |
Notes:
Patient count totals included in the table should not be aggregated.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85812, whether he plans to introduce his Department's proposed reforms to alcohol licensing through (a) legislative changes to the Licensing Act 2003 or (b) regulatory guidance.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is undertaking activity to implement the initial announcements made by the Chancellor on 26 November. Those include a guidance document (the National Licensing Policy Framework) which is already available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-licensing-policy-framework-for-the-hospitality-and-leisure-sectors and taking forward legislation to reform the Temporary Event Notices available to on-trade licensed premises. In addition, plans are being developed to assess the remaining recommendations made by the Taskforce and in relation to these the need for further legislation and guidance will be considered in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Questions 85811 and 85813, if he will publish all evidence received by the Licensing Taskforce (a) during meetings and (b) through written evidence or other stakeholder engagement.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is undertaking activity to implement the initial announcements made by the Chancellor on 26 November. Those include a guidance document (the National Licensing Policy Framework) which is already available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-licensing-policy-framework-for-the-hospitality-and-leisure-sectors and taking forward legislation to reform the Temporary Event Notices available to on-trade licensed premises. In addition, plans are being developed to assess the remaining recommendations made by the Taskforce and in relation to these the need for further legislation and guidance will be considered in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85808, if he will publish all responses received to the call for evidence on proposed licensing reforms.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 26 November an initial analysis of responses to a number of the Call for Evidence questions was published, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system. We will be publishing a summary of responses received to all of the call for evidence on proposed licensing reforms in the New Year.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85806, on what evidential basis his Department chose to issue a call for evidence rather than a consultation.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government invited views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system. A Call for Evidence ran for four weeks, primarily via an online survey, and this attracted a significant number of responses. Alongside discussions were held with key stakeholders to supplement the evidence we received. This process enabled us to elicit views and draw on evidence in relation to the key recommendations of the Licensing Taskforce.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support (a) LGBTQ+ clergy and (b) people considering entering ministry.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
Many dioceses now offer specific LGBT+ chaplaincy teams to offer specialised support to LGBT+ candidates, ordinands and clergy, with more in development. Dioceses work on this to locally developed plans, not national guidance or advice.
All candidates, ordinands and clergy receive support to discern and develop their vocation through their local church and clergy, through Diocesan Directors of Ordinands, Theological Education Institutions, and through archdeacons and bishops.
Dioceses also offer appropriate support, where required, for the wellbeing of clergy, including offers of counselling, retreats and sabbaticals.