Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to promote and enforce ethical business practices across global supply chains.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK has a range of measures in place to promote ethical business practices across global supply chains. In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review of the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on addressing human rights abuses, labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains. The review is objective and evidence‑based, examining both existing policies and potential alternative approaches. We shall update the House when the review is complete.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department are taking to promote human rights and environmental due diligence in global supply chains.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK has a range of measures in place to promote ethical business practices across global supply chains. In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review of the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on addressing human rights abuses, labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains. The review is objective and evidence‑based, examining both existing policies and potential alternative approaches. We shall update the House when the review is complete.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support pregnant women living in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected. Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out tangible actions and targets for delivery in this Parliament, which will act as milestones on the way to achieving our long-term vision to end homelessness and rough sleeping. We are providing over £3.6 billion in funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services from 2026/27 to 2028/29, which will help local areas deliver tailored solutions to tackle all forms of homelessness.

The law is clear that B&B accommodation is never suitable for pregnant women except for very short-term emergencies. The Homelessness Code of Guidance makes clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable to the household’s needs, and kept under review. Suitability is assessed by considering all aspects of the accommodation in light of the relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all pregnant people, including those experiencing homelessness, can access safe, personalised and equitable maternity care. That is why the Government is also working with councils and the NHS to end the practise of mothers with newborn babies being discharged into B&Bs or other unsuitable shared accommodation.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the health and wellbeing of children living in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, especially children.

The Child Poverty Strategy and our National Plan to End Homelessness set out our commitments to eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience gaps in health care provision or disruption to their education.

This includes our commitment to eliminate the unlawful use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families by the end of this Parliament and improve the supply of good quality temporary accommodation.

Alongside this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will provide the strongest protections in a generation, making sure vulnerable children are identified and supported. We are also introducing a new temporary accommodation notification duty, to inform schools and specified health providers when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, to allow additional or different support to be provided to these children.

We will ensure families in temporary accommodation are proactively contacted by health services, and have committed to introduce a new clinical code, to improve data and improve outcomes in temporary accommodation, and end the practice of discharging newborns into Bed and Breakfast or other unsuitable shared accommodation.

We have also set out our ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively. To achieve this, there will be a stronger role for pastoral teams to work closely with families in temporary accommodation including preventing unlawful removal from a school’s roll.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of rolling out the meningitis B vaccination to all children born before 2015.

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

As my Rt. Hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, told the House on 17 March in the context of the meningococcal disease outbreak in Kent, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has been asked to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines to assess, for example, an expanded offer to older children and/or young adults. The JCVI will provide updated advice to the Department this summer around whether, and to what extent, a vaccine programme for older children and/or young adults would be clinically effective. This will also include an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of such a vaccination programme. The JCVI is required to consider the cost-effectiveness of a vaccination programme as part of their code of practice, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation#code-of-practice-and-conflicts-of-interests

The JCVI gives advice to ministers based on the best evidence, reflecting current good practice and/or expert opinion. This involves a robust, transparent, and systematic appraisal of the available evidence from a wide range of sources. The JCVI aims to work with key stakeholders while maintaining the independence of committee processes and considerations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her counterpart in Sri Lanka regarding water pollution in Chunnakam; and what steps her Department has taken to support improvements in water quality in Sri Lanka.

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

We are aware of the continued concerns about water quality relating to the Chunnakam power plant in Jaffna. Our High Commission in Colombo regularly engages with the Sri Lankan authorities on water management and environmental issues and with local communities on environmental concerns.

The UK supports sustainable water management in Sri Lanka through the 'Improving Groundwater Management in the Jaffna Peninsula' Initiative implemented by the International Water Management Institute. The programme works with local communities, researchers and Sri Lankan government authorities and is helping communities better understand and manage water resources. Officials from our High Commission in Colombo most recently visited Jaffna in February 2026 to assess programme progress and engage with local stakeholders to hear their concerns.

National Emergency Briefing

Found: Harriett Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Catherine West

Found: oral representations: Mr Alistair Carmichael: Government support for the UK fishing industry Catherine West

Found: Harriett Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Catherine West

Found: Murphy (Labour, Basingstoke)* (added 27 Oct 2025) 23 of 33 (69.7%) Current members Attendance Catherine West

Found: Huddersfield West Yorkshire BV973186/1 Alfred West 02/08/1996 Margate Kent BV22005970/1 Barbara Catherine West

Found: Huddersfield West Yorkshire BV973186/1 Alfred West 02/08/1996 Margate Kent BV22005970/1 Barbara Catherine West

Found: Telegraph – Media 09 February 2026 British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) 10 February 2026 Catherine West