Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK businesses do not benefit from child labour in Bangladesh.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to ending child labour globally, including in Bangladesh, and to ensuring UK businesses do not benefit from it.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) works with partners to engage businesses and investors to raise awareness of child labour risks in supply chains. This year, we have supported the Child Rights Action Hub in Bangladesh to reduce risks in informal, lower-tier supply chains. The Hub has trained 35 Child Rights Focal Points to identify child labour risks and strengthen community-based referral pathways. It has also engaged major textile industry associations to increase visibility of child labour risks in ready-made garment supply chains and promote sector-led action.
The FCDO's Asia Regional Child Labour Programme, our largest programme on child labour, supported interventions to reduce the vulnerability of children to exploitation across South Asia, including Bangladesh.
We will continue to work with international partners to accelerate progress towards ending child labour in line with Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to launch a consultation on cohabitation law reform.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government published its consultation, “A Fairer End to Relationships”, on Friday 5 June.
This consultation proposes some of the biggest reforms to family law in decades, bringing the law into the 21st century and increasing protection for millions.
The consultation seeks views on building a legal framework for cohabitants, one that reflects the realities of modern family life and safeguards the most vulnerable. Over 3.5 million couples live together without getting married or entering a civil partnership, a number that has more than doubled over the past three decades. Despite this, cohabiting couples and their children have very limited financial protection should a relationship end.
In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening the rights and protections available to women in cohabiting couples as part of our wider ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. The consultation is the first step towards reform.
The consultation will remain open until 14 August 2026, and is available at: A fairer end to relationships - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) provide humanitarian aid and (b) promote compliance with international humanitarian law in Lebanon.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I stated during the Urgent Question debate on 3 June, the UK is already one of the largest humanitarian donors in Lebanon, and has committed £30 million in additional humanitarian support to respond to this crisis through trusted partners, including the United Nations and the Lebanese Red Cross. We have been clear in our engagements with all parties that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected in line with international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the use of Artificial Intelligence for age-verification in Home Office applications will not increase incorrect decisions that could result in harm to children.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Assessing age is a complex task, and there is no one single or combination of techniques able to determine chronological age with precision. The Home Office wants to improve decision accuracy and safeguard vulnerable people. The Home Office has announced that Akhter Computers, working with Cognitec acting as a subcontractor, has been awarded a contract to provide Facial Age Estimation technology. Further testing and trialling of the technology is planned, with implementation subject to validation and assurance of the results of this testing.
Currently, FAE has not been operationalised. However, subject to the results of further testing and validation, FAE will be implemented throughout 2027. The Home Office’s current intention is to implement FAE as part of initial age decisions at the border. FAE is not intended to replace or automate the role of human age assessors. For initial age decisions, Immigration Officers’ expertise is critical to the decision making, and they will make the final decision. FAE will be an additional source of information to inform their judgement, not replace it.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, what plans she has to safeguard local authority-run schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ white paper sets out the unique and vital role local authorities play in delivery of high-quality education and opportunities for all children in their communities, including through working collaboratively with local partners to deliver responsibilities such as place planning, inclusion and safeguarding. As more schools join high-quality trusts, local authority-maintained schools will continue to play a central role in driving high and rising standards and in establishing trusts where appropriate.
The White Paper set out a move towards all schools being in a strong, high-quality trusts and sets out a new route for local authorities to establish trusts, utilising their unique capacity to build local partnerships across their communities in the best interests of all children. The department is working closely with local authorities which have expressed an interest in this proposal and will be setting out next steps shortly.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps is he taking to ensure that employment protections are adequate for the future, in the context of the potential for AI to replace some job roles.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT is working with DSIT and the AI Economics Institute to monitor impacts on jobs and skills. This will ensure we can respond quickly, alongside investment in training and lifelong learning, to help people adapt and prepare for future jobs.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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:
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.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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.