Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment the his Department has made of the effectiveness of the rehabilitation of those serving joint-enterprise convictions.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are committed to addressing the drivers of offending and reducing reoffending to protect the public and build safer communities. The rehabilitation offer, including for individuals whose conviction involves joint enterprise, is determined by their assessed risk and needs, ensuring interventions are targeted and proportionate.
Our approach is guided by the evidence, with the Ministry of Justice’s Reducing Reoffending Evidence Synthesis (2025) providing a comprehensive overview of what works to reduce reoffending. We work with local services and partners across government to support offenders in custody and the community to secure employment and stable accommodation, access treatment for drug and alcohol misuse, and develop the skills and behaviours needed to move away from crime.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the early release of people given sentences under joint-enterprise convictions.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The changes to release provisions under the Sentencing Act 2026 are based on offence type, and statutory exclusions. They do not distinguish between offenders on the basis of whether their conviction involved joint enterprise.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of UK-grown chickens in comparison with those farmed in other countries, particularly with regards to 1) animal welfare, 2) animal lifespan and premature mortality, and 3) food quality implications for humans on consumption.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the government is considering how we can support voluntary efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds. The Department has not made such assessments of comparison between UK-grown chickens and chickens reared abroad.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of differences in animal welfare and meat quality between UK-grown chickens and imported chicken meat sold in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the government is considering how we can support voluntary efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds. The Department has not made such assessments of comparison between UK-grown chickens and chickens reared abroad.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what further legislative actions her Department is considering to mandate or ban the use of specific breeds of chicken in UK farming.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently no plans to mandate or ban the use of specific breeds of chicken. As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the government is considering how it can support voluntary efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the scale of the use of fast-growing chicken breeds in the UK, both in terms of UK farming and UK retail sales.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current estimates are that around 95% of meat chickens in the UK are fast growing breeds. The Department has not assessed the scale of the use of fast-growing chicken breeds in the UK in terms of UK retail sales.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken and plans to take to support rescue efforts and humanitarian relief following the flooding on the Nepal-Tibet border.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is providing up to £5 million to support the most urgent humanitarian needs in Nepal, announced on 27 August by the Prime Minister. The funding will support the Government of Nepal's response efforts through a combination of UN, Red Cross and NGO interventions, alongside local and international responders providing emergency assistance. This includes £750,000 through the Red Cross movement for emergency assistance such as clean water, shelter and medical support; £1 million through Start Fund Nepal to help local organisations deliver lifesaving aid; £3 million through the UN to meet urgent humanitarian needs including shelter, WASH and Protection; and up to £250,000 to deploy UK humanitarian experts to strengthen coordination and the effective delivery of assistance. The UK has also deployed specialist humanitarian experts to Nepal to support and coordinate the response efforts. Following the floods, the Minister for the Indo-Pacific visited Nepal to meet with the Nepalese government, UN and other agencies.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of risk of further humanitarian disasters due to flooding around the Nepal-Tibet border 1) in the rest of 2026 and 2) in future years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) considers there to be a significant risk of further flooding in the high-mountain terrain along the Nepal-China border throughout the remainder of this year's monsoon season. This risk is likely to reduce during the colder, generally drier months of October to December. FCDO assesses that further landslide-related floods are possible during the remainder of this year, including as a result of the formation and sudden failure of barrier lakes. FCDO also assesses that there is a significant risk of flooding in future years. The scale of the humanitarian impact of flooding events would depend on their precise location, the size and density of population in the affected areas, and the effectiveness of monitoring, early warning systems and emergency preparedness.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress is being made towards establishing Fracture Liaison Services across all NHS trusts by 2030.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services by 2030, and outlines our vision for a more devolved health service.
We are acting across the whole pathway of fracture prevention. This includes improving access to diagnosis, supporting the adoption of effective treatments, and encouraging local systems to develop services that identify people at the highest risk of future fractures and intervene early.
We want integrated care boards (ICBs) to shape services for their localities, and we have set expectations that ICBs will prioritise community-based models when commissioning new services.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of adopting the legislative framework championed by Animal Free Research UK known as Herbie's Law.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government has assessed that the UK’s existing legal framework already requires animals to be used in science only where no validated alternative exists. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, we are accelerating the development, validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods, supported by investment, regulatory reform and strengthened delivery oversight. The strategy sets out a long-term vision to eliminate animal use in science in all but exceptional circumstances. While the Government keeps the legislative framework under review, our current priority is delivering this science-led programme rather than introducing further legislation.