Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of insecurity in Mali on Christian communities; and what steps her Department is taking with international partners to support the protection of displaced religious minority communities.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is gravely concerned at the fragile security situation in Mali, including reports of rising attacks against religious minority groups. We raise our concerns about protection of minority communities and social cohesion directly with the Government of Mali. We also provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance including projects dedicated to protection of civilians across the Sahel: last financial year the UK provided over £177 million of bilateral Official Development Assistance to the region.
More broadly, the UK continues to champion Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, and we deplore the persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside the persecution of other groups. We regularly highlight FoRB violations through our position at the UN, the G7, and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he has plans to provide financial assistance to small electrical contractors to enable them to comply with the revised Electrotechnical Assessment Specification; and if he will extend the October deadline for compliance, including to ensure training can be completed.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS) is an industry agreed specification, and decisions on the detailed requirements and implementation timelines, including the October compliance deadline, are therefore primarily a matter for industry. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government sits on the EAS management committee.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
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 adequacy of the availability of specialist paediatric neurorehabilitation services; and whether he is taking steps to improve access to intensive rehabilitation for children recovering from acquired brain injury, brain tumours and other neurological conditions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialist paediatric neurorehabilitation services are commissioned in line with the service specification published by the NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group for Paediatric Neurosciences. The service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Paediatric-Neurorehabilitation.pdf
The service specification sets out a national, multidisciplinary model for delivering intensive rehabilitation tailored to the needs of children with acquired brain injury (ABI), including those with brain tumours, as well as children with other neurological conditions. The service specification provides a framework for integrated, specialist paediatric neurorehabilitation, centred on early and intensive intervention, coordinated care across acute, specialist, and community settings, and sustained support throughout childhood, including transition to adult services.
As part of NHS England’s service specification review programme, the Paediatric Neurosciences Clinical Reference Group is currently reviewing the service specification. This work includes engagement with individual paediatric neurorehabilitation services to inform an updated model of care and to assess current provision and access. This review will support improvements in access to high-quality, intensive rehabilitation and ensure services are responsive to the needs of children and young people across England.
In October 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published new guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, including ABI. The guideline covers children and young people as well as adults. NICE guidelines are informed by clinical expertise, are evidence-based, and represent best practice. The Government expects commissioners and service providers to take NICE guidance fully into account in designing services that meet the needs of their local population and to work towards their implementation over time.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to enable community energy schemes to sell power directly to households and businesses in nearby communities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role of community energy in delivering net zero and is working with Ofgem to address regulatory barriers, including routes to market. Through delivering on commitments in the Local Power Plan, we are working with Great British Energy to explore measures to make it easier for community energy groups to participate in local energy markets.
The department, Ofgem and wider energy industry has also been working to make changes to industry rules to support the local trade of energy. This includes work on rule P441, standardising the classification of local energy sites to provide a regulatory footing that will clarify the rules of setting them up. Further updates and outcomes from this work will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to her Nicaraguan counterpart on the release of Efrén Antonio Vílchez López.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the UK's statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 16 March, we remain deeply concerned by the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Nicaragua. This includes ongoing harassment and the arbitrary detention of members of the Church. We will continue to monitor developments closely and urge the Nicaraguan authorities to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, including those held because of their faith or belief.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations she to the Government of Russia on the prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses and other peaceful religious groups under extremism legislation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government champions freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad and regularly condemns the Kremlin's dire domestic human rights record in international fora. Last month, the UK and its allies at the OSCE reiterated our call for the Russian authorities to release all political prisoners and repeal their extensive repressive legislation, and the UK's Human Rights Ambassador condemned the continuing deterioration in the Kremlin's domestic human rights record. The UK will continue to call on the Russian Government to uphold its international commitments on FoRB, and to end its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses, and other religious minorities.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which company's commercial plans to supply broadband in Godshill prompted the decision to remove Godshill from the contract with Wessex Internet as part of Project Gigabit.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through Project Gigabit, we are delivering gigabit-capable broadband to premises not included in suppliers’ commercial delivery plans. Suppliers provide details of their commercial build plans to Building Digital UK (BDUK), the part of DSIT responsible for Project Gigabit, on a confidential basis.
This avoids individual suppliers being able to gain access to the specific plans submitted by other suppliers and helps maintain confidence from suppliers to engage in this process with BDUK, which they undertake on a voluntary basis. As a result, we are unable to confirm which suppliers have included Godshill in their commercial delivery plans.
BDUK is now reviewing the latest evidence from all suppliers, and if it confirms that there are no longer any commercial plans for Godshill, the premises will be reclassified as being eligible for public subsidy.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will remove the requirement to set up a personal injury trust, placed on awards from Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for the purposes of Universal Credit, if claimants with such awards are to benefit from the capital disregard beyond one year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Lump sum compensation payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme are treated as personal injury capital and are disregarded for 12 months, reflecting longstanding rules across means-tested benefits and allowing time to protect funds intended to meet long-term needs. Where payments are placed into a trust or annuity, they are disregarded indefinitely, meaning the system already provides a mechanism to protect compensation in the long term.
Carers who provide unpaid care for at least 35 hours per week for a severely disabled person may get a carer element as part of their Universal Credit award. DWP is working with the Ministry of Defence to strengthen guidance and improve awareness, ensuring individuals understand their options to protect compensation at the point of award.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 12-month limit on capital disregard applied to Armed Forces Compensation Scheme lump sum payments in Universal Credit on injured veterans and their families with caring responsibilities when a personal injury trust has not been entered into.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Lump sum compensation payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme are treated as personal injury capital and are disregarded for 12 months, reflecting longstanding rules across means-tested benefits and allowing time to protect funds intended to meet long-term needs. Where payments are placed into a trust or annuity, they are disregarded indefinitely, meaning the system already provides a mechanism to protect compensation in the long term.
Carers who provide unpaid care for at least 35 hours per week for a severely disabled person may get a carer element as part of their Universal Credit award. DWP is working with the Ministry of Defence to strengthen guidance and improve awareness, ensuring individuals understand their options to protect compensation at the point of award.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made regarding the protection of Christian communities and other religious minorities in Sudan .
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to use our position as penholder at the UN Security Council and leader of the core group on Sudan at the Human Rights Council to keep a spotlight on, and take actions in response to, the human rights situation in Sudan. In November 2025, our Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), David Smith MP, made a statement at the event held in Czechia to mark the fifth anniversary of the Article 18 Alliance, laying out the UK's ambitious FoRB strategy and reinforcing our belief that FoRB is central to global stability, including in Sudan.