Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to identify, detain and seize vessels involved in transporting Russian oil in circumvention of international sanctions, including those operating as part of the so‑called shadow fleet; and what discussions his Department is holding with European partners on overcoming the legal and political barriers to the release of frozen Russian state assets held in Europe for use in support of Ukraine.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In response to the first question, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on 10 April in response to Question 123071, and on 28 January in response to Question 106997. In response to the second question, the UK and wider G7 countries have committed to ensuring that Russian sovereign assets remain immobilised across our jurisdictions until Russia ceases its war of aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. We will continue to work with international partners to ensure Ukraine gets the support it needs.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason wholesale electricity prices are set by gas‑fired generation under the marginal pricing system; and what assessment he has made of the impact of this pricing structure on household energy bills.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Our recent announcement on 21 April set out several measures that will help break the link between the price of gas and the price of electricity. These measures include voluntary long term fixed contracts and an updated Electricity Generators Levy.

Marginal pricing is a description of how competitive commodity markets function. It is the foundation of all commodity markets across the OECD. Marginal pricing incentivises the cheapest sources of energy production to provide as much power as possible, more expensive producers are only used when it is necessary to meet demand. The issue is that we are too often relying on gas to provide our power.

Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the amount of time when gas is setting the price and will help to rapidly decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements. This will in turn reduce the exposure of consumer bills to volatile international prices.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what contingency plans are in place to protect fuel supply, heating oil availability, fertiliser supplies and food distribution in Wales in the event of prolonged disruption to global oil and gas supply routes, including through the Strait of Hormuz.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK benefits from a diverse and resilient fuel supply chain and remains well supplied across all fuel types. The Government works closely with industry to monitor supply, demand, and market conditions.

Government’s long-standing contingency plans include the National Emergency Plan for Fuel. A summary of the plan is published on gov.uk and sets out measures to respond to supply and distribution disruption, ensuring that, in the unlikely event of a sustained disruption, fuel can be prioritised for essential services and critical supply chains.

The Government does not assess that the current situation warrants, or is approaching, the threshold for the use of emergency powers.

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 scale of spoofing scams using UK telephone numbers; and whether she plans to strengthen obligations on network operators to prevent fraudulent number allocation and misuse.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The most recent Ofcom research on the scale of spoofing calls reveals that in February 2025, two in five phone users said they received a suspicious call in the last three months. Tackling fraud and pursuing the criminals behind it is a priority for the government. We are working closely with industry and regulators to reduce spoofing and other forms of telecoms-enabled fraud.

In November 2025, the Government published the second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, signed by major mobile network operators including BT EE, Virgin Media O2, and VodafoneThree. Through the Charter, signatories' committed to measures to tackle spoofing, including adopting common standards to reduce fraud and abuse across all network-originated messaging channels.

As the independent regulator, Ofcom also consulted in 2025 on proposals to strengthen rules on overseas calls that falsely present UK numbers, including updates to its Calling Line Identification Guidance. The Government supports this work and continues to engage with Ofcom and industry to protect customers. More recently, on 9 March 2026, the Home Office also published its new Fraud Strategy which sets out how the Government will work with all partners, including law enforcement and industry, to make the UK a much harder place for criminals to operate.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of online safety protections for vulnerable adults, including neurodivergent adults such as those with autism and ADHD; and whether she plans to take steps to improve safeguarding and platform accountability.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act places legal duties on platforms to make their services safer for all users, including vulnerable adults and those that are neurodivergent.

Services are required to protect users from illegal content and activity online, which may impact vulnerable adults disproportionately. In addition, the largest services will also have additional duties put on them, to offer adults user empowerment tools. These will allow adults to have greater control over their online experience.

Ofcom has robust enforcement powers and we have been clear that Ofcom has the government’s full backing to take enforcement action.

We continue to build on the Act to keep users safe online, such as making content that promotes self-harm priority offences.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what reason YouTube has not been included in the Government’s online safety and age assurance pilot programmes; and whether YouTube is expected to be included in any future iterations of those pilots.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The decision not to include YouTube as part of the Government’s child social media pilot study was due to the use of the platform by schools and youth organisations for teaching and other educational purposes.

Next steps will be considered once the current studies have concluded.

Found: Chadwick (Liberal Democrat; Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru; Caerfyrddin) Gill German

Submit Evidence (by 15 Jun 2026)

Policing in Wales is reserved to the UK Government, with the Home Office bearing responsibility for publishing the most pressing national crime threats and how police forces ought to respond to them (the Strategic Policing Requirement), presenting the Annual Police Grant Report to Parliament for approval, and holding Police and Crime Commissioners accountable.

Submit Evidence (by 19 Jun 2026)

Once a major industry in Wales, mines extracting metals like zinc, lead and gold are now largely abandoned. But metals from these mines can discharge into local rivers, streams and lakes, damaging local plant and animal biodiversity and possibly impacting human health.