Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what conversations she has had with her international counterparts on (a) the impact of global aid cuts to humanitarian aid and (b) the impact those cuts will have on landmine disposal.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a global programme supporting civilian victims of landmines.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of reducing humanitarian aid funding in Africa on landmine disposal.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will undertake a review of its explosive ordinance policies.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91776, and with reference to the UK’s commitments as a signatory of the Political Declaration on strengthening the protection of civilians from the humanitarian consequences arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, what steps his Department has taken to review and improve its ability to record and track civilian casualties, including children, using various methods of data collection.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK has robust targeting policies, practices and processes to ensure that all military operations are conducted in full compliance with our legal obligations and in a manner that reflects the UK’s clear commitment to the protection of civilians. UK forces observe all practicable precautions, conducting rigorous assessments before and after striking a target. The Ministry of Defence analyses all UK military activity, investigating any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian harm.
The UK are proud signatories of the 2022 Political Declaration on use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas and are party to Protocol Five of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Our existing practices are some of the most robust and transparent globally and are kept under close review, including for the potential impact of new methods and technologies.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will implement civilian harm tracking for explosive ordnance-related incidents in military operations.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK has robust targeting policies, practices and processes to ensure that all military operations are conducted in full compliance with our legal obligations and in a manner that reflects the UK’s clear commitment to the protection of civilians. UK forces observe all practicable precautions, conducting rigorous assessments before and after striking a target. The Ministry of Defence analyses all UK military activity, investigating any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian harm.
The UK are proud signatories of the 2022 Political Declaration on use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas and are party to Protocol Five of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Our existing practices are some of the most robust and transparent globally and are kept under close review, including for the potential impact of new methods and technologies.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of making patient records owned by the patient.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health records are not owned by patients, as the providers of care who create and maintain the records are the data controllers, although all patients have the right to access their records under the Data Protection Act 2018. Patients also have the legal right to ask for factual inaccuracies to be amended.
The general practice (GP) record can be viewed online on the NHS App, or by logging onto the National Health Service website. Individuals can alternatively contact their practice to view their record. To view a hospital record, individuals can ask the trust where they are a patient.
As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, we are developing a single patient record which will give patients greater control over their records, and act as a patient passport to seamless care. It will provide a single, secure, and authoritative account of their data by bringing together all of a patient’s medical information from different records in one place, for example GP and hospital data, and patients will be able to view the record securely on the NHS App and add their own data, for example from a wearable device.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the discharge process for patients in Surrey who are medically fit to leave hospital.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 identifies reducing delays in hospital discharge as a key priority. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/
Hospitals are expected to eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, to work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days, and to profile discharges by pathway to support local planning. In addition to this, we published a new policy framework on 30 January 2025 for the £9 billion Better Care Fund policy framework 2025 to 2026, which requires the National Health Service and local authorities to jointly agree local goals for reducing discharge delays. Further information on the Better Care Fund policy framework 2025 to 2026 is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-care-fund-policy-framework-2025-to-2026
We are working with trusts, integrated care systems, and local authorities to share and embed best practice and to help them to use performance data more effectively to address their discharge delays. The Local Government Association has published a range of guidance documents and high impact change models to support improvements to hospital flow and discharge processes, which can be found at the following link:
Officials held a call on 18 July 2025 with the Epsom and St. Helier Trust regarding the trust’s discharge challenges and proposed actions to improve the situation.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will introduce the prioritisation of cases involving rape and sexual offences in the court lists.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Decisions on listing are a matter for the independent judiciary, which already prioritises cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, including those relating to sexual offences. These cases are listed at the earliest opportunity.
The record allocation of sitting days this financial year will mean more rape and other sexual offence cases can be heard – delivering swifter justice for victims of such crimes. We also commissioned Sir Brian’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts and have announced a package of reforms designed to improve timeliness in the Crown Court and speed up justice for all victims, including victims of rape.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 2025 Key Stage 2 SATs results for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities; and what steps are being taken to help reduce disparities in attainment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is focused on securing an excellent education for every child and young person to enable them to achieve and thrive.
Following the government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review report, we are working on development of a reformed curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, ensuring those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) leave school with the skills and knowledge they need.
Our English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, and our Reading Ambition for All programme will improve outcomes for children in primary who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND. We are also expanding Continuing Professional Development for primary and secondary teachers to strengthen reading instruction for all pupils.
We know some children face real challenges in maths. That’s why we’re supporting schools through our national Maths hubs, helping teachers deliver effective, inclusive lessons.