First elected: 4th July 2024
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
End the use of cages and crates for all farmed animals
Gov Responded - 17 Feb 2025 Debated on - 16 Jun 2025 View Iqbal Mohamed's petition debate contributionsWe think the UK Government must ban all cages for laying hens as soon as possible.
We think it should also ban the use of all cage and crates for all farmed animals including:
• farrowing crates for sows
• individual calf pens
• cages for other birds, including partridges, pheasants and quail
Ban non-stun slaughter in the UK
Gov Responded - 10 Jan 2025 Debated on - 9 Jun 2025 View Iqbal Mohamed's petition debate contributionsIn modern society, we believe more consideration needs to be given to animal welfare and how livestock is treated and culled.
We believe non-stun slaughter is barbaric and doesn't fit in with our culture and modern-day values and should be banned, as some EU nations have done.
These initiatives were driven by Iqbal Mohamed, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Iqbal Mohamed has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Iqbal Mohamed has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Iqbal Mohamed has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Iqbal Mohamed has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation, and the Government is taking action to harness its economic benefits for UK citizens. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs. Through well-designed and implemented regulation, we can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.
Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation, and the Government is taking action to harness its economic benefits for UK citizens. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs. Through well-designed and implemented regulation, we can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We share your ambition to ensure that young people in Dewsbury get the opportunities to benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.
We recognise that grassroots facilities are at the heart of communities up and down the country and are acting to support more people to get active wherever they live. On 21 March we announced £100 million funding to be delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, supporting high-quality, inclusive facilities across the UK.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We share your ambition to ensure that young people in Dewsbury get the opportunities to benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.
We recognise that grassroots facilities are at the heart of communities up and down the country and are acting to support more people to get active wherever they live. On 21 March we announced £100 million funding to be delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, supporting high-quality, inclusive facilities across the UK.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I continue to engage with special educational needs and disabilities charities, stakeholders and parents and carers on a wide variety of issues, including through weekly engagement sessions via webinars, meetings and visits. We also conduct roundtables with charities and campaigners, the most recent of which was in June.
These engagements will carry on throughout the White Paper consultation period into the autumn and beyond.
The government has committed to enhancing the capability of mainstream schools to better support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
We are encouraged by emerging examples of effective collaboration, where special schools are working in partnership with mainstream settings to share specialist expertise.
Through our Change Programme, we are currently piloting approaches whereby alternative provision settings provide outreach support to mainstream schools. The insights gained from these pilots will inform future policy development and help shape sustainable, effective partnerships between mainstream schools and specialist SEND providers.
The department collects information from local authorities on the number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments carried out and the number of EHC plans issued on a calendar year basis. The latest figures we hold relate to the 2023 calendar year. Information for the 2024 calendar year will be published on 26 June.
The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments and the number of EHC plans issued within the statutory timeframe of 20 weeks from the date of the request for EHC needs assessment is given for Kirklees local authority in the table available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2a676326-624e-4d03-96c7-08dd85738b16.
The Government recently announced plans to tighten up the regulation of those who transport and manage waste services, moving them from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will give the Environment Agency a greater range of powers and more resources to be able to take action against those operating illegally. It will also introduce the possibility of up to 5 years imprisonment for those who breach these new laws.
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) estimated in 2021 that waste crime costs the economy in England about £1 billion per year. The ESA estimate that of that cost illegal waste exports amount to at least £42 million per year. (see here: ESA_Cost_of_Waste_Crime.pdf.)
Targeting Winter Fuel Payments was a difficult decision, but the right decision given the challenging public finances. The Government is, however, protecting pensioners on the lowest incomes. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or other qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 or over.
A very wide range of factors impact changes in mortality. Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.
We are working with colleagues in The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to finalise the publication of algorithmic transparency records for existing tools as well as tools being considered for future deployment in the DWP.
The average time to process a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeal for all PIP appeals registered in the Dewsbury and Batley constituency since PIP was introduced can be found below.
Mean appeal processing time (weeks) | Median appeal processing time (weeks) |
31 | 29 |
Source: PIP Administrative Data
Notes:
There will be no immediate changes. Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity in to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.
We recognise that as a department we come into contact with some claimants who have complex needs or are vulnerable. The department already has processes in place to support and safeguard people who use our services, and we will continue to provide this support as changes are taken forward. We want to go further so that there is a clear and transparent process in place to ensure vulnerable individuals are adequately supported. In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we have committed to undertaking a thorough review of our current approach to safeguarding, with the aim of developing and implementing a new departmental wide approach.
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs, including the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, which covers the Stafford constituency, are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that, in future, services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
One of the three shifts that the 10-Year Health Plan will deliver is the shift of healthcare from the hospital into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative and end of life care, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
The Department understands the importance of rapid patient access to new medicines for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and has worked with NHS England to consider the issues raised by the givinostat early access programme. The first National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) committee meeting for givinostat took place on 10 July 2025, with a provisional date for a decision in September. If the manufacturer, Italfarmaco, can offer a cost-effective price to enable a positive NICE recommendation, NHS England is ready to work with the company to explore immediate funding options for the treatment.
Although medicines administered via company-sponsored early access programmes (EAPs) are licensed, EAPs do not share common clinical, data, or regulatory standards, meaning each one demands a new protocol to be devised and delivered by each participating trust, and that can create significant pressures on clinical and financial resources.
It would not be appropriate for the Government or NHS England to issue any form of national direction around the participation in these early access programmes as it would both pre-empt and undermine the role of NICE, whose very purpose is to advise the National Health Service on whether or not particular treatments should be made routinely available on the NHS.
The Government does, however, support patients getting early access to new, innovative medicines through established routes such as the Early Access to Medicines Scheme.
The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs as a priority, and health equity as a cross-cutting theme. The Department understands the importance of rapid patient access to new medicines for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and has worked with NHS England to consider the issues raised by the Givinostat early access programme.
We are also working to review the effectiveness of access schemes for rare disease therapies. This will focus on the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, and the Innovative Medicines Fund, but will broadly consider access to rare disease therapies.
The agreement to cease further military action reached on 10 May was hugely welcome. Risks remain and it is important that steps are taken to build regional stability. The Foreign Secretary visited Islamabad on 16 May and Delhi on 7 June and continues to engage with his counterparts in both countries.
It is critical for all actors and international partners to work to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Indus River system. The UK Government stands ready to offer its support to India and Pakistan in their efforts to ensure the sustainable and equitable management of the Indus River system in the face of a changing climate.
The Government condemns settler violence, and we are clear that the Israeli government must crack down on settler violence, stop settlement expansion, halt demolitions of Palestinian homes and reject annexation of the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise the rights of Palestinians and the need for Israel to hold settler violence to account in his engagements with Israeli counterparts. We have always been clear that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and harm prospects for a two-state solution. The demolitions of Palestinian homes causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians. In all but the most exceptional of cases, demolitions by an occupying power are contrary to international law. Israel must cease its policy of demolitions and provide a clear route to construction for Palestinians in Area C.
As the Foreign Secretary said to the House on 20 March, we strongly oppose Israel's resumption of hostilities and urgently want to see a return to a ceasefire. We have been clear that Hamas must release all the hostages, negotiations must resume and in all scenarios Israel must allow the entry of humanitarian aid. We are appalled by recent attacks on aid workers and their premises - they must be protected and never targeted. The Government of Israel must urgently ensure that effective deconfliction mechanisms are in place to enable them to conduct their lifesaving work safely. We've repeatedly called on Israel at the UN and elsewhere to immediately allow urgently-needed aid back into Gaza. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer on 20 March and to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 21 March and pressed them to reopen humanitarian access, restore a ceasefire and work for a negotiated path forward, and has discussed the situation with UN leadership.
The UK strongly opposes Israel's recent resumption of hostilities. The Foreign Secretary has been engaged in intensive diplomacy since to restore a ceasefire, get hostages out and aid in. He has spoken to US Secretary Rubio, to EU High Representative Kallas, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar and will shortly speak to Palestinian Prime Minister Mustafa. On international law the Foreign Secretary, with his French and German Counterparts, has publicly urged Israel to uphold its obligations and warned Israel that its block on aid to Gaza risks violating International Humanitarian Law.
HMRC operates a risk-based model for customs compliance which is designed to support the flow of compliant international trade, while maintaining effective controls to collect revenue, protect the UK economy and wider society from harm and uphold the UK’s reputation as a trusted trading partner.
Imported and exported goods must be declared to HMRC and are subject to risk-based controls and verification. There are additional controls and restrictions on goods imported from and exported to certain countries, including those subject to arms embargoes and sanctions.
The controls and verification are tailored to the underlying risks but may include physical examinations of goods at the time of import or export and/or documentary checks.
HMRC collects the UK’s international trade in goods data and publishes this as two accredited official statistics series on gov.uk.
The issues with RAAC are longstanding and well known.
All building owners are responsible for managing building safety and performance risks of all kinds in their buildings, including RAAC, in a proportionate, risk-based, and evidence-based manner, and acting where they deem necessary. To do so, they should continue to follow guidance published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) to identify, assess, and manage RAAC.
Local authorities are responsible for managing their own budgets and delivering on their responsibilities, including their duty as building owners to manage risks in their buildings to keep the public safe. There are no current government schemes or funds available to address RAAC in sports centres. I look forward to meeting the Honourable Member soon to discuss this issue further.