Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether any goods, software, technology or equipment exported from the UK to Israel under extant export licences have been identified by his Department as being used for the operation, security, surveillance or management of Israeli prisons or detention facilities holding Palestinian detainees.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government would not issue or maintain an export licence where there is a clear risk the goods might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of Internal Humanitarian Law (IHL), including with respect to the treatment of detainees. Additionally, in light of the unlawful occupation, we will now refuse all licence applications to Israel for exports that materially contribute to the occupation.
We have also reviewed all extant licences for exports to Israel on the same basis. All licences are maintained under careful and continual review, and we can and will suspend or revoke licences where we assess them to be no longer compliant.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether any arms export licences for Israel which could materially contribute to the occupation of Palestine have been revoked since 8 September 2026.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has concluded that Israelâs ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful.
We have already suspended licences for equipment that might be used by the IDF in Gaza. This suspension remains in place. Additionally, we will now refuse all applications for exports that materially contribute to the occupation.
We have also reviewed all extant licences for exports to Israel on the same basis. All licences are maintained under careful and continual review, and we can and will suspend or revoke any that we assess materially contribute to the occupation.
No additional licences have been revoked or suspended since 8 September 2026. This is largely because licences for items that might materially contribute to the occupation have already been suspended because of Israelâs conduct in the Gaza conflict. We now have in effect an additional lock on relevant licences.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether there are any extant arms export licences for Israel that could be used to materially contribute to the occupation of Palestine.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has concluded that Israelâs ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful.
We have already suspended licences for equipment that might be used by the IDF in Gaza. This suspension remains in place. Additionally, we will now refuse all applications for exports that materially contribute to the occupation.
We have also reviewed all extant licences for exports to Israel on the same basis. All licences are maintained under careful and continual review, and we can and will suspend or revoke any that we assess materially contribute to the occupation.
No additional licences have been revoked or suspended since 8 September 2026. This is largely because licences for items that might materially contribute to the occupation have already been suspended because of Israelâs conduct in the Gaza conflict. We now have in effect an additional lock on relevant licences.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how many of the projects listed on the UKRI Gateway to Research portal awarded funding within each of the last five years involve the use of live animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UKRI Gateway to Research portal does not record whether projects involve the use of live animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Information is held separately by individual research councils and is not available as a UKRI-wide figure. The Medical Research Council identified 181 relevant grants in 2022, 166 in 2023, 155 in 2024 and 116 in 2025. Equivalent data for 2021 are unavailable. These figures exclude relevant research supported through MRC units and institutes, which is not reportable by calendar year. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council identified 74 relevant awards in 2021, 58 in 2022, 76 in 2023, 68 in 2024 and 56 in 2025.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how much funding his Department has provided to Government research councils for (a) animal-based research and (b) the development of non-animal experimentation methods in each of the last five years.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is not possible to provide an overall funding figure for research councils funding for animal-based research and the development of non-animal methods, as funding is not generally allocated to UKRI based on specific research approaches. UKRI funds research on the basis of scientific excellence and need. Through its standard funding processes, UKRI only supports research involving animals where no scientifically acceptable non-animal alternative exists and where researchers have properly considered and applied the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs). UKRI also supports non-animal approaches, including through investment in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to review whistleblower protection frameworks since 2015.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
In April 2026, important amendments to the Employment Rights Act 1996 came into force. These clarified that workers who âblow the whistleâ on sexual harassment can benefit from whistleblowing protections against detriment and unfair dismissal.
Additionally, the government commenced changes this June to update The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014, adding six new prescribed whistleblowing bodies and changing the remits of seven existing bodies. Keeping the framework up to date, gives workers greater confidence about where to raise concerns, and supports earlier detection of wrongdoing.
The government also plans to launch a consultation on whistleblowing.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to strengthen protections for individuals who cooperate with investigations into corporate misconduct.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Individuals who cooperate with investigations are protected from retaliation by their employer where their reporting qualifies as a âprotected disclosureâ (or whistleblowing) under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA).
The government intends to consult on the whistleblowing framework in the ERA.
Separately, employees are protected from unfair dismissal under the ERA. A dismissal may be unfair if the employer lacks a fair reason, follows an unfair procedure, or both. An employee who is dismissed for cooperating with an investigation into wrongdoing may be able to bring an Employment Tribunal claim for unfair dismissal, depending on the circumstances.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adding deceptive pricing to the list of commercial practices that are considered unfair in all circumstances under Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential merits of adding deceptive pricing to the list of commercial practices that are considered unfair in all circumstances under Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA).
The DMCCA requires traders to display prices inclusive of all taxes and unavoidable charges before payment is made. Prices must be accurate and not misleading. Failure to do this may be taken as an unfair trading practice and constitute an offence.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure that UK-manufactured military components exported to third countries are not transferred onward in ways that may breach (a) UK export control requirements and (b) the laws of transit countries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK assesses every export licence application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC). This includes an assessment on the risk of diversion of products to or through destinations subject to UK sanctions or arms embargoes.
Where an export transits or tranships other countries or territories enroute to its final destination, compliance with each countryâs legislation and regulations is a matter for the exporter and their freight forwarder. The scope and application of transit and transhipment controls is a matter for each countryâs own authorities.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of whether UK arms export controls comply with the domestic laws of partner countries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK assesses every export licence application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC). This includes an assessment on the risk of diversion of products to or through destinations subject to UK sanctions or arms embargoes.
Where an export transits or tranships other countries or territories enroute to its final destination, compliance with each countryâs legislation and regulations is a matter for the exporter and their freight forwarder. The scope and application of transit and transhipment controls is a matter for each countryâs own authorities.