Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much their Department has spent on X and xAI since July 2024.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The central communication team at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has spent £722.77 on X Premium since July 2024, to enable the posting of longer-form messages, which can be essential when communicating in crisis situations. There has been no paid advertising on X by the FCDO since April 2023. We do not hold a central record of spending by overseas posts on X services, and this information could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Make Work Pay: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposals on the administrative workload of SMEs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government will introduce the new trade union right of access in a regulated and responsible manner, ensuring it is workable for employers who receive requests for access. Our published impact assessment titled "Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and representation" provides a further assessment of why these reforms will not disproportionately affect micro or small businesses. In the consultation document, Make Work Pay: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, the government sought views on exempting employers with fewer than 21 employees. This would mean that micro-businesses and most small employers would not be within scope of the policy. We are carefully reviewing all responses to the consultation and will publish a formal response in due course.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department has spent on X and xAI since July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Paid advertising on X was suspended in April 2023 following a SAFE Framework assessment. X is currently used only for organic (non-paid) content to communicate policies and public services. No expenditure has been made by the Cabinet Office with X since July 2024.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on X and xAI since July 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Paid advertising on X was suspended in April 2023 following a SAFE Framework assessment. X is currently used only for organic (non-paid) content to communicate policies and public services.
No expenditure has been made by the Ministry of Justice with X since July 2024.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the consultation on rights of trade unions to access workplaces, how many responses did the consultation receive, and what percentage of those responses were from a) SMEs, b) other sized businesses, c) trade unions, and d) any other organisations.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is carefully reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish its formal response in due course. This will include a breakdown of respondents.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Make Work Pay: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, published on 23 October 2025, what discussions he has had with business organisations about the raising of the threshold to exempt SMEs with a headcount less than 250 employees.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As part of the consultation process, we engaged with business organisations and unions on proposals put forward in the public consultation, including the proposed exemption from statutory access provisions for employers of a certain size. We are carefully reviewing all responses to this consultation and will publish a formal response in due course.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department records the nationality and immigration status of people arrested for public order related offences at protests.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests in England and Wales by offence group as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series, available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK
However, as part of this collection data is not collected centrally on the nationality or immigration status of people arrested, or whether the arrest occurred at a protest.
While not routinely collected as part of the statistical data collection, in instances where the police believe the individual arrested is a foreign national, they should contact Immigration Enforcement’s National Control and Command Unit (NCCU). The contact would lead to the recording of details which would include the individual’s nationality. The details provided by the individual allow NCCU to complete an immigration status check to establish the person’s status in the UK, this would also be recorded on HO systems once established. To clarify, such a recording would only take place following contact from the police.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the dominant nationality principle was applied in the case of Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The principle to which the Hon Member refers was not relevant to the provision of consular support in this case and was not therefore applied.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on levels of investment in the UK defence industry of the requirement under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 that Paris-aligned Benchmarks and UK Climate Transition Benchmarks exclude companies involved in activities related to controversial weapons; and whether the Government has evaluated any wider (a) economic and (b) investment impacts of that requirement.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As set out in response to PQ UIN 43043 on 9 April 2025, The UK Benchmarks Regulation sets out the requirements for UK Climate Transition Benchmarks and UK Paris-aligned Benchmarks.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitors and supervises benchmark administrators according to the Benchmarks Regulation . The FCA published a statement regarding their position on sustainability regulations and UK defence investment on 11 March 2025.
The Treasury launched a consultation on the future regulatory regime for benchmarks and benchmark administrators on 17 December 2025. This consultation seeks views on proposals to reform the UK’s existing benchmarks regime, including the Climate Transition Benchmark and Paris-Aligned Benchmark labels.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of Defence Sector exclusions within the Parliamentary Pension Scheme portfolio and whether this is compatible with Government defence sector financial objectives.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund is independent from government and investment decisions are a matter for the scheme’s trustees.