Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Nigeria.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Humanitarian needs in Nigeria remain high, particularly in the northern states. The protracted humanitarian crisis in Nigeria's North East continues to displace people, disrupt livelihoods and hinder access to essential services. There are an estimated 7.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance across the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. In Nigeria's North West escalating insecurity is worsening the humanitarian situation in the region. Malnutrition remains a significant humanitarian challenge in Nigeria, with four in ten Nigerian children stunted due to malnutrition. In response, the UK's Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP), reaches approximately 1 million people with the most severe humanitarian needs. This includes providing critical assistance in the Lake Chad Basin, one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with chip businesses on chip import tariffs.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s semiconductor sector which is one of the frontier technologies identified under the Industrial Strategy Digital and Technologies Sector Plan.
During his time at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Secretary of State and his Department had regular engagements with the UK semiconductor industry.
As part of an ongoing analysis of potential import tariffs, both the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Business and Trade are in close contact with companies in the sector in order to provide a measured and appropriate response should this be necessary.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of attacks against Christian communities in Sudan; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure the (a) protection of places of worship and (b) promotion of religious freedom in that country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to championing Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. The Government's strategy on FoRB was published in July and is firmly rooted within our overall approach to human rights and governance. The Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith, made a statement at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 4 March, highlighting our concerns regarding the coercion of non-Muslims in Sudan to change their beliefs through denial of work, food aid, and education. He has also visited Port Sudan three times since December 2024 to press the parties to comply with the Jeddah Declaration of Commitments to Protect Civilians from continued atrocities. We will be raising this issue again at the UNHRC next month when, as part of the Sudan Core Group, we push for a renewal of the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan's mandate - an impartial mechanism that investigates human rights violations and abuses. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Officials have also spoken with representatives from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on different occasions since the start of the conflict. We have used these exchanges to request that their leadership make every effort to protect civilians and cease atrocities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, how many churches are listed places of worship.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
There are approximately 16,200 Church of England churches, over 12,000 of which are listed. Of those listed churches, around 4,300 are listed at the highest level of Grade 1, making the Church of England responsible for about half of the Grade I listed buildings in the country.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people on the top level of incapacity benefit have joined a coaching scheme to help get them back into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
There are several schemes for individuals in the Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Related Activity group (UC LCWRA) or Employment Support Allowance Support Group which may use some coaching to support individuals back to work. Examples include Additional Work Coach Support, Work and Health Programme, WorkWell, Connect to Work and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies. However, these schemes are personalised to the needs of the individual and therefore coaching is only one of many ways to help get them back to work.
The published report “The impact of additional Jobcentre Plus support on the employment outcomes of disabled people” March 2025 includes some of the most recent relevant analysis on employment support for those on UC LCWRA.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on the adequacy of police resources allocated to tackling fraud.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling fraud is a clear priority for this Government, and I am committed to working with police forces to ensure resources are in place to effectively combat this crime and support victims.
That is why we are publishing a new, expanded Fraud Strategy to strengthen our national response to this crime.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the enforced disappearances and murder of religious and social leaders in Calamar municipality; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help uphold freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer of 17 July 2025 to question 66106 regarding these murders in Calamar municipality, Guaviare Department.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps her Department has taken to help prevent shipments of illicit oil to the UK.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC leads on the enforcement of trade sanctions at the border. The department implements controls to help prevent goods being exported or imported in breach of sanctions and respond to breaches when these do occur.
At UK ports and airports, HMRC in partnership with Border Force carries out targeted risk and intelligence-based checks to ensure traders are compliant with sanction measures and identify potential breaches. This includes checking certain goods being imported into the country or exported to non-sanctioned countries to ensure there’s no evidence that these goods will be diverted to a sanctioned country.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that television documentaries that contain pornographic scenes are (a) censored and (b) blocked.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Broadcast regulation is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom. The Broadcasting Code prohibits material equivalent to the British Board of Film Classification R18-rating. Adult sex material, as defined by Ofcom, must not be broadcast at any time other than between 10pm and 5.30am on channels with mandatory restricted access, such as requiring a PIN.
Broadcasters must ensure that material broadcast after the 9pm watershed, which contains images and/or language of a strong or explicit sexual nature, but is not ‘adult sex material’, is justified by the context. Representations of sexual intercourse must not occur before the watershed, unless there is a serious educational purpose.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to uphold free speech in universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom in universities. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, confirmed to Parliament on 15 January the government’s plans for the future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will create a more proportionate, balanced and less burdensome approach to protecting academic freedom and freedom of speech.
On 28 April, the Secretary of State for Education signed commencement regulations, bringing the following provisions into force on 1 August 2025: