Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to (a) ensure the funding of the BBC Monitoring service and (b) restore dedicated funding for BBC Monitoring by her Department.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the Rt Hon Member was told in the response of 10 February 2025 to Question 28444, the Government does not provide any funding to BBC Monitoring. That remains a matter for the BBC itself.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when her Department last published a report on religious persecution in Myanmar; and for what reason the frequency of such reports has reduced.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not produce reports on religious persecution in Myanmar.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to apply the principle of constructive dismissal, when applying the provisions of the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS), to veterans who resigned from the armed forces after being questioned about their sexual orientation and before they could be dismissed.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) was designed to address the broadest range of experiences possible to ensure the inclusion of, and a sense of closure for, all affected by the Ban. There are therefore two types of payment available under the FRS.

Those who were dismissed or administratively discharged from Service because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity are able to apply for the Dismissed and Discharged Payment.

Those who felt or experienced pressure to resign after being questioned, investigated or otherwise subject to other unacceptable experiences are able to apply instead for the Impact Payment. Applications for the Impact Payment are determined by the Independent Panel, which is able to consider all the available evidence, including the veteran's testimony, and award a payment based on the severity of the impact the applicant experienced.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to Work Capability Assessments on severely immunocompromised people who are recovering from (a) stem cell transplants, (b) CAR-T immunotherapy and (c) other long-term conditions resulting from treatments; and if he make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) statutory sick pay and (B) time taken to access other potential state benefits for those patients.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Pathways to Work Green Paper outlined our plan to end the link between capacity to work and additional financial support and the binary categorisation of claimants as “can or can’t work” by abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Instead, any extra financial support for health conditions in Universal Credit (UC) will be assessed via a single assessment – the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment (in England and Wales) – and be based on the impact of disability on daily living, not on capacity to work.

Due to its link with the PIP assessment, WCA abolition will not take place until after the Timms Review into PIP has reported. We are currently considering how the future system will operate and will provide further information in due course.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is designed to balance support for an individual when they are unable to work due to sickness or ill health, with the costs to employers of providing this support. The Government is strengthening SSP as part of our plan to Make Work Pay, ensuring the safety net of sick pay is available to those who need it most. We are doing this through the Employment Rights Act. From 6 April this year the changes we are making include:

• Removing the Lower Earnings Limit so more low-paid employees qualify.
• Removing the waiting period so SSP is paid from the first day of sickness.

As a result, up to 1.3 million low-paid employees will become eligible for SSP. The removal of the three-day waiting period will mean that all employees receive at least £60 extra at the start of their sickness absence. According to the Government’s impact assessment, these changes will also increase the total amount of sick pay paid to employees by approximately £420 million per year.

For PIP awards, we always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.  In most instances PIP awards can be backdated to the date of claim. 

PIP waiting times have decreased since August 2021, with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 16 weeks at the end of October 2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will provide the Intelligence and Security Committee with (a) correspondence and (b) a list of engagements between (i) Peter Mandelson, and (ii) other advisers to and (iii) representatives of (A) the British, (B) United States, and (C) Mauritian Governments concerning the future of the Chagos Islands, during the period in which Peter Mandelson served as British Ambassador to the United States.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to pause the passage of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill until after the (a) release and (b) full assessment of the Peter Mandelson files by the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill is essential for the protection of the UK's national security. Timings will be announced in the usual way.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the representations made by the Government to the Chinese authorities (a) before and (b) since the imposition of the 20-year prison sentence on Jimmy Lai; and what undertakings were sought and received about Jimmy Lai during the Prime Minister's visit to China.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the responses given in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February. We will continue to update the House on Jimmy Lai's case.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) intends to take to persuade (i) India and (ii) China to cease providing armaments to the Burmese military regime; and for what reason that regime's military attache has been permitted to remain in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK regularly raises the Myanmar crisis with China and other neighbouring countries, including at the UN Security Council (UNSC). Most recently, in December 2025, the UK convened a UNSC meeting, where we condemned military airstrikes against civilians. A summary is available on gov.uk at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/elections-under-the-current-circumstances-in-myanmar-risk-provoking-further-violence-uk-statement-on-myanmar

UK sanctions include a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, and our 19th round of sanctions in 2024 targeted companies involved in the procurement of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar Armed Forces. As a long-standing policy, we do not speculate on further enforcement action, or comment on individual personnel.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of differences between the (a) former State Administrative Council and (b) current State Security and Peace Commission in Myanmar as instruments of the Burmese military regime; and for what policy reason the sanctioning of the former body has not been carried forward to apply to its successor.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government uses sanctions to achieve a range of foreign and security policy objectives. We consider designations under our sanctions regimes, including the Myanmar Sanctions Regulations, as guided by the evidence and the objectives of the sanctions regime. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East during the Oral Statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, column 1291, if it remains his position that the most proximate and most potentially serious legal threat that could undermine the operations of the Diego Garcia military base is an adverse ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

We have always been clear that, if a long-term deal was not reached, there was a risk of further litigation being brought rapidly which could have had serious implications for the operation of the military base on Diego Garcia.

There are various avenues through which Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling, including under dispute provisions of treaties to which both States are parties or further arbitral proceedings against the UK under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). A ruling from such an arbitral tribunal would be legally binding on the parties to it.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the utility of the provisions of Article 298 of UNCLOS for protecting UK interests in a territorial dispute within the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in respect of (a) the Falkland Islands, (b) Gibraltar and (c) any other British Overseas Territory.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 12 February 2026 in response to Question 109960.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2026 to Question 113435 on BBC Monitoring: Finance, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of restoring dedicated funding for BBC Monitoring by her Department.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As stated in previous answers, the Government does not provide core funding for BBC Monitoring which is a matter for the BBC. However, when specific pieces of work are commissioned by Government, they are fully funded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase awareness of naloxone as an effective emergency treatment among (a) people at risk of opioid overdose and (b) people who may witness an opioid overdose.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone forms a key part of the Government’s plan to reduce drug‑related deaths, and we are committed to raising awareness of, and expanding access to, naloxone across the country.

In 2024, the Government amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. This legislation enables more services and professionals to supply naloxone, which in turn makes it easier for people at risk, and those close to them, to access it. We are continuing to work with the other United Kingdom nations and front-line services to ensure naloxone reaches all those who need it.

In addition to the changes made in 2024 to expand access, we recently launched a ten-week UK-wide public consultation on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone.

Increasing awareness of naloxone, and ensuring frontline services are trained to use it, is vital to reducing deaths from opioid overdoses. Last year, the Department published guidance on the GOV.UK website that sets out essential practical information such as who can supply naloxone, the products available, how to use naloxone and other basic lifesaving tools, and the training required.

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Team GB men's curling team's silver medal