Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for a Government response to the Petition of more than 32,000 signatures delivered to 10 Downing Street by the New Forest Together campaign on 7 September 2026.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government remains committed to local government reorganisation and to delivering simpler, more sustainable local government. The petition has been received and the Government will provide a response following consideration of the issues raised.
Since the petition was presented, the previous decision for Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton has been withdrawn and all proposals for the area remain under consideration. We will provide a further update by Christmas, and every area will have an outcome by early 2027.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she will take to protect council staff from bullying; whether sanctions against such misconduct will be specified in legislation to strengthen the standards and conduct regime for local authorities, and when such legislation will be introduced.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government Response to the ‘Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England’ consultation, published on 11 November 2025, set out our intention to legislate for whole-system reform of the local government standards regime. The reforms include the introduction of a mandatory code covering issues such as discrimination, bullying and harassment, and social media use, as well as strengthened sanctions of suspension and withholding allowances for serious misconduct.
Government will bring forward the necessary legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral statement of 2 November 2026 on Immigration: Earned Settlement, what estimate she has made of the relative deterrent effect on immigrants if they are informed in advance that they will be (a) able to stay though denied Indefinite Leave to Remain for thirty years and (b) unable to stay and speedily deported; and whether she has any plans for speedy deportation under such circumstances.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has not made an estimate of the relative deterrent effect described. The purpose of the earned settlement reforms is to ensure that settlement is earned through contribution, integration and compliance, while discouraging the use of dangerous, unsafe and illegal routes to the UK.
Under the new model, the standard qualifying period for refugees who have not come through a safe and legal route will be 20 years, with a further 10 years added for those who entered the UK illegally. Those who work or study will be able to earn settlement earlier. A longer qualifying period for settlement does not, however, confer permission to remain in the UK for that period.
If a person has no lawful basis to remain, they will be expected to leave the country. Where they do not leave voluntarily, the Home Office will take enforcement action and pursue removal as quickly as the law allows.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent comparative assessment his Department has made of the levels of Russian military threat to UK interests (a) during 1979 to 1989 and (b) currently.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Defence continuously reviews and assesses the threat from Russia to the UK, including both its military capability and intent.
The threat now is most clearly demonstrated through Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its clear willingness to use military force in support of its objectives. Russia also poses a threat beyond Ukraine, including its continued development of military capabilities that can threaten the UK and our Allies, through to persistent hybrid activity including espionage, sabotage, cyber and information operations.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department has issued to general practitioners for treating armed forces veterans; and what assessment she has made of the impact on the formulation of this guidance of NHS England's recent recognition that mefloquine toxicity exists, with particular reference to screening questions investigating whether the antimalarial drug lariam has previously been prescribed.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is developing guidance for clinicians on screening for previous mefloquine use, drawing on relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. Subject to completion of NHS England’s internal governance processes, the guidance will be published on the NHS Armed Forces Training and Education Programme library website. The Royal College of General Practitioners has agreed to include the guidance within the resources available to GPs through the Veteran Friendly GP accreditation scheme.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the United Kingdom's declaration, under Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to exclude military activities from the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea applies both to (a) the Falkland Islands and (b) Diego Garcia.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The UK's declarations pursuant to Article 298, paragraph 1, of UNCLOS apply to all the Overseas Territories of the UK to which UNCLOS has been extended, including the Falkland Islands and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to designate the Houthis as a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
While we keep the list of proscribed organisations under review, it is the Government’s long-standing position not to comment on whether or not a specific organisation is being considered for proscription. Decisions to proscribe are taken only after a rigorous process in close consultation with operational partners, based on the best available intelligence and a careful assessment against the statutory test set out in the Terrorism Act 2000.
The UK continues to work very closely with our international partners to address shared security threats. Each nation operates under its own legal framework, and any UK decision on proscription must be taken independently by the Home Secretary, in accordance with the Terrorism Act 2000.
The UK remains deeply concerned by the renewed escalation in Yemen. We have been clear in condemning Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the renewed fighting in Yemen, while continuing to call for immediate de- escalation and a return to the UN-led political process.
There can ultimately be no military solution to the conflict. The only sustainable way forward is political and diplomatic, and we remain in close contact with Saudi Arabia, the internationally recognised Government of Yemen and other partners as we work to restore stability and protect regional security
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission a review by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs of the available evidence upon which psilocybin (a) was originally and (b) is currently classified as a Schedule 1 drug; and if she will task the ACMD with assessing its effectiveness for the treatment of acute clinical depression in comparison with the long-term use of SSRI anti-depressants.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Psilocybin is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (‘the 1971 Act’) and placed in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (‘the 2001 Regulations’). Drugs are typically placed in Schedule 1 when they have no established medical use in the UK. Drugs that have an established medical use are typically placed in another schedule to enable prescribing.
The Government recognises that studies into the potential use of psilocybin as part of the treatment for mental health conditions, including publicly-funded research, have been or are being conducted in the UK. However, medicines based on psilocybin have to date not been assessed on the basis of their safety, quality and efficacy and granted a marketing authorisation (a product licence) by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).
The MHRA supports the safe and scientifically sound conduct of trials in this area and provides regulatory and scientific advice to companies at all stages of developing medicines. Should a company apply for a marketing authorisation, it will ultimately be a decision for the MHRA whether to license a psilocybin-based medicine as a therapy. Reconsideration of scheduling under the 1971 Act would ordinarily follow such an assessment by the MHRA.
Ministers are under a duty to consider advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) prior to making regulations under the 1971 Act, for example if the Government were minded to reschedule a drug to enable it to be prescribed. The Government has no current plans to commission the ACMD to assess the scheduling of psilocybin in advance of marketing authorisation.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, when the Responsible Business Conduct Review will be published.
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 Responsible Business Conduct Review has been completed. With the formation of a new government, we are considering the findings with fresh eyes and will set out our position in due course.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2026 to question 34598, if she will meet with the National Down Syndrome Policy Group and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Down Syndrome.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no further update to provide the Rt. Hon. Member at this time, but we will ensure that Parliament, and stakeholders such as the National Down Syndrome Policy Group, are informed as soon as the statutory guidance is ready for publication.