Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what regeneration funding she is making available for (a) Newport, (b) Shifnal and (c) other rural market towns.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government confirmed its commitment to regeneration funding at the Autumn Budget securing millions of pounds to support economic growth across the UK – our number one mission. This included £3.5 million through the UKSPF to continue to support communities across Shropshire.

The government will set out a refreshed approach to local growth funding at the multi-year Spending Review in the Spring. An approach that includes supporting rural businesses, improving infrastructure, and enhancing local economies, with a focus on areas most in need.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on faith communities.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published its Equalities Impact Assessment for all measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, setting out impacts across protected characteristics including religion or belief. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England plans to take to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

In a paper for the February 2025 sitting of the General Synod of the Church of England, the Liturgical Commission wrote:

“The Nicene Creed is one of the most significant, universally recognized and definitively authoritative statements of Christian faith, originating from the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and later expanded at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. It encapsulates the trinitarian shape of Christian believing, provides a comprehensive summary of the faith of the Church, and has been a central part of Christian worship for centuries”.

In its paper the Commission reminded the Church of England of the historic position of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed in its worship, commended its frequent recitation in worship, and remarked on its helpfulness as a didactic aid. The paper can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2025-01/gs-misc-1408-the-use-of-the-nicene-creed.pdf

The Church of England has produced resources to mark the 1700th anniversary. The publication 'We Believe: Exploring the Nicene Creed', is a series of 24 reflections on the words of the Nicene Creed, which will also be available on the Church of England’s daily devotional app, Everyday Faith, from the day after Trinity Sunday. Each reflection explores a portion of the Creed through the lens of a short Bible passage and a simple reflection, accompanied by a treasury of prayers. These reflections will form a centrepiece of the Church of England’s contribution to this year’s celebrations, as well as providing a lasting resource for Christian education and formation.

More information is available here: https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/books/9781781405154/we-believe-single-copy

The Ecclesiastical Law Society is hosting a conference in Chichester in June on ‘Nicaea Received: 1700 Years of Canons, Councils and Ecumenism’, which will be attended by the Archbishop of York and will feature speakers that include His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

As part of its regular series of events and lectures, Westminster Abbey is hosting a symposium in November on the Council of Nicaea and its influence.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure a space defence strategy is included in the outputs from the Strategic Defence Review.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

While the Ministry of Defence continues to deliver against its existing space strategy, the Strategic Defence Review provides an opportunity to assess the strategic landscape and threat picture to inform long-term decisions, including on refreshing the Defence Space Strategy. The existing strategy has led to the establishment of UK Space Command, the National Space Operations Centre, and the development of the UK’s sovereign space-based ISR programme, which we will build on going forward.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Nepal on the (i) number of Nepalese nationals who are and (ii) steps Nepal is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine; and what information his Department holds on whether those mercenaries have received training from the British Army.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry for Defence engages regularly with the Government of Nepal. The Nepali Government has denounced recruitment and has formally asked Russia to desist its attempts to recruit Nepali citizens to fight.

They have also sought to deter Nepalis travelling to Russia through immigration measures and raising public awareness of the risks, to which HMG is supportive. As the Government of Nepal does not allow citizens to join the Russian military there are no official figures available.

No evidence has been provided by Ukraine or Nepal to suggest that Nepalis trained by the British Army are fighting for Russia.

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 introduce (a) identity checks and (b) spending limits for crypto betting.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

There are currently no licensed gambling operators in Great Britain which allow payment using cryptocurrencies. If an operator wished to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, they would have to satisfy themselves and the Gambling Commission, the regulator for gambling in Great Britain, that they could meet their obligations regarding anti-money laundering before they notify the Gambling Commission of a change to their payment arrangements or obtain a licence. Should a licenced operator accept cryptocurrency payments they would be subject to social responsibility arrangements, like any other operator, these include having robust identity checks, providing tools for customers to set financial limits, and conducting financial risk checks for the most vulnerable customers.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Ghana on the (i) number of Ghanaian nationals who are and (ii) steps Ghana is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Ghana is a valuable security partner, and I met with the Ghanaian Defence Minister this week. The UK engages regularly with Ghana on a range of topics of mutual concern, including Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with (a) state and (b) private sector allies and partners to reduce the risk to the UK's (i) national and (ii) economic security of Russia’s development of nuclear anti-satellite weapons.

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

The UK takes the potential development of nuclear anti-satellite weapons by Russia seriously. We have been working with international partners and allies to reaffirm the absolute prohibition of the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space, including:

- Supporting a UN Security Council Resolution tabled by US and Japan calling on States not to develop, station or place in orbit any weapons of mass destruction in line with the Outer Space Treaty.

- Co-sponsoring a UN General Assembly Resolution submitted by US, Japan and Argentina reiterating Article IV of the Outer Space treaty, which prohibits the stationing of any Weapons of Mass Destruction in orbit around the Earth.

- Raising our concern of the threat such irresponsible actions pose to all countries by highlighting the devastating impact of nuclear weapons in space in bilateral engagements and statements made at the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Washington Summit.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help counter the UK operations of the GRU’s Department of Special Tasks.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

National security is the first priority of government, and we work closely with all our international partners to assess and tackle all threats. As is our long-standing position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on operational, intelligence or security matters.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with her US counterpart on taking joint steps to counter efforts by the Russian GRU to bring down transatlantic aircraft through the development of incendiary devices.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

National security is the first priority of government, and we work closely with all our international partners to assess and tackle all threats. As is our long-standing position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on operational, intelligence or security matters.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that officials in her Department are adequately trained on potential economic statecraft mechanisms that could be deployed against the UK.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government possesses a range of diplomatic, economic, trade and other tools to respond to economic statecraft mechanisms if they are deployed against the UK. We work with the G7 and a range of other close partners to strengthen our joint resilience in ways that uphold the rules-based international economic system.

The UK Government continues to invest in training and capability building for officials in His Majesty’s Treasury to ensure economic security preparedness, including via the College for National Security. The Integrated Security Fund's Economic Deterrence Initiative has funded training and tailored analysis to improve economic security resilience and preparedness across HM Treasury.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will have discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) strategic contribution of Red Sea region and (b) the potential merits of retaining the United States Africa Command.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Secretary of State for Defence has regular engagements with the US Secretary of Defense where they discuss a range of topics including Red Sea security. The UK Ministry of Defence also undertakes frequent engagement with US AFRICOM on a range of issues.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to stop ISIS-K members from using conventional visa routes to travel to the UK from the central Asian republics.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on operational security matters or specific cases. However, all visa applications are subject to comprehensive security checks and we maximise the use of upstream interventions to prevent people who pose a threat to the UK from being able to travel.

Found: (Standing Order No. 68) Chairs: Dr Rosena Allin -Khan Sir Roger Gale Emma Lewell Mark Pritchard