Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the 1974 Disengagement of Forces agreement.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Continued Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) activity in the buffer zone is in violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces agreement and we have called on Israel to lay out timelines for their withdrawal. We expect the Government of Israel to adhere to their commitment that their presence in the buffer zone is both limited and temporary. We continue to support the work of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) who remain vital for stability for Syria and the wider region, participating regularly in UN Security Council Meetings on UNDOF, most recently in consultations in June 2026.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62201 on Golan Heights: Israel, what recent assessment he has made of the Israeli Government's claim that its activity in the Golan Heights buffer zone is (a) limited and (b) temporary.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While recognising Israel's legitimate security concerns, the UK continues to support respect for international law and has been clear that any Israeli presence in the UN-monitored buffer zone is in violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces agreement and should be temporary and not become permanent, and we will continue to press Israel to uphold its commitments in this regard. We urge the Israeli Government to return to negotiations with the Syrian Government - this is in all parties' interests. We support the work of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) who remain vital for stability for Syria and the wider region, participating regularly in UN Security Council Meetings on UNDOF, most recently in June 2026.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to assist the progression of the Gaza peace plan.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting the implementation of the 20-Point Plan in full, as the most viable route to a sustainable and long-term peace. We continue to work with international partners to sustain the ceasefire, improve humanitarian access, support early recovery and reconstruction and advance transitional security and governance arrangements in Gaza. Recent UK assistance includes our commitment of £10 million to the UN Horizon Fund which will support UN agencies in their joint and coordinated effort to support early recovery in Palestine and in particular the Gaza Strip. I met the Chief Commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza on the 18 August during my visit to Egypt.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential challenges for police in identifying a greater proportion of perpetrators of mobile phone and laptop thefts.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
he Home Office recognises the challenges involved in identifying and bringing to justice those responsible for mobile phone and laptop theft. These offences are often linked to organised criminality, with stolen devices frequently moved, resold or exported quickly, making offenders harder to identify and disrupt. Tackling street crime, including mobile phone and laptop theft, remains a priority, and police forces across the country have taken determined action against the groups responsible. We are supporting policing to maintain this progress and sustain operational successes.
Technical solutions are critical because, if a stolen device cannot be reused or resold, it loses its value to criminals, removing the incentive for organised criminal groups and others to target them. The Met police are working with technology companies to explore measures that reduce the resale value of stolen phones and their component parts and enable police to identify stolen devices more quickly. In recent months, companies including Apple and Google have introduced enhanced theft protections and the Met police and Apple have committed to publishing quarterly data on device reconnections to help assess their effectiveness.
There are encouraging signs that industry action and strengthened law enforcement efforts are having an impact. Police recorded theft from the person offences in England and Wales, including snatch thefts and pickpocketing of mobile phones and laptops, fell by 20% in 2025/26, from 151,063 offences in 2024/25 to 121,161 offences in 2025/26. This follows previous increases in recorded offences and suggests that the combined efforts of policing and partners are beginning to deliver results.
We welcome this progress, but the key test will be whether phone theft continues to fall. We are monitoring progress closely and will take further action if needed.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce (a) mobile phone and (b) laptop theft in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to tackle theft offences, including the theft of mobile phones and laptops, which have a significant impact on victims.
The Government is working closely with policing and technology partners who are collaborating on technical measures aimed at reducing the attractiveness of mobiles to criminals. In recent months, companies including Apple and Google have introduced enhanced theft protection measures, while a data sharing agreement being operated by the Met and Apple is helping assess how effectively these measures are working.
We welcome these advances. The Government is continuing to support these efforts and is monitoring progress closely. If not satisfied about the pace of progress, we will take further action, including legislation if necessary.
We are also boosting the enforcement response. Through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are restoring neighbourhood policing, putting more officers and Police Community Support Officers into communities, ensuring every neighbourhood has named and contactable officers, and strengthening the response to local crime. We are also providing the police with stronger powers through the Crime and Policing Act, including powers to enter and search premises where GPS-tracked stolen property is reasonably believed to be located, enabling officers to recover stolen items more quickly.
These efforts are supporting local action against theft. While specific data on mobile phone and laptop theft in Newcastle and Tyne East and Wallsend is not available, the Newcastle upon Tyne Community Safety Partnership recorded 438 theft from person offences (which includes mobile phone and laptop theft by snatch theft and pickpocketing) in the year ending March 2026, a 10% decrease on the previous year.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the absence of cash payments on LNER trains on the ability of visually impaired people to purchase food and drink on its services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has made no direct assessment of the potential impact, the Department expects all train operators, who are accountable for accessible service delivery, to consider the needs of disabled passengers, comply with their equality obligations, and make reasonable adjustments to ensure services remain accessible.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national system of auto-enrolment for free school and college meals.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We want to make sure that every family that needs support can access it.
Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals (FSM) so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit are eligible from the start of academic year 2026 to 2027 will make it much easier for parents to know whether their children are entitled to FSM. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
We are also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System, making it easier for local authorities and schools to check whether children are eligible for FSM.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on the reliability of Royal Mail parcel deliveries.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough.
The Government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.
Ofcom has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26 and Royal Mail has published a quality of service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.
The government will continue to press royal Mail for improvements in service quality.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness of free school meal eligibility among parents with newly eligible children from September 2026.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. To support the expansion of free school meals from September 2026 to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit, the department has published guidance for schools and local authorities to support communication with families about the new entitlement.
The department is also providing information to families at the start of the school year to help them understand the new eligibility criteria and how to access support. In addition, we have worked with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that households receiving Universal Credit are provided with information about free school meals eligibility and how to apply.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing card readers with tactile buttons on LNER trains on the ability of visually impaired people to travel.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
LNER’s Train Managers already use payment devices with tactile buttons and markings. LNER’s café bar devices use touchscreens, and LNER is exploring how these can be made more accessible to visually impaired passengers.