Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the judgements in the cases of a) Tirkey v Chandhok, b) Kaur v Montana Bakery, c) Meshram v Tata and d) Ramachandran v Bechtel.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No one should suffer prejudice or discrimination on any grounds, including any perception of their caste.
The judgment of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Tirkey v. Chandhok shows that someone claiming caste discrimination may rely on existing statutory remedies in the Equality Act 2010 where they can show that their ‘caste’ is related to their ethnic origin, which is itself an aspect of 'race' under the 2010 Act.
The government is considering whether these existing remedies offer appropriate legal protection for victims of caste discrimination.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will amend the Equality Act 2010 to improve legal protection for victims of caste discrimination.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No one should suffer prejudice or discrimination on any grounds, including any perception of their caste.
The judgment of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Tirkey v. Chandhok shows that someone claiming caste discrimination may rely on existing statutory remedies in the Equality Act 2010 where they can show that their ‘caste’ is related to their ethnic origin, which is itself an aspect of 'race' under the 2010 Act.
The government is considering whether these existing remedies offer appropriate legal protection for victims of caste discrimination.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she plans to put in place measures to safeguard the (a) mental health and wellbeing and (b) ability to enrol in multi-year course programmes of children who be subject to temporary refugee status reviews every 30 months.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed asylum policy changes on the continuity of education for children in families facing relocation or deportation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to a) support civil society and democratic institutions in Iraq, and b) counter the influence of the Popular Mobilisation Forces.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to Question 55773, and add that our Ambassador in Baghdad, and our Consul General in Erbil, regularly meet with civil society to underline the UK's enduring commitment to human rights. The UK welcomes the peaceful Iraqi elections that took place on 11 November. We look forward to a smooth transition of power and hope to see a new Government with a clear approach to protecting Iraq's stability and security.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a taskforce on improving access to travel insurance for people with cancer.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not intend to establish a taskforce on travel insurance for people with cancer at this time. However, the government recognises the important role of insurance products, including travel insurance, in building the financial resilience of consumers and protecting them when things go wrong. The government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy seeks to close gaps in protection and ensure that the insurance sector is well-placed to support the financial wellbeing of households and vulnerable customers.
In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, requires firms to treat customers fairly. Since 2021, the FCA also requires firms providing travel insurance to signpost consumers to a directory of specialist providers if they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium based on a pre-existing medical condition. The FCA has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules.
Different insurers may take a different view of the relevant factors in determining the price of insurance based on their differing claims experience. The government would always encourage consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) can offer guidance on how to look across the insurance market for suitable products and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers. BIBA can be contacted at: www.biba.org.uk/find-insurance/.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher business rates multiplier for properties above £500,000 on cultural venues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including cultural venues with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
These new tax rates must be sustainably funded and so the Government is also introducing a higher rate on properties with rateable values of £500,000 and above. This represents around only 1 per cent of properties.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s deforestation regulations are fair and workable for smallholder farmers internationally.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that action to prevent UK consumption of forest risk commodities driving deforestation should minimise the impacts on smallholder farmers. The UK works with smallholder farmers to improve sustainable practices and encourage forest-friendly businesses. The UK also funds and co-chairs the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade Dialogue with a specific working group focused on smallholder support, facilitating government to government dialogue to build collaboration to reduce risks of smallholder exclusion from sustainable supply chains. The Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham 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 he is taking to improve access to homelessness services for people sleeping rough.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has increased funding for homelessness services by £316 million to a total of more than £1 billion in 2025/26. This includes £255.5 million through the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant for local authorities to tackle rough sleeping. We announced £69.9 million top-up funding for the grant in October 2025.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it a statutory duty for judges to comply with guidance in the Equal Treatment Bench Book.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In line with the principle of judicial independence, it is the senior judiciary and not the Government who have statutory responsibility for judicial guidance and training.
It would therefore not be constitutionally appropriate for the Government to seek to prescribe how this responsibility should be discharged.