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 is taking to support the Hindu community in the UK; and what steps she is taking to promote community cohesion.

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

The Minister for Faith regularly engages with faith groups, including representatives from the Hindu community. On 16 December, he had the great pleasure of visiting Neasden temple to show the government’s support for Britain’s Hindu community and to thank them for everything they do locally.

On community cohesion, no one should be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. We are fully committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred, or any form of religious hatred.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the financial resilience of the (a) university and (b) colleges sectors.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department recognises that the financial position of the higher education (HE) sector is under pressure and this government has acted quickly to address this.

The department accepted, in full, the recommendations of the independent review of the Office for Students (OfS) undertaken by Sir David Behan. Sir David has been appointed as interim OfS Chair to oversee the important work of refocusing their role to concentrate on key priorities, including the HE sector’s financial stability. On 2 December, the OfS announced temporary changes to its operations to allow greater focus on financial sustainability. The OfS will work more closely with providers under significant financial pressure in order to protect the interests of students. The department continues to work closely with the OfS to monitor any risks and ensure there are robust plans in place to mitigate them.

Moreover, the government has made the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits in line with forecast inflation (3.1%). The department also recognises the impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on students. Maximum loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year will also increase by 3.1%. Longer-term funding plans for the HE sector will be set out in due course.

As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education set out in her oral statement on 4 November, this government will secure the future of HE so that students can benefit from a world-class education for generations to come.

The department also recognises the financial position of the further education (FE) sector is very important. As announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, the government is providing an additional £300 million for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed. We will set out in due course how that is distributed.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the persecution of Christians in Iran; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help tackle that issue.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We condemn Iran's restrictions against Freedom of Religion or Belief. Christians, particularly converts from Islam, and other minority religions, continue to face severe repression in Iran. We were proud to help deliver the Iran Human Rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November, which called on Iran to cease monitoring individuals on account of their religious identity and to ensure rights are upheld. We will continue to raise the issue directly with the Iranian government, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on ensuring transport provision in areas affected by storms.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under the UK Government’s Lead Government Department (LGD) model, the responsibility for severe storms and weather in England rests with the following organisations:

• Risk Identification and Assessment: The Met Office.
• Prevention/Resilience, Preparation and Emergency Response: The Cabinet Office (where the impacts are expected to be cross-cutting), DfT for Air, Rail, Roads and Ports and Defra for flooding.
• Recovery: DfT for Air, Rail, Roads and Ports. MHCLG for flooding.

Further detail can be found here: The Roles of Lead Government Departments, Devolved Administrations and Other Public Bodies (HTML) - GOV.UK

Designated LGDs are responsible for leading work to identify serious risks and ensuring that the right planning, response and recovery arrangements are in place for their responsibilities. This includes if their sector is designated as a Critical National Infrastructure Sector (CNI), which Transport is.

Since the start of the current UK Storm Season on 1 September 2024, Defra has worked with DfT on the following:

• An exercise of the National Flood Response Centre.
• The operational response to flooding from caused by heavy rainfall September as well as named storms Ashley, Bert, Connall and Darragh.
• Reporting on damaged flood defences that could affect the operation of key transport infrastructure.

We hold monthly calls with DfT officials to share situational awareness and do these more frequently when the need arises. More detail on specific work undertaken by DfT and the Transport Sector on transport provision in areas affected by storms should be requested directly from DfT.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the discovery of a case of atypical BSE in a cow in Scotland on UK agriculture.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

BSE is not a contagious disease. There is no risk to animal and human health or food safety as a result of this isolated case.

Unlike classical BSE, which occurs through the consumption of contaminated feed, atypical BSE is believed to occur spontaneously at a very low level in all cattle populations. There have been just 3 cases in the UK since 2014.

The animal was tested under our surveillance system, demonstrating its effectiveness.

British beef remains safe to eat and can continue to be exported to trading partners.

Atypical BSE is not a notifiable disease for the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This case does not affect our WOAH ‘controlled’ risk status for BSE, nor the application submitted in August this year to have it further reduced to ‘negligible’.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk posed by foot and mouth disease to the UK.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To reduce the risk of foot and mouth disease (FMD) to the UK, in collaboration with our National Reference Laboratory and international partners, Defra monitors the threat presented by different trade routes and works. The risk of incursion is currently considered to be low. This risk evaluation informs our preparedness activities from targeting of measures at the border, domestic disease surveillance, to the strains procured for our vaccine bank and any communications to raise the awareness among livestock keepers.

Specific measures in place to reduce the risk of FMD incursions include requiring imported meat and dairy products to be accompanied by animal and public health certification confirming that they come from an area that is free from FMD; strict rules for the movement of animals and genetic material, and a ban on certain animal products as livestock feed. We continue to remind livestock keepers of the importance of maintaining strict on-farm biosecurity, compliance with the swill feeding ban, and the reporting of all suspicions of notifiable disease promptly.

Defra’s contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases, the FMD control strategy and associated guidance describe the measures that need to be taken prevent and, in the event of an incursion, control outbreaks of FMD. The plans are reviewed and tested including through national response exercises and routine testing. The next exercise is currently being planned.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of the UK's disease response capability in relation to foot and mouth disease.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To reduce the risk of foot and mouth disease (FMD) to the UK, in collaboration with our National Reference Laboratory and international partners, Defra monitors the threat presented by different trade routes and works. The risk of incursion is currently considered to be low. This risk evaluation informs our preparedness activities from targeting of measures at the border, domestic disease surveillance, to the strains procured for our vaccine bank and any communications to raise the awareness among livestock keepers.

Specific measures in place to reduce the risk of FMD incursions include requiring imported meat and dairy products to be accompanied by animal and public health certification confirming that they come from an area that is free from FMD; strict rules for the movement of animals and genetic material, and a ban on certain animal products as livestock feed. We continue to remind livestock keepers of the importance of maintaining strict on-farm biosecurity, compliance with the swill feeding ban, and the reporting of all suspicions of notifiable disease promptly.

Defra’s contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases, the FMD control strategy and associated guidance describe the measures that need to be taken prevent and, in the event of an incursion, control outbreaks of FMD. The plans are reviewed and tested including through national response exercises and routine testing. The next exercise is currently being planned.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of his Department collecting information on how many (a) abattoirs and (b) food processing plants in (i) England and (ii) the UK are family-owned businesses.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There are 232 approved Food Standards Agency (FSA) abattoirs across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and the FSA records which are sole traders, partnerships, and incorporated companies.

The majority of food processing plants are overseen by local authorities, and while their trading names are published by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland, this does not give an indication of the makeup of ownership.

Defra remains focused on supporting the farming, meat and food processing sectors, and the collection of this level of detail is not required or necessary to facilitate the delivery of any Official Controls.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment on the potential impact of the removal of the Funding Guarantee Scheme on the Fire and Rescue Service.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. That is why in the provisional Settlement for 2025-26 we have made available £69 billion for local government including a £5 referendum principle for Fire and Rescue Authorities. Together with central government grant and locally retained business rates, the proposed principles provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of 3.5% on 2024-25. The government also announced an additional £515 million of unringfenced funding for local government, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget. Allocations for individual Fire and Rescue Authorities will be confirmed at the final Settlement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of funding for mental health services and (b) the potential impact of the level of that funding on waiting lists for such services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Adequate funding for mental health services is important. While funding for reforms and improvements to mental health services will be decided at the Spending Review, the Autumn Budget provided an extra £26 million to open new mental health crisis centres, and funding to provide NHS Talking Therapies services for an extra 380,000 patients.

We remain committed to recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on forced labour involving Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang; and what steps he is taking to help prevent goods produced by forced labour entering the UK market.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK will stand firm on human rights, including China's repression of the peoples of Xinjiang. This has included raising concerns at the highest levels of the Chinese government. The Prime Minister raised human rights with President Xi at their meeting in the G20 Summit in November.

No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to report annually on steps taken to combat modern slavery. The Government continues to review how we can best tackle forced labour in supply chains.

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