Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a) threats, b) surveillance and c) other forms of intimidation by the Iranian state on Iranian activists residing in the United Kingdom.

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

Though we do not routinely comment on operational matters or specific threats, the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and will be thoroughly investigated.

The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our powers to counter state threats, including from Iran, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt these threats. Last year, new training for front police officers and staff was rolled out to increase their understanding of state threats, which will improve law enforcement’s ability to detect and investigate incidents which may be state directed.

The UK Government, law enforcement and our international partners continue to work together to identify, deter and respond to threats from Iran. In September, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) issued a public statement condemning transnational repression and other malign activities by Iran.

The Government's top priority is our national security, and we will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and its people, from any Iran-linked threats.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with international partners on referring human rights abuses against protesters in Iran to (a) the International Criminal Court and (b) other appropriate judicial bodies.

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

On 15 January, the Foreign Secretary joined G7 Foreign Ministers in condemning the deliberate use of violence and the killing of protesters, arbitrary detention, and intimidation tactics by security forces against demonstrators. As the Foreign Secretary told Parliament on 13 January, this government has continually raised human rights violations in Iran through the UN and international forums. The UK was integral to the delivery of the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in April 2025, which renewed and expanded the Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Iran. We continue to support the FFM to thoroughly and independently monitor and investigate allegations of recent and ongoing serious human rights violations in Iran.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of banning nudifying a) websites and b) apps.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

No one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate deepfakes of themselves online. We will not allow the proliferation of these demeaning and degrading images, which are disproportionately aimed at women and girls.

The Government will legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill – which is currently in Parliament – to ban nudification tools. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools and services designed to create non-consensual intimate images, targeting the problem at its source.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the efficacy of the Housing First pilots on tenancy sustainment for people experiencing homelessness.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government published an evaluation of Housing First Pilots, including a final synthesis report in October 2024. You can find the evaluation reports on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Department's answer to 108730, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the constant rate of student loan repayments from 9% to 5%.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Interest rates are applied at the Retail Price Index (RPI) only, then variable up to an upper limit of RPI +3% depending on earnings. This maintains the real value of repayments over a long loan term. As an additional borrower protection, interest rates on post-2012 loans are automatically capped by the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans, ensuring borrowers are protected if market conditions change.

Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial years under the repayment threshold of £29,385.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy, and the 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.

Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of higher education funding.

My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills has written to the Rethink Repayment campaign organiser via their MP regarding this issue.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of placing an upper limit on real terms interest that can be accrued on Plan 2 student loans.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Interest rates are applied at the Retail Price Index (RPI) only, then variable up to an upper limit of RPI +3% depending on earnings. This maintains the real value of repayments over a long loan term. As an additional borrower protection, interest rates on post-2012 loans are automatically capped by the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans, ensuring borrowers are protected if market conditions change.

Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial years under the repayment threshold of £29,385.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy, and the 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.

Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of higher education funding.

My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills has written to the Rethink Repayment campaign organiser via their MP regarding this issue.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had any discussions with Rethink Repayment regarding their student loan reform campaign.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Interest rates are applied at the Retail Price Index (RPI) only, then variable up to an upper limit of RPI +3% depending on earnings. This maintains the real value of repayments over a long loan term. As an additional borrower protection, interest rates on post-2012 loans are automatically capped by the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans, ensuring borrowers are protected if market conditions change.

Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial years under the repayment threshold of £29,385.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy, and the 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.

Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of higher education funding.

My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills has written to the Rethink Repayment campaign organiser via their MP regarding this issue.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent young people from becoming homeless.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government has provided more than £1 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services this year, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.

Through our National Plan to End Homelessness we also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.

Found: Dr Rosena Allin-Khan made representations.