Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the funding for the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme is allocated to supporting individuals facing violations of freedom of religion or belief.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK-funded Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics (BCAPP) programme is a £27 million initiative designed to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief in Bangladesh. Through this programme, the Hunger project has organised a range of initiatives to foster inter-ethnic and religious peace, including peace events, consultation meetings with local authorities, and quarterly meeting focused on local conflict mediation. Whilst a specific breakdown of funding allocated to freedom of religion or belief is currently unavailable, the BCAPP programme helps ensure the rights of minorities are respected, and protected from discrimination.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the public provision of personally identifiable information online.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

All organisations in the UK that process personal data must comply with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

The legislation sets out a series of principles with which organisations must comply. These include the need to process personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely, unless certain limited exemptions apply. The legislation also gives people rights in relation to their personal data, such as the right to seek access to it, object to its processing or seek its erasure.

The legislation does not prevent individuals posting personal data online if it is done for domestic purposes, such as messaging friends, or sharing photos with their social networks, but the platforms that host the data will be subject to the legislation.

If individuals are concerned that organisations are processing their personal data unlawfully, they can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office which is responsible for regulating the legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the period of duration for spousal visas.

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

A partner or spouse coming to or staying in the UK with their British or settled relative is granted permission for 33 or 30 months respectively. The temporary grant of permission allows the Home Office to confirm the relationship is ongoing and subsisting before an extension of permission to stay or settlement as a partner/spouse.

The Government will set out its approach to future policy on a range of immigration policy areas in the upcoming Immigration White Paper which will be published later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with manufacturers of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy medication on supply shortages.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is in regular discussion with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) on latest stock availability and the actions that are being taken mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the United Kingdom. Through these discussions we have managed to secure additional volumes of PERT for 2025 for the UK. We are continuing to work with all suppliers to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the market. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market.

In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers; if authorised these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to make public transport more affordable.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services is one of the government’s top priorities and we know how important this is for passengers and for local growth.

The government is investing over £150 million to deliver a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025 to help millions access better opportunities and promote greater bus use by passengers. In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new fares initiatives, introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr James Frith; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr James Frith; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Resolved, That Mr Bayo Alaba, Mims Davies, Mr James Frith, Dr Rupa Huq, Natasha Irons, Jo Platt, Tom