Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Georgian counterpart on the treatment of (a) political opponents and (b) journalists in that country.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I remain gravely concerned by Georgia's democratic backsliding, attacks on the opposition and journalists. The former Foreign Secretary's 11 July statement condemned politically motivated detentions of opposition leaders in Georgia. On 6 August, the UK, with the Media Freedom Coalition, condemned the politically motivated sentencing of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli to two years in prison. Georgia must reverse course, uphold European values, and protect civil society and press freedom.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help improve pay and conditions for court interpreters in the contracted service.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on Friday 5 September to Question 73395: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/73395.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of protections for defendants under the Single Justice Procedure.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government acknowledges the criticisms in relation to the Single Justice Procedure (SJP) and the importance of ensuring that the SJP is accessible and fair to all defendants. That is why we launched a consultation on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors which included a chapter on the adequacy of safeguards in the SJP. The consultation closed on 8 May and work is ongoing to analyse the responses received and look at ways to reform the SJP, which improves safeguards and efficiency in the process.

The Government response to the consultation is expected to be published later this year.

There are several existing safeguards built into the SJP process to ensure a defendant’s fair trial rights are protected. The defendant retains the right to have a full hearing in open court. SJP is available where they waive that right, either expressly or by failing to respond to the process, but only in circumstances where the court has first satisfied itself that the relevant documents were served on the accused.

If a defendant does not know about the case until after it has finished, they can make a statutory declaration to that effect, which will restart the proceedings again from the beginning. Magistrates can adjourn the case if further information is required, or refer the case to be heard in open court if it would be more appropriate than continuing under SJP.

Where a defendant pleads not guilty, the case is listed for summary trial before a bench of magistrates in open court.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Independent Technical Review of Qualifications and Experience Requirements for the Provision of Spoken Language Interpreting of 17 March 2025, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the sufficient recruitment of qualified Level 6 interpreters.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice recognises the importance of ensuring a sufficient supply of qualified Level 6 interpreters to meet the needs of the justice system. Following the publication of the Independent Technical Review of Qualifications and Experience Requirements for the Provision of Spoken Language Interpreting on 17 March 2025, the Department has taken steps to support recruitment and professional development in this area.

The review established Level 6 as the default professional standard for all interpreters working in complex justice settings, and its recommendations have been incorporated into the new Qualifications Framework now embedded in the upcoming contract specifications.

To support long-term sustainability, the Department has established two key stakeholder groups: the External Stakeholders Forum and the Future Pipeline Advisory Group. The latter is specifically focused on addressing ongoing challenges in interpreter supply, including qualification development.

The Future Pipeline Advisory Group will look at ways to expand access to Level 6 qualifications, particularly in rare languages where formal qualifications may not currently exist.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether HS2 plans to revisit the allocation of strategic funding to the London Borough of Ealing.

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

HS2 Ltd continues to meet its commitment to fund any new financial burdens on LB Ealing as a result of the HS2 project, and is also funding a dedicated officer post.

On top of this, people in Ealing continue to benefit from HS2’s Community and Environment Fund and Business and Local Economy Fund. So far, these have funded projects worth £720,000 in Ealing. There is also a HS2 Road Safety Fund and Highway Deterioration Fund available to Ealing. Ealing has recently applied for its full allocation from the Road Safety Fund.

HS2 Ltd is not funded to make additional financial contributions to Ealing over and above these, and the other commitments agreed during the passage of the hybrid Bill.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to make smart metering mandatory in the water sector.

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

Water companies already have the ability to charge by water meters on a mandatory basis in areas designated water stressed. This is only able to feature in water companies’ long-term plans if it represents value for money and has customer support.

The Government has committed to working with Ofwat to assess the recommendations from a report led by Baringa on the current approach including exploring mandatory standards for smart meter rollouts. This will reduce leakage and enable customers to have more data to make water and cost-efficient choices.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024, whether citizens who naturalised prior to 22 July 2025 will be included in the new registration route.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Those who have already become a British citizen through naturalisation are not able to apply for British citizenship as they already hold that status.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Iranian counterpart on (a) the illegal obtention of (i) property and (ii) assets of and (b) other attacks on the Baha’i community; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure the (a) protection of that community and (b) promotion of religious freedom in that country.

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

Our Ambassador in Iran and the former Foreign Secretary raised have human rights directly with the Iranian government and we regularly highlight Iran's repression of Baha'is in multilateral fora, including at the UN Human Rights Council in March. We were integral to the delivery of an Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to investigate a wider breadth of violations, and to establish the facts, circumstances and structural causes of such violations, including discrimination on grounds of religion or belief. On 3 July, the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith MP, met Baha'i International Community UN Representative, Simin Fahandej, to discuss the current and historic repression of Baha'is in Iran, and on 8 July, the Special Envoy delivered a speech where he highlighted Baha'is acute vulnerability to scapegoating, incitement and threats of violence from authorities.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) Community and Environment Fund and (b) Business and Local Economy Fund in supporting communities affected by HS2 works in the London Borough of Ealing; if she will review the potential impact of restrictions that limit local authorities to submitting a maximum of two bids to those Funds at a time on the London Borough of Ealing, in the context of the remaining level of funding available for London as a whole; and what steps she is taking to ensure that people in the London Borough of Ealing are able to access a level of funding that is proportionate to the level of HS2 disruption in that Borough.

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

The Government remains committed to ensuring that all ‘line of route’ communities affected by HS2 construction, including those in the London Borough of Ealing, receive a fair share of funding through the Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF). Whilst there is no specific allocation for London as a whole, the funds are managed in a way that ensures a proportionate balance across the whole HS2 route. Awards are recorded online at:

https://hs2funds.org.uk/home/projects-funded-by-hs2-funds/

The London Borough of Ealing is a priority area for funding. HS2 Ltd and the fund administrators, Groundwork UK, have carried out community engagement in the borough to promote availability of funding and to date 18 projects have been approved, totalling over £753,000 of investment.

In the interests of ensuring that there is a fair and inclusive spread of projects there are limits on the number of applications any one organisation can make to the funds. However, local authorities play an important role in delivering outcomes supported by CEF and BLEF and greater flexibility is provided to these organisations. Currently Ealing Council has five live awards and has been granted permission to submit two further applications.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support work to eradicate polio globally.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. This has enabled GPEI to reduce wild poliovirus cases by over 99 per cent. The UK is also the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, recently announcing a new investment that will support eligible countries with polio vaccines as part of an essential package of childhood immunisation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Iranian authorities on attacks on the Baha’i community including the illegal obtention of property and assets; and what steps is he taking to ensure (a) their protection and (b) the promotion of religious freedom in the country.

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

The UK strongly condemns the repression of religious minorities in Iran, including Baha'is. On 18 March, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN highlighted the continued systematic targeting and repression of religious minorities at the UN Human Rights Council. We were integral to the delivery of an Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to investigate a wider breadth of violations, and to establish the facts, circumstances and structural causes of such violations, including discrimination on grounds of religion or belief. On 3 July, the Special Envoy met Baha'i International Community UN Representative, Simin Fahandej, to discuss the current and historic situation of  Baha'is in Iran, and on 8 July, delivered a speech where he highlighted Baha'is acute vulnerability to scapegoating, incitement and threats of violence from authorities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the operation of the Prevent programme in schools.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Schools have a statutory duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This includes referring individuals susceptible to radicalisation to Prevent, for support.

In the most recent departmental survey, 98% of school leaders responsible for Prevent were confident in their school’s ability to train staff to recognise and refer radicalisation concerns. 94% were confident in their school’s ability to deal with a safeguarding incident related to terrorism or extremism.

Schools are already highly experienced in safeguarding children, and the department has confidence in the professional judgement of teachers if they decide a referral is appropriate.

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

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Mark Tami; Mr Clive Betts; Dr Rupa Huq; Leigh Ingham; Jessica

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Dr Rupa Huq