Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the FCDO 2030 restructure on availability of qualified staff at gold, silver and bronze commander level to respond to the situation in the Middle East.

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

There is no shortage of available staff for the roles required at present, nor do we anticipate there will be after the completion of the FCDO 2030 programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what safeguards will be included in the UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to ensure the UK maintains the ability to set animal welfare standards unilaterally, for example to ban the import of animal fur products.

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

I refer the hon Member to the reply previously given to her on 4 March 2026 to PQ UIN 115407.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure a coordinated national policing response to modern slavery, in the context of the removal of funding for the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Modern slavery crimes are complex to investigate and prosecute, and ensuring a consistent and coordinated national policing response to modern slavery remains a priority for the Home Office.

The Department has been working closely with the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOICU) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to review the programme’s functions and agree contingency arrangements to ensure key functions are preserved to maintain national coordination following the programme’s closure.

This includes an issuing an expression of interest to appoint a new National Police Chief Council (NPCC) lead for modern slavery to continue to provide national leadership on the policing response to modern slavery. Once appointed, the Home Office will work closely with the NPCC lead to ensure modern slavery remains a policing priority and will continue to provide policy oversight of the operational response.

As part of the wider police reforms, national strategic policing priorities will be developed to improve policing standards and performance. The Home Office will consider how modern slavery measures can be reflected within these.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring remote electronic monitoring systems on all pelagic freezer trawlers of 100 meters or more operating in English waters, including EU-flagged vessels.

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

Defra has laid out plans to implement REM in five priority fisheries in English waters, including pelagic trawls, over 24m, operating in English waters. This fishery includes pelagic freezer trawlers over 100m.

The fisheries were selected via an evidence review. The pelagic fishery was selected as a priority fishery for REM, based on an assessment of:

• Data needs (and suitability of REM as a tool to address these needs)
• Achievability of setting up initial programmes

Once REM becomes a statutory requirement, all vessels, including EU-flagged vessels, active in the fishery will be required to have REM on board.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Greenpeace’s report entitled Equity, Benefit-Sharing and Financial Architecture in the International Seabed Area.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government keeps its policies in relation to climate, nature and marine protection under regular review, informed by a wide range of stakeholder views and expert analyses, including those mentioned by the Hon Member.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the working group on fur, announced in the Animal Welfare Strategy, will include virologists and environmental scientists with expertise in the public health and environmental impacts of fur farming.

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

As set out in the animal welfare strategy, Defra will bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed.

The primary focus of the group will be to explore animal welfare concerns relating to the fur trade. Defra is currently developing arrangements for the working group including its membership. Defra will seek appropriate input from relevant experts as needed as part of this.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether their department plans to collect and publish data on the number of modern slavery and human trafficking police investigations, after this is no longer done by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Department has been working closely with the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOICU) to review the programme’s functions and agree contingency arrangements to ensure key functions are preserved following the programme’s closure. This includes the collection of modern slavery police investigation data.

The current investigations data only provides a partial and incomplete picture, as not all forces submit returns. Once in post, we will work with the new National Police Chiefs Council lead to consider the most effective approach to collecting consistent data on modern slavery investigations in the future.

As part of the wider police reforms, national strategic policing priorities will be developed to improve policing standards and performance. The Home Office will consider how modern slavery measures and data collection can be reflected within these.

We will continue to draw on data already collected by the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service and the Ministry of Justice, including data on recorded offences and criminal justice outcomes, to support our understanding of modern slavery trends and performance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to include decapod crustaceans in the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and if she will publish a timeline for an announcement on that decision.

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

The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans. We set out in our Animal Welfare Strategy that we will develop this evidence base through research and continued stakeholder engagement. Defra-commissioned research on how live decapods move from sea to plate is due to finish later this year. In addition, a project on the welfare of decapod crustaceans across the supply chain is included in the Animal Welfare Committee’s current work plan. We will also publish guidance on which methods of killing decapods are compatible with the existing welfare at time of killing legal requirements.

No policy decisions about these animals in relation to the Animal Welfare Act (2006) have been made whilst the evidence base is being built. The Government will keep the legislative position under review, as is standard practice.

Found: Conservative; Staffordshire Moorlands) Liam Byrne (Labour; Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) Sarah Champion

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Janet Daby; Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding

Found: and Africa King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH psministerchapmanaction@fcdo.gov.uk Sarah Champion

Found: and Africa King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH psministerchapmanaction@fcdo.gov.uk Sarah Champion

Found: Yours sincerely, Sarah Champion MP Chair of the International Development Committee

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Debbie Abrahams; Liam Byrne; Sarah Champion

Found: Current membership Sarah Champion (Labour; Rotherham) (Chair) Janet Daby (Labour; Lewisham East) Tracy

Found: Current membership Sarah Champion (Labour; Rotherham) (Chair) Janet Daby (Labour; Lewisham East) Tracy

Found: Conservative; Staffordshire Moorlands) Liam Byrne (Labour; Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) Sarah Champion

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Janet Daby; Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Janet Daby; Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Janet Daby; Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding

Found: and Africa King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH psministerchapmanaction@fcdo.gov.uk Sarah Champion

Found: Yours sincerely, Sarah Champion MP Chair of the International Development Committee