Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will take steps to review the outcomes of Family Court cases where experts unregulated by the Health and Care Professions Council were used; and to ensure that children removed from their mothers based on their diagnosis can be returned.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not think it is capable of diagnosis. Having reviewed relevant family court judgments and published guidance by various organisations, the Government recognises that there is a need to review the role of unregulated experts in the family courts.
The Government is already taking action on concerns about unregulated experts in family court proceedings. We are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee on this issue to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and their associated Practice Directions to restrict the instruction of these experts.
There are existing mechanisms within the family court system for a case to be reconsidered. A parent may apply to the family court to have an existing order varied or discharged. The court will consider all of the circumstances of the case and make any decision based on the welfare of the child, which is its paramount consideration.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding (a) civil society and (b) academic institutions to conduct (i) forced labour and (ii) supply chain research on the Uyghur region.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government regularly works with civil society and academic institutions to fund a variety of research, including topics such as forced labour. We keep under review how we can best tackle forced labour in supply chains, by working across government departments, with businesses and international partners.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the National Crime Agency is carrying out inspections on cargo flights from the Uyghur region to ensure they are not carrying goods made with Uyghur forced labour.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains firmly opposed to the use of state-imposed forced labour. We are committed to working with international partners and businesses to ensure global supply chains are free from human and labour rights abuses.
The Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) (2002) provides law enforcement agencies, including the NCA, with a powerful range of powers to seize cash and assets from individuals profiting from criminal activity. Government cannot direct how the POCA powers are used by law enforcement and independent operational decisions are a matter for the NCA.
In the recently published Trade Strategy, the Government announced a review of its approach to Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) policy. The review will consider the effectiveness of the current UK regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices, including consideration of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws and import controls on goods made by forced labour. The Department for Business and Trade will engage regularly with stakeholders to develop findings and provide updates.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with partners to increase access to education for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to improving the situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. In September, the Foreign Secretary announced £27 million in new funding, bringing the UK's total support to £447 million. This includes assistance to help refugees access to essential services, including education.
We will continue working with the wider international community and our partners to improve access to education and skills training for the Rohingya.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will set a target date for the publication of the Critical Minerals Strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Critical minerals have been included in the recently published National Security Strategy and also in the UK Government’s Resilience Action Plan, highlighting their fundamental importance to safeguarding the UK's economic security and resilience.
Thanks to the extensive engagement and insights from our industry and expert stakeholders as well as through cross-government collaboration, we have developed a powerful new vision and plan for securing critical minerals in the UK. Critical Minerals were identified as a foundational industry to growth driving sectors in the Industry Strategy.
We will continue to refine this ahead of publication this year, taking into account the evolving international context.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to implement the recommendations in the Independent Review into Public Sector Food Procurement, published in May 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently considering the policy options available to deliver further on our ambitions for public sector food and catering. We are engaging with stakeholders across public sector supply chains and are carefully reflecting on possible policy options. The findings of the Independent Review into Public Sector Food Procurement will be considered as part of this ongoing policy development process.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 (a) effectiveness and (b) enforcement of the current illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing import controls.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is strongly committed to preventing seafood caught from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from entering the UK supply chain. Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments, Marine Management Organisation and Port Health Authorities to manage the risk of illegally caught fish entering the UK. For example, the UK maintains a strict ban on seafood imports from countries that have been identified as non-cooperative in tackling IUU fishing as well as seafood caught by vessels included in the UK’s IUU vessel list identified as having engaged in IUU fishing. Controls are also in place to prevent foreign vessels accessing UK ports if suspected of engaging in IUU fishing. Furthermore, all wild-caught fish imported into the UK must be accompanied by validated catch certificates to ensure legality and traceability.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of animal welfare enforcement in commercial pig farms; and what steps she is taking to ensure that audit and inspection processes lead to (a) timely investigation, (b) transparency and (c) meaningful sanctions where breaches are identified.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation, and potential breaches of the law are taken very seriously. We are actively working with enforcement authorities to reform the way they collect and publish data of on-farm enforcement activities and the actions they take to support compliance and act on non-compliance. We will also explore whether the current enforcement tools used by our enforcement bodies are effective, proportionate and transparent.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 75965 on Food: Public Sector, what her Department's planned timetable is for reviewing food purchased by the public sector; and how her Department plans to report where food procured by the public sector originated.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently assessing what food the public sector buys and where it comes from. This will enable us to determine the extent to which public sector organisations are buying food from British producers, providing a baseline with which to measure progress.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to undertake regular assessments of the exposure of supply chains to Uyghur forced labour.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including the repression of Uyghurs, and continues to work with international partners to find ways of holding China to account.
The Government’s Overseas Business Risk guidance sets out the risks of operating in certain regions and urges companies to conduct appropriate due diligence, in line with the UN Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct.
In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into responsible business conduct. The review is considering how we can best tackle supply chain harms, such as forced labour. This includes consideration of measures to improve supply chain transparency and traceability.