Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for the Government's (a) trade and (b) security cooperation with the US of the (i) deportation and (ii) detention centre activities of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities. Our Embassy in Washington works closely with US officials to understand how their policies impact British citizens and we update UK travel advice accordingly.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centres.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities. Our Embassy in Washington works closely with US officials to understand how their policies impact British citizens and we update UK travel advice accordingly.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to (a) recover and (b) salvage any consignment of radioactive material in the event of the sinking of a vessel carrying radioactive cargo.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra are the lead government department in England for the recovery from malicious and civil radiological and nuclear incidents. The preparations and response to these incidents is led by the Home Office and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero respectively.
If a civil vessel carrying a cargo of radioactive or nuclear material sunk in waters controlled by the UK, Defra would consider recovery options. This would involve a risk-based approach using existing contingency plans to consider environmental risks and salvage practicalities. This would include the Flag State of the vessel and owner of the material, who each have legal responsibilities.
If the sunken vessel was owned by the UK military or an ally, recovery and salvage operations would be led by the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to address delays by NHS Pensions in contacting retired NHS staff with letters detailing settlements; and what new deadlines are being set for letters to be sent to each cohort.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of giving members of the NHS Pension Scheme certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remedy.
I have commissioned the independent Chair of the NHS Pension Scheme Pension Board to lead a review of the NHS Business Services Authority’s (NHS BSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members. This review is well underway. It will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHS BSA’s delivery plan for the remaining statements.
I expect to be in a position to provide the House with a fuller update on the remedy replan and the review of this in good time before Christmas recess.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of the continuation of the two-child benefit cap on the (a) physical and (b) mental health of children in families affected by the cap.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is determined to bring down child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is a member of the Taskforce, which is co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. To date, Taskforce Ministers and their delegates have met nine times to discuss the critical issues that drive child poverty.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is hearing directly from families and children across the UK as part of its work to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, as well as front-line staff and leading campaigners, charities and organisations. The Taskforce is also working closely with local and devolved governments to hear how child poverty affects communities and what can be done to combat it.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59033 on Liquefied Natural Gas: Mozambique, whether the UK Export Finance due diligence in relation to UK support for the Mozambique liquefied natural gas project has concluded.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK Export Finance is currently in talks with project sponsors and other lenders, including export credit agencies, and other stakeholders, regarding the latest status of the Mozambique LNG project. I am unable to comment further during these talks for reasons of commercial sensitivity, but I will update the House once discussions conclude.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking ensure the continuity of independent medical advice to the National Police Chiefs Council's Less Lethal Weapons Working Group, following the replacement of the Science Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons with the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons Expert Committee.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The provision of a robust medical assessment of the effects of any less lethal weapon is critical to ensuring that when police use less lethal weapons, they use them safely and effectively to protect the public and prevent harm. The Scientific Advisory Council on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) has played an important role in this to date and plans are in place to ensure robust independent medical advice continues under the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons Executive Committee (MILLWEC), in line with the Code of Practice for Armed Policing and Police Use of Less Lethal Weapons.
The Home Office has been working closely with the Ministry of Defence to manage the transition and ensure no disruption to the provision of independent scientific advice. MILLWEC will be established from 30 November and SACMILL will continue in their advisory function until then. A framework, which will support the independence and accountability of the new committee, has been developed and is publicly available on the gov.uk website Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons Expert Committee - GOV.UK
Processes are in place to ensure Home Office management of the committee retains their independence at every level, in line with the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees and Councils.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her oral contribution of 13 October 2025 during the statement on Manchester Terrorism Attack, Official Report, column 27, what legislative vehicle she plans to use to amend section (a) 12 and (b) 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to allow the police to take account of the cumulative impact of frequent protests when considering whether to impose conditions.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which will allow senior officers to take account of the cumulative impact of protest activity when considering whether to impose conditions under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986.
This provision will help protect communities from repeated disruption caused by protests, while protecting the right to peaceful protest.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to give the same protections to people awaiting migration from the Disability Living Allowance to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provided to existing PIP claimants during his review of the PIP system.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, parliamentarians and other stakeholders to ensure a wide range of views and voices are heard.
Given that the review will be co-produced it will be for the chairs and the steering group to set out its recommendations to Government. The Government will consider these recommendations, including any relating to the protections set out in the question once the review has completed.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his proposals to make Integrated Care Boards strategic commissioners of local health services on (a) the level of fertility services and (b) access to fertility services for LGBTQ+ people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that fertility treatment across the National Health Service in England is subject to variation in access. In light of broader pressures on the NHS and ongoing changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
Work continues between the Department and NHS England to better understand the offer around NHS-funded fertility services including the issues for LGBTQ people.
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their population. We expect ICBs to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.
NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment are still appropriate. A consultation on revised guidelines was published on 10 September, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10263/consultation/html-content-2