Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with participating European countries regarding compliance with obligations under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government takes International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA) extremely seriously. For example, the Foreign Secretary raised IPCA with her Polish counterpart on 25 June 2026, and our Embassy in Bucharest convened a working group focused on improving implementation of return orders under the 1980 Hague Convention in April. While compliance with Convention obligations ultimately rests with the authorities in the country where the child is located, we will continue to work with our European counterparts to improve the enforcement of return orders, as we set out in the Westminster Hall debate on 28 April 2026 (28 April 2026, International Parental Child Abduction, Westminster Hall, column 315WH).
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps have been taken to ensure that schoolchildren can participate in a wide range of sports in (a) school and (b) extra-curricular settings.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is investing over £1 billion in PE and school sport over three years, including £530 million for the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network.
The new approach focuses on improving the quality of PE and school sport, reducing inactivity and addressing inequalities in participation. Support will include coaching, swimming provision, and support to open facilities. It will also strengthen links to extra-curricular activities, local sports clubs and community providers, alongside more accessible programmes from National Governing Bodies, helping more children access a wider range of sports and physical activities.
In addition, the department’s Enrichment Framework sets an expectation that all schools and colleges should offer a broad and well-rounded enrichment offer. Sport and physical activities are specifically identified as one of the areas that offers should cover. The £132.5 million Every Child Can programme will fund activity across the five categories of enrichment, within school and in communities at weekends and in the holidays.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of financial assistance available for homeowners to retrofit properties to prevent them from overheating in extreme heat.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the Warm Homes Plan, our buildings are not currently built to deal with record summer temperatures and some are at significant risk of overheating.
That’s why the government is introducing the most appropriate, cost-effective passive cooling measures into our capital schemes, which will deliver £4.4 billion in direct grants by 2030 to support low-income households. These include internal blinds, external shutters, reflective window films, and cooler building materials.
We also recognise that in some cases active cooling is needed to protect those most vulnerable to overheating. We have therefore expanded the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants of up to £7,500 for low‑carbon heating and is worth £2.7 billion up to 2030, to provide grants for air‑to‑air heat pumps which also provide cooling.
Additionally, the WHP committed to a new low-interest consumer loans scheme – backed by £2bn public funding – which will provide further support with upfront costs for various home upgrades. We will provide more details on this soon.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds data on the number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries attended by Fire and Rescue Services in Slough each year.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) does not currently hold data on the number of fires caused by lithium-ion battery failures attended by Fire and Rescue Services in Slough, or elsewhere in England.
MHCLG collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of the ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by lithium-ion failures.
The Fire and Rescue Analysis Platform (FaRDaP) is now used for the collection of fire and rescue incident data, and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect, with data covering lithium-ion batteries’ role in fire incidents potentially able to be included in the future.
In addition, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) conduct research into product safety risks associated with lithium-ion batteries and are working closely with MHCLG and other Government Departments to develop this knowledge base. A report from January 2025 by the OPSS that covers the root causes of fire incidents often associated with lithium-ion battery failures is available here.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps he has taken to make heat pump installation more (a) accessible and (b) affordable for home owners.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is taking significant steps to make heat pumps more accessible and affordable for homeowners, demonstrated by the record installation levels set in both 2024 and 2025.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants of up to £7,500 for all eligible households in England and Wales, and we recently announced a £1,500 uplift for properties heated by oil and LPG. We recently expanded scheme eligibility to include air-to-air heat pumps, which are generally cheaper to install.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund also provide fully-funded heat pumps to low-income households,
The Warm Homes Plan committed to a new low-interest consumer loans scheme – backed by £2bn public funding – which will provide further support with upfront costs. We will provide more details soon.
The Government has reformed planning rules to make it easier to install heat pumps under permitted rights, and we’re working with industry to reduce costs, which have fallen by around 11% in real terms since BUS launched in 2022.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps have been taken alongside local stakeholders to identify high-risk areas in Slough for the installation of (a) crisis messaging and (b) helpline information for suicide prevention.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
We are committed to delivering the five-year cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, which sets out over 100 actions to save lives. We will continue to explore opportunities to go further.
To strengthen access to urgent mental health support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Work is also underway to ensure crisis support is available via text, to widen access for people who may find voice calls difficult.
We are also making £473 million of capital funding available over the next four years, which we encourage systems to invest in new care models such as community-based mental health centres and new mental health emergency departments, also known as crisis assessment centres.
In Slough, local urgent and emergency care referral data, including referrals to Wexham Park for suicidal ideation and self-harm or overdose, helps inform the understanding of the local need for crisis and suicide prevention support. In the Slough area, Safe-Haven, run by Mental Health Matters working in partnership with the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, supports people with suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm. Residents can walk in for access to one-to-one emotional support from trained mental health professionals.
Adults can also be referred to the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine service if they are being treated at an emergency department or have been admitted to hospital because of a mental health crisis or there is evidence of self-harm.
The Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team can also provide crisis response for people in a serious mental health problem or mental health crisis, and they have recently begun offering a crisis text service.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions his Department has had with the European Union regarding the 90-days/180-days short-stay rule within the Schengen Area for UK nationals.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Ministers and officials from across the Government, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps have been taken alongside international partners to ensure the safety of Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 23 June in response to Question HL995. On the issue of humanitarian aid for Ethiopia, I refer him to the country-level allocations of Official Development Assistance set out in the Department's annual report and accounts for 2025/26, published on 16 July.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of its processes for (a) identifying, (b) monitoring and (c) reporting potential breaches of international humanitarian law globally.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to upholding and promoting full compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office draws on a range of sources and analysis to inform our IHL assessments, including the work of our own expert teams.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps have been taken to provide humanitarian aid to Ethiopia.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 23 June in response to Question HL995. On the issue of humanitarian aid for Ethiopia, I refer him to the country-level allocations of Official Development Assistance set out in the Department's annual report and accounts for 2025/26, published on 16 July.