Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent measures her Department has introduced to (a) detect and (b) prevent sham marriages.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government takes abuse of the immigration system, including sham marriages and civil partnerships, extremely seriously. Family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting relationship, and where this is not the case the Home Office will take robust action.

The sham marriage referral and investigation scheme, introduced under the Immigration Act 2014, continues to provide a strong platform for effective action to identify, disrupt and deter sham marriages and civil partnerships before they take place. The scheme applies to couples where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from marriage or civil partnership, allowing the Home Office to investigate and take action where appropriate.

Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules was updated in December 2020 to introduce specific grounds for the refusal or cancellation of permission to enter/stay on the basis of involvement in a sham marriage or sham civil partnership, providing a more robust and consistent framework against which immigration applications are assessed, and reflecting the seriousness of this type of abuse.

Most recently, the Home Office has strengthened its approach to tackling sham marriages and civil partnerships by improving the coordination, detection and disruption across the system. Immigration Enforcement has established a national coordination and operational governance model to provide improved oversight of sham marriage activity, strengthen consistency of decision‑making and target resources more effectively. The Home Office continues to work closely with local registration services, UK Visas and Immigration, law enforcement partners and intelligence teams to identify sham relationships early and prevent abuse of the marriage route. This includes enhanced information‑sharing, improved referral processes and targeted investigative activity where abuse is suspected.

Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a marriage or civil partnership is not genuine, the Home Office will investigate and take appropriate action. This may include refusal or curtailment of leave, removal or deportation from the UK, or prosecution. The Home Office also focuses on disrupting facilitators and organised criminal networks involved in arranging sham marriages, recognising the links to wider serious and organised crime.

The Government keeps its processes under continual review and remains committed to protecting the integrity of the immigration system, safeguarding vulnerable individuals and ensuring enforcement activity is proportionate, intelligence‑led and lawful.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS trusts regarding the consistent implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework within mental health services.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has published guidance setting out oversight roles and responsibilities in relation to the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework.

Trust boards, or leadership teams in the case of National Health Service organisations without boards, are responsible and accountable for effective patient safety incident management in their organisation. Integrated care boards, or NHS England where it is the commissioner of the service, are responsible for establishing and maintaining structures for supporting a coordinated approach to oversight of patient safety incident response in all the services within their system. NHS England regional teams are responsible for supporting integrated care boards, and through the regional independent investigation teams, support the response to incidents that may require an independent investigation.

Work is ongoing to consider where amendments to organisational oversight responsibilities are needed in line with organisational changes across the NHS, particularly at integrated care board and NHS England regional level.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to assess the prevalence of chemical submission offences in England and Wales.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

To improve understanding of the prevalence and motivations behind these offences, spiking has been added to the Annual Data Requirement, through which the Home Office collects police data from forces in England and Wales. Returns will be analysed using the National Data Quality Improvement Service to provide more robust and insightful data on the subject.

The Home Office has also commissioned the University of Birmingham to research the motivations of spiking perpetrators, providing important first-hand insights into the range of factors that drive this offending.

This is in addition to a range of other work the Government is undertaking to combat all forms of spiking, including the introduction of new legislation as part of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research, monitoring and data collection her Department undertakes to assess the prevalence of chemical submission offences in England and Wales.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

To improve understanding of the prevalence and motivations behind these offences, spiking has been added to the Annual Data Requirement, through which the Home Office collects police data from forces in England and Wales. Returns will be analysed using the National Data Quality Improvement Service to provide more robust and insightful data on the subject.

The Home Office has also commissioned the University of Birmingham to research the motivations of spiking perpetrators, providing important first-hand insights into the range of factors that drive this offending.

This is in addition to a range of other work the Government is undertaking to combat all forms of spiking, including the introduction of new legislation as part of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on cases of British nationals in Mongolia a) subject to arbitrary detention and b) prohibited from leaving that country.

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

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad 24/7. In Mongolia, consular officials aim to visit detained British nationals every six weeks initially and every three months following sentencing, although this is kept under review according to individual circumstances. We are not aware of any British nationals currently detained in Mongolia. If the Honourable Member wishes to raise a specific case, he is welcome to write to me separately.

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 to ensure the welfare of British nationals detained in Mongolia, including access to legal representation.

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

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad 24/7. In Mongolia, consular officials aim to visit detained British nationals every six weeks initially and every three months following sentencing, although this is kept under review according to individual circumstances. We are not aware of any British nationals currently detained in Mongolia. If the Honourable Member wishes to raise a specific case, he is welcome to write to me separately.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British nationals are detained in Mongolia.

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

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad 24/7. In Mongolia, consular officials aim to visit detained British nationals every six weeks initially and every three months following sentencing, although this is kept under review according to individual circumstances. We are not aware of any British nationals currently detained in Mongolia. If the Honourable Member wishes to raise a specific case, he is welcome to write to me separately.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason PhD stipends do not count towards the work requirement for free hours of childcare; what information does her Department hold on the number of PhD researchers who are having to withdraw from their PhDs or are unable to start PhD courses due to childcare costs: and whether she has made an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of permitting PhD stipends to count towards the work requirement for free childcare hours.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Students who work alongside their studies may be eligible for 30 hours free childcare if they meet the income requirements. PhD stipends are non-taxable income and therefore do not count towards the income requirements of the 30 hours childcare entitlement.

The department does not hold information on the number of PhD researchers who have withdrawn from, or have been unable to commence, PhD study as a result of childcare costs. The department has not estimated the potential cost to the public purse of allowing PhD stipends to count towards the work and income requirements for the 30 hours free childcare entitlement.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Defence Business Services record data relating to (a) the number of complaints received, (b) complaint resolution times and (c) complaint trends.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

Yes. Defence Business Services collects different sets of monthly complaints data in relation to the complaints processes which are specific to different sets of service lines. These include complaint resolution times and, for the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions Schemes, rolling 12-month trend data.

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 within the NHS to ensure compliance with the Records Management Code of Practice.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 8 July, NHS England issued new guidance concerning unlawful access to patient records, including advice for information governance professionals on how their organisations can prevent and monitor unlawful access to records, and the steps they should take when it is identified. This also includes guidance for patients on the safeguards in place to protect their records, and what to do if they think their data has been accessed inappropriately. The new guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/preventing-unlawful-access-to-patient-records/

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Ministry of Defence personnel were affected by the reported cyberattack that compromised data associated with the Police National Legal Database and related systems.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

There has been no compromise of MOD networks. The reported cyberattack was against the Police National Legal Database (PNLD) system, which some MOD personnel use.

Defence worked with the Police National Management Centre to identify data of potentially affected personnel. Of the 409 individuals initially assessed as having MOD links, Defence notified 361; the remaining 48 records were invalid.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to ensure compliance with the (a) Equality Act 2010 and (b) Renters' Rights Act 2025 within the rented housing sector.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 provides local authorities with strong investigatory and enforcement powers to bear down on rental discrimination practices in the private rented sector.

It addresses both overt discriminatory practices, such as ‘No DSS’ adverts, and situations where landlords or letting agents use other indirect practices in order to prevent someone entering into a tenancy.

The government is increasing ring-fenced civil penalties to support a ‘polluter pays’ approach to enforcement of the new tenancy system.

In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities resulting from the Act are fully funded. To that end, my Department is providing £41.12 million to local housing authorities for this financial year to help them undertake their new enforcement responsibilities. This funding is in addition to the £18.2 million provided in 2025/26.

Our aim over the long term is to establish a sustainable funding system for private rented sector enforcement based on future Private Rented Sector Database fee revenues. We will set out further details in due course.

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 to ensure the availability of early diagnosis services for osteoporosis in Slough.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is supporting earlier diagnosis of osteoporosis through the NHS Elective Reform Plan and the 10-Year Health Plan, including improving access to diagnostic services such as DEXA scanning and supporting integrated fracture liaison services (FLS), which identify and assess people at risk of osteoporosis after a fracture.

Recent steps have been taken to strengthen the early diagnosis and management of osteoporosis for residents in Slough through the introduction of a dedicated FLS at the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. The service proactively identifies people aged 50 years old and over who have sustained a fragility fracture, recognising that these patients are at significantly increased risk of future fractures if osteoporosis is not diagnosed and treated promptly. Patients are systematically identified using the trust's Epic electronic patient record system, enabling the service to capture patients presenting with fractures and arrange timely assessment, including DEXA scanning, blood tests, and falls risk evaluation where appropriate. This ensures that underlying osteoporosis can be diagnosed earlier and appropriate treatment initiated to reduce the risk of subsequent fractures.

The trust has also strengthened case identification through enhanced use of digital systems. Non-vertebral fragility fractures are identified through Epic reporting, while vertebral fractures can be detected through radiology reporting processes, with further opportunities to expand early diagnosis through the use of artificial intelligence-supported identification of vertebral fractures. Patients requiring bone density assessment can access DEXA scanning through Frimley Health services, with the nearest DEXA scanner to Slough located at St Mark's Hospital in Maidenhead, alongside additional provision at Aldershot. The FLS service follows the evidence-based model developed with the support of Public Health England and National Health Service partners.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the safety and resilience of the rail network to a) flash flooding, b) prolonged drought and c) other environmental and weather impacts associated with a warming climate.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The rail industry is taking a range of measures to improve the safety and resilience of the railway to the effects of climate change.

Flash flooding: Network Rail is investing in improved drainage systems, flood resilience schemes, remote monitoring technologies and enhanced weather forecasting to identify and manage flood risks.

Prolonged drought: The rail industry is assessing and managing risks associated with hotter, drier conditions, including embankment and earthwork stability, subsidence, and vegetation-related impacts.

Other environmental and weather impacts: Network Rail and Train Operating companies have developed Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Plans. These plans incorporate future climate projections into asset management, maintenance and renewal decisions. This includes measures to address extreme rainfall, higher temperatures, coastal change, storms, high winds, overheating of infrastructure and vegetation management.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with schools operating under Private Finance Initiative contracts on the adequacy of funding available for school meals.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has a dedicated Private Finance Team which regularly engages with schools and responsible bodies on issues arising from Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts, including funding pressures where relevant.

There are currently 637 PFI schools in England. Most are covered by contracts procured and managed by local authorities, and the department does not hold information on whether catering services are included within those contracts.

The department's five most recent privately financed school contracts, covering 46 schools, were procured under the PF2 model and do not include catering services.

The department supports PFI schools through both Revenue Support Grant funding for local authority-managed contracts and the PFI Factor within the National Funding Formula. In addition, the department's Private Finance Team provides advice and assistance to schools and responsible bodies on issues arising during the lifetime of PFI contracts and as contracts approach expiry.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to victims of investment fraud in (a) Slough constituency and (b) the South East.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

As part of the Fraud Strategy 2026-2029 the Government committed to ensuring all victims of fraud receive the support they need. This includes operating Report Fraud, the new, streamlined reporting service, to provide a robust and improved reporting mechanism for victims of fraud. Further, all victims who report fraud to Report Fraud will receive support either directly from their local police force, or through Report Fraud Victim Services. Additionally, the Government has committed to producing a Victims Charter which will set out a minimum standard of care across all support providers, to ensure consistent victim support.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent steps have been taken to improve public awareness regarding legislation relating to the use of fireworks.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Government will launch a safe and considerate use campaign ahead of this fireworks season to promote responsible use and raise awareness of existing legal requirements. This builds on activity undertaken last year, strengthening public understanding of the rules around use of fireworks.

I have also launched a public consultation on proposals to reform fireworks and pyrotechnics legislation. The consultation sets out the existing regulatory framework, reinforcing current legal requirements, while gathering evidence on how best to reduce harm and distress from consumer fireworks. The consultation is supported by engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to review the six-month qualifying period for Attendance Allowance for pensioners who develop (a) immediate and (b) substantial care needs following (i) a stroke and (ii) diagnosis of another life-changing condition.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Entitlement to Attendance Allowance (AA) is based on the need for frequent personal care and attention, or supervision to ensure their safety, rather than on a particular medical condition. The six-month qualifying period helps establish that the disability and the resulting care or supervision needs are of a long-term nature and ensures the benefit goes to those for whom it is intended. For people nearing the end of life, special rules apply, and there is no requirement to satisfy the six-month qualifying period.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to assess and mitigate any increased risks to British Jews which have arisen as a result of recent UK sanctions towards Israel and Israel’s response to the UK.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to the safety and security of Jewish communities across the United Kingdom.

In July, the Government announced a £251 million package over three years to strengthen the protection of Jewish communities. This includes funding for additional officers in the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police, and seven other force areas with significant Jewish communities, and national surge capabilities available to all forces in England and Wales.

The Government has also made £32.4 million available for Jewish community protective security in 2026/27. The Jewish Community Protective Security Grant provides funding for security measures at synagogues, Jewish educational establishments and other communal locations.

Police assess the threat picture and adjust their operational response where necessary to keep Jewish communities safe.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help (a) halt and (b) reverse species decline in the UK.

Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to restoring nature and achieving our legally binding species targets. These include targets to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, reverse these declines by at least 10% by 2042 when compared with 2030, and to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042.

To achieve these targets, we have ramped up action to support nature recovery. We are investing £60 million over the next three years into the Species Recovery Programme, marking the largest ever Government investment in directly supporting threatened species. A further £30 million will be dedicated to fund species recovery on the national forest estate. Earlier this year beavers were released in Somerset and Cornwall following the Government’s landmark decision last year to allow the legal reintroduction of beavers into the wild in England since they were hunted to extinction around 400 years ago and we recently approved £1m of additional funding to explore a reintroduction programme for golden eagles in England. The Government has also announced the largest nature friendly farming budget in history, with £11.8 billion to be spent across this Parliament.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the financial contribution from Ireland is towards the deployment of a Royal Navy vessel for security at an event in Ireland.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the time was between his Department receiving an initial request to obtain location data from Apple for UK nationals missing in Nepal and a request being made.

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

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff and our embassy teams have been working around the clock to support British nationals and their families, and to lead the humanitarian response to the devastating floods, including over the weekend and bank holiday. The UK is working with the Nepalese and Chinese authorities to support their crisis response efforts on the ground. The UK acted on information provided in relation to missing individuals as soon as practicable and shared relevant details with the appropriate authorities. Police Family Liaison Officers have been deployed to support individual families, including on any information that could help efforts to locate the missing. Family Liaison Officers are available to discuss the utility or otherwise of mobile phones given the impact on the physical infrastructure and communications in the area. The information picture is changing continuously as Nepalese search and rescue teams work in the affected areas, and UK staff are in close contact with the authorities to understand the latest situation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the British Embassy in Nepal was closed (a) during the August bank holiday weekend and (b) on bank holiday Monday.

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

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff and our embassy teams have been working around the clock to support British nationals and their families, and to lead the humanitarian response to the devastating floods, including over the weekend and bank holiday. The UK is working with the Nepalese and Chinese authorities to support their crisis response efforts on the ground. The UK acted on information provided in relation to missing individuals as soon as practicable and shared relevant details with the appropriate authorities. Police Family Liaison Officers have been deployed to support individual families, including on any information that could help efforts to locate the missing. Family Liaison Officers are available to discuss the utility or otherwise of mobile phones given the impact on the physical infrastructure and communications in the area. The information picture is changing continuously as Nepalese search and rescue teams work in the affected areas, and UK staff are in close contact with the authorities to understand the latest situation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to speed up the a) development and b) deployment of new mine hunting capabilities for the Royal Navy.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 March 2026 to Question 120373 to the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi):

The Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme continues to deliver an advanced suite of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and SWEEP (the first Sovereign minesweeping capability since 2006) into service within the Royal Navy, enabling frontline mine warfare specialists to enhance operational effectiveness. These cutting-edge autonomous mine-hunting systems are deployed by the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group for evaluation, training, and operational deployment.

The comprehensive scope of the MHC programme encompasses multiple USVs, UUVs, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for identification and neutralisation, and a state-of-the-art, sovereign mine-sweeping capability. Additionally, the programme has delivered HMS STIRLING CASTLE, a dedicated support vessel designed to enhance the deployment and sustainment of autonomous systems.

Submit Evidence (by 4 Nov 2026)

This inquiry will consider the role of UK Defence in the Gulf region. It will examine the UK’s defence interests and objectives, force posture, and defence partnerships. It will cover the implications of recent crises, including the 2026 conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, for the UK’s future defence presence.