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 steps they are taking to increase the amount of UK made steel used in procurement contracts overseen by their Department.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government Commercial Function (GCF), based in the Cabinet Office, published its strategy document for 2026 to 2029 on 7 April 2026, which is available at the following link:
Driving economic growth is a key pillar of this strategy, in line with Government policy, capitalising on the industrial strategy targets to create jobs in the United Kingdom, and a key part of the strategy is market shaping and making use of the collective buying power of the Government to drive UK economic growth and resilience.
One of the first steps will be for the GCF to work with the commercial directors across the Government in four pilot sectors, namely shipbuilding, steel, artificial intelligence, and energy infrastructure, to identify key data requirements, and to pilot underpinning market shaping assessments for each. The Cabinet Office will be publishing a Procurement Policy Notice specifically on UK steel transparency later this year.
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, whether he is taking steps to increase reserves of helium within the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is closely monitoring the impacts of the Middle East conflict on the medical supply chain, including on the supply of helium. We have engaged with industry and received assurance on the stability of continued helium supply through contingency planning and sourcing through multiple global routes. We will continue to monitor the supply of helium and other medical products to mitigate any potential impacts on patient care.
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, which officials in her Department have the authority to (a) override vetting decisions of appointments made within her Department and (b) provide access to secret or top secret information to people that have not obtained the required clearances through vetting, and where do they derive their authority to make these decisions.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister's statement to the House on 20 April and his answers to the questions raised in response.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in each of the last 3 years, how many instances of delayed hearings and trials have been caused by the CPS giving insufficient time for the defence to consider evidence shared as part of disclosure.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The specific information requested is not held. However, data on trials that have been ineffective due to the prosecution failing to disclose unused evidence is published quarterly in the Criminal Courts Accredited Official Statistics. The latest available data can be found in the ‘Trial Effectiveness at the Criminal Courts tool’ here: Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Government is carefully considering the recommendations on the disclosure regime made by Sir Brian Leveson as part of the Independent Review of Criminal Courts, and by Jonathan Fisher KC in his Independent Review of Disclosure Offences.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of roles are primarily land based for a) the whole Royal Navy and b) the Catering Services branch of the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It has not been possible to provide the answer within the timeframe given, I will write to the hon. Member as soon as practical and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has assessed the potential merits of introducing lifetime driving bans for individuals who have received multiple disqualifications from driving as a result of dangerous driving convictions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts.
This includes whether to disqualify an offender from driving and, where appropriate, the length of any disqualification.
The courts already have powers to impose lifetime disqualification where that is justified.
Separately, under the “totting up” provisions, where a driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points within a three-year period, the court must ordinarily order disqualification for at least the statutory minimum unless there are grounds to reduce or avoid that disqualification.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has plans to introduce consistent product standards for domestic plug-in solar systems.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Suppliers of all products placed on the UK market, including domestic plug-in solar systems, must ensure they comply with relevant product safety legislative requirements. This includes specific product regulations such as the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 and the broader General Product Safety Regulations, on which we have recently launched a consultation on proposed reforms. These reforms seek to develop a product safety framework that reflects the modern world, giving consumers confidence in the products they buy and use and giving businesses the certainty they need to grow and innovate.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps they are taking to increase the amount of UK made steel used in procurement contracts overseen by their Department.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All steel procurements overseen by the Department are done so in full alignment and following the principles as set out in the Steel PPN 022. In addition to existing best practice policies, from the 1 September 2025 this required the Department to:
These additional policy measures are designed to increase the amount of UK Steel used in procurement contracts.
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, whether excess domestic energy derived from plug in solar will be able to be exported to the grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We expect most households to be able to consume the majority of electricity generated themselves.
However, any excess electricity generated from plug-in solar panels would be automatically exported to the grid.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of jurors completed jury service lasting (a) one week or less from their first day of service, (b) more than one week but not more than two weeks, (c) more than two weeks but not more than three weeks, (d) more than three weeks but not more than four weeks, (e) more than four weeks but not more than five weeks, (f) more than five weeks but not more than six weeks, and (g) more than six weeks in the last two years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
When jurors are summoned, they are advised that Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days, although some trials may extend beyond this period and jurors will be advised of this in advance. Jurors may also sit on more than one case during their service.
Proportion of Jurors by Jury Service Duration (Weeks) | |||
Period | Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 | Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 (%) | |
One week or less | 210,930 | 53.1% | |
Between 1 and 2 weeks | 155,178 | 39.1% | |
Between 2 and 3 weeks | 18,806 | 4.7% | |
Between 3 and 4 weeks | 5,061 | 1.3% | |
Between 4 and 5 weeks | 2,841 | 0.7% | |
Between 5 and 6 weeks | 1,667 | 0.4% | |
More than 6 weeks | 2,773 | 0.7% | |
Total | 397,256 | 100.0% | |
Source: HMCTS management information - Data extracted via Juror 16/4/2026 Notes:
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