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, if the UK Government will continue it’s policy not to place pressure on Ukraine to adopt a policy of appeasement against Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is focussed on ensuring Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, and on ramping up the pressure on Putin to force him to engage in meaningful talks that result in a just and lasting peace. We are united with partners that the fighting should stop immediately, that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations, and that international borders must not be changed by force.
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 discussions she has had with her Bangladeshi counterpart on ending religious-based violence in that country.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains deeply concerned about religious-based violence in Bangladesh. The previous Minister for the Indo-Pacific visited Bangladesh in November 2024 and discussed the importance of protection of religious minorities with the Chief Adviser. In February 2025, the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, visited Bangladesh and held meetings with the Interim Government to discuss issues of justice, accountability, and the protection of fundamental freedoms.
The UK welcomed public condemnations of violence from Bangladeshi leaders and civil society and supports the interim Government's actions to safeguard vulnerable communities.
Our commitment to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is reflected in our £27 million Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme (2023-2028), which aims to protect civic space, foster inclusive dialogue, and address tensions that can lead to violence.
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, whether she has taken steps to help support residents of the Cayman Islands in response to Hurricane Melissa.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 4 November on the UK's response to Hurricane Melissa.
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, if she will make it her policy for the UK to advocate against a policy of Ukrainian appeasement towards Russia in diplomatic discussions with all other countries, for as long as it remains Ukraine's position to oppose appeasement.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is focussed on ensuring Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, and on ramping up the pressure on Putin to force him to engage in meaningful talks that result in a just and lasting peace. We are united with partners that the fighting should stop immediately, that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations, and that international borders must not be changed by force.
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, whether she has taken steps to help support residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands in their response to Hurricane Melissa.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 4 November on the UK's response to Hurricane Melissa.
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 estimate he has made of the number of patients admitted to hospital with (a) covid, (b) flu and (c) respiratory syncytial virus in (i) 2025, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes data on hospital admissions, including due to influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The data is available at the following link:
NHS England publishes data on hospital admissions including those that relate to the number of patients admitted with COVID-19. The data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-hospital-activity/
The following table shows the number of hospital admissions for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV in 2023/24 and 2024/25:
Hospital Admissions | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Influenza | 28,003 | 59,320 |
RSV | 19,572 | 19,457 |
COVID-19 | 35,507 | 23,507 |
Source: NHS England Digital
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May 2025 to Question 53618, if she will make an estimate of potential cost savings from introducing a rolling programme of electrification.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department has not made an estimate of the potential savings of a rolling programme of electrification; however, we recognise the potential benefits such a programme could have for reducing the cost of delivering electrification infrastructure in this country. Officials are working closely with Network Rail to deliver updated plans for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway over the next 25 years that considers both track and train and the significant recent progress in battery technology and will consider potential cost savings as part of this process.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May 2025 to Question 53618, when she expects updated plans for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway over the next 25 years to be a) concluded and b) published.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials from the Department for Transport are working closely with Network Rail to produce their new 'Long-term Planning for Rail Decarbonisation' strategy, any plan which arises from this strategy will cover 25 years and set out a realistic, affordable, and deliverable approach to a net zero railway, with consideration for the bespoke electrification needs of freight operators. We expect Network Rail to engage with industry as part of the development of this strategy and we expect to see a draft of this strategy before the end of this year.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce crimes against (a) endangered species and (b) other wildlife.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime, including in rural areas, and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.
This financial year, we are continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit who provide intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime.
They are also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity, tackling the illegal trade of endangered species.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of arrests that have been made following police use of facial recognition technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data on the number of arrests made following the police’s use of facial recognition technology. The department is, however, funding national evaluation to understand the impact of facial recognition on police and crime outcomes, and its relationship to public trust and confidence.
Where police forces are using live facial recognition technology, the number of arrests made following each deployment are published on their respective websites.