Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of in-service helicopters' exhaust emissions that have been tested in the last five years.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence has previously conducted multiple sampling surveys on the, now out of service, Sea King helicopter between 1999 and 2015. These previous surveys found no conclusive evidence to suggest that aircrew were subject to exposure levels above UK and international safety standards.
In response to recent concerns regarding the emissions of out of service helicopters, including the Sea King and Wessex, the Ministry of Defence has commenced a programme a programme of exhaust emission substance sampling for its in-service helicopter fleet.
Modern helicopters and their engines are developed and certified to recognised standards with stringent emissions requirements and there is no current evidence to suggest personnel are at risk from current in-service helicopters. We are proactively conducting this work to ensure we are meeting our legal duty of care to our people. It is vital we can reassure them of their safety while at work.
The testing programme commenced in February 2025 and is ongoing. Throughout, we are balancing the need to conduct testing with the operational requirements and availability of the aircraft.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on exhaust emissions tests on in-service helicopters.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence has previously conducted multiple sampling surveys on the, now out of service, Sea King helicopter between 1999 and 2015. These previous surveys found no conclusive evidence to suggest that aircrew were subject to exposure levels above UK and international safety standards.
In response to recent concerns regarding the emissions of out of service helicopters, including the Sea King and Wessex, the Ministry of Defence has commenced a programme a programme of exhaust emission substance sampling for its in-service helicopter fleet.
Modern helicopters and their engines are developed and certified to recognised standards with stringent emissions requirements and there is no current evidence to suggest personnel are at risk from current in-service helicopters. We are proactively conducting this work to ensure we are meeting our legal duty of care to our people. It is vital we can reassure them of their safety while at work.
The testing programme commenced in February 2025 and is ongoing. Throughout, we are balancing the need to conduct testing with the operational requirements and availability of the aircraft.
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 he has taken to ensure the safe return of British nationals from countries impacted by airspace closures in the Middle East.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Support to British nationals remains our top priority and we have worked at pace to ensure those who wanted to leave left safely. Consular teams have worked round the clock to support British nationals in the region. As soon as Israeli airspace re-opened UK government charter flights left Israel carrying more than 380 people on six flights. In allocating seats, we prioritised those who were most vulnerable, including those with medical needs, children, and the elderly. Commercial flights are now available.
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 discussions he has had with ICBs on removing the need for self-funded artificial insemination before accessing NHS-funded IVF.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service funded treatment are still appropriate.
In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
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 he has had with his international counterparts on ensuring the safety of people retrieving aid in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is appalled by reports of civilian fatalities at aid distribution sites in Gaza. This underscores the urgent need to protect civilians accessing humanitarian assistance. The Foreign Secretary raised the safety of aid workers with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on 15 April, and again on 22 June, where he expressed concerns about mass casualty incidents and stressed the need to deliver aid at scale. In our 13 May statement to the UN Security Council, we made clear the UK will not support any aid mechanism that compromises civilian safety or humanitarian neutrality. We continue pressing for safe, unimpeded aid delivery through all diplomatic channels, including with regional partners and at the UN.
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 he has had recent discussions with (a) his Israeli counterpart, (b) the United Nations and (c) humanitarian organisations on the availability of safe drinking water in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK works closely with partners to provide the delivery of vitally needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. Desalination plants must be able to operate and provide clean drinking water for civilians. In the last financial year, we provided a £2 million uplift, through a contribution to the World Bank, to increase the sustainable supply of water and energy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including in Gaza. We are proud that UK support has meant over 430,000 people have received essential healthcare, more than 640,000 have received food, and 275,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with (a) the Payment Systems Regulator and (b) representatives of the payments industry on merchant interchange fees.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to ensuring a world-leading payments ecosystem that meets the needs of all businesses and consumers, as reflected in the National Payments Vision. This includes support for regulation of interchange fees. Government ministers and officials meet regularly with payments firms and their representatives on this and other issues. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and available on gov.uk.
Domestic interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for consumer debit cards and 0.3% for consumer credit cards. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for enforcing these caps. The PSR is independent of the Government. However, the Government engages with them regularly on their important work, including on card fees.
The PSR has recently conducted a market review into cross-border interchange fees. These are fees charged when an EEA issued card is used to make a purchase from a UK merchant. It published its final report in December 2024 and is now considering its next steps.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of smartphone bans in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools on educational attainment.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Mobile phones have no place in our schools.
Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.
The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.
New research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools – 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools – already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
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, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Home Secretary and (b) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the prevention of violence against retail workers.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.
We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.
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, what recent discussions he has had with retailers on the prevention retail crime.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.
We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.