Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Defence to support community cohesion in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
Building a safer, more reconciled society is a key priority. Northern Ireland Office Ministers engage broadly with ministerial colleagues to discuss a range of issues in Northern Ireland, including community cohesion. Fostering positive community relations in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK requires active leadership and close collaboration across Government, and across our society more broadly.
The Northern Ireland Office is proud to deliver the Connect Fund to support issues of shared interest across the UK such as community cohesion. The Connect Fund supports organisations such as Springboard Opportunities, a fantastic cross-community youth charity, who have received funding to deliver an initiative to evolve community cohesion strategies in Northern Ireland in collaboration with counterparts in England. I am delighted that the Connect Fund will continue to fund projects such as these, with applications opening for Connect Fund Round 3 at the start of next week.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) ISA providers and (b) other financial industry stakeholders on the Lifetime ISA property price cap.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recently consulted on the implementation of the First Time Buyer ISA and engaged with ISA providers, trade bodies and other financial services stakeholders as part of that process. Stakeholders raised a range of issues, including the property price cap. The consultation closed on 18 August, and we are carefully considering the responses received.
Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.
The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to review the Lifetime ISA property price cap, prior to the introduction of the First Time Buyer ISA.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recently consulted on the implementation of the First Time Buyer ISA and engaged with ISA providers, trade bodies and other financial services stakeholders as part of that process. Stakeholders raised a range of issues, including the property price cap. The consultation closed on 18 August, and we are carefully considering the responses received.
Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.
The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.
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 her Department has taken to safeguard against the potential misuse of patient data shared with third-party organisations.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 6 May 2025 to Question 45541.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of food insecurity levels among households in Slough.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the financial year ending 2025, 8% of households in the South East of England were food insecure, meaning that they had either low or very low food security. This compares to 9% in the UK. The requested information is available on GOV.UK here.
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 her Department has made an estimate of the percentage of first-time buyers in each region of England who bought their property for more than £450,000 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no specific estimate of the proportion of first-time buyers purchasing a property for more than £450,000 in each region.
The UK House Price Index shows that in August 2026 the average price paid by first-time buyers in England was £246,000. The average was below £450,000 in every English region except London, where it was £473,000.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 increase woodland cover.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to meeting the statutory Environment Act target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover in England to at least 16.5% by 2050. We are investing over £1 billion in tree planting and support to the forestry sector over this parliament.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he had made of police force compliance with the Victims' Code in informing a victim on (a) a suspect's bail status and (b) any relevant bail conditions.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that victims receive the entitlements set out in the Victims’ Code, including the right to be informed when key decisions are made during a police investigation, such as a suspect's bail status and any relevant bail conditions. That is why in January 2025 a new statutory duty in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 was commenced, which requires agencies who provide Code services to comply with the Code unless there is a good reason not to.
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 also creates a framework to monitor certain criminal justice agencies’ compliance with the Victims’ Code, including police forces, with duties on those agencies to collect and share information on compliance. Once commenced, the framework will introduce local scrutiny and national oversight of compliance with the Victims' Code. The Victims and Courts Act 2026 strengthened the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner within the framework by requiring the Commissioner to produce their own report on Code compliance, to enable independent oversight of the criminal justice agencies compliance with the Code.
The Government is working with criminal justice agencies, including policing, to develop the data and metrics needed to support the assessment of compliance with the Victims’ Code.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice consulted on a new Victims’ Code, seeking views from victims, sector experts, criminal justice practitioners and young people. The consultation included consideration of how agencies communicate with victims and keep them informed throughout the criminal justice process. The Department is now taking the time to consider nearly 200 responses and will issue a public response ahead of finalising the new Code and bringing it into force. The findings will also help inform future work to understand and measure victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system and the delivery of Victims’ Code rights.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help ensure that police forces notify victims of any bail conditions imposed on a suspect that are in place for the victim's safety.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We know the devastating impact that crime can have on a victim, and how stalking and harassment can leave victims living in fear going about their day-to-day lives. That is why the Government recognises the importance of victims being kept informed about developments in their case.
The police are required to notify victims of bail conditions by requirements in the Victims’ Code (the Code). The Code sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime in England and Wales are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies, including the police. It includes a number of statutory rights which require victims to be kept informed of key developments in their case, including being told about any bail conditions imposed on a suspect and any subsequent changes to those conditions.
Decisions on the management of individual investigations are operational matters for police forces. The College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice on victim and witness care also states that victims should be kept informed at all stages of an investigation and they should be told when a suspect is released under investigation, charged, or released on bail. In addition, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 strengthened the pre-charge bail framework by introducing a duty to seek victims' views when imposing or varying bail conditions, to ensure that those conditions better protect all victims.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that police forces notify victims of stalking and harassment offences when a suspect is released on bail.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We know the devastating impact that crime can have on a victim, and how stalking and harassment can leave victims living in fear going about their day-to-day lives. That is why the Government recognises the importance of victims being kept informed about developments in their case.
The police are required to notify victims of bail conditions by requirements in the Victims’ Code (the Code). The Code sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime in England and Wales are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies, including the police. It includes a number of statutory rights which require victims to be kept informed of key developments in their case, including being told about any bail conditions imposed on a suspect and any subsequent changes to those conditions.
Decisions on the management of individual investigations are operational matters for police forces. The College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice on victim and witness care also states that victims should be kept informed at all stages of an investigation and they should be told when a suspect is released under investigation, charged, or released on bail. In addition, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 strengthened the pre-charge bail framework by introducing a duty to seek victims' views when imposing or varying bail conditions, to ensure that those conditions better protect all victims.