Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation on the transparency of charity funding and donations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Government and the Charity Commission are alive to the risks of state threats to the charity sector. The Charity Commission works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited, and also has guidance on protecting charities from abuse for extremist purposes.
The Government works closely with a range of partners to tackle foreign interference in our society. Where there is clear evidence of unacceptable activity, the Government will respond accordingly. In July 2025, the Government launched the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which is designed to enable transparency of foreign influence and strengthen the resilience of the UK political system, as well as providing greater assurance around the activities of certain foreign powers or entities in the UK. In addition, as set out by the Security Minister in Parliament on 4 March, under the counter-political interference and espionage plan, officials are developing a programme of work to engage with the UK’s think-tanks and non-profit sector to discuss the threats that they face from foreign interference.
Greater transparency is to be encouraged as a matter of good practice, but it is not a legal requirement for charities to publicly disclose the identity of individual donors or grant-makers. Donor anonymity is an important consideration in ensuring people have the confidence to donate to charitable causes they care about.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made with Cabinet colleagues of the vulnerability of the third sector to be used by foreign actors to influence UK politics.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Government and the Charity Commission are alive to the risks of state threats to the charity sector. The Charity Commission works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited, and also has guidance on protecting charities from abuse for extremist purposes.
The Government works closely with a range of partners to tackle foreign interference in our society. Where there is clear evidence of unacceptable activity, the Government will respond accordingly. In July 2025, the Government launched the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which is designed to enable transparency of foreign influence and strengthen the resilience of the UK political system, as well as providing greater assurance around the activities of certain foreign powers or entities in the UK. In addition, as set out by the Security Minister in Parliament on 4 March, under the counter-political interference and espionage plan, officials are developing a programme of work to engage with the UK’s think-tanks and non-profit sector to discuss the threats that they face from foreign interference.
Greater transparency is to be encouraged as a matter of good practice, but it is not a legal requirement for charities to publicly disclose the identity of individual donors or grant-makers. Donor anonymity is an important consideration in ensuring people have the confidence to donate to charitable causes they care about.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has formally asked the Intellectual Property Office to assess the feasibility of a Secondary Publishing Right.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises that publishing research outcomes is vital in sharing knowledge. The different rights and ownership of these will depend on contractual arrangements between researchers, research institutions, and publishers.
The Intellectual Property Office is an Executive Agency of DSIT with responsibility for IP policy. Through the IPO the government monitors the copyright framework to ensure it remains fit for purpose. There are currently no plans to introduce a secondary publishing right.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a Secondary Publishing right in relation to (a) the dissemination of publicly funded research and (b) value for money.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises that publishing research outcomes is vital in sharing knowledge. The different rights and ownership of these will depend on contractual arrangements between researchers, research institutions, and publishers.
The Government has not made an assessment of the potential merits of a secondary publishing right.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the estates of deceased individuals will be eligible to claim for the Unethical Research Awards proposed under the Infected Blood Compensation Regulations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Yes they will be eligible. As set out in the Government’s response to the consultation, every eligible infected person treated for a bleeding disorder within a specific time period will receive an unethical research award. Additionally, people who were treated for a bleeding disorder in childhood will receive a higher Unethical Research award than those who were treated in adulthood. The amounts available through these awards do not change based on whether the infected person is living or has died.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department has taken to ensure that the rights and lived experience of children born through surrogacy are reported to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not undertaken an assessment on the compliance of safeguarding procedures for surrogacy arrangements with the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children.
The Government has not taken any steps to ensure that the rights and lived experience of children born through surrogacy are reported to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have published advice for those considering surrogacy overseas, which clearly sets out the possible risks and the processes for returning to the United Kingdom with a child born through an international surrogacy arrangement. This advice is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/surrogacy-overseas/surrogacy-overseas
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has undertaken on the compliance of safeguarding procedures for surrogacy arrangements with the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not undertaken an assessment on the compliance of safeguarding procedures for surrogacy arrangements with the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children.
The Government has not taken any steps to ensure that the rights and lived experience of children born through surrogacy are reported to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have published advice for those considering surrogacy overseas, which clearly sets out the possible risks and the processes for returning to the United Kingdom with a child born through an international surrogacy arrangement. This advice is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/surrogacy-overseas/surrogacy-overseas
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her department has any plans to extend the restricted list of countries from which adoption is prohibited to also cover surrogacy arrangements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children and Adoption Act 2006 places a statutory duty on my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to maintain and publish a list of countries in respect of which restrictions on intercountry adoption apply. This Restricted List relates solely to adoption and is intended to safeguard children where there are concerns about the integrity of adoption processes in particular countries.
Surrogacy arrangements do not fall within the remit of the Department for Education. Policy responsibility for surrogacy, including any consideration of regulatory frameworks, rests with the Department of Health and Social Care
Accordingly, the department has no plans to extend the Restricted List to cover surrogacy arrangements.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when the first tranche of funding from the Local Growth Fund will be released to delivery partners.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
To secure the release of their Local Growth Fund allocation for financial year 2026-27, Regional Partnerships in Scotland are required to submit a 3-year Investment Plan by 29 May 2026. The Scotland Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will review and sign-off these plans before the release of year 1 funds - anticipated in Summer 2026.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the estates of deceased individuals will be eligible to claim for the Unethical Research Awards proposed under the Infected Blood Compensation Regulations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.