Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will update the Decent Homes Standard for social housing to ensure that kitchens over 20 years old are renewed by social landlords.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a new Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, when she plans to publish further information on how changes to the five-year settlement pathway will affect people already in the UK on a pathway to settlement.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether former SAS soldiers working in private mercenary companies had any involvement in the committing of war crimes during the Sri Lankan civil war.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to human rights in Sri Lanka for all its communities and will continue to press for truth, reconciliation, accountability and justice for victims of the Sri Lankan civil war. On 24 March, the Foreign Secretary announced sanctions on four Sri Lankan individuals responsible for serious human rights abuses and violations during the Sri Lanka civil war.
We take very seriously the allegations raised in relation to the committing of war crimes during the conflict in Sri Lanka. In March 2020, the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team received a referral regarding British mercenaries in Sri Lanka during the 1980s which started an investigation into these claims. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has previously assisted the police in relation to this matter but does not hold any relevant information. We are not able to provide further comment on the content of relevant information, as the investigation by the police is ongoing.