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, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against Tamils in Sri Lanka are brought to justice.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is clear that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka needs to be improved. Long-standing grievances and legitimate calls for truth and reconciliation should be addressed properly to ensure justice for all communities and victims' groups, including members of the Tamil community. It is also important that excavations of Chemmani mass graves are carried out in accordance with international legal standards.
We regularly raise these issues with the Sri Lankan government. Most recently, the Deputy Prime Minister discussed human rights during his visit to Sri Lanka in February, with the President, Foreign Minister, civil society organisations and political leaders in the north of Sri Lanka. I also discussed these issues with Sri Lankan Ministers during their visit to the UK last October.
In addition, the UK leads efforts at the UN Human Rights Council with Core Group partners, to ensure that international attention remains on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. We will continue to encourage the Sri Lankan government to uphold its international human rights obligations, protect civic space and make meaningful progress towards an inclusive political settlement that addresses the legitimate concerns of all communities.
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 steps her Department is taking to (a) ensure that the human rights of Tamil communities in Sri Lanka are upheld, (b) promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, and (c) support efforts towards accountability for human rights abuses committed in the final months of the war in 2009.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is clear that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka needs to be improved. Long-standing grievances and legitimate calls for truth and reconciliation should be addressed properly to ensure justice for all communities and victims' groups, including members of the Tamil community. It is also important that excavations of Chemmani mass graves are carried out in accordance with international legal standards.
We regularly raise these issues with the Sri Lankan government. Most recently, the Deputy Prime Minister discussed human rights during his visit to Sri Lanka in February, with the President, Foreign Minister, civil society organisations and political leaders in the north of Sri Lanka. I also discussed these issues with Sri Lankan Ministers during their visit to the UK last October.
In addition, the UK leads efforts at the UN Human Rights Council with Core Group partners, to ensure that international attention remains on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. We will continue to encourage the Sri Lankan government to uphold its international human rights obligations, protect civic space and make meaningful progress towards an inclusive political settlement that addresses the legitimate concerns of all communities.
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 steps her Department is taking to help ensure that excavations at Sri Lanka’s Chemmani mass graves (a) take place in compliance with international law and standards and with international oversight and (b) are supported by credible accountability mechanisms.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is clear that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka needs to be improved. Long-standing grievances and legitimate calls for truth and reconciliation should be addressed properly to ensure justice for all communities and victims' groups, including members of the Tamil community. It is also important that excavations of Chemmani mass graves are carried out in accordance with international legal standards.
We regularly raise these issues with the Sri Lankan government. Most recently, the Deputy Prime Minister discussed human rights during his visit to Sri Lanka in February, with the President, Foreign Minister, civil society organisations and political leaders in the north of Sri Lanka. I also discussed these issues with Sri Lankan Ministers during their visit to the UK last October.
In addition, the UK leads efforts at the UN Human Rights Council with Core Group partners, to ensure that international attention remains on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. We will continue to encourage the Sri Lankan government to uphold its international human rights obligations, protect civic space and make meaningful progress towards an inclusive political settlement that addresses the legitimate concerns of all communities.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 15559, if she will set out what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a stepped repayment structure for Plan 2 student loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are determined that the higher education funding system should deliver for students, for our economy, and for universities.
The government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure that it delivers good value for both students and taxpayers.
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, if she will hold discussions with Iranian authorities on reports of discrimination against the Baha’i community.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided to question 67802 on 6 August 2025.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of regulating the advertising of average upload speeds.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator for advertising in the UK and enforces the ‘CAP Code’ and ‘BCAP Code’, which set the standards for non-broadcast and broadcast advertising, respectively. These codes include specific rules intended to protect consumers from misleading marketing communications. If advertising includes the omission, exaggeration, or ambiguous presentation of information, it can be considered misleading. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has also set guidance about how companies advertise broadband speeds. The ASA recommends that companies show the average speed that at least 50% of their customers receive at the network’s busiest time (8-10pm) to not be considered misleading.
If an advertisement is found to be in breach of the codes, the ASA will instruct that it be withdrawn or amended, and in some cases may escalate to the appropriate statutory backstop.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
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 differential university tuition fees based on the Teaching Excellence Framework on further education access for students from the most financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Maximum fee limits for all higher education (HE) providers will increase from £9,535 to £9,790 in the 2026/27 academic year, and from £9,790 to £10,050 in the 2027/28 academic year. We will then legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years.
In return for the increased investment that we are asking students to make, we expect the HE sector to deliver the very best outcomes both for those students and for the country. To achieve this, we will link future inflationary fee uplifts to judgements on HE providers’ quality and restrict fee income where high quality cannot be demonstrated.
The Office for Students (OfS) will consider a wide range of metrics when determining quality judgements. All HE providers registered with the OfS that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the OfS.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of linking differential fees to teaching standards on higher education institutions with higher than average rate of admission to students from the most financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Maximum fee limits for all higher education (HE) providers will increase from £9,535 to £9,790 in the 2026/27 academic year, and from £9,790 to £10,050 in the 2027/28 academic year. We will then legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years.
In return for the increased investment that we are asking students to make, we expect the HE sector to deliver the very best outcomes both for those students and for the country. To achieve this, we will link future inflationary fee uplifts to judgements on HE providers’ quality and restrict fee income where high quality cannot be demonstrated.
The Office for Students (OfS) will consider a wide range of metrics when determining quality judgements. All HE providers registered with the OfS that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the OfS.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support sustainable farming initiatives.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, investing more than £2.7 billion a year in farming and nature recovery. Overall, farmers and land managers will benefit from an average of £2.3 billion a year through the Farming and Countryside Programme. And up to £400 million from additional nature schemes, including those for tree planting and peatland restoration. This includes increasing spend on nature-friendly farming including Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes to £2 billion by 28/29.
Defra will continue to invest in our farmers and land managers to make their businesses, food production and our country more sustainable and resilient through ELM.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to hold a consultation on the Circular Economy Growth Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government remains committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and driving economic growth. This is why, in the new year, we will publish our Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how Government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. The Growth Plan will reflect the extensive engagement led by the Circular Economy Taskforce with industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders. We will continue to engage stakeholders, including through consultation where appropriate, on the interventions set out in the Growth Plan after publication.