Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the findings of her Department's call for evidence entitled Decapods: Call for Evidence, published on 5 July 2023.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is carefully considering the results from the call for evidence regarding the use of decapods in science to inform future policy options. The Home Office will be guided by decisions made under the Animal Welfare Act regarding any consideration as to whether Decapods are regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procures) Act 1986. There are currently no plans to publish the results from the Call for Evidence.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the treatment of Maternity Allowance as unearned income when calculating means-tested benefits.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing.

Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid by the State, for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, and is classed as unearned income for Universal Credit purposes. As such, in determining the entitlement to Universal Credit, Maternity Allowance is deducted pound for pound from the total value of the award.

Where an individual claims Universal Credit, their award is adjusted to take account of other financial support that the customer is already receiving – including earnings, other income and benefits. This principle applies to other benefits: for example, the same approach is applied to new style Jobseeker’s Allowance and new style Employment and Support Allowance.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help increase (a) trade and (b) trading opportunities between the UK and Canada.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Canada is one of the UK’s closest allies and we are taking various steps to increase UK-Canada trade. Our trading relationship was worth £28 billion in 2024, up 10% in current prices on 2023, and is underpinned by the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement.

The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Carney on 12th May and discussed ways to increase cooperation further to deliver for working people in both the UK and Canada. This includes our discussions with Canada on their ratification of the UK’s membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Once ratified, this will provide additional benefits for UK firms seeking to do business in Canada, building on our existing bilateral trade agreement with Canada which already supports trade between our two countries.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making it easier to migrate between the UK and Canada.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK and Canada's deep and broad relationship is strengthened by the large diaspora of each nation's citizens present in both countries. The existing UK immigration offer supports migration through a variety of different routes which enable Canadian individuals to live, work and study in the UK. Canadian visa applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis as long as they meet the specific visa requirements and eligibility requirements for the route. However, the migration of UK citizens to Canada is a matter for the Canadian government.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of removing references to minimally processed and nutritious food from the HFSS promotions guidance on 1 June 2023.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to tackling the childhood obesity crisis and to raising the healthiest generation of children ever.

The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 were laid during the previous Parliament. The regulations provide for restrictions on the promotion and placement in retail stores and their online equivalents of certain foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt, or sugar, or which are ‘less healthy’.

In 2023, the implementation guidance accompanying these regulations was updated to provide some additional points of clarification, which included removing a reference to the term “minimally processed and nutritious food”. This was done to ensure the guidance remained in-line with the legislation, which does not reference minimally processed food. The legislation itself was not changed and still restricts the promotion of less healthy foods that contribute to childhood obesity. Therefore, no assessment was made of the merits of removing references to “minimally processed and nutritious food” from this document.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to issue guidance on ultra-processed food consumption as part of a public health strategy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We face an obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we are limiting school children’s access to fast food, and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose. We are also commissioning research to improve the evidence on the health impacts of ultra processed foods (UPFs). Through our Plan for Change, we will shift the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention, reducing the burden of obesity on public services and the NHS.

Scientific risk assessment and United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). The SACN has considered the impact of processed foods on health in position statements published in 2023 and 2025. The SACN has concluded that the observed associations between higher consumption of processed foods and UPFs and adverse health outcomes are concerning.

The SACN recommended that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, and which are low in fibre. This is based on the nutrient content of many UPFs and concerns raised in relation to health. The SACN will continue to keep the topic under review.

Current UK dietary recommendations, based on the SACN’s advice, already indicate that many foods classified as ultra processed such as crisps, biscuits, cakes, confectionery, and ice cream are not part of a healthy, balanced diet. They also emphasise a diet based on fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain or higher fibre starchy carbohydrates, with less red and processed meat, and with less foods high in saturated fat, salt, and free sugars.

The SACN’s recommendation aligns with our existing policies for supporting healthier diets and our advice to consumers. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned on the health impacts of ultra-processed food; and when he expects findings to be published.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR launched a research call in July 2024 on the health and health inequality impacts of interventions that effect consumption of ultra processed foods, for which a funding decision will be made later this year. Findings from NIHR studies are made publicly available when the research has completed.

UK Government recognition of the state of Palestine

Found: Slaughter Manuela Perteghella Adam Jogee Kim Leadbeater Chris Bloore Jess Brown-Fuller Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Slaughter Manuela Perteghella Adam Jogee Kim Leadbeater Chris Bloore Jess Brown-Fuller Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Slaughter Manuela Perteghella Adam Jogee Kim Leadbeater Chris Bloore Jess Brown-Fuller Yasmin Qureshi

Found: _NC13 Kim Johnson Sir Andrew Mitchell Yasmin Qureshi .

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Ms Polly Billington Valerie Vaz Grahame Morris Mike Wood Dawn Butler Marsha De Cordova Yasmin Qureshi

Found: Not called_10 Alex Sobel Christine Jardine Layla Moran Yasmin Qureshi Afzal Khan Sir Iain Duncan