Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to amend the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to include decapod crustaceans.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which provides a framework for animal protection and welfare. Defra is building an evidence base for considering if decapods should have greater protections. The Home Office will be guided by these decisions as to whether decapod crustaceans are regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The Government is committed to accelerating the development, validation and uptake of non-animal alternatives in science and will publish a strategy later this year. The Government has a manifesto commitment to work towards a vision to phase out animal testing through the acceleration of development and uptake of validated non-animal alternatives.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that all British Overseas Territories have implemented publicly accessible registers for beneficial ownership before the end of the year.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statements of 3 July and 22 July which provide an update on progress achieved to date and details of next steps. We have clearly conveyed to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the urgency of meeting previously agreed deadlines and expect prompt action. To assist in this effort, we have offered technical support. The registers should offer streamlined access to a broad range of legitimate users, supporting proactive investigations, deterring the concealment of illicit gains, and promoting maximum transparency.
Baroness Hodge will visit BVI at my request shortly to examine these issues directly with the Premier and his Government there, and I regularly raise our clear expectations in discussions with OT leaders, and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending Northern Ireland’s rules for new drivers to all new drivers across the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.
We are considering other measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety - the first in over a decade.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she intends the offence of assaulting a shop worker to apply to people working in a bureau de change.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 created a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks, bureau de changes and building societies.
Alongside this, through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years, and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
For the purposes of this new offence, our definition of a ‘retail worker’ is intentionally narrow given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, and the assault took place in the course of their work.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how she defines mainly by retail in Clause 15 of the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 created a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks, bureau de changes and building societies.
Alongside this, through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years, and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
For the purposes of this new offence, our definition of a ‘retail worker’ is intentionally narrow given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, and the assault took place in the course of their work.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of creating a fashion watchdog to help tackle exploitation in the supply chains of clothing manufacturers.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The UK is one of the leading countries confronting the scourge of modern-day slavery, including forced labour. We engage through bilateral and multilateral fora to find ways to tackle forced labour in global supply chains and ensure workers benefit from high labour standards domestically and internationally. We recognise that trade policy is an important tool in a comprehensive approach to prevent, identify and eliminate forced labour in global supply chains and we are considering measures that can help improve supply chain transparency and traceability.
As well as the Fashion Watchdog or Garment Trade Adjudicator idea, there have been other proposals including licensing and increased guidance on managing supply chains. We will continue to review measures to drive up standards across the sector and monitor global regulatory proposals in the sector.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 on the (a) stress and (b) injury chances of farmed chickens and turkeys.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government is firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare.
The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 introduces new requirements prohibiting one-leg catching of laying hens, meat chickens and turkeys weighing 5kg or less in Great Britain. These birds must now be caught, lifted and carried by two legs to directly minimise welfare harm. An impact assessment (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/149/pdfs/ukia_20250149_en.pdf) was published alongside this legislation, which also covers the welfare impacts of different catching and handling methods.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Business Human Rights and Environment Bill.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct across the economy. In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains.
The review will be a neutral, objective appraisal of policy, led by departmental officials. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and the merits of alternative means of supporting responsible business practices.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding allocated for the NHS in the Spending Review 2025 will be allocated for dental provision in each of the next five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.
The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.
NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the average increase in the cost of running a dental practice in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is conducting a research project to better understand the costs and pressures associated with running a dental practice in England.
As part of this research, a survey was launched on 13 May and closed on 16 June 2025. This included questions on laboratory fees and dental materials as well as other associated costs with running a dental practice.
We are currently reviewing and analysing the responses to understand the findings.