Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the use of email as a method of communicating time-sensitive information to his Department’s customers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) conducts regular reviews of the security risks and customer benefits of different communication methods with our customers, including email, and reflects this in our security policies and service design. At the last review, DWP’s Security & Data Protection Team took the decision to use more robust and secure methods of communication wherever possible. DWP will use email to communicate to customers where it is required as a reasonable adjustment.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
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 life-saving medical equipment and supplies sent by the UK to Gaza are not subject to dual-use restrictions by Israeli authorities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In September, alongside Jordan and Qatar, the UK co-hosted a meeting of senior government ministers at the UN General Assembly focused on improving humanitarian access and healthcare in Gaza. Following the meeting, the UK and international partners issued a Call to Action urging the Government of Israel to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza and to approve additional critical items, including those considered dual use in particular related to shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and health supplies to prevent further deterioration of public health. We have repeatedly pressed the Government of Israel, privately and publicly, to lift restrictions and allow all aid into Gaza, in line with international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with NATO allies on coordinating responses to Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the UK.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The Foreign Secretary regularly engages NATO Allies on the threat posed by Russian malign activity and the importance of strengthening our collective security and resilience. The UK works closely with NATO Allies to share best practice and lessons learned, and to drive collective action against Russian information operations. NATO Allies are unified in our determination to confront all forms of Russian malign activity and threats to our collective security over the long term. We are taking coordinated action to respond to the growing threat posed by Russian hybrid activity, including by exposing the activities of Russian Intelligence Services and sanctioning the individuals responsible. We will continue to work with Allies to hold Russia accountable, counter the hybrid threat posed by Putin's regime and strengthen our collective resilience.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure Royal Mail meets its service obligations in Glasgow.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
I have been frank in my conversations with Royal Mail’s leadership and with my statements to the House in recent debates that Royal Mail’s service has been unacceptable for too long, and that the pace of improvement must increase. I will continue to raise issues relating to service performance directly with Royal Mail, including the impact of delays on communities.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is responsible for setting, monitoring and enforcing Royal Mail’s service standards under the universal service obligation.
Ofcom is currently investigating Royal Mail’s service performance for 2025-26 and will take regulatory action where necessary to hold the company to account for improving service standards.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what programmes are in place to support young people not in education, employment or training into careers in defence manufacturing and engineering.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is working alongside other Government departments and defence industry partners to ensure the sector has the skilled workforce it requires across the UK, including opportunities for those not in education, employment or training (NEET) to access careers in defence manufacturing and engineering.
As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, we committed £182 million to a defence industry skills package that will support individuals at every stage of the defence career pipeline including those who are NEET. This includes the establishment of five Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in England, two in Scotland and one in Wales, providing specialist technical training tailored to future defence workforce needs. We are working with the Northern Ireland Executive on similar skills initiatives as part of the NI Defence Growth Deal.
In September, the Defence Secretary, alongside the Rt Hon Alan Milburn and key defence employers, signed a Defence Youth Participation and Employment Pledge, committing to expand routes into apprenticeships, increase work experience opportunities, and strengthen career engagement for young people.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made since June 2026 on implementing the recommendations of Lord Mann's review on antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have this week made a written ministerial statement to the House providing an update on that progress, which is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-27/hcws424
I thank the Hon. Members for their work on these issues and their specific interest in progress with implementation of Lord Mann’s recommendations. I will keep the Hon. Members and the rest of Parliament informed as the implementation programme continues.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government and HMRC on tackling the sale of illegal tobacco in Scotland.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
I am concerned about the prevalence of illegal tobacco sold in Scotland, and fully support efforts to limit its spread.
The enforcement of trading standards is a devolved matter. I understand that the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland is currently engaging with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland to explore what more can be done to better empower Scottish Trading Standards Officers in dealing with criminality, specifically in ensuring that they have comparable powers to their counterparts in England and Wales in measures such as Closure Orders.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the risks to patients arising from the promotion and sale online of ivermectin and other unlicensed or unproven products as treatments for cancer; and what steps the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is taking to prevent the promotion and sale of such products.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recognises the risks associated with the promotion and sale of ivermectin and other unauthorised or unproven products as treatments for cancer. Ivermectin is not authorised in the United Kingdom for the treatment or prevention of cancer, and claims that it can treat, prevent or cure cancer may mislead patients and risk them delaying or foregoing proven medical treatment.
The MHRA takes robust enforcement action against the illegal promotion, advertising and supply of unauthorised medicines, including online. Through its Criminal Enforcement Unit, the MHRA investigates suspected breaches of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, and has the power to seize illicit medicines and, where appropriate, pursue prosecution.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits for reducing the normal pension age for ambulance workers under the NHS Pension Scheme to bring it into line with the retirement age for police and fire service workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Police and fire service workers generally pay higher pension contributions than ambulance staff. Giving ambulance workers the same normal pension age as police and fire service workers would require higher contributions from all NHS Pension Scheme members, and there are currently no plans for such a change.
Under flexible retirement options, ambulance workers can retire before normal pension age with an actuarially reduced pension or access the Early Retirement Reduction Buy Out option to retire up to three years earlier without a reduction, with costs that may be shared with their employers.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
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 the UK's protected bilateral ODA allocation for Palestine is reaching people in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I draw the Hon. Member's attention to the Foreign Secretary's statement on 8 September. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to immediately lift restrictions and allow essential aid including medical supplies and fuel to reach those in desperate need, in line with international humanitarian law and as stipulated in the 20-Point Plan. We have protected our budget for Palestine and will be prioritising health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through our integrated humanitarian programmes. We will continue to raise this with the Government of Israel. I saw our work with the Egyptian Red Crescent directly in Egypt last month, including the wider challenges facing humanitarian assistance to Gaza.