Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026, to Question 103247 on Palestine: Terrorism, when the independent audit will be undertaken; who will undertake the audit; and her assessment of trends in the number of recipients of 'pay for slay' payments.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November, (e) my responses to her Urgent Question on 29 October, and (f) my responses to Questions 104985, 103247, 103245, 101358, 98592, and 906050, provided on 20 January, 12 January, 12 January, 6 January, 16 December, and 28 October respectively. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the sources she receives information from on the volume of trucks providing aid to Gaza in accordance with the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November, (e) my responses to her Urgent Question on 29 October, and (f) my responses to Questions 104985, 103247, 103245, 101358, 98592, and 906050, provided on 20 January, 12 January, 12 January, 6 January, 16 December, and 28 October respectively. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) she and (b) her ministers plan to visit the Civil Military Coordination Center.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November, (e) my responses to her Urgent Question on 29 October, and (f) my responses to Questions 104985, 103247, 103245, 101358, 98592, and 906050, provided on 20 January, 12 January, 12 January, 6 January, 16 December, and 28 October respectively. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what are the potential implications for her policies of the ceasefire violations committed by Hamas.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November, (e) my responses to her Urgent Question on 29 October, and (f) my responses to Questions 104985, 103247, 103245, 101358, 98592, and 906050, provided on 20 January, 12 January, 12 January, 6 January, 16 December, and 28 October respectively. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to devise an alcohol strategy which reduces (a) use and (b) harmful use and (c) dependency on alcohol.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.
Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent consideration has he made of the need for a harm reduction strategy to the use of alcohol.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.
Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how will he ensure that the number of deaths for alcohol use will reduce in this Parliament.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.
Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of the United Arab Emirates will not provide scholarships to students seeking to attend UK universities on the grounds that they might be subject to radicalisation by Islamic extremists on UK campuses.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK offers one of the best education systems in the world, especially teaching and research in high growth sectors of the future. We welcome high quality students from across the world, including from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
No form of extremism has any place in our society, and we have some of the strongest laws in the world to protect our citizens from hatred and terrorism. The government maintains stringent measures to safeguard all students and our Prevent strategy, recently updated to address evolving threats, and our consistent review and proscription of extremist organisations, underline our ongoing commitment to student welfare and campus safety.
The education sector continues to play a vital role in safeguarding learners from radicalisation, being the highest contributor of referrals to the Prevent programme. To support this effort, we provide resources through the Educate Against Hate website, helping pupils and staff understand terrorism risks and challenge extremist views.
The UK and UAE have a deep and long-standing bilateral relationship and we will continue to discuss this matter with their government.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of support available to parents applying to the Court of Protection for an order authorising access to their child's (a) Child Trust Fund and (b) Junior ISA when their child lacks capacity to manage their financial assets.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Where a young adult lacks mental capacity, the law requires parents or a guardian to have legal authority to make decisions on their behalf about financial assets or property. This longstanding requirement is vital in ensuring that vulnerable people are safeguarded and protected from potential financial abuse. The requirement for legal authority extends to accessing funds held in a Child Trust Fund or a Junior ISA.
On 9 June 2023, the Ministry of Justice published the ‘Making Financial Decisions for young people: parent and carer toolkit’ explaining the process by which parents and guardians of disabled children who lack capacity can obtain legal authority if no other arrangements are in place to provide such authority. This can be done by making an application to the Court of Protection for an order authorising access to monies held in a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA. The toolkit is available on Gov.UK. Information to assist parents or carers in the completion of one of the required court forms can be found here: How to apply to make property and finance decisions on someone’s behalf (including Child Trust Funds) - GOV.UK
Ministers are working closely to consider what further steps could be taken to ameliorate the process for supporting young people without capacity to access small value capital assets. The Ministry of Justice will continue to engage with key stakeholders to understand more about the difficulties and potential changes to address these while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 30 December 2025 (HL12932), whether they plan to commission research into the number of young people not in education, employment or training because they are waiting for mental health, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism services or diagnosis; and what steps they will take to understand the scale of that issue.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State has commissioned the Right Honourable Alan Milburn to author a report that will seek to understand the drivers of the increase in the number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training. He will be supported by a panel of experts with diverse expertise and will be mobilising the existing Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel.
The research and analysis to inform the report will aim to improve our understanding of the number of young people not in education, employment or training, including identification of those with health needs.