Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
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 adequacy of the relationship between the UK and Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government has taken action in response to the egregious activity of the Israeli government in Gaza and the West Bank. The actions of this Israeli government are isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world and in response we have suspended negotiations with the Israeli government on a new free trade agreement. We will also review cooperation under the 2030 Bilateral Roadmap.
The decision made by the Israeli Government on 8 August to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately. This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.
Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions. What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution. Hamas can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm.
Together with our allies, we are working on a long-term plan to secure peace in the region as part of a two-state solution, and ultimately achieve a brighter future for Palestinians and Israelis. As part of this, on 29 July, the Prime Minister announced the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September before the United Nations General Assembly; unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commits to a long-term sustainable peace. These actions do not undermine our support for the Israeli people, our commitment to their security, and standing with them against the evil of antisemitism.
This financial year we have allocated £101 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, covering our significant humanitarian response in Gaza and the West Bank, our support for Palestinian economic development, reform of the Palestinian Authority, and supporting Palestinian refugees in the region.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Defense for Children International – Palestine's report entitled Starving a generation: Israel’s famine campaign targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, published on 24 June 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are appalled by the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where famine is now unfolding, as confirmed by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) on 29 July. This is unacceptable. While the Israeli Defence Forces' "tactical pauses" are a necessary step, they are long overdue. We highlighted the critical situation for Gaza's children through our statement at the UN Security Council on 30 June and at the International Development Committee on 16 July. The UK continues to demand that a full and unhindered resumption of aid into Gaza takes place immediately. Israel must immediately allow the UN and aid partners to safely deliver aid at scale and in line with humanitarian principles. We remain committed to ensuring UK support reaches those who need it - including our £101 million package of financial support to the Occupied Palestinian Territories this Financial Year.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that several NHS organisations have informed hospitals they will only finance procedures after a patient has waited more than three months, what guidance they have issued to NHS organisations regarding the use of minimum waiting times for treatment performed by hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Standard Contract 2025/26 Technical Guidance states that commissioners may choose to include minimum waiting times in Activity Planning Assumptions to ensure the delivery of targets within agreed financial allocations. A copy of the NHS Standard Contract 2025/26 Technical Guidance is attached.
We will work closely with all systems to ensure they deliver the expected level of improvement in waiting times as set out in the 2025/26 Planning Guidance, which is the first step in delivering on our commitment that by March 2029, 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Mali at the United Nations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns attacks on religious minorities in Mali. We have consistently called on all actors in Mali to respect human rights and adhere to international human rights law. For example, at the April 2025 Security Council briefing on the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, the UK expressed concern at the human rights abuses committed in the Sahel and called on the UN to lead the way in emphasising the importance of international humanitarian law. Through the Magna Carta Fund, the UK has also promoted ancient Malian texts enshrining progressive values such as religious tolerance. This has helped to underline that such values have local roots and undermine the notion that human rights are a Western import.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department provides funding for the Inter Mediate office assisting the Syrian president.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funds a number of different civil society and non-governmental organisations for our mediation and conflict resolution work, including Inter Mediate. We have partnered with Inter Mediate for over 10 years to advance peace efforts in conflicts around the globe. Funding of Inter Mediate began under the previous government. We do not disclose details of the individual projects funded.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the population of wild peacocks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not hold data on the population of Indian peafowl (peacock) but is aware of recent data recorded by the British Trust for Ornithology that shows there were at least 9 confirmed breeding pairs in the UK in 2020, spread widely in Dorset, Cornwall, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Breconshire and Isle of Man. This data can be found in the UK Rare Breeding Birds Annual Report for 2020, found here: Annual Reports – UK Rare Breeding Birds Panel.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 45662 on Universal Studios: Bedfordshire, what her planned timetable is for publishing this information.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is following due process and will publish further information later this year.
Asked by: Lord Strasburger (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government who recommended Inivos Ltd to the personal protective equipment priority lane, and why that company was not included in PPE procurement in the early pandemic, published on 17 November 2021.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Inivos Ltd were not recommended to the Government through the priority personal protective equipment lane, also known as the high priority lane. Inivos Ltd are included in the publication PPE procurement in the early pandemic on the GOV.UK website, under the New Buy section, although the company name has been misspelled as Invios. The Department will seek to correct this error at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider self-identification of an individual as (1) greygender, (2) maverique, (3) two-spirit, (4) demiboy, (5) demigirl, (6) neutrois, (7) aporagender, (8) polygender, (9) intergender, (10) trigender, (11) omnigender, (12) multigender, (13) pangender, (14) bigender, (15) agender, (16) androgyne, (17) demigender, (18) genderfluid, (19) genderqueer, (20) genderflux, or (21) non-binary, to be a protected characteristic; and whether it is considered to be a protected characteristic by the Office for Equality and Opportunity.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination and harassment and related harassment due to any of the nine protected characteristics covered by the Act. It protects people from discrimination, in the workplace, when accessing services and in wider society.
The nine protected characteristics in the Act are:
The Government has no current plans to add to the list of protected characteristics.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support households with increases to water bills.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to this end.
We are clear as Government that we expect water companies to ensure their customers know what support schemes are available and how to access them if they need help. We expect water companies to put robust support in place for vulnerable customers and keep current support schemes under review to ensure vulnerable customers are supported and access the support they are entitled to.