Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will make a decision about the future of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to my appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where I addressed these issues at length.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office are working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments. Funding decisions relating to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) are part of this process. We plan to publish indicative allocations in the coming months.
I met ICAI's Chief Commissioner on 18 September at ICAI office.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the adequacy of the Government’s sanctions decisions following United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We keep the impact of all UK sanctions designations under constant review.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations the National Cyber Security Centre received from Labour Together in relation to foreign cyber-attacks on its organisation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The NCSC does not comment on operational matters. Any reports they receive are treated in confidence.
The NCSC has published guidance on cyber security for political organisations at https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/defending-democracy/political-organisations.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when was the last ministerial meeting with the Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to my appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where I addressed these issues at length.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office are working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments. Funding decisions relating to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) are part of this process. We plan to publish indicative allocations in the coming months.
I met ICAI's Chief Commissioner on 18 September at ICAI office.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they received a warning from MI5 of a threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to British universities; and what action they have taken in response to that warning.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is the long-standing policy of successive UK governments not to comment either on individual cases or operational intelligence.
The world-class reputation of our universities makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors, who seek to erode that reputation by promoting, shaping or censoring what universities can offer.
We are working together across government and with universities themselves to defend the UK’s thriving academic environment. By working together and sharing information, we will foster the confidence needed to stand strong in the face of foreign pressure.
To tackle this enduring threat, MI5 and cyber security services delivered a rare briefing to over 70 Vice Chancellors. The government is also investing £3 million to bolster existing support and access to expert advice on national security risk management, including a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people convicted of human trafficking or sexual exploitation offences in each of the last three calendar years were foreign nationals at the time of conviction.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Modern slavery is a vicious crime that dehumanises people for profit. The Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms and to giving survivors the support and certainty they need to recover.
The Government is continually looking to improve the quality and provision of modern slavery statistics. The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual National Referral Mechanism (NRM) statistics. All relevant information can be obtained from the published statistical releases, available here: National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK. Further disaggregated data is published via the UK Data Service and can be accessed here UK Data Service.
The Home Office does not collect data on police investigations following an NRM referral or disaggregated data on arrests or convictions for human trafficking or sexual exploitation alongside an individual’s nationality or immigration status.
Whatever form it takes, exploitation, human trafficking, and modern slavery is abuse, and relevant child protection procedures must be followed if there is any suspicion a child may be at risk.
Child victims do not need to provide consent to enter the NRM. If a statutory First Responder Organisation encounters a child they suspect to be a victim, they must refer them into the NRM in line with their statutory duties and to the relevant local authority in line with child protection procedures. All NRM referrals are additionally referred to the police.
The UK is committed to working with international partners to prevent exploitation both domestically and abroad. We continue to fund programmes in priority countries to directly combat modern slavery in the UK and work closely with international partners to ensure we meet our international obligations to support victims.
As the Home Secretary has previously said, we advise that any evidence of trafficking of girls overseas is brought to the attention of the police.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people referred to the National Referral Mechanism in each of the last three calendar years were foreign nationals; and what the ten most common nationalities were.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Modern slavery is a vicious crime that dehumanises people for profit. The Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms and to giving survivors the support and certainty they need to recover.
The Government is continually looking to improve the quality and provision of modern slavery statistics. The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual National Referral Mechanism (NRM) statistics. All relevant information can be obtained from the published statistical releases, available here: National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK. Further disaggregated data is published via the UK Data Service and can be accessed here UK Data Service.
The Home Office does not collect data on police investigations following an NRM referral or disaggregated data on arrests or convictions for human trafficking or sexual exploitation alongside an individual’s nationality or immigration status.
Whatever form it takes, exploitation, human trafficking, and modern slavery is abuse, and relevant child protection procedures must be followed if there is any suspicion a child may be at risk.
Child victims do not need to provide consent to enter the NRM. If a statutory First Responder Organisation encounters a child they suspect to be a victim, they must refer them into the NRM in line with their statutory duties and to the relevant local authority in line with child protection procedures. All NRM referrals are additionally referred to the police.
The UK is committed to working with international partners to prevent exploitation both domestically and abroad. We continue to fund programmes in priority countries to directly combat modern slavery in the UK and work closely with international partners to ensure we meet our international obligations to support victims.
As the Home Secretary has previously said, we advise that any evidence of trafficking of girls overseas is brought to the attention of the police.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she plans to respond to the letter sent on 12 December 2025 by the hon. Member for Twickenham.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the Hon Member, a response was issued on 18 February 2026.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking in response to the warning by MI5's director general that hostile states are shaping research and teaching content, including the use of professional networking sites and financial incentives to form relationships with academic staff and students; and whether they plan to introduce a public register of corporate and personal financial interests of universities and staff.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is investing £3 million to bolster existing support for higher education providers and access to expert advice on national security risk management, alongside a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
The Office for Students has already been clear universities should resist any external state threats to academic freedom, and they have extensive powers to require information from providers and investigate any breach.
We keep all our protections under review, working closely with universities to assess existing approaches to managing foreign interference, to ensure that any new requirements are proportionate and add value to existing protections.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the comment of the universities Minister, Baroness Smith of Malvern, that UK education has become "a prime target for foreign states", whether they will publish the details of the threats posed by foreign states to UK universities, and how individual universities have responded to those threats.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is the long-standing policy of successive UK governments not to comment either on individual cases or operational intelligence.
The world-class reputation of our universities makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors, who seek to erode that reputation by promoting, shaping or censoring what universities can offer.
We are working together across government and with universities themselves to defend the UK’s thriving academic environment. By working together and sharing information, we will foster the confidence needed to stand strong in the face of foreign pressure.
To tackle this enduring threat, MI5 and cyber security services delivered a rare briefing to over 70 Vice Chancellors. The government is also investing £3 million to bolster existing support and access to expert advice on national security risk management, including a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.