Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations in the report Externalised asylum and migration policies and human rights law, published by the Council of Europe.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a long-standing commitment to protecting those in need, in line with our international obligations. All asylum claims that are lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, are given full and careful consideration. We have noted the Council of Europe’s report, and we will never remove anyone to a country where they would face persecution or serious harm. We remain firmly committed to this principle.
As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, Home Office officials consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process. Protecting children and vulnerable people is and will remain a priority.
The reforms set out in the Asylum Policy Statement (Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy - GOV.UK) introduce a comprehensive package of measures designed to restore order, control, fairness, and public confidence in the system. These reforms are fully compliant with our international obligations.
Further policy development is needed on the details of these reforms. We are in the process of consulting meaningfully with affected stakeholders and will carefully assess equalities impacts.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce intimidation and harassment of members of the legal profession.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the vital role played by the legal profession in upholding access to justice and the rule of law, which is fundamental to a fair and democratic society. The Government is clear that intimidation, harassment or threats against legal professionals or their offices are wholly unacceptable. Where such behaviour amounts to criminal conduct, it is right that those responsible should face the full force of the law.
The Government works with partners across the justice system to promote respect for the rule of law and the independence of the legal profession. Domestically, this is underpinned by a robust legal and regulatory framework designed to protect professional independence and integrity, consistent with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. Internationally, the UK was proud to be among the first signatories to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer in May 2025, which sets clear international standards to ensure legal professionals can practise without harassment, intimidation, or improper interference.
In addition, there are robust security arrangements in place across courts and tribunals to protect all court users, including legal professionals. These include risk assessment measures to prevent, detect and respond to threats, such as security screening on entry, CCTV, and the powers of Court and Tribunal Security Officers to exclude, restrain or remove individuals threatening violence. The Government has also allocated over £20 million in additional funding in 2025/26 to further strengthen court and judicial security, including additional security officers and physical security systems.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken to help support democratic reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 September 2025 to Question 74449. Subsequent to that, in December 2025, the Peace Implementation Council and representatives of political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) met to discuss long‑term solutions to BiH's challenges, including democratic reform. The UK will continue to work with international partners, including the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and local actors in BiH to promote democratic rights and support reform.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the scope and time frame is of their review into the UK’s reservation on Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention; when consideration of this matter first began; why the review has been delayed; and whether the outcomes of the review will be made public.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we’ve made it our mission to halve it in a decade. We are deploying the full power of the state through our VAWG Strategy, which was published on 18th December 2025
The government has signed the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in, demonstrating to women in the UK and to our partners overseas our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. Many members who have ratified the convention have also made reservations on specific articles of the convention. We are currently reviewing our policies that support migrant victims of domestic abuse. This includes considering whether it is appropriate to maintain, partially lift or remove our reservation on Article 59. While the review is ongoing, we are unable to provide any further details.
The reservation does not mean migrant victims are unsupported. We have introduced several policy changes to better support migrant victims of domestic abuse. This includes expanding immediate settlement provisions to cover cases of transnational marriage abandonment and broadening the eligibility for periods of leave independent of the abuser under the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC). We have also implemented the Support for Migrant Victims scheme which helps migrant victims of domestic abuse with No Recourse to Public Funds. The scheme is delivered by Southall Black Sisters and their delivery partners, and provides support for migrant victims of domestic abuse, including accommodation, subsistence, counselling and immigration support. Our total investment for 2025/26 is £2.4m.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13210), whether in the past 20 years they have undertaken a study of the merits of the UK joining the European Development Bank; if so (1) when this was, and (2) whether a report of the study was laid before Parliament; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
There is no record of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office having undertaken a formal study of the potential merits of membership of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The government keeps the potential membership of various international organisations under periodic review but our current position on the CEB remains as set out in our previous responses.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK's ability to promote and protect the rights of LGBTQI communities abroad.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Across our global diplomatic network, missions collaborate with local partners to challenge discriminatory laws and policies that enable violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people, and to mark key moments including Pride, but there is no central recording of each of these activities.
In multilateral settings, the UK engages likeminded partners in the Equal Rights Coalition, the UN LGBTI Core Group, and the Council of Europe to champion the universality of human rights, and to promote global action to end violence, persecution, and discrimination.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials also collaborate with other government departments, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to align domestic and international efforts to advance human rights and equality for LGBT+ people, ensuring everyone can live with dignity and without fear of violence and persecution.
We continually keep the impact of all FCDO policies and UK-funded programmes under review to ensure they are achieving their objectives, and providing value for money.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of countries introducing new anti-LGBTQI rights measures.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Across our global diplomatic network, missions collaborate with local partners to challenge discriminatory laws and policies that enable violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people, and to mark key moments including Pride, but there is no central recording of each of these activities.
In multilateral settings, the UK engages likeminded partners in the Equal Rights Coalition, the UN LGBTI Core Group, and the Council of Europe to champion the universality of human rights, and to promote global action to end violence, persecution, and discrimination.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials also collaborate with other government departments, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to align domestic and international efforts to advance human rights and equality for LGBT+ people, ensuring everyone can live with dignity and without fear of violence and persecution.
We continually keep the impact of all FCDO policies and UK-funded programmes under review to ensure they are achieving their objectives, and providing value for money.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK's global role in advancing LGBTQI rights.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Across our global diplomatic network, missions collaborate with local partners to challenge discriminatory laws and policies that enable violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people, and to mark key moments including Pride, but there is no central recording of each of these activities.
In multilateral settings, the UK engages likeminded partners in the Equal Rights Coalition, the UN LGBTI Core Group, and the Council of Europe to champion the universality of human rights, and to promote global action to end violence, persecution, and discrimination.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials also collaborate with other government departments, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to align domestic and international efforts to advance human rights and equality for LGBT+ people, ensuring everyone can live with dignity and without fear of violence and persecution.
We continually keep the impact of all FCDO policies and UK-funded programmes under review to ensure they are achieving their objectives, and providing value for money.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support Pride organisations and LGBTQ+ activists a) in Hungary, b) in Europe and c) globally.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Across our global diplomatic network, missions collaborate with local partners to challenge discriminatory laws and policies that enable violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people, and to mark key moments including Pride, but there is no central recording of each of these activities.
In multilateral settings, the UK engages likeminded partners in the Equal Rights Coalition, the UN LGBTI Core Group, and the Council of Europe to champion the universality of human rights, and to promote global action to end violence, persecution, and discrimination.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials also collaborate with other government departments, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to align domestic and international efforts to advance human rights and equality for LGBT+ people, ensuring everyone can live with dignity and without fear of violence and persecution.
We continually keep the impact of all FCDO policies and UK-funded programmes under review to ensure they are achieving their objectives, and providing value for money.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance her Department issues to British diplomatic missions overseas on supporting Pride events.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Across our global diplomatic network, missions collaborate with local partners to challenge discriminatory laws and policies that enable violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people, and to mark key moments including Pride, but there is no central recording of each of these activities.
In multilateral settings, the UK engages likeminded partners in the Equal Rights Coalition, the UN LGBTI Core Group, and the Council of Europe to champion the universality of human rights, and to promote global action to end violence, persecution, and discrimination.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials also collaborate with other government departments, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to align domestic and international efforts to advance human rights and equality for LGBT+ people, ensuring everyone can live with dignity and without fear of violence and persecution.
We continually keep the impact of all FCDO policies and UK-funded programmes under review to ensure they are achieving their objectives, and providing value for money.