Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools to recruit qualified modern languages teachers in the West Midlands.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
High quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes. This is why the government’s Plan for Change is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
The department is offering £20,000 tax-free bursaries for modern foreign language (MFL) trainees, including international as well as domestic trainees. In addition, we are continuing to offer a prestigious scholarship worth £22,000 tax-free for French, German and Spanish trainees.
Our future school teacher pipeline is growing. Although this government inherited a system with critical shortages of MFL teachers, with the department achieving only 32% of its postgraduate initial teacher training target in 2023/24, this year we have achieved 94% of the target with 1,378 new trainees beginning their postgraduate training in MFL.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the answer of 1 September 2025 to Question HL9555 on Chagos Islands: Defence, what the percentage split is between the two Departments.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The payments split associated with the UK-Mauritius agreement on the Chagos Archipelago between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Ministry of Defence will be published in the usual way alongside other Departmental spend in the annual accounts.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
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 seize properties in London owned by Mojtaba Khamenei.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has a wide range of sanctions in place in relation to Iran, including a range of sanctions measures which apply to key figures and entities who have provided funds or economic resources to the Iranian regime. These have resulted in a range of impacts: for example the freezing of UK based assets held by sanctioned individual Ali Ansari, including property.
It would not be appropriate to speculate about potential future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
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 impose sanctions upon Mojtaba Khamenei.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has a wide range of sanctions in place in relation to Iran, including a range of sanctions measures which apply to key figures and entities who have provided funds or economic resources to the Iranian regime. These have resulted in a range of impacts: for example the freezing of UK based assets held by sanctioned individual Ali Ansari, including property.
It would not be appropriate to speculate about potential future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what part they are playing in organising the Berlin Conference on Sudan in April; whether they will ensure that representatives of the Sudanese government will be invited to attend the conference; and what steps they are taking to ensure their participation contributes to an inclusive and credible process.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
On 24 February, the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls, Baroness Harman, met senior German Foreign Ministry officials to discuss coordinated action on atrocity prevention and accountability in Sudan, and ensuring meaningful participation by Sudanese women, and wider civil society voices, at the International Sudan Conference in April in Berlin that Germany is co-hosting with the UK, the African Union, the European Union, France and the US. This meeting also provided a platform for Sudanese women to inform discussions ahead of the Berlin Sudan Conference.
We remain in close discussion with our co-hosts to shape an inclusive and meaningful Conference. We continue to engage with all parties, to urge agreement to a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and adherence to international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the voices and priorities of Sudanese women are reflected in the discussions and outcomes of the Berlin Conference on Sudan in April 2026, in line with the commitments set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
On 24 February, the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls, Baroness Harman, met senior German Foreign Ministry officials to discuss coordinated action on atrocity prevention and accountability in Sudan, and ensuring meaningful participation by Sudanese women, and wider civil society voices, at the International Sudan Conference in April in Berlin that Germany is co-hosting with the UK, the African Union, the European Union, France and the US. This meeting also provided a platform for Sudanese women to inform discussions ahead of the Berlin Sudan Conference.
We remain in close discussion with our co-hosts to shape an inclusive and meaningful Conference. We continue to engage with all parties, to urge agreement to a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and adherence to international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, as a penholder on the UN Security Council for Sudan, what steps they are taking to ensure that Sudanese women’s civil society organisations are meaningfully represented at the Berlin Conference on Sudan in April 2026.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
On 24 February, the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls, Baroness Harman, met senior German Foreign Ministry officials to discuss coordinated action on atrocity prevention and accountability in Sudan, and ensuring meaningful participation by Sudanese women, and wider civil society voices, at the International Sudan Conference in April in Berlin that Germany is co-hosting with the UK, the African Union, the European Union, France and the US. This meeting also provided a platform for Sudanese women to inform discussions ahead of the Berlin Sudan Conference.
We remain in close discussion with our co-hosts to shape an inclusive and meaningful Conference. We continue to engage with all parties, to urge agreement to a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and adherence to international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK-Saudi investment creates 100 new British jobs, published on 3 September 2025, how many new jobs have been created.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The number and cost of special severance payments made by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in each financial year are routinely published in the department's annual report and accounts. The most recently published annual report and accounts are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle misinformation online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This issue is, rightly, of huge concern. The Online Safety Act is already protecting users from illegal dis- and misinformation online, including foreign interference.
We are already taking further action, including launching a campaign to support children’s resilience to misinformation.
Where we need to take further action, especially to protect UK democratic processes, we will.