Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measures are in place to protect British waters from future incursions by the Russian submarine Krasnodar.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Royal Navy shadowed the Russian Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar and its accompanying tug-boat, Altay, through the English Channel. The Krasnodar remained on the surface for the duration of her transit and operated in line with international obligations. Should the Krasnodar or any other Russian Federation Navy unit enter UK waters, Defence is poised to monitor, track and respond.
As part of its core task, the Royal Navy monitors, tracks and responds to any potential threats in the UK's EEZ, through frequent patrolling by British warships, monitoring and shadowing foreign warships in UK waters, and use of the Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) programme, among other activity and capabilities. The government has also been clear on its readiness and willingness to respond decisively to any maritime threat to the UK and its interests. More broadly, the recently announced Atlantic Bastion will secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO against the persistent and growing underwater threat from a modernising Russian submarine force.
Asked by: Pam Cox (Labour - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders were in prison in England and Wales, by offence group as of 30 September 2025.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
A breakdown of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) by offence group is published in the Annual prison population statistics and the most recent publication can be found here: prison-population-2025.ods. Please see Table_1_A_26, which shows the breakdown as of 30 June 2025.
As these statistics are published annually, we are not able to provide a breakdown as of September.
In the last year, we removed over 2,700 FNOs under the Early Removal Scheme, that is more than the number removed in the previous year, and a 74 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. It will free up much-needed space in our prisons.
Asked by: Pam Cox (Labour - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Prison Transfer Agreements are currently in place.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The UK has Prisoner Transfer Agreements (PTAs) with over 110 countries. They allow for the transfer of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) to their country of nationality to serve the remainder of their sentence, and the repatriation of British Citizens imprisoned overseas.
There are two types of PTA, compulsory meaning the FNO does not need to consent to transfer, and voluntary which means they do. In either case both countries must agree each transfer.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to give councils powers to seize or impound vehicles linked to unpaid penalty charge notices; and what discussions they have had with governments of foreign countries about sharing vehicle data for the payment of those notices.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Local authorities are required under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to ensure that their parking policies are proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for space whilst ensuring traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities.
In line with the need for proportionality, there are no plans to allow councils to seize or impound vehicles for unpaid penalty charges.
However, under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978,local authorities can remove abandoned vehicles on parking sites. Before a local authority can remove an abandoned vehicle, the authority must first give the landowner 15 days’ notice. This is done so the law protects individuals from having their property removed without due process.
Vehicle keeper data cannot be shared internationally for civil debt enforcement, and as such cannot be traced outside the UK. Where fines are due from foreign registered vehicles that have already left the country, parking companies and local authorities can and do use international debt collection agencies to pursue unpaid charges.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that modern foreign language qualifications are set and marked in line with Ofqual requirements and do not unfairly disadvantage particular groups of students.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Ofqual, the independent regulator of examinations and assessments in England, expects awarding organisations to manage risk in line with its General Conditions of Recognition, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ofqual-handbook.
The matters raised are for Ofqual to answer. I have, therefore, asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for Fylde directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has held discussions with his NATO counterparts on the EU's position on requiring SAFE payments.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK has and will continue to hold a ‘NATO First’ approach. While it is disappointing that we were not able to positively conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK continues to step up on European security in the face of rising threats, including through Foreign and Defence Secretary engagements at NATO ministerial meetings in October and December. Our Security and Defence Partnership with the EU will complement and reinforce NATO’s role as the cornerstone of Euro Atlantic Security and our defence firms will continue to be a vital part of defence supply chains across the continent; in the last year alone, we have struck significant deals with Norway, Türkiye, and Germany.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider (1) the European Court of Human Rights, and (2) the International Criminal Court, to be foreign courts.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and International Criminal Court (ICC) are international courts based respectively in France and the Netherlands. The UK is a State Party to both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Rome Statute, the international treaties which established the ECtHR and ICC respectively. It is also a founding member of both instruments.
The Human Rights Act 1998 and the ICC Act 2001 give effect to the UK's obligations under the ECHR and Rome Statute. We respect the independence of both courts.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 94075 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, when he last reviewed the operation of the NHS cost-recovery regime with NHS England: and what milestones have been set to measure improvements in the effectiveness of that regime.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England publish data annually on the income identified, recovered, and written off from chargeable overseas visitors in England in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and in NHS England’s Consolidated NHS provider accounts. The information for the last three years is available at the following links:
National Health Service charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.
No formal review of the system of cost recovery has taken place. However, we continue to work with NHS England to ensure that the system works as effectively and fairly as possible.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether nationality data held by EROs is used in any national-security screening or analysis relating to electoral interference risk.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of postal or proxy votes issued to foreign nationals eligible to vote in English local elections. The Department also does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in English local elections.
Electoral registers and the approval and issuing of postal and proxy votes are managed at a local level by Electoral Registration Officers.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government monitors the number of postal or proxy votes issued to non-UK nationals eligible to vote in local elections.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of postal or proxy votes issued to foreign nationals eligible to vote in English local elections. The Department also does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in English local elections.
Electoral registers and the approval and issuing of postal and proxy votes are managed at a local level by Electoral Registration Officers.