Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84672, whether his Department was asked to respond to the Prevention of Future Death report of Stephen Sleaford in its own capacity and separately from the response by HM Prison and Probation Service.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Prevention of Future Deaths report following the death of Stephen Sleaford was addressed to the Lord Chancellor and the Minister of State for Prisons. The Director General of Operations for HM Prison and Probation Service responded on their behalf because the matters of concern raised in the report were of an operational nature.
No separate response from the Ministry of Justice is considered necessary.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the outcome of the formal investigation into the abscondment of Daniel Boakye.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape from custody is due to be completed by 20 March.
Reports of internal investigations of this nature are not normally published.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date will the formal investigation into the abscondment of Daniel Boakye be completed.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape from custody is due to be completed by 20 March.
Reports of internal investigations of this nature are not normally published.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of levels of intimidation of candidates, agents and campaigners at (a) election hustings and (b) election counts.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Intimidation and abuse of those participating in public life has no place in our society and will not be tolerated.
MHCLG does not engage directly with candidates or collect wider information about those involved in elections' experience of harassment and intimidation. MHCLG’s role is to provides all candidates and returning officers with security guidance ahead of elections periods.
MHCLG does work closely with the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which leads on the cross-government response to harassment and intimidation, including work to evaluate its nature and scale, as well as with the police, Electoral Commission and Local Government Association, who also collect relevant information.
The government is also working with the Electoral Commission to develop an updated Code of Conduct for campaigning to set clear expectations for behaviour during election campaigns and guidance for the verifications and counts.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to commission a review into the secrecy of the ballot in the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I understand that allegations of a breach of the secret ballot have been reported to the Greater Manchester Police, and they are investigating the matter. The Electoral Commission and the Returning Officer are in contact with them and are providing assistance.
While the vast majority of people vote lawfully, any instance of coercion into revealing the nature of somebody’s ballot is unacceptable and undermines confidence in our democratic process. We will continue to work with electoral administrators and the Electoral Commission to ensure that that our polls are run smoothly, fairly, and securely. We will also continue to work with the Commission and Crimestoppers on the annual ‘Your Vote is Yours Alone’ campaign, which raises awareness amongst the electorate of the risks of voter fraud, and how to recognise and tackle it.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much foreign aid has been spent in Belarus since 2020.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what policy objective is there for creating the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how much has been spent to date on the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, whether any of the people supported by the project entitled Social care and dementia support to Jewish communities in Belarus are British citizens.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.