Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend of 14 January 2025, Official Report, column 159, what recent assessment he has made of Israel's presence in the Golan Heights buffer zone.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to call on all parties to preserve Syria's territorial integrity and national unity. Continued Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) activity in the buffer zone is in violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces agreement and we have called on Israel to lay out timelines for their withdrawal. We expect Israel to adhere to their commitment that their presence in the buffer zone is both limited and temporary. We continue to support the work of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) who remain vital for stability for Syria and the wider region, participating regularly in UN Security Council Meetings on UNDOF, most recently in consultations on 12 June 2025.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 52848 on Offenders: Foreign Nationals, what steps her Department is taking to support the police when immigrants who have arrived in the UK illegally are housed in communities, in the context of the absence of data on those people being electronically monitored by nationality.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office communicates regularly with local police forces, and with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to assess the operational implications of housing asylum seekers in different areas and regions around the country, and will always do what is necessary to protect the safety and security of each local community affected.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using AI technologies in the national recycling system for (a) waste separation and (b) material recovery.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has not conducted a specific assessment of use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to support recycling in England.
However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) conducts ongoing engagement with local authorities and businesses that collect and dispose of waste, including as part of the Simpler Recycling Collections reforms. Through this engagement, Defra is aware of the use of AI technologies to support improved separation and recovery of recyclate from material recovery facilities (MRFs). At some MRFs such as Sweeep Kuusakoski in Kent which I visited recently, AI technology is helping to sort materials that could not previously be easily sorted for reprocessing, including plastic films.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Defra are funding research to help overcome the challenges faced when seeking to build a circular economy. An example of this is the work that the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and Defra are funding to accelerate UK recycling capabilities.
Moreover, Defra has recently published its AI Strategy and has appointed a new AI Enablement team within its Digital, Data, Technology and Security directorate. Our approach is to seek out opportunities to apply AI technologies but to do so by taking a reasonably cautious approach as to ensure that this is done responsibly and ethically as we continue to develop our expertise and harness the expertise and learning from others.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions has she had with retail industry representatives on the (a) design and (b) implementation of the training funded through the National Police Chiefs' Council.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
We work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing and the retail industry on the design of training funded by the Home Office, to ensure it delivers what is needed to help prevent and tackle crime and is an appropriate use of public money.
Furthermore, I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft – Tackling Retail Crime Together.
The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council have an operational Retail Crime Action Plan, which has been in place since October 2023. This plan contains a commitment for police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with fire and rescue services to help increase levels of (a) resilience and (b) preparedness in (i) central government, (ii) local authorities, (iii) local communities and (iv) emergency services.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, such as a major fire or flooding and extends to areas such as cyber security. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their core functions in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework. These local plans identify and assess the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue-related risks and make provision for prevention and protection activities and appropriate response to incidents.
The Government provide grants to Fire and Rescue Authorities to support and maintain the national resilience capabilities which are widely used in day-to-day operations by Fire and Rescue Services to enhance both local response and response to major and national scale catastrophic incidents. Central Government works with the National Fire Chiefs Council, Fire and Rescue Services and Authorities who play an active role in supporting the work of Local Resilience Forums which all contributes to ensure a multi-agency approach to prepare and respond, as well as recover from such incidents.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Ukraine on religious freedom, in the context of the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under law 3894.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK fully supports the intention behind Law 3894 "about protection of the constitutional system in field of activity of the religious organisations". The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law is not aimed at restricting freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine, but instead responds to clear national security threats. The Ukrainian Government is in ongoing consultation with religious and belief communities in Ukraine on the terms of the law, including the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of law 3894 on religious freedom in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK fully supports the intention behind Law 3894 "about protection of the constitutional system in field of activity of the religious organisations". The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law is not aimed at restricting freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine, but instead responds to clear national security threats. The Ukrainian Government is in ongoing consultation with religious and belief communities in Ukraine on the terms of the law, including the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of car theft in (a) England and (b) Romford.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to prevent thefts.
We also provided £250,000 funding in the last financial year to help support work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad.
Via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
In recent weeks, the Security Minister and I have each met vehicle manufacturers to discuss these issues. Officials also regularly engage and work with industry to discuss workable solutions to help prevent vehicle theft.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle car-related crimes in Slough.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to prevent thefts.
We also provided £250,000 funding in the last financial year to help support work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad.
Via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
In recent weeks, the Security Minister and I have each met vehicle manufacturers to discuss these issues. Officials also regularly engage and work with industry to discuss workable solutions to help prevent vehicle theft.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase economic growth in the North West; what the barriers are to investment in that region; and what strategies are in place to enable growth.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have made clear the importance of investing in major city regions outside London and the South East - bringing the productivity of major city regions like Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire just to the national average would deliver an extra £33bn in economic output.
The government revealed at Autumn Budget an over £100 billion increase in departmental capital investment over the next five years compared to plans the government inherited.
We have also announced: a new approach to regional investment between the OFI and the NWF; the launch of a review into the Green Book and its application to supporting place-based objectives; the launch of a taskforce on devolution in Greater Manchester to then be rolled out elsewhere; and put £240m towards 16 trailblazers, including one in every MCA, to tackle the root causes of inactivity.
We have committed to funding for local leaders to unleash their areas’ untapped potential with over £1 billion for the North to improve the transport services people use every day – backing regional mayors and ensuring decisions about the North sit with those who call it home. This comes alongside £270 million investment in bus services and £330 million in road maintenance across the North.
From the start of the next financial year (2025-26) Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will receive integrated funding settlements worth over £630m. This will give the Mayor meaningful control over funding and improve the fragmented funding landscape for Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) with a flexible single pot, empowering them to drive local growth and invest in local priorities.
Trafford Council will also receive the +2.5% bespoke additional council tax referendum principles agreed to in their 2025-26 settlement.
Further, in recognition of Barrow’s vital role in upholding our national security, the town will receive £200m of government investment through the Barrow Transformation Fund.