Written questions by McDougall.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in the context of the G7's commitment to support Israeli-Palestinian civil society peacebuilding.

The Foreign Secretary and I have stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in our conversations with Israeli, Arab and regional leaders. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this message during visits to the region on 14-15 July and 31 July - 1 August and ...

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to fill gaps in mobile telephone coverage ahead of the phasing out of landlines by service providers.

The Government is committed to improving mobile coverage across the UK. The Shared Rural Network will increase 4G geographic coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of 2025.In September, Ofcom reported that 94.9% of the UK landmass now has 4G coverag...

Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take with providers to help ensure the resilience of the telephone network, in the context of trends in the number of power cuts.

Although most power cuts are brief, the impact they can have on the telephone network is significant, particularly in rural communities. We are working closely with the regulator, communications providers and the power sector to improve resilience and min...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of proposals to establish a UN convention on the rights of older people.

The UK is fully committed to promoting and protecting the rights of all people, including older people. Building stronger legal frameworks at the domestic and international level is key. We were an active participant in the work of the UN's Open-Ended Wor...

Whether he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to prevent the online (i) purchase and (ii) use of harmful dermal fillers and botox injections by unqualified beauticians.

The Government is currently considering what steps may need to be taken in relation to the safety of the non-surgical cosmetics sector. The Government will set out its position at the earliest opportunity.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report entitled China: The top ten priorities for early Labour government action published by the Coalition on Secure Technology and the Council on Geos

Building economic security is fully compatible with a push for growth. In an age of insecurity, a more resilient economy is essential to avoid geopolitical or climatic shocks leading to economic damage on the living standards of working people. Enhancing ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled China: The top ten priorities for early Labour government action published b

This Government will bring a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, driven by the national interest. We will co-operate where we can, including on global net zero, health and trade; compete where we have di...

Innovation and Technology, with reference to pages 4 and 5 of the report entitled China: The top ten priorities for early Labour government action published by the Coalition on Secure Technology and the Council o

The security of the UK is a top priority for the government. We are taking robust action to ensure new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK. The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act requires manuf...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure the safety of humanitarian workers delivering aid in Gaza.

The UK Government remains concerned about the security of humanitarian workers in Gaza and continues to raise this issue internationally - including at the UK-led session at the UN Security Council on 29 August. Over 280 aid workers have been killed in Ga...

What steps he is taking with the Scottish Government to (a) improve drug addiction treatments and (b) reduce drug-related deaths.

As health is a devolved matter, each administration of the United Kingdom takes its own decisions on the provision of treatment and other action to address drug related deaths. Nonetheless, it is important that the four nations work together and share learning to tackle the health harms that drugs pose. The Department has been working closely with the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations to expand access to naloxone, a life-saving medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The Government laid UK-wide legislation on 29 July 2024, which, subject to passage through Parliament, will enable more services and organisations to provide take-home supplies of naloxone without a prescription. These changes will make it easier for naloxone to be given to a family member or friend of a person who is known to be using opiates, and to professionals working with people who use these drugs, to save lives in the event of an overdose.We will continue to work together with the Scottish Government and agencies such as Public Health Scotland, to monitor emerging threats posed by drugs, share learning between nations, and prevent drug related deaths across the UK.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to create a specific civil remedy of modern slavery.

Modern slavery is a horrific crime that devastates lives, leaving victims traumatised with long-lasting effects.There are various routes victims of modern slavery can take to seek compensation for the abuse they have suffered. This includes making a civil claim through the courts, an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and / or a claim to the Employment Tribunal for unlawful treatment at work. Information about compensation available to victims of modern slavery can be found at: Compensation for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The Government is committed to improving our response to modern slavery and will set out next steps more broadly in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of cases within the probate service.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff, alongside system and process improvements, which has seen record levels of grants of probate issued during the last 6 months.Management Information published by HMCTS shows, despite continued high levels of receipts, the open workable caseload (cases not waiting for more information from the applicant) has reduced by over 50% (36,000 cases) since August 2023 and currently stands at 31,842 in June 2024.The average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate (following receipt of the documents required) has reduced by 4.5 weeks in June 2024 compared to August 2023. The average timeliness for cases completing in June was 8.5 weeks.

What steps he plans to take to improve broadband access and connection speed in rural Scotland.

Digital connectivity is key to delivering our priority mission of growing the economy. Building Digital UK continues to work with the Scottish Government on the delivery of Project Gigabit procurements across Scotland. Project Gigabit procurements are targeted at the remaining premises that are not expected to receive a gigabit-capable connection as part of a suppliers’ commercial rollout, or any other subsidised delivery in Scotland. The Scottish Government launched the first two Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland in May 2024, in the Borders and East Lothian area and in the Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Angus, and Moray Coast areas. Further local and regional procurements are expected to launch in phases throughout the rest of 2024, including Shetland and Orkney, Fife and Perth & Kinross and Dumfries & Galloway. The remainder of Central and North Scotland will be included in a procurement under the cross-regional framework which has been awarded to Openreach.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing regulatory scrutiny of private parking companies.

The Government will set out its plans for regulation of the private parking industry in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to investigate the causes of delays to the delivery of postal votes during the 2024 General Election.

The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year. In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings. With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will extend UK sanctions on shadow oil tankers dealing in Russian oil to (a) those providing (i) storage facilities and (ii) fuel, (b) port operators that facilitate the docking of sanctioned vessels], (c) senior crew members operating on sanctioned vessels and (d) buyers, brokers and intermediaries that deal with sanctioned vessels and their cargo.

UK sanctions against Russia aim to deny Putin the means to continue his illegal war. We have sanctioned 15 shadow oil tankers to date - action which has materially disrupted the shadow fleet's ability to operate. The UK cannot comment on future sanctions. Nevertheless, as this Government made clear when we spearheaded a "call to action" against the shadow fleet in July, we are determined to go further to address the risks the shadow fleet poses to the environment, maritime safety and security in Europe, including through further sanctions. Anyone who assists UK-sanctioned vessels, including shadow tankers, exposes themselves to significant sanctions risk.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to ban the import of oil products whose origin is derived from crude oil of Russian origin.

The action the UK and its partners have taken to limit Russian energy revenues is having a significant impact, with Russia forced to shoulder a 24% reduction in oil and gas revenues in 2023 compared to 2022. Importers of oil and oil products into the UK, as well as those seeking to access UK services to facilitate above-cap oil trades, must provide proof that goods are not of Russian origin. The UK continues to limit Russian revenues, for example through our actions to disrupt and deter Russia's 'shadow fleet'. The Government is committed to rigorously enforcing our sanctions, keeps all our sanctions under review, and will not hesitate to take further action to limit Russian revenues which fuel its war machine.

What assessment he has made of the efficiency of the sharing of medical records when a patient requires NHS treatment in different nations of the UK.

While the delivery of healthcare is a devolved matter, health services in England and the devolved administrations cooperate to share medical records for patients’ treatment, with systems such as Primary Care Support England and the National Health Service Central Register in Scotland to support the process.

Whether she plans to take steps to ensure enforcement of environmental laws for sea vessels in (a) UK territorial waters and (b) the Exclusive Economic Zone in the context of reports of Russian shadow oil fleets and the standards of ships involved.

The Department already has robust measures in place to ensure the enforcement and compliance of environmental laws for all sea vessels in UK territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone, including the Russian shadow fleet. The UK is a signatory to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which is the main convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes. The UK applies MARPOL requirements to applicable UK ships wherever they are in the world - and to foreign vessels when in UK waters. To ensure vessels are complying with the MARPOL convention within UK territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone, satellites and fix wing surveillance aircraft can be used to identify possible incidences of pollution and consequent environmental risks. Intelligence is also received through the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Inspection regime on vessels suspected of pollution when they enter a Paris MoU port. This information is used to help enforce environmental laws in the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing price regulation for veterinary services.

The Competition and Markets Authority, which is independent from Defra, is currently undertaking a market investigation into veterinary services, and Defra will review any recommendations that are made by the CMA when their process concludes in 2025.