Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Glen this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 61–80 of 515 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62928 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will place in the Library a copy of the equalities impact assessment for the changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund before the summer recess.
The equalities impact assessment for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses shortly.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic démarches his department has delivered to advance religious freedom during bilateral visits to Vietnam.
I pressed the Vietnamese Government to respect people's rights to speak freely, to meet in groups, and to practice their religion during my October 2024 visit to Vietnam. I followed up with my counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Hang, on 17 March and will keep raising this with Vietnam alongside our Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief, David Smith MP. The UK-Vietnam Strategic Partnership includes cooperation on human rights, including concerns about religious freedom.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the decline of freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is a focus country in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) new approach to freedom of religion or belief, announced by the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, on 8 July. FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, most recently in July. We continue to support the UN Special Rapporteur and his mandate to document human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including against minority groups. Without truly inclusive governance that reflects the religious, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity of Afghanistan, we will never see an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58204 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF), what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the provision of updated guidance local authorities on the provision of adoption support services.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues over a range of important matters.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58204 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of top-up funding for therapeutic support over the Fair Access Limit from (a) local authorities and (b) adoption agencies in this financial year.
The department does not collect information from local authorities and regional adoption agencies on whether, and if so, to what extent, they are adding financial top-ups to the therapeutic support available through the fair access limit.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of hours of therapy an applicant to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund would receive using this year’s Fair Access Limit should they also require a specialist assessment costing the average amount calculated by her Department; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of this.
The number of hours of therapy available to a child after a specialist assessment funded by the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) is dependent on a variety of factors. This includes the cost of the therapy and in which financial year the specialist assessment was completed. It is also important to note that additional funding may be made available by the local authority or regional adoption agency beyond that provided by the ASGSF, therefore increasing the amount of therapy available, should the specialist assessment recommend this.Specialist assessments vary in cost, although the maximum the department can fund is £2,500 and the current average spend is slightly below this. If the maximum is used on a specialist assessment, this will clearly limit the amount of therapy which can be funded under the Fair Access Limit in the same financial year.Outcomes measurement tool (OMT) data enables the adequacy of ASGSF-funded support to be monitored at local and national level. The department started to collect data from OMTs for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment concludes, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies. We are currently developing tools and methods for assessing this emerging information.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58204 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will publish the data her Department collected on the costs of applications for (a) therapeutic interventions and (b) specialist assessments funded by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
The department published management data from the adoption and special guardianship support fund for the first time in September 2024 and is planning to publish updated data for 2024/25 in the autumn. This will include cost information data.
What steps he is taking to help ensure that the (a) financial and (b) related professional services industry is represented on the Defence Industrial Joint Council.
The Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) aims to harness a wide and diverse set of expertise to shape the future of Britain's defence manufacturing, supply chain and innovation. The DIJC's top-level council is comprised of experts from across the sector, including representatives from the finance and investor community (Kerry Baldwin, IQ Capital and Dame Fiona Murray, NATO Innovation Fund). The membership of the DIJC runs on a principle of rotation, with all appointments for an initial tenure of 12 months. The financial sector will have opportunities for participation in DIJC initiatives as these are stood up. The DIJC has strong links through its membership to the CBI-led Defence Economic Growth Taskforce, an initiative that is mobilising defence and finance leaders, to shape the UK's future prosperity and is co-chaired by the Chancellor and Defence Secretary.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of disputes involving religious communities in the Bukovina region of Ukraine; and what steps he is taking to support freedom of religion or belief in the area.
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK regularly engages with Ukrainian religious groups and the Government of Ukraine on this issue, including on Law 8371 which mandates that religious organisations must cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law responds to clear national security threats. In February, a delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches met Parliamentarians and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials to discuss religious persecution in the temporarily occupied territories, and Law 8371.
What discussions his Department has had with the Treasury on (a) the Hughes Report and the recommendations for valproate, (b) redress for those harmed by sodium valproate.
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report in due course.
With reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much and what proportion of the additional British Business Bank funding will be allocated to the life sciences sector.
This Government is committed to ensuring high-potential life sciences businesses can access the finance they need to innovate, grow, and boost the UK economy. As part of the Industrial Strategy, the British Business Bank will invest £4 billion across key sectors, including life sciences, supporting both the expansion of the Life Sciences Investment Programme and direct investment in R&D-intensive companies. This funding is not hypothecated by sector, allowing the Bank to back the most promising opportunities, including through specialist fund managers. The percentage of Bank supported deals in life sciences was 7.2%, compared to 4.9% for the overall equity market and 6.1% for the wider PE/VC market from 2022-2024.
With reference to the British Business Bank's publication Small Business Equity Tracker 2024, if she will make a comparative assessment of (a) venture capital investment in the life sciences in the UK and the US and (b) the implications for companies in each jurisdiction seeking to scale-up.
The UK remains Europe’s leading destination for life sciences venture capital (VC) investment, according to the British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker 2024. The US market is larger in scale, supporting late-stage growth with deeper capital pools and larger fund sizes. While the UK VC market is competitive with the US at the seed stage, UK companies face a widening funding gap as they scale. At the recent Spending Review, the Government increased the British Business Bank’s financial capacity to £25.6 billion, a two-thirds increase in investment activity. Alongside reforms to give the British Business Bank greater flexibility to deploy funding responsively, this expanded capacity will enable more substantial support for SMEs and scale-ups, including life sciences companies, and move the UK market closer to the scale of late-stage financing seen in the US.
Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances she would direct Local Government Pension Funds to a specific asset pool.
The government’s firm preference is for pool membership to be determined on a voluntary basis at a local level. In the Pension Schemes Bill, the government has made provision for a power to protect the Local Government Pension Scheme over the long term. The power could be used to direct an administering authority to participate in a specific pool in the event that an authority is left without a pool to participate in or that a pool’s governance intractably breaks down. The government would intend only to use this power as a backstop in these circumstances.
How many children with a diagnosis of foetal valproate syndrome also have a diagnosis of (a) spina bifida, (b) neural tube defects, (c) cardiac malformations, (d) kidney malformations and (e) cleft (i) lip and (ii) palate.
Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies. The information requested is not held centrally.
How many children diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder also have a diagnosis of foetal valproate syndrome.
Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies. Information on the number of children diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder and a diagnosis of foetal valproate syndrome is not collected centrally.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of (a) abductions, (b) forced marriages and (c) religious conversions of (i) Christian and (ii) other minority girls in Pakistan.
Promoting the rights of religious minorities is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I am deeply concerned by reports of abductions, forced marriages and religious conversions of Christian and other minority girls. I raised the importance of protecting minority rights with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights during my visit in November 2024 and Lord Khan raised this in meetings with senior Government of Pakistan interlocutors during his visit in April 2025. Our High Commission in Islamabad continues to raise these issues at the highest levels and engages regularly with civil society to monitor the situation. We urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its international human rights obligations and ensure that all citizens, regardless of faith, are protected from coercion and violence.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Financial Conduct Authority is able to deliver final rules for Buy Now, Pay Later regulation that are proportionate to the product.
Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products. At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices. Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers. The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.
Whether her Department plans to require merchants that might offer unregulated Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) once BNPL regulation is in force to provide clear information to consumers to make it clear that certain consumer protections will not apply to their credit agreements.
Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products. At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices. Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers. The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that consumers are made aware that some forms of buy now, pay later will remain unregulated when BNPL regulation is in force.
Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products. At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices. Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers. The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the protection of religious freedom for Christian communities in Nepal, in the context of (a) recent political movements advocating for the restoration of a Hindu kingdom and (b) trends in the number of attacks on Christians.
The UK condemns all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief, recognising that freedom of religion is a cornerstone of human rights and democratic societies. Our Embassy in Kathmandu engages a range of different faith leaders and civil society on human rights. Through this and other engagement, the UK will continue to signal respect for religious diversity and support for everyone's right to freely practise their faith, traditions, and beliefs without fear or prejudice.