Written questions by Burgon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on the compliance of Israeli strikes on Lebanon on 8 April 2026 with the laws of war.

The UK has, along with 18 other countries, condemned Israel's strikes on Lebanon, as well as the attacks of Hizballah against Israel. I have discussed the situation in Lebanon directly with my Israeli and other international counterparts, including to call for civilians and civilian infrastructure to be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law. As part of longstanding convention, we do not comment on military operational details.

Whether he has assessed if there is a clear risk that arms exports licensed by the UK government might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law by Israel in Lebanon.

The Prime Minister has been clear that the conflict in the Middle East is not our war. We are responding to this crisis with clear and calm leadership to protect our national interests without being drawn in to the conflict.Export licence applications are rigorously assessed against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including criterion 2(c) which states that we will not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the items under that licence might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We also keep all existing licences under continual review on the same basis. This means that all these issues are kept under continuous review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether F-35s were used in the Israeli strikes on Lebanon conducted on 8 April.

The UK has, along with 18 other countries, condemned Israel's strikes on Lebanon, as well as the attacks of Hizballah against Israel. I have discussed the situation in Lebanon directly with my Israeli and other international counterparts, including to call for civilians and civilian infrastructure to be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law. As part of longstanding convention, we do not comment on military operational details.

Whether he has assessed if there is a clear risk that arms exports licensed by the UK government might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law by Israel in Iran.

The Prime Minister has been clear that the conflict in the Middle East is not our war. We are responding to this crisis with clear and calm leadership to protect our national interests without being drawn in to the conflict.Export licence applications are rigorously assessed against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including criterion 2(c) which states that we will not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the items under that licence might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We also keep all existing licences under continual review on the same basis. This means that all these issues are kept under continuous review.

Whether he has assessed if there is a clear risk that arms exports licensed by the UK government might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law by the US in Iran.

The Prime Minister has been clear that the conflict in the Middle East is not our war. We are responding to this crisis with clear and calm leadership to protect our national interests without being drawn in to the conflict.Export licence applications are rigorously assessed against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including criterion 2(c) which states that we will not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the items under that licence might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We also keep all existing licences under continual review on the same basis. This means that all these issues are kept under continuous review.

How many records of individual immigration status have been shared by NHS England with the Personal Demographics Service.

National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts must indicate on a patient’s NHS record whether they are an overseas visitor, whether an exemption from charges applies to that overseas visitor, and the date on which the latest assessment of their chargeable status took place, under regulation 3A of the charging regulations.The Personal Demographics Service (PDS) is the national electronic database of all NHS patients, who are born in or have received NHS care in England, Wales, and the Isle of Man, or who are an overseas visitor.It helps healthcare staff identify patients, match them to their care records, and keep their details up to date. If the person is an overseas visitor, information obtained via the PDS is used to help NHS trusts understand if a patient has an immigration status to make NHS charging decisions.The Home Office provides data to the PDS when a new immigration record is created or approved, including the Home Office Reference Number, visa dates, and charging status.This is used to enable an NHS Overseas Visitor Manager in an NHS trust to check when an overseas visitor accesses NHS services, when they need to confirm their charging status, and uses NHS systems linked to Home Office systems to check the relevant status. Access to this data on the PDS via NHS systems is limited to this purpose.NHS England is directed to collect and analyse the data necessary to deliver this service under the Cost Recovery Collection, Processing and Dissemination of Overseas Visitor and UK Patient-Level Data Directions 2021, and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Immigration Health Charge) Directions 2021.

Whether data from Cost Recovery Collection in the NHS can be accessed by the Federated Data Platform.

Data collected as part of the NHS Cost Recovery Collection is not accessible by the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP). The NHS FDP does not hold, process, or provide access to data relating to an individual’s immigration or residency status, nor does it ingest data from the Cost Recovery Collection.

(a) on what date Morgan McSweeney was granted Developed Vetting clearance; (b) whether Morgan McSweeney handled documents for which he would require Developed Vetting clearance prior to that date.

We do not comment on the details of individual clearances or national security as a matter of course.

Innovation and Technology, if she will publish the names and institutional affiliations of the members of the academic panel appointed to assess (a) the public responses to the 'Growing up in the online world' consultation and (b) the data arising from the government’s 6-week digital wellbeing pilot studies.

Professor Russell Viner, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for Education, will chair the academic panel. The government will announce further members once all checks, including security checks, have concluded. Declarations of conflicts of interest will also be published. Officials worked with the Government Office for Science and Department for Education to identify potential academic panel members with relevant expertise to consider the digital safety issues explored in the ‘Growing up in the online world’ consultation, including AI, education, paediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, and social research.

Innovation and Technology, which (a) departmental officials, (b) external academic partners, and (c) private contractors were responsible for designing the methodology and key performance indicators (KPIs) of the 6-week digital wellbeing pilot studies currently being conducted by the Government.

The pilots were developed by professional analysts within DSIT, with advice from the Government Office for Science. This included a roundtable convened by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Dame Angela McLean, of academics and Chief Scientific Advisers from FCDO, DfE and College of Policing. Private contractors were not involved in designing the methodology. The pilots are qualitative studies, intended to generate in‑depth insights into young people’s navigation and experience of social media. The research is not designed to be statistically representative, so KPIs are limited to delivery logistics, such as recruitment targets, rather than impact measures.

Innovation and Technology, what the selection process was for the appointment of experts to the academic panel for the digital wellbeing consultation; and what criteria were used to ensure a balance of multi-disciplinary expertise in child psychology, data science, and social media harms.

Professor Russell Viner, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for Education, will chair the academic panel. The government will announce further members once all checks, including security checks, have concluded. Declarations of conflicts of interest will also be published. Officials worked with the Government Office for Science and Department for Education to identify potential academic panel members with relevant expertise to consider the digital safety issues explored in the ‘Growing up in the online world’ consultation, including AI, education, paediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, and social research.

Innovation and Technology, what the selection process was for the appointment of experts to the academic panel for the digital wellbeing consultation; and what criteria were used to ensure a balance of multi-disciplinary expertise in child psychology, data science, and social media harms.

Professor Russell Viner, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for Education, will chair the academic panel. The government will announce further members once all checks, including security checks, have concluded. Declarations of conflicts of interest will also be published. Officials worked with the Government Office for Science and Department for Education to identify potential academic panel members with relevant expertise to consider the digital safety issues explored in the ‘Growing up in the online world’ consultation, including AI, education, paediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, and social research.

What assessment has the Department made of the potential impact of the Earned Settlement proposals on NHS waiting lists.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on a range of subjects including immigration policy.The Home Office consultation on Earned Settlement closed in February 2026 and responses are currently being analysed. This analysis will inform the development of the final Earned Settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement. Following analysis of the consultation responses, the necessary impact assessments, including those relating to the National Health Service, will be undertaken. Once the final model has been agreed, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.

What assessment has been made of the potential impact of the Earned Settlement proposals on recruitment and retention rates in the NHS.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on a range of subjects including immigration policy.The Home Office consultation on Earned Settlement closed in February 2026 and responses are currently being analysed. This analysis will inform the development of the final Earned Settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement. Following analysis of the consultation responses, the necessary impact assessments, including those relating to the National Health Service, will be undertaken. Once the final model has been agreed, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of the Earned Settlement proposals on NHS patient care.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on a range of subjects including immigration policy.The Home Office consultation on Earned Settlement closed in February 2026 and responses are currently being analysed. This analysis will inform the development of the final Earned Settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement. Following analysis of the consultation responses, the necessary impact assessments, including those relating to the National Health Service, will be undertaken. Once the final model has been agreed, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.

With reference to the comments of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on LBC on 22 March 2026, on what date the Prime Minister’s former Chief of Staff reported the theft of his mobile phone to the Cabinet Secretary.

The former Chief of Staff’s phone was stolen, and he reported it at the time to the police and relevant teams in No10. This was before the Humble Address that was passed in February. The Government is committed to complying with the Humble Address in full, while continuing to support the Metropolitan Police with their investigation. I refer the Hon Member to the statement provided by the Metropolitan Police on 25 March and publication of the transcript confirming that the theft was reported.

Whether the Prime Minister’s former Chief of Staff reported the theft of his mobile phone to the Cabinet Secretary.

The former Chief of Staff’s phone was stolen, and he reported it at the time to the police and relevant teams in No10. This was before the Humble Address that was passed in February. The Government is committed to complying with the Humble Address in full, while continuing to support the Metropolitan Police with their investigation. I refer the Hon Member to the statement provided by the Metropolitan Police on 25 March and publication of the transcript confirming that the theft was reported.

With reference to the comments of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on LBC on 22 March 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the theft of the Prime Minister’s former Chief of Staff’s mobile phone on national security.

The Government takes matters of national security very seriously, including cyber security, and has robust procedures in place to prevent the loss of sensitive information. However, the Government does not routinely comment on the specifics on matters relating to national security.

What the Cabinet Office policy is on the backup and retention of messages on official mobile devices.

Civil Servants and ministers are required to follow the Non-Corporate Communications Channels (NCCCs) Guidance when using WhatsApp or similar messaging systems on their mobile device. This can be found on gov.uk.

What his Department's policy is on staff reporting the (a) loss and (b) theft of mobile devices; and whether that policy was followed for the theft of the Prime Minister's former Chief of Staff's mobile phone.

The former Chief of Staff’s phone was stolen, and he reported it at the time to the police and relevant teams in No10. This was before the Humble Address that was passed in February. The Government is committed to complying with the Humble Address in full, while continuing to support the Metropolitan Police with their investigation. I refer the Hon Member to the statement provided by the Metropolitan Police on 25 March and publication of the transcript confirming that the theft was reported.