Written questions by Dhesi.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of smartphone bans in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools on educational attainment.

Mobile phones have no place in our schools.Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.New research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools – 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools – already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57318 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, if he will publish that letter; and whether he plans to respond to the letter.

The Government has noted the views expressed in the open letter of 26 May 2025 from legal experts concerning the situation in Gaza. As the letter is publicly available on a dedicated website, the Government does not plan to publish it separately. The UK addressed the concerns raised through a public statement issued on 27 May 2025, reaffirming our opposition to the expansion of Israeli military operations in Gaza and call for immediate, unhindered humanitarian access. We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including legal experts, on the legalities and operational challenges involved in doing so.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the legality of the arrangements to distribute privatised humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The UK continues to work with international partners, including the United States, to ensure aid can flow into Gaza and secure a lasting peace in the region. We are grateful to the US for their efforts to secure a ceasefire and we will continue to support them. We have been clear that we do not support any aid mechanism that seeks to deliver political or military objectives or puts vulnerable civilians at risk. We call on Israel to urgently engage with the UN to ensure a return to delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles. We endorse the plan for delivery of aid put forward by the UN on 16 May which is based on humanitarian principles, has built in mitigations against aid diversion and uses established mechanisms to deliver at the scale required.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 53139 on Ministry of Defence: Weapons, whether he is taking steps to help ensure (a) that weapons exported to Israel for defensive purposes cannot be used for offensive purposes and (b) compliance with international law on arms exports.

There are currently no extant export licences for use in military operations in Gaza. This is subject to the specific measures taken to protect the global F-35 programme. The action we have taken, as announced to Parliament, is consistent with all our legal obligations, including those under the Arms Trade Treaty, and we remain wholly committed to international law.

If he will provide an update on surveillance flights over Gaza in the last month.

Since December 2023 the Ministry of Defence has conducted surveillance flights within the airspace over Israel and Gaza, solely for the purpose of locating hostages. I am unable to comment further on detailed intelligence matters.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has received unsolicited correspondence from legal experts on the legality of the Israeli blockade on the delivery of aid to the population of Gaza.

The Government received an open letter concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory on the 26 May 2025 from signatories comprising lawyers, legal academic and former judges who are UK-based or qualified.

What information his Department holds on the number of (a) weapons, (b) munitions and (c) other arms exported to Israel in each of the last four months.

DBT does not hold records of final exports of strategically controlled goods, and the fact that a licence is granted does not mean that an export takes place. For specific trade goods export data, I recommend referring to HMRC.DBT publishes data on export licences issued for military and dual-use equipment. The most recent publication covers the quarter up to December 2024. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has also expanded this publication to include an ad hoc statistics release relating solely to Israel licences, the most recent publication of which was up to 6 December 2024 and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/export-control-licensing-management-information-for-israel/israel-export-control-licensing-data-6-december-2024.

What the total tax revenue collected from (a) business rates and (b) corporation tax was in the Slough constituency in the most recent period for which data is available.

Data on the amount of business rates collected for 2023-24, which is the more recent publicly available data, is published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) online here. Table 9 contains data at the local authority level:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/collection-rates-for-council-tax-and-non-domestic-rates-in-england-2023-to-2024. HMRC publish total Corporation Tax (CT) receipts online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporation-tax-statistics-2024. HMRC do not hold data on the amount of CT paid by companies in individual parliamentary constituencies.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 53953 on Gaza: Infant Mortality, whether he has made an assessment of the likelihood of the British Red Cross humanitarian funding reaching Gaza.

On 4 June, I announced an additional £4 million to the British Red Cross (BRC) in supporting Gaza. The UK has assessed that, despite severe access constraints, BRC, has a credible and realistic pathway to reach Gaza through its partner, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). This assessment is based on the PRCS's longstanding operational presence in Gaza and its continued ability to deliver aid where conditions allow. The UK remains in close contact with the BRC to monitor delivery and ensure accountability. Working with the BRC and international partners, we continue to push for improved humanitarian access.

Whether his Department has provided military assistance to Israel since March 2025.

The Ministry of Defence has provided military assistance to Israel since March 2025 for the sole purpose of rescuing hostages in Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer to Question 53142 on Gaza: Famine, what assessment his Department has made of the causes of (a) famine and (b) starvation risk in Gaza.

The UK is deeply concerned by the recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) snapshot report, which found that the whole of Gaza faces a critical risk of famine and that half a million people are facing starvation. The Full IPC Special Report, to be issued shortly, will contain further analysis. We support the IPC's recommendations aiming to avoid Gaza descending into famine, including an end to hostilities, humanitarian access, the protection of aid workers, civilians and civilian infrastructure, multi-sectoral interventions, and commercial supply and essential services restored at scale. We continue to push for these measures along with our partners.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 51909 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what the response of the Israeli ambassador was to the Government's positions that (a) it stands firmly against Israel's resumption of military action in Gaza, (b) Israel's plan for aid delivery is wholly inadequate and (c) a full and unhindered resumption in the flow of aid into Gaza should take place immediately.

The Israeli ambassador has been left in no doubt about the UK's position. On 20 May, I summoned the ambassador to express the UK's firm opposition to Israel's resumption of military action in Gaza and its wholly inadequate aid delivery plan. I also demanded the immediate, full and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid. The UK made clear that failure to act risks further international isolation. The Foreign Secretary has said that unless Israel lifts restrictions and halts its offensive, the UK alongside international partners will take further concrete action.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 53953 on Gaza: Infant Mortality, whether the Israeli Government responded to the request to (a) stop military operations in and (b) immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

The UK continues to make clear that the UK stands firmly against Israel's resumption of military action in Gaza. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to lift restrictions immediately to enable humanitarian aid to enter at scale. We made this clear again at the UN Security Council last week, when we voted in favour of a draft UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza. Ministers continue to make representations to Israeli counterparts on these issues as we call for a lasting peace.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on banning trophy hunting imports.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern in the most effective way.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) legislation and (b) regulations in relation to direct-to-consumer e-bike imports.

UK product safety law requires that all consumer products must be safe before being placed on the market. Businesses, including those in supply chains for products manufactured overseas, have responsibilities to only make safe products available, and UK regulators have powers to remove non-compliant products from the market.Government has introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to modernise regulations to reflect increasingly globalised and online supply chains. The powers in this Bill will allow us to make any necessary changes to our regulations to ensure the best protections for consumers and support for reputable retailers.

What recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure the effective enforcement of legislation relating to e-bikes on roads.

Only e-bikes that comply in full with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 can be legally used on public roads. Where an e-bike does not comply with these Regulations, it counts as an e-moped or motorbike and must therefore be registered, taxed and insured. The rider must wear a safety helmet and hold the appropriate driving licence. Enforcement is a matter for the police.

What recent discussions has he had with energy suppliers on the timeline for the distribution of compensation to customers who were forced to have prepayment meters installed.

We have campaigned tirelessly on this issue since this scandal came to light, and I am pleased to see justice is finally being delivered to many of the affected families. The Secretary of State urged Ofgem to accelerate work to deliver payments earlier this year, and on Wednesday 28 May Ofgem announced £18.6m of compensation for households affected by the involuntary installation of pre-payment meters (PPMs). Suppliers will pay £5.6million in compensation – using the guidelines set out by Ofgem – to 40,000 consumers that had an involuntary PPM installed during the assessment period. Suppliers will also write off a further £13million of debt from customers who had an involuntary PPM during the assessment period. I am pleased to see the level of compensation increase significantly from £420,000 in June 2024. Ofgem has been working with suppliers to make sure suppliers are paying compensation in a fair and consistent way. Ofgem has also been negotiating with suppliers on offers of debt write-off, to make sure involuntary PPM customers directly benefit from this work. It is paramount that compensation payments are issued as quickly as possible, and we will continue to work with Ofgem and suppliers to ensure affected consumers are compensated in a timely manner.

What recent steps she has taken to financially support the installation of solar panel installation on homes.

Deploying rooftop solar remains a key priority for the Government and the forthcoming Solar Roadmap will set out actions for how we and industry will work together to achieve our ambition. As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1bn of this allocated to next year (2025 – 26). Additional funding will be considered in Phase 2 of the Spending Review as the Warm Homes Plan is further developed. Additionally, the Smart Export Guarantee continues to ensure that homes with solar panels installed receive payment for the excess renewable electricity they export to the grid.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with local councils on the provision of free parking near (a) parks (b) recreational areas and (c) high streets.

Local authorities are empowered to determine their parking arrangements, as they are best suited to understand the best way of responding to local needs.They must do so in a way which meets standards set by national government that parking policies should be proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for kerb space, and ensure traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities as required in the Traffic Management Act 2004.As such the Secretary of State has not held any discussions with local councils regarding the provision of parking.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the English Football League on a potential increase in the number of teams promoted from National League into the English Football League.

We recognise the strength of feeling within the National League regarding promotion arrangements to the EFL and understand the desire for greater opportunities for clubs to progress through the football pyramid. The competitiveness and sustainability of the league system are important considerations, and we appreciate the views of all stakeholders on this issue.While promotion and relegation structures are ultimately a matter for the leagues themselves, we remain engaged with the football authorities on broader discussions about the future of the game.