Written questions by Morrison.

What recent discussions she has had with representatives of British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders on the white paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025.

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply and guidance is available to applicants to help them make their application.We regularly engage with representatives of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK on issues related to the BN(O) visa and will continue to do so.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on ensuring that food aid reaches people in Gaza.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on reports that several humanitarian organisations and clinics in Gaza have been forced to evacuate following the launch of an Israeli ground assault on Deir al-Balah.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the forced evacuation orders in Deir al-Balah and the resultant disruption to humanitarian operations in Gaza.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.

What discussions he has had with NHS England on the effectiveness of its procedures for ensuring that (a) formal governance processes and (b) approved plans and programmes cannot be undermined by NHS senior leaders.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular meetings with NHS England to discuss the effectiveness of procedures to hold healthcare leaders accountable for delivering on the Government’s priorities.There are clear expectations for National Health Service senior leaders, aligned with the NHS Leadership Compact, the Fit and Proper Person Test Framework, and the Nolan Principles. NHS England addresses concerns about poor behaviours through established human resources and governance channels.On 21 July 2025, we set out plans to regulate NHS managers via a statutory barring system. We will take forward legislative changes so that the Health and Care Professions Council can operate a barring mechanism for NHS board-level managers and their direct reports within this Parliament.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification of 29 July 2025 which states that Gaza has entered Phase 5 (Catastrophic/Famine conditions); and what steps he is taking in response.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's (IPC) confirmation of famine in Gaza City and the surrounding neighbourhood on 22 August is utterly horrifying. The former Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 22 August stating that the Israeli government's refusal to allow sufficient aid into Gaza has caused this man-made catastrophe and calling for aid to reach those in need urgently and without delay. He also spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on 23 August to urge for restrictions on humanitarian access to be removed. We coordinated joint statements with over 30 international partners on 12 August and on 21 July calling on Israel to immediately restore the flow of aid into Gaza and enable humanitarian agencies to operate. On 1 September, the UK announced an additional £15 million funding for humanitarian and medical support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

What steps she plans to take to support British National (Overseas) visa holders who (a) have nearly reached the end of the five-year settlement period and (b) will be subject to the planned ten-year settlement period.

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply and guidance is available to applicants to help them make their application.We regularly engage with representatives of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK on issues related to the BN(O) visa and will continue to do so.

Whether her Department collects data on (a) internal and (b) fixed-term exclusions in primary schools, broken down by race.

The department does not collect data on circumstances where schools remove a pupil from the classroom, for serious disciplinary reasons, and where they are required to spend a limited time out of the classroom. Some schools call this internal suspension.The department publishes data on suspensions and permanent exclusions in state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, covering 2023/24, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025.Published data includes numbers and rates of suspensions, by ethnicity, in state-funded primary schools and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f3a89f3f-b18e-46c3-a167-08dde2cf2374.

What steps the Department is taking to intervene when a multi-academy trust does not investigate serious safeguarding complaints adequately.

Academy trusts must comply with their statutory safeguarding responsibilities set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. The regulations require trusts to have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ and ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance. This includes having robust procedures for managing safeguarding concerns. Each academy within a trust must have a designated safeguarding lead responsible for managing referrals and working with external agencies. Failure to act appropriately can trigger external review or intervention.The department follows up safeguarding issues, where appropriate, to obtain assurance that trusts are meeting their statutory responsibilities to safeguard all children in its schools. The department can enforce compliance through the trust’s funding agreement and the Academy Trust Handbook, which includes safeguarding obligations. Breaches may lead to formal intervention and regulatory action such as issuing a notice to improve or terminating the agreement.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing legislation that would ensure that all accessible toilets in public places have RADAR key locks on disabled people.

No assessment has been made; the RADAR key scheme is not government-led and there are no plans for legislation to make it statutory.The functional element in Part M of the Building Regulations requires new building works to make reasonable provision for people to access and use a building and its facilities. More broadly, the Equality Act 2010 places a duty on service providers and businesses to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises/buildings and services.

How many and what proportion of requests for an Education Health and Care Plan assessment are decided within the 6 week deadline in (a) each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester and (b) England; and how many and what proportion of these requests are approved.

The total number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment which were decided within six weeks can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025. This has been available since 26 June 2025.A further breakdown of these figures showing the outcome of requests for an EHC needs assessment, which were decided within six weeks, is shown in the attached table.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of levels of consistency of safeguarding protocols in multi-academy trusts in relation to unauthorised adult access to school premises.

The safety and wellbeing of children in our schools is the department’s highest priority. We recognise the importance of robust safeguarding measures and take concerns about unauthorised adult access to school premises very seriously. The produced non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in respect of developing a security policy. The department expects security in schools to be considered alongside statutory safeguarding responsibilities and the legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. The department also issues the statutory ‘Keeping children safe in education’ guidance, including guidance on the use of school premises for non-school activities. When the department has concerns regarding the safeguarding policies of any MATs, they can then enforce compliance through the MAT’s funding agreement, in line with our published statutory guidance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Student Brand Ambassadors on raising awareness of methanol poisoning among young travellers.

Student Brand Ambassadors (SBAs) have played a valuable and strategic role in extending the reach of our safety messaging to young travellers. Through the use of social media, they have delivered key messages on methanol poisoning and drink safety in a voice that is both authentic and relatable. This peer-led approach has proven to be an effective tool in promoting safer travel campaign messages.Our SBAs create targeted posts focused on drink safety, including the risks associated with methanol poisoning. They have recently increased their social media presence to include TikTok. In June-July this year, this resulted in a 300 per cent increase in the number of people our messaging reached. This impressive increase shows the value in tailored focused messaging across the full range of social media. A full analysis of the SBA programme over the summer period will be conducted late Autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of British nationals affected by methanol poisoning abroad in each of the last 10 years.

We fully recognise the serious risks posed by methanol poisoning and remain committed to supporting affected British nationals abroad. Methanol poisoning is not classified as a distinct case type within our case management system. Any consular support provided in these situations would have been recorded under broader categories such as medical care, deaths, or general health concerns. We publish our consular data on a regular basis (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/consular-data). It includes a breakdown of where we have been approached for assistance in relation to, amongst other things, hospitalisation and death. It is broken down by country and date. We continue to monitor health and safety risks abroad and provide guidance to help British nationals stay safe while travelling.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of (a) the ABTA and (b) other Travel Aware industry partners in increasing methanol poisoning awareness.

The Association for British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Travel Aware partners play a vital role in amplifying information on methanol poisoning as part of our broader proactive messaging efforts. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office collaborates with over 150 partners through the Travel Aware campaign, we engage with selected partners who are best placed to help raise awareness and promote safe travel behaviours in destinations where methanol poisoning is a known risk (their contributions account for 1 in 10 hits to our travel advice website).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to target (a) gap year students and (b) backpackers as part of methanol poisoning awareness efforts.

Student Brand Ambassadors (SBAs) have played a valuable and strategic role in extending the reach of our safety messaging to young travellers. Through the use of social media, they have delivered key messages on methanol poisoning and drink safety in a voice that is both authentic and relatable. This peer-led approach has proven to be an effective tool in promoting safer travel campaign messages.Our SBAs create targeted posts focused on drink safety, including the risks associated with methanol poisoning. They have recently increased their social media presence to include TikTok. In June-July this year, this resulted in a 300 per cent increase in the number of people our messaging reached. This impressive increase shows the value in tailored focused messaging across the full range of social media. A full analysis of the SBA programme over the summer period will be conducted late Autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department holds information on the demographic breakdown of people who engaged with the Travel Aware methanol poisoning campaign between November 2024 and March 2025.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not hold demographic data on individuals who engaged with the Travel Aware campaigns, including the methanol poisoning campaign. While the campaign generates engagement metrics in aggregate form - such as reach and interaction rates - these do not include breakdowns by age, gender, nationality, or other demographic categories. Between 28 November 2024 and 6 March 2025, the FCDO's methanol related social media posts received a total of 41,103 views.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of trends in the level of racism faced by hon. Members during the 2024 election.

The Electoral Commission’s report on the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election found that during the campaign many candidates, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, experienced unacceptable levels of intimidation and harassment. The Commission’s research showed that 34% of candidates from an ethnic minority background reported having a serious problem with intimidation compared to 14% of candidates overall. The Commission did not collect data on this issue prior to 2024 so has not made an assessment of trends in the data.The Commission has welcomed the first report from the Speaker’s Conference on the impact of abuse and intimidation. The Commission is considering how it can support implementation of the report’s proposals for all candidates, including those from an ethnic minority background, ahead of the elections in May 2026.

What steps he plans to take to tackle the lack of advertised nursing vacancies through the 10 Year Plan.

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.NHS England is working with employers, universities, and regional nursing leads to ensure that support is in place to help graduating nurses find a role as soon as possible after qualification and transition into the workplace.Later this year, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.