Written questions by Khan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on the killing of Hossam Shabat by Israeli forces; what steps he is taking to help increase the safety of journalists in conflict zones.

The Government is deeply concerned about the safety of civilians, including journalists in Gaza, who are afforded protection under international humanitarian law. As international media are not permitted to work in Gaza, Palestinian journalists have been playing a crucial role in covering the impact of the conflict. This Government has been repeatedly clear that all civilians must be protected in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this again in a joint statement with the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany on 21 March, which called on Israel to fully respect international law.

Whether his Department plans to exempt trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories from the free trade agreement being negotiated with Israel.

The government’s position is clear that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the Palestinian Authority. This will not change in an upgraded free trade agreement with Israel.

Whether his Department plans to take steps to disclose UK foreign direct investment holdings in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Department for Business and Trade does not hold this information. It is held by the Office for National Statistics.

Whether her Department consulted on the contents the suicide prevention training provided to prison and probation staff.

All new members of prison staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and all staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management also receive specific training relating to those roles. An e-learning module has also recently been made available for all staff to access on postvention support following a self-inflicted death in custody. These products have been developed by the HM Prison and Probation Service learning design team in conjunction with policy leads and subject matter experts. They include material developed in partnership with Samaritans, and consultation on elements of the content has taken place with healthcare and other partners and the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody.There are two suicide prevention learning packages for probation staff: a Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) package for all staff, and a package aimed at new entrant Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) and Probation Service Officers (PSOs) which was developed internally as part of a broader introduction to mental health. The former was developed externally by the ZSA (a suicide awareness and prevention initiative funded via Mersey Cares NHS Charity) in conjunction with HMPPS subject matter experts, and the latter builds upon this and tailors it to the needs of new entrants.

If she will publish the contents of the suicide prevention training provided to (a) prison and (b) probation staff.

It is not appropriate to make the training publicly available as the content includes lived experience examples for which confidentiality must be maintained, and there is a need for HMPPS to retain oversight of dissemination, delivery and appropriate use of the products.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reduction of the international development budget on the UK's international partnerships with developing nations.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and official development assistance. Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including the likely impact on the UK's international partnerships with developing nations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reduction of the international development budget on the UK's soft power.

The decision to reduce the UK's international development budget was not taken lightly and is a reflection of the extraordinary security challenge the world currently finds itself facing, specifically on Ukraine. Establishing a Soft Power Council reflects the continuing UK commitment to work more strategically on soft power. The UK has enormous soft power strengths and at this time of extraordinary challenges it is even more important that we bring our hard and soft power together as a force for good, to reinvigorate alliances and forge new partnerships. As the Foreign Secretary has noted, harnessing our soft power more effectively can help to build relationships, deepen trust, enhance our security and drive economic growth.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25955 on Asylum: Syria, whether the requirements for the cessation of refugee status for beneficiaries of international protection originating from Syria have currently been met.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave him on 30 January 2025 to Question UIN 25955.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the steps his Department is taking to help prevent the use of UK-produced arms by Israel in (a) Gaza and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control system. We will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law. The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to carefully consider the impact of the export of items and their capabilities.  As soon as the Foreign Secretary took office, he ordered a review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law, which concluded that there is a clear risk that UK export items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. On 2 September 2024 we suspended export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza Conflict. This does not, however, include exports to the global F-35 programme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government's policy towards UK arms trade with Israel in complying with Criterion 2a and Criterion 2c of the Strategic Export Licencing Criteria.

The Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control system. We will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law. The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to carefully consider the impact of the export of items and their capabilities.  As soon as the Foreign Secretary took office, he ordered a review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law, which concluded that there is a clear risk that UK export items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. On 2 September 2024 we suspended export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza Conflict. This does not, however, include exports to the global F-35 programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help prevent traders from declaring that food and drink imports produced by Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are Produce of Israel.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead.    All food sold on the UK market, including that which is imported, must comply with food labelling rules. The government continues to review existing legislation through post implementation reviews. Country of Origin labelling is compulsory for prepacked unprocessed beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat and most unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables. Where origin information is not required, it can still be provided as long as it does not mislead. We support accurate labelling of settlement goods, so as not to mislead the consumer. Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. Concerns that a specific food does not comply or is otherwise misleading, should be raised with a local trading standards officer who will be able to investigate and take necessary action.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to require traders and importers to label food produced in the West Bank to state whether it was produced by (a) Palestinian communities and (b) Israeli settlers.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead.    All food sold on the UK market, including that which is imported, must comply with food labelling rules. The government continues to review existing legislation through post implementation reviews. Country of Origin labelling is compulsory for prepacked unprocessed beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat and most unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables. Where origin information is not required, it can still be provided as long as it does not mislead. We support accurate labelling of settlement goods, so as not to mislead the consumer. Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. Concerns that a specific food does not comply or is otherwise misleading, should be raised with a local trading standards officer who will be able to investigate and take necessary action.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Written Statement of 10 December 2009 on Food Labelling (Occupied Palestinian Territories), column 28WS, whether his Department has reviewed the adequacy of its advice to retailers and importers on the labelling of food produced in the West Bank.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead.    All food sold on the UK market, including that which is imported, must comply with food labelling rules. The government continues to review existing legislation through post implementation reviews. Country of Origin labelling is compulsory for prepacked unprocessed beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat and most unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables. Where origin information is not required, it can still be provided as long as it does not mislead. We support accurate labelling of settlement goods, so as not to mislead the consumer. Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. Concerns that a specific food does not comply or is otherwise misleading, should be raised with a local trading standards officer who will be able to investigate and take necessary action.

What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) people and (b) charities providing support to people that (i) have self-harmed and (ii) are considering self-harming are not criminalised; and what guidance she provides to police forces.

Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023 gave partial effect to a Law Commission recommendation to create an offence of encouraging or assisting self-harm. The proposed new offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm intends to replace (in so far as it extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland) that offence with a broader offence that can be committed by any means of communication, and in any other way (including, for example, direct assistance through the provision of bladed articles with which to self-harm). The person must have intent to encourage or assist the other person to seriously self-harm.As with the current offence in the Online Safety Act, sharing experiences of self-harm or simply discussing the issue (including glorifying or glamourising self-harm), without an intention that another should seriously self-harm, will not be a criminal offence. We recognise the concerns of those offering support services that capturing such behaviour would potentially risk criminalising vulnerable people who merely seek to share their experiences of self-harm with no intention of encouraging others to self-harm.The offence in the Online Safety Act comes from a Law Commission recommendation following a wide-ranging consultation and we will work with criminal justice agencies and others with an interest to update existing guidance and training to reflect the proposed expansion of the offence to include direct assistance to self-harm.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The UK is fully committed to international law and respects the independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). We continue to consider the Court's Advisory Opinion carefully, with the seriousness and rigour it deserves.  We are of the clear view that Israel should bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as rapidly as possible, but it must be done in a way that creates the conditions for negotiations towards the two-state solution.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a legal pathway for Palestinian children in Gaza to travel to the UK to receive medical treatment.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 7 November 24 to Question UIN 11872.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the nutritional value of breakfast meals provided by primary schools.

The department is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged children, starting with more than 750 early adopter schools from April 2025.The School Food Standards statutory guidance, which regulate the food and drink provided at school, already apply to breakfasts. Compliance with the Standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.Alongside the existing School Food Standards, in January, the department published guidance for the early adopter schools which provides additional helpful guidance on which foods should be served at breakfast clubs.

What performance monitoring is in place to monitor how many calls are unanswered in County Courts when individuals are trying to book a public counter appointment.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does have management information that includes data on telephony performance, such as volumes of answered and unanswered calls. This information does not specifically detail metrics related to unanswered calls for counter appointment bookings at County Courts.However, centralising calls into our national contact centre has provided improved visibility into true call demand and the volume of unanswered calls. By combining this with post call data and speech analysis from answered calls, we can identify trends and make informed assumptions about the key drivers behind unanswered calls.Individual County Courts may have their own procedures for managing appointment bookings. For instance, some courts require appointments to be made via specific phone numbers or email addresses. For example, Birmingham Civil & Family Justice Centre schedules counter appointments through a dedicated phone line our centralised telephony team would sign post our customers to.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of appointment-only counter service at County Courts on the accessibility of the court system.

Appointment-only counters have been in operation within HMCTS since 2012. Equality Impact Assessments were undertaken in line with ‘the framework for the Provision of Front Office Service in the County Courts (2008)’ which details the minimum standards for counter provision. The framework allows for the introduction of various levels of counter provision to meet local needs at different county courts whilst ensuring minimum standards are maintained along with adequate provision for urgent court business.

Whether her Department plans to publish all recorded responses to its consultation on reforms to health and disability benefits.

There are currently no plans to publish all recorded responses to the forthcoming Green Paper consultation on health and disability benefits. After the consultation period, we will review and analyse consultation responses and we will set out our response in a White Paper later this year.