Written questions by Timothy.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department, (b) HMRC, (c) the Valuation Office Agency and (d) each of the other arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

(a) No recognised trade union currently holds a mandate to call industrial action in HM Treasury. (b) PCS are in a formal trade dispute with HMRC and have issued a formal notice of their intention to ballot 238 members in the Benton Park View Office in Newcastle. How many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute;238 AA and AO Grade PCS members will be balloted for strike action. The ballot opens 18 November and closes at noon 9 December. No contractors are involved in the dispute. What the form of industrial action is in each dispute; Members are being balloted for strike action Which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute;PCS What the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps to be taken to end each dispute:The dispute relates to the dismissal of 3 trade union representatives from Benton Park View office and PCS’s request for reinstatement of those dismissed. HMRC’s established guidance and procedures for dealing with issues of misconduct have been followed in relation to these cases and HMRC has held colleagues to the same standards of conduct we expect from all HMRC employees. There are specific formal and legal routes for the dismissed employees to seek redress if they believe that their employment rights have been infringed. All three cases have ongoing Employment Tribunal claims. (c) VOA - no industrial disputes to report (d) In relation to HM Treasury arm’s length bodies please see below responses: UK Debt Management Office – no industrial disputes to report National Infrastructure Commission– no industrial disputes to report UK Government Investments - no industrial disputes to report Office for Budget Responsibility - no industrial disputes to report Government Internal Audit Agency - no industrial disputes to report

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

No recognised trade union is currently in dispute with, or holds a mandate to call industrial action in, the Department or its Arm’s Length Bodies and executive agencies.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

DESNZ and two of its 17 Agencies and Public Bodies (Ofgem and the Committee on Climate Change) are currently in a national trade dispute with PCS on pay, pensions, and jobs. PCS has not taken any action in relation to this dispute and DESNZ is working to resolve the dispute through its ongoing engagement with PCS, and via the annual pay discussions. Contractors supplying services to the Department are not employees of DESNZ. Any dispute relating to contractors is a matter for the unions involved and the employer of said contractors.

Whether it is his Department's policy to allow wind turbines manufactured by Chinese companies to be used on new wind farms.

The Government takes the security and resilience of our energy infrastructure extremely seriously with the UK being one of the most reliable and safest energy systems, and one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. The Government will take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. The Government will co-operate where it can, compete where it needs to, and challenge where it must.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and its Arm’s Length Bodies collectively comprises of 9,921 FTE (as of March 2024). There are currently no ongoing industrial disputes with DBT employees within DBT or any of its Arm’s Length Bodies.There are, however, ongoing disputes between PCS and G4S Security Company (G4S) and International Services System - Facilities Management Services (ISS) who provide facilities management services at some DBT offices and who are contracted by Government Property Agency. These staff are employees of either G4S or ISS, they are not normally employees of the department itself.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

No Ministry of Justice (excluding HMPPS) recognised trade union, or trade union recognised by Ministry of Justice contractors, currently holds a mandate to call industrial action.HMPPS has one industrial dispute. NAPO (National Association of Probation Officers) is in dispute with HMPPS on pay and workload. Industrial action would potentially range from refusal to work overtime to days of strike action. HMPPS is in full pro-active engagement with NAPO to avert this.The intention of HMPPS is to resolve the workload situation through resetting the work of probation with some tasks already removed.On pay, at present, NAPO is content that without prejudice talks for 25/26 will commence in the near future. On workload reduction they are actively engaged in talks with HMPPS.

Communities and Local Government, what industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

The Public and Commercial Services trade union (PCS) had a mandate to call strike action between May and November 2024, PCS having notified the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs. That mandate expired with effect from 13 November 2024, no action has followed, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not been notified of a further ballot.Further to the outcome of a ballot in December, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) members at HM Land Registry (HMLR) commenced Action Short of a Strike indefinitely on 21 January 2025. PCS has approximately 3,800 members in HMLR, out of a total headcount of approximately 7,000. The action consists of ‘’Work to rule, whereby members will not work longer than their contracted hours and will carry out only the work required by their contract’’. The action is in relation to a Trade Dispute regarding the issues of office attendance, use of individual performance data in performance management, and casework classification.HMLR is confident it will be able to manage its essential services effectively during this period of Action Short of a Strike, as it has done during previous disputes.

When she plans to implement Section 14 of the Finance Act 2024.

Section 14 of the Finance Act 2024 came into force on 6 April 2024.Subsequent clarificatory regulations have been laid and come into force from 18 November, taking retrospective effect from 6 April 2024.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of training for GPs to (a) diagnose and (b) treat women experiencing the menopause.

The curricula for postgraduate medical specialty training is set by individual Royal Colleges and faculties. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) sets the curriculum that all general practitioners (GPs) must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and to work independently as a GP. The curriculum includes a specific section on women’s health, including the menopause. As a result, the menopause is a core area of knowledge for all qualified GPs.

What criteria the Prevent programme uses to (a) identify and (b) define subcategories of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism.

Prevent uses the definition of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism as set out inCONTEST 2023. This describes those involved in Extreme Right-Wing activity who use violence in furtherance of their ideology. These ideologies can be broadly characterised as Cultural Nationalism, White Nationalism and White Supremacism. Individuals and groups may subscribe to ideological trends and ideas from more than one category. When assessing referrals to Prevent, specialist police officers and staff determinewhether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is at risk of radicalisation. According to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 S36(3) “A chief officer of police may refer an individual to a panel only if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual is vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism” The definition used by Prevent is available at the following link: Microsoft Word - English Standard_CONTEST 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2024, to Question 10945, on Home Office: HOPE not hate, what meetings officials who are not classified as senior officials for the purposes of quarterly transparency returns have had with representatives of Hope Not Hate since the general election.

No meetings have occurred between Home Office officials and Hope Not Hate since the General Election although officials may have attended wider stakeholder forums where Hope Not Hate have been present.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to hormone replacement therapies for women experiencing the menopause.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. Women should not have to suffer in silence and any woman concerned about menopause symptoms should seek advice from their general practitioner or other healthcare professional, who can advise about treatment options, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT).There are over 70 HRT products, and the vast majority are in good supply. There have been issues with the supply of a limited number of HRT products, primarily due to very sharp increases in demand, but the supply position for the majority has improved considerably over the last year.More than 500,000 people benefitted from accessing cheaper HRT prescriptions during its first year of operation. The HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) can represent significant savings for patients who are prescribed one of the listed HRT medications. For example, a patient who pays the prescription charge could save nearly £220 per year with an HRT PPC, if they were prescribed two listed HRT items per month.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8195, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: HOPE not hate, what the forums were at which departmental officials were present; and on what reports generated by Hope not Hate officials have been sighted.

MHCLG officials have engaged with Hope Not Hate on various issues related to departmental policy interests, from incidents of unrest or community tensions, to hate crime and beyond.Officials can and do access publicly available reports generated by Hope Not Hate, but do not routinely get access to such reports prior to public release, contribute to their development, or engage directly in other ways on the production of such reports.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Government of Mauritius in relation to Sri Lankan nationals located on Diego Garcia.

The Government discussed a wide range of issues with Mauritius during the negotiations over the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including the migrant situation on Diego Garcia. The agreement reached between the UK and Mauritius on 3 October will shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, with Mauritius taking responsibility for any future arrivals once the treaty underpinning the agreement enters into force. Any further arrivals before the treaty comes into force will be handled in line with the recent agreement with St Helena.

If she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of Sri Lankan nationals located on Diego Garcia that will be eligible to claim asylum in the UK.

This Government inherited a deeply troubling situation that remained unresolved under the last administration for years after the migrants’ arrival on Diego Garcia.Arrangements are being made for the temporary relocation, subject to entry clearance applications and biometrics being submitted and there being no adverse information found as result, of 61 individuals located in Diego Garcia, given serious welfare and safeguarding concerns including for children on the island. Those with criminal convictions or under investigation will be excluded.Any asylum claims made in the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, will be carefully considered in line with our international obligations.

How many asylum claims of Sri Lankan nationals located on Diego Garcia are being considered by her Department.

None. I refer the Hon Member to PQ 12545.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he made of the potential implications for his policies of Iran’s (a) compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, (b) attempts to develop its military nuclear programme and (c) deployment of missiles against civilian targets in Israel before the vote in the UN General Assembly on draft decision A/C.1/79/L.32 on missiles.

The UK supported draft decision A/C.1/79/L.32 alongside international partners to ensure missiles remained on the agenda of the 81st session of the UN 1st Committee. We are clear that Iran continues to destabilise the region through its political, financial, and military support for its proxies and partners - in direct contravention of multiple UNSCRs. Iran also continues to escalate its nuclear programme, which has no credible civilian justification. We will continue to tackle this destabilising behaviour by holding Iran to account at the UN and in other multilateral fora. The UK is also prepared to use all diplomatic levers to ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether any Sri Lankan nationals on Diego Garcia hold criminal records.

The FCDO does not have any information about Sri Lankan migrants' criminality that pre-dates their arrival on British Indian Ocean Territory. Any criminality on BIOT has been dealt with and recorded as appropriate by the BIOT police and BIOT Courts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

PCS Union members are taking industrial action affecting the FM services at FCDO's facility in East Kilbride, known as Abercrombie House. The FM services affected include Soft Services and Security Guarding contracted by the Landlord: The Government Property Agency. The FCDO do not hold any contractual relationship with the employers of the PCS Union members, either OCS or G4S to influence negotiations regarding industrial action.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to decolonise the artwork or heritage assets in (a) his Department, (b) its Embassies and High Commissions overseas and (c) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies.

The FCDO continues to look at how best to engage with the historic artwork in its Grade One listed joint headquarters in King Charles Street, a process started under previous Foreign Secretaries. Works of art from the Government Art Collection are also selected for display in representational areas of UK and international Government buildings by Ministers, Diplomats and other Senior Civil Servants in consultation with Government Art Collection staff. This ensures that high-profile visitors experience British art that showcases the culture, creativity and values of contemporary Britain.Artwork in Embassies, High Commissions and Residences overseas is the responsibility of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners who work closely with the Government Art Collection to best reflect the United Kingdom overseas. Similarly, the artwork in arms-length bodies of the FCDO is the responsibility of the chief executives of those organisations.