To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the answer of 29 July 2026, to Question HL2091, on Government Departments: Overseas Workers, for what reason Dubai is classified as a hardship post.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the answer of 29 July 2026, to Question HL2091, on Government Departments: Overseas Workers, for what reason Dubai is classified as a hardship post.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to help protect UK (a) businesses and (b) investors from fraud where people found liable by UK courts are resident in jurisdictions like Dubai that do not consistently enforce UK judgments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to help protect UK (a) businesses and (b) investors from fraud where people found liable by UK courts are resident in jurisdictions like Dubai that do not consistently enforce UK judgments.

It will not have escaped the attention of Members of this House that Britain is in the grip of a viral addiction that has collapsed websites, stripped shop shelves bare and had the staff of Castle Chocolates in my Carlisle constituency working round the clock to feed it. I am...

It will not have escaped the attention of Members of this House that Britain is in the grip of a viral addiction that has collapsed websites, stripped shop shelves bare and had the staff of Castle Chocolates in my Carlisle constituency working round the clock to feed it. I am...

I join my hon. Friend in celebrating Dubai chocolate, and I congratulate Castle Chocolates in her constituency on meeting that demand. It shows the opportunity that social media brings to small businesses in parts of our constituencies; we should always remember that when we discuss issues around social media. I...

I join my hon. Friend in celebrating Dubai chocolate, and I congratulate Castle Chocolates in her constituency on meeting that demand. It shows the opportunity that social media brings to small businesses in parts of our constituencies; we should always remember that when we discuss issues around social media. I...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs and benefits of the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai; and whether the findings of that assessment will be made publicly available.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs and benefits of the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai; and whether the findings of that assessment will be made publicly available.

To ask His Majesty's Government what insights or lessons from the UK pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai have informed the planning and design of the UK pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, which opened on 13 April.

To ask His Majesty's Government what insights or lessons from the UK pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai have informed the planning and design of the UK pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, which opened on 13 April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support and (b) help secure the early release of Marcus Fakana.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support and (b) help secure the early release of Marcus Fakana.

I am grateful for the opportunity to hold this debate on a matter of great importance, namely the arbitrary detention of a British citizen by a close ally and friend of the United Kingdom. This case is deliberately being raised as we approach the national day of the United Arab...

I am grateful for the opportunity to hold this debate on a matter of great importance, namely the arbitrary detention of a British citizen by a close ally and friend of the United Kingdom. This case is deliberately being raised as we approach the national day of the United Arab...

First, I commend the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. I spoke to him before it. I have always been a speaker for human rights, as he and the House knows. Whenever I hear stories like the one he has outlined so well, it tells me that there is injustice....

First, I commend the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. I spoke to him before it. I have always been a speaker for human rights, as he and the House knows. Whenever I hear stories like the one he has outlined so well, it tells me that there is injustice....

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) for securing a debate on this difficult case. He referred to the fact that I am a new Minister—that is correct—but he is also a new Member, who clearly is doing his utmost to represent his constituents...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) for securing a debate on this difficult case. He referred to the fact that I am a new Minister—that is correct—but he is also a new Member, who clearly is doing his utmost to represent his constituents...

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. He has also been vocal in his support for British citizens who have been arbitrarily detained, and on wider human rights issues. I commend him for his work on that agenda. The FCDO point about the toolkit is really important....

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. He has also been vocal in his support for British citizens who have been arbitrarily detained, and on wider human rights issues. I commend him for his work on that agenda. The FCDO point about the toolkit is really important....

The hon. Member makes an important point. I will return to the FCDO in a moment and perhaps address some of what he mentioned.

As I said, Ryan was issued with a 20-year extension to his sentence in 2018. The law sanctioning such extensions was not brought in until after Ryan’s...

The hon. Member makes an important point. I will return to the FCDO in a moment and perhaps address some of what he mentioned.

As I said, Ryan was issued with a 20-year extension to his sentence in 2018. The law sanctioning such extensions was not brought in until after Ryan’s...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate, and pay tribute to him for his work, not just on behalf of Ryan Cornelius but on political prisoners and the

rule of law more generally. Does he agree that it seems we live in a world where increasingly autocratic countries...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate, and pay tribute to him for his work, not just on behalf of Ryan Cornelius but on political prisoners and the

rule of law more generally. Does he agree that it seems we live in a world where increasingly autocratic countries...

Agreed to on question.

Agreed to on question.

My Lords, the right honourable Graham Stuart MP will be representing the United Kingdom as the Minister responsible for the UN and CCC negotiations at COP 28. Following the UK’s COP 26 presidency, we of course continue to work with countries around the world to ensure that commitments made in the Glasgow climate pact are turned into action. We want to support the agenda of the incoming UAE presidency and drive an ambitious outcome for COP 28 to keep 1.5 degrees within reach.

My Lords, the right honourable Graham Stuart MP will be representing the United Kingdom as the Minister responsible for the UN and CCC negotiations at COP 28. Following the UK’s COP 26 presidency, we of course continue to work with countries around the world to ensure that commitments made in the Glasgow climate pact are turned into action. We want to support the agenda of the incoming UAE presidency and drive an ambitious outcome for COP 28 to keep 1.5 degrees within reach.

I thank the Minister for that Answer, and of course we all welcome Minister Stuart, but the fact that he is not a Cabinet Member raises some alarms as to quite how seriously we are taking this incredibly important conference that is coming up later in the year. Can the Minister provide clarity on when the UK will formally respond to the global stocktake of progress towards our nationally determined contributions? They are due in June but the CCC has noted that we are behind on both adaptation and mitigation.

I thank the Minister for that Answer, and of course we all welcome Minister Stuart, but the fact that he is not a Cabinet Member raises some alarms as to quite how seriously we are taking this incredibly important conference that is coming up later in the year. Can the Minister provide clarity on when the UK will formally respond to the global stocktake of progress towards our nationally determined contributions? They are due in June but the CCC has noted that we are behind on both adaptation and mitigation.

I disagree. Graham Stuart is a very senior Minister who is committed to this agenda, and he has already taken part in a number of the ministerial negotiations. There is a cross-government group of Ministers chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster meeting to co-ordinate the Government’s response.

I disagree. Graham Stuart is a very senior Minister who is committed to this agenda, and he has already taken part in a number of the ministerial negotiations. There is a cross-government group of Ministers chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster meeting to co-ordinate the Government’s response.

My Lords, are the Government aware of President Macron’s recent plea for a pause in EU environmental regulations in a push to reindustrialise France? Do the Government agree that we ought to consider that, especially in view of the fact that an increasing number of countries are profoundly disturbed about the cost of trying to limit global warming?

My Lords, are the Government aware of President Macron’s recent plea for a pause in EU environmental regulations in a push to reindustrialise France? Do the Government agree that we ought to consider that, especially in view of the fact that an increasing number of countries are profoundly disturbed about the cost of trying to limit global warming?

I had not seen President Macron’s intervention. Happily, what France and the EU do has nothing to do with us any more. They can have their own negotiations. We are just getting on with the job.

I had not seen President Macron’s intervention. Happily, what France and the EU do has nothing to do with us any more. They can have their own negotiations. We are just getting on with the job.

I agree with the noble Baroness that it is a great disappointment that we do not have a Secretary of State going to the Gulf for COP 28. Will the UK still be chairing the Powering Past Coal Alliance that it has led and chaired in the past? If so, will it therefore cancel its coal mine intentions in Cumbria, here in the UK?

I agree with the noble Baroness that it is a great disappointment that we do not have a Secretary of State going to the Gulf for COP 28. Will the UK still be chairing the Powering Past Coal Alliance that it has led and chaired in the past? If so, will it therefore cancel its coal mine intentions in Cumbria, here in the UK?