The Government is increasing investment in alternative methods through delivery of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy. The strategy was supported by £75 million of funding to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, with multi‑year funding secured through the Spending Review to provide stability for key programmes. UK Research and Innovation has already launched a £20 million funding call for a preclinical translational models hub, and Innovate UK has launched a £2 million Contracts for Innovation competition to support the development of alternative approaches. Further investment will be taken forward through delivery of the strategy and associated programmes.

The department is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have announced that free school meals will be extended to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, lifting 100,000 children across England out of poverty and putting £500 per child back in families’ pockets as set out in our Child Poverty Strategy.

Providing over half a million disadvantaged children with a free, nutritious meal each day supports higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes. This expansion ensures funding is targeted where it is most needed, supporting pupils from low-income families.

The department does not routinely assess the impact of free school meals at constituency level, but national evidence shows the positive effect they have on pupils’ attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.

Free school meals are also available to eligible pupils and all infant pupils, alongside programmes such as the Holiday Activities and Food programme.

The UK condemns all acts of violence targeting religious or ethnic minorities and continues to emphasise the importance of protecting the rights of all communities to the Bangladesh Government.

Following the February 2026 elections, I visited Bangladesh and met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, where the Government of Bangladesh reaffirmed its commitment to inclusion. We welcome the Government's early steps to protect and reassure all communities, and its stated intention to build a Bangladesh that serves every citizen.

Our commitment to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is reflected in our £27 million Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme (2023-2028), which aims to protect civic space, foster inclusive dialogue, and address tensions that can lead to violence.

I refer the Hon Member to my statement on GOV.UK marking the one‑year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, available at the link below, which set out the UK's support for the efforts of the new Syrian government to build a more stable, inclusive, and representative country. I further emphasised the importance of that inclusive political transition during President Al Sharaa's visit to the UK on 31 March, and in my written statement to the House on 29 April (HWCS1552).

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/minister-falconer-article-on-syria-anniversary-december-2025

The Government believes in the power of grassroots sport. Everyone should have access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

We provide the majority of support through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding to support grassroots participation.

Sport England invests in over 90 place partnerships to promote sport and physical activity opportunities in the communities that need it most.

Let me begin by congratulating all the Welsh recipients of King’s birthday honours, which were announced over the weekend—particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden).

We are doing everything we can to tackle the cost of living. We are increasing wages faster than inflation, creating thousands of jobs, helping people into work, and increasing pensions and universal credit, and we are going even further to ease the pressure on families this summer, because tackling the cost of living is the core purpose of this UK Labour Government.

The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. They are designed to ensure children receive the energy and nutrients they need during the school day, while giving schools flexibility to design menus that work for their pupils and local circumstances.

Since the School Food Standards were introduced in 2014, the dietary recommendations on free sugar, fibre and sweeteners have changed and the proportion of children living with obesity is high. The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever, so we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including ‘grab and go’ options, better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

As part of our proposals, we are proposing that ‘grab and go’ options must also contain or be accompanied by vegetables or salad.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question's of 3rd June is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question's of 3rd June is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question of 3rd June is attached.

The GSS ethnicity harmonised standard helps to make statistics and data more comparable, consistent and coherent. MHCLG collects data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics.

I recognise that, for some Sikhs, ethnicity recognition is an important issue. Whilst the current harmonised standard for ethnicity does not include “Sikh” as a specific ethnic group response option, datasets collected using this standard may still capture Sikh ethnicity through write-in responses within the ethnic group question.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.

A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. MHCLG officials have engaged with the GSS harmonisation team over the course of the review to understand the impact of ethnicity data collection on government policy.

ONS will be providing a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026.

The GSS ethnicity harmonised standard helps to make statistics and data more comparable, consistent and coherent. MHCLG collects data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics.

I recognise that, for some Sikhs, ethnicity recognition is an important issue. Whilst the current harmonised standard for ethnicity does not include “Sikh” as a specific ethnic group response option, datasets collected using this standard may still capture Sikh ethnicity through write-in responses within the ethnic group question.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.

A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. MHCLG officials have engaged with the GSS harmonisation team over the course of the review to understand the impact of ethnicity data collection on government policy.

ONS will be providing a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026.

We have made the landmark commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. The Government have already begun to implement domestic abuse protection orders, which have protected more than 1,000 victims, Raneem’s law, placing domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms, and the provision of specialist rape and sexual offence teams in all police forces in England and Wales. Our ambition is clear, but there is much more work to be done.

This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. The latest published data shows a reduction in the national average case duration for both public and private law cases.

In London, which has particular challenges around Family Court delays, a dedicated Family Justice Strategy has been implemented, bringing together key partners and the judiciary. This work has included targeted investment over 2025/26 to tackle the outstanding private law caseload by providing additional court capacity and a focus on ensuring that courts follow the Public Law Outline, with clear arrangements for overseeing performance. These measures have already delivered a reduction in delays.

The Child Focused Model for private law now operates in 10 of 43 Family Court areas and seek to enhance the experience of children and families. They have demonstrated significant impact on timeliness. Cases are concluding between 11-30 weeks quicker under the model and outstanding caseloads have been reduced by up to 50%. The Government announced on 17 March its intention to roll this model out nationally by the end of this Parliament

Under the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), eligible Afghans continue to be relocated to the UK from third countries, once they have completed the strict security and entry clearance checks that are required to obtain a UK visa.

His Majesty's Government continues to provide discretionary support for eligible Afghans in third countries while a decision is being reached on their UK entry clearance applications.

It remains a priority for this Government to have successfully concluded the ARP by the end of this Parliament.