Foreign Affairs, Tagging Expansion and Building Safety Advance

High-Level Summary

The day began with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office questions on foreign interference, Iran’s nuclear programme, the polar regions, West Bank settlements, European security, Afghanistan, detained British nationals, Gaza and other topical matters. Ministers set out sanctions, humanitarian assistance, support for detained nationals and planned co-operation with European partners, while declining to provide some specific designations, attributions or figures. An urgent question examined electronic monitoring, including a £100 million investment and work to expand tagging at prison receptions; Members raised concerns about data, accommodation, police resources and enforcement. Later, the House considered community resilience, developer contributions and building safety, approved delegated legislation, and debated services for children in care; the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill was given a Second Reading and committed to a Public Bill Committee.

Detailed Summary

Foreign interference in democratic processes

Lisa Smart asked Ed Miliband what discussions he had held with European allies about foreign interference. Miliband referred to discussions at the Warsaw security forum and the Prime Minister’s announcement of a national centre for information defence: “we will establish a national centre for information defence”. He said that, since October 2024, the Government had sanctioned 106 entities and individuals linked to Russia’s information warfare: “this Government have sanctioned 106 entities and individuals responsible for delivering Russia’s information warfare”. Gordon McKee asked about protecting information produced by artificial-intelligence chatbots during elections, and Miliband said the new centre would address threats from artificial intelligence.

Julian Lewis asked whether Russian interference should be distinguished from the validity of election results, including the EU referendum. Miliband said that he and the Prime Minister had always accepted the referendum result, while maintaining that Russia sought to disrupt and destabilise democracies. Perran Moon asked about the deterioration of democracy in Georgia, and Miliband said the Government would speak in favour of democratic norms. Alicia Kearns and Calum Miller raised wider issues involving China, Iran, Russia, foreign-owned assets and Chelsea Football Club; Miliband said the Government would counter hybrid threats and pursue action on Russian sovereign assets. No formal decision was taken.

Iran: uranium enrichment

John Cooper asked what assessment had been made of future Iranian uranium-enrichment levels. Stephen Doughty said Iran had accumulated more than 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60%, which he described as beyond any credible civilian justification, and that the United Kingdom, with 22 other countries, had voted to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council over non-compliance and lack of co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Government continued to support a negotiated solution and stated: “Iran must never have a nuclear weapon”.

Cooper called for stronger action and criticised the Government’s engagement with Iran. Doughty replied that the Foreign Secretary had raised the nuclear programme and other issues at senior level and that the Government would work with others to ensure that Iran did not obtain a nuclear weapon. No further measure or timetable was announced.

Polar regions

George Freeman asked about the strategic importance of the polar regions. Uma Kumaran said that the Arctic and Antarctic were areas where geopolitics, climate and national security intersected, and referred to the updated UK Arctic policy framework. Freeman and Jessica Toale asked about climate change, science, technology and cross-government co-ordination. Kumaran said the Government were working across departments and supporting UK scientific capability.

Wendy Morton asked about Chinese and Russian activity, shipping routes, research and undersea infrastructure. Kumaran said the UK was working with regional partners, including Norway, and was increasing defence and deterrence capabilities in the High North. She summarised the Government’s position as: “There is no UK security without Arctic security”. The Government encouraged cross-party engagement through the all-party parliamentary group for the polar regions; no formal decision was taken.

West Bank: illegal settlements

Questions from Rachel Taylor, Janet Daby, Nesil Caliskan and Rosena Allin concerned settlement expansion, the E1 development, settler violence and the wider occupation. Ed Miliband said measures announced on 8 September included a sanctions regime targeting those who supported, facilitated or profited from illegal settlement activity, and said the Government were seeking to prevent the destruction of the prospect of a two-state solution. He described E1 as “a direct threat to the prospect of a two-state solution” and said that people and businesses bidding for E1 construction tenders risked UK sanctions, while declining to speculate about individual designations.

Members asked about sanctions against named individuals and companies, protection for Palestinian farmers, evidence of war crimes, access to the West Bank for Members of Parliament and the Department’s capacity to monitor possible breaches of international humanitarian law. Miliband said the Government would use expanded human-rights sanctions powers, had raised the denial of entry of parliamentarians with Israel, and continued work on potential breaches of international humanitarian law. He did not announce specific new designations or identify the officials responsible for that work.

Defence and security: European partners

Allison Gardner asked about discussions with European partners on defence and security. Miliband referred to recent visits to Warsaw and Ukraine, said that the UK would continue to support Ukraine, and described the Government’s aim as “building a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO”. Members also raised information warfare, hybrid threats, international development, Russian sovereign assets, Russian fuel sanctions and the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.

Miliband said the UK would work with EU partners on Russian sovereign assets and described the 20 November EU summit as an opportunity to improve co-operation on trade, defence and security. He rejected the claim that the Government had weakened sanctions on Russian fuel and said the UK had introduced a phased ban on maritime services relating to gas. The Government did not attribute the reported Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack, with Miliband saying: “I will not get into the details of that attack today”.

Afghanistan: support for women and girls

Wendy Chamberlain asked what support was being provided to Afghan women and girls. Stephen Doughty said that the Government were providing £105 million a year to support the Afghan people and that assistance had reached 5 million Afghans in the previous year, including 3 million women and girls. He said the Government continued to raise women’s rights directly with the Taliban and through international partnerships: “We continue to press the Taliban directly on women’s rights”.

Chamberlain also asked about discussions with academics on the national action plan on women, peace and security and the prevention of sexual violence. Doughty said that the Department engaged with experts and civil-society organisations and offered to discuss the issues further. Sarah Champion raised the effect of reduced funding on maternal healthcare in Sierra Leone; Doughty offered a further discussion with her and relevant Ministers. No new funding commitment was announced in the exchange.

UK nationals detained abroad

Douglas McAllister asked about diplomatic support for UK nationals arbitrarily detained abroad. Doughty said that support was tailored to each case and announced the appointment of Alistair Burt as the first envoy for complex consular detentions. He confirmed that the Foreign Secretary had raised Jagtar Singh Johal’s case with his Indian counterpart on 24 September and said the Government continued to raise concerns about the outstanding proceedings.

Members also raised the detention of Ryan Cornelius and Charles Ridley in the United Arab Emirates and the case of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong. Doughty said he had raised the Cornelius case at a high level and that Jimmy Lai’s prosecution was politically motivated, while the Government raised his case with China and other partners. In response to a request from Graham Stuart, Miliband said of Cornelius: “We absolutely want to see his release”.

Palestine and Gaza

Warinder Juss and David Williams asked about humanitarian conditions in Palestine and Gaza, including Palestinian children in military detention and the safety of humanitarian workers. Kirsty McNeill said the UK would provide £88 million in humanitarian and early-recovery support during the financial year for healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene. She said the UK had called for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access and continued to press Israel to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross unrestricted access to detention facilities.

Members also raised child protection, reproductive healthcare, education and the enforcement of the ceasefire. McNeill said the UK had supported 50 critically ill or injured children and their immediate families to leave Gaza for specialist treatment in NHS hospitals, and would continue to press for unfettered humanitarian access. No specific new sanctions designation or commitment to provide food aid at a stated level was announced in these exchanges.

“No Choice But Childhood” campaign

Seamus Logan asked about the implications of UNICEF UK’s “No Choice But Childhood” campaign. McNeill said that children’s rights were central to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s development work and referred to investment in health, nutrition, vaccinations, education and other services. When asked to increase aid funding specifically for children, she said some spending was ring-fenced for children but that other programmes benefited children through their families and communities.

Alice Macdonald asked about recognising gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and requested a meeting with Afghan women and Members. McNeill said there were sensitivities around the terminology used in the international system but offered to meet her. She stated: “I would always be delighted to meet my hon. Friend”. No commitment to adopt the requested terminology or increase the aid budget was made.

Topical questions

Topical questions covered the attempted attack at RAF Fairford, Iran and its proxies, UK-EU relations, the Chagos Islands, illicit finance, migration returns, Sudan, Ukraine, online abuse and aid policy. Miliband said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had almost certainly directed the RAF Fairford attack, referred to its designation and sanctions against individuals, and said the Government were pressing Iran through international contacts. Hamish Falconer confirmed that the UK would reassociate with Erasmus+ from 1 January 2027, with applications opening in November: “the UK will reassociate with Erasmus+ from 1 January 2027”.

The Government said discussions on UK-EU defence co-operation and possible participation in the Security Action for Europe fund would continue at the 20 November summit; it also announced or reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s energy and water infrastructure, an illicit-finance summit and action against online abuse. Kirsty McNeill referred to further Sudan sanctions and concerns about Tundu Lissu in Tanzania. In response to a question about the date of Jonathan Powell’s appointment as special envoy, Miliband gave no new information: “I do not have anything further to add to previous answers”.

Electronic monitoring of offenders

In an urgent question, Nick Timothy asked about electronic monitoring following the early-release scheme. Catherine McKinnell said the Government had inherited a prison system with serious capacity and tagging problems and were investing £100 million in what she described as the biggest expansion of tagging in British history. She referred to a presumption that eligible offenders released under the progression model would be tagged, additional probation powers including restriction zones, and a pilot to fit tags at prison receptions: “we have conducted a successful pilot to fit tags at prison receptions”.

Members questioned police responses to breaches, the number of people released without tags, homelessness, the performance of Serco, the treatment of domestic-abuse perpetrators and the availability of probation staff. McKinnell said October tagging data would be published in January, that tents were not an acceptable or Government policy housing solution, and that the Serco contract would remain under review. She said the Government were working to expand prison capacity to 14,000 additional places by 2031 and to accelerate tagging at the prison gate. No division took place, and the transcript contains no immediate numerical answer on the number of released offenders without tags or domestic-abuse perpetrators released under the scheme.

Strengthening community resilience and the “Be Ready” campaign

Dan Jarvis announced a three-year “Be Ready” campaign to help households prepare for everyday emergencies. The guidance included keeping three days of water and non-perishable food and joining a utility priority services register where eligible. Jarvis said the campaign had been developed with more than 500 organisations, involved emergency services, local authorities, voluntary organisations and the devolved Administrations, and was not prompted by a specific imminent threat: “this campaign is not a consequence of any specific piece of intelligence”.

Members asked about digital exclusion, costs, vulnerable people, local resilience forums, rural connectivity, cyber-security, subsea infrastructure and the distinction between weather preparedness and wider national-security risks. Jarvis said further work would reach people who were offline, agreed to examine Finland’s approach to civil volunteers, and committed to update the House and the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. He declined to attribute the Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack, said a national cyber action plan was expected later in the year, and agreed to write about subsea repair capability. Exact campaign costs and a target take-up figure were not stated in the transcript.

Developer contributions and local infrastructure

James Naish sought leave to introduce a ten-minute rule Bill on using developer contributions for local infrastructure. He said almost £9 billion was unspent in local-authority accounts, including contributions intended for schools, healthcare, leisure facilities and roads, and argued that delays could result in money being returned while costs increased. His proposed measures included a time-based backstop for reallocating contributions to related infrastructure, delivery plans, standardised public reporting and a possible bridging-loan facility. He summarised his argument as follows: “Nine billion pounds in local authority bank accounts is not growth”.

The House agreed to the motion for leave. The Bill was presented by James Naish, ordered to be presented by the named Members, read the First time and ordered to be read a Second time on Friday 19 March 2027. It was ordered to be printed as Bill 167. No opposing speech or division was recorded.

Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill: Second Reading

Angela Rayner presented the Bill against the background of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the continuing building safety crisis. She said up to 380,000 residents remained in buildings with unsafe cladding and that work had been completed on 1,849 of 4,724 buildings where unsafe cladding had been identified. The Bill would create a register of 11-to-18-metre buildings, impose a legal duty to remediate, strengthen enforcement, enable public bodies to intervene when responsible entities failed to act, and improve routes to recover costs from construction-product manufacturers. Rayner said: “Our new remediation backstop will allow public bodies to step in and carry out remediation work themselves”.

The Opposition accepted the aim of making buildings safe but questioned whether the Bill addressed shortages of fire engineers, contractors and materials, fragmented delivery and delays at regulators. Katie Lam cited former National Fire Chiefs Council chair Mark Hardingham’s warning that “we cannot enforce our way out of the cladding crisis”. Liberal Democrat and other Members supported the legal duty and intervention powers but called for stronger protection for buildings under 11 metres, statutory deadlines, independent assessment, manufacturer contributions and remediation to the post-Grenfell building-regulations standard rather than a “tolerable” risk standard. Florence Eshalomi said PAS 9980 would remain the assessment methodology, with mandatory independent auditing and Homes England audits of assessments recommending mitigation or remediation. The Bill was read a Second time and committed to a Public Bill Committee; no division was recorded.

Building Safety Bill programme, money and ways and means

Following Second Reading, the House agreed the programme motion for the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill. The Bill was committed to a Public Bill Committee, whose proceedings were to conclude by Tuesday 8 December 2026, and the Committee was allowed to sit twice on its first day. Consideration and Third Reading were also subject to the time limits in the motion. The committal provision stated: “The Bill shall be committed to a Public Bill Committee”.

The House then agreed, without debate, the associated money resolution authorising expenditure under the Bill and consequential increases in payments from money provided by Parliament. It also agreed the ways-and-means resolution authorising fees and charges under the Bill. No division was recorded on these resolutions.

Delegated legislation and petitions

The House approved, without debate, draft regulations and orders concerning voter identification in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland local-election expenses and an Enterprise Act order. The draft Town and Country Planning fees regulations were approved after a division, with 321 Ayes and 66 Noes: “The House divided: Ayes 321, Noes 66”.

Ben Goldsborough presented a petition signed by nearly 1,800 South Norfolk residents calling for a full-service Post Office branch in Wymondham town centre. Martin Rhodes presented a petition signed by nearly 1,000 people calling for representations to the Scottish Government about the proposed closure of Yorkhill fire station. The transcript records the petitions and their stated requests but no further decision on either matter.

Services for children in care

Josh Newbury raised concerns that children placed in Staffordshire from other local authorities were not always notified to the host authority or accompanied by sufficient health and safeguarding information. He described the effects on clinical services, children’s mental health and continuity of care, and asked about statutory notification, information sharing, oversight of children’s homes and regional care co-operatives. Jim Shannon and Allison Gardner also raised foster-carer funding, respite and support.

Paul Waugh said that failure to notify the receiving authority was unlawful: “not notifying the incoming local authority is a breach of the law”. He referred to local safeguarding arrangements, Ofsted inspections, strengthened information-sharing duties and a Department for Education reminder to local authorities. He said seven regional care co-operatives covered more than 100 local authorities, and that 540 local-authority children’s-home placements were planned by March 2029, with 237 already operational. He also referred to an £88 million fostering action plan aimed at creating 10,000 additional foster places during the Parliament. The motion to adjourn was agreed and the House adjourned.