Oral QuestionForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office

What steps his Department is taking to secure the release of UK nationals detained abroad.

Tabled: 25 August 2026Answered: 1 September 2026

Asked by

Douglas McAllister

LabourWest Dunbartonshire

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

Answer from Hansard

The Prime Minister

The hon. Lady will be pleased to know that I have been to Berkhamsted a number of times, as we have very good friends who live there. I pay tribute to the work of the Swan Youth Project; too many young people—she cited some of them—are struggling with mental health and not receiving the support they need. That is why we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers and are introducing long-overdue reforms to the Mental Health Act 1983. That is happening today. We will put more money into SEND, but we also need to look at reforming SEND, which I think and hope will be supported across the House. I will ensure that she gets a meeting with the relevant Ministers about that.