theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the data set of the UK Health Security Agency underpinning the article “Effectiveness of autumn 2023 COVID-19 vaccination and residual protection of prior doses against hospitalisation in England, estimated using a test-negative case-control study” published in May 2024. \p Baroness Merron: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not plan to publish the dataset for this article.

This work is carried out under Regulation 3 of The Health Service (Control of Patient Information; Secretary of State for Health, 2002) using patient identification information without individual patient consent. This is part of the UKHSA’s legal requirement for public health surveillance and vaccine monitoring. The full regulation is available on the GOV.UK website.

As such, authors cannot release the underlying dataset publicly for ethical and legal reasons. However, all the data used for this analysis is included as aggregated data in the manuscript tables and appendix. The full manuscript is available on the UKHSA Research Portal, on the UKHSA’s website.
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 14 May (HL7332), what steps they are taking to increase the role of health visitors in delivering vaccinations. \p Baroness Merron: To increase the role of health visitors in delivering vaccinations, we are piloting the delivery of childhood vaccinations during health visits from 2025/26. This aims to improve access for families who may face challenges attending general practice appointments, helping to increase uptake and reduce barriers to vaccinations.
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 14 May (HL7332), whether they plan to explore establishing contractual provisions for community pharmacies to support delivery of the childhood flu national immunisation programme. \p Baroness Merron: NHS England has identified key opportunities to further improve uptake, which include strengthening the childhood vaccination offer by exploring the use of other providers to enhance convenience, including community pharmacies. This work is ongoing in collaboration with the Department, NHS England, and key stakeholders.
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Baroness Verma:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address age-related disparities in mental health provision, particularly in assess to talking therapies. \p Baroness Merron: The Government’s mission is to improve mental health care across the spectrum of need so that people of all ages can access the right support at the right time.

NHS England is committed to ensuring that the proportion of people aged 65 years old and over receiving a course of treatment through NHS Talking Therapies is maintained or increased. Currently, approximately 7% of courses of treatment delivered by NHS Talking Therapies services are for individuals in this age group.

The Positive Practice Guide, published in 2024 by NHS England and other stakeholder organisations, is designed to support therapists working with older adults. This resource addresses the diverse needs of older people and seeks to challenge misconceptions that may act as barriers to older people accessing psychological therapies.
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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of lost work-days due to stress, depression, or anxiety in women. \p Baroness Merron: Improving mental health outcomes is critical to achieving the Health Mission aims of reducing years lived with prevalence of ill-health, disability, and premature mortality, reducing the demand for services within the National Health Service. The Centre for Mental Health estimates that in 2022, mental ill health cost the United Kingdom economy approximately £300 billion.

Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement & Support schemes. This demonstrates our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and provide support for people, including women, to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.

We are continuing to roll out employment advisors in our NHS Talking Therapies services to support people, including women, with common mental health conditions seek and retain employment. Our advisors help people who are in work but struggling or facing difficulties in the workplace, off work sick or looking for work, so we can provide the right support at the right time.

Individuals can also access helpful resources about work-related stress on the Every Mind Matters website, which is available in an online-only format.
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Baroness McIntosh of Pickering:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of health inequalities between (1) rural and coastal, and (2) urban, areas; and what steps they intend to take to address any imbalances. \p Baroness Merron: We support the National Health Service’s CORE20PLUS5 approach, which targets action to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population, and which improves outcomes for the groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the NHS.

The Chief Medical Officer’s 2023 annual report made clear that future health and care needs will vary significantly in different areas, with the populations of rural, semi-rural, and coastal areas ageing much faster than those in metropolitan areas. This means there will be considerable variation in health and care needs even within an integrated care system. We recognise that providing services in rural areas comes with significant additional costs, for example, in travel and staff time. That is why the funding formula used by NHS England to allocate funds to integrated care boards (ICBs) includes an element to better reflect needs in some rural, coastal, and remote areas.

NHS England is responsible for determining allocations for ICBs. In allocating budgets, they have two aims, those being equal opportunity of access for equal need, and reducing health inequalities that are amenable to NHS healthcare. There are a range of adjustments made in the core ICB allocations formula that account for the fact that the costs of providing health care may vary between rural and urban areas.

Tackling health inequalities is central to our Health Mission, which is why the Government has committed to halving the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions, by addressing the social determinants of health. Work is currently underway across the Department, and with NHS England and the regional directors of public health, to develop approaches to address regional health inequalities.

As part of the consultation phase of the 10-Year Health Plan, we invited people from across every NHS region in England, including people from coastal communities, to provide input on how care should be designed and delivered, providing us with rich insights into these areas.
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Lord Strasburger:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 17 March (HL5423), what plans they have to treat or cure the estimated 1.8 million people suffering from long Covid in the period to March 2024 and those additional people who have contracted the disease since that date. \p Baroness Merron: NHS England has invested £314 million since the start of the pandemic to provide care and support for people with long COVID. This includes establishing specialist clinics throughout England to assess adults, children, and young people who are experiencing long-term effects due to COVID-19 infection. A further £86.7 million of funding was included in integrated care board core allocations for 2024/25, and specific regional funding was also allocated for assurance and system support.

To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice and to support people affected by long COVID. Further information on the Clinical Post-COVID Society is available on their website, in an online only format.

Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council, we have invested over £57 million on research into long COVID, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The funded projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical care.
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Lord Spellar:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of chemically washed chicken on human health. \p Baroness Merron: No chemicals are approved for the purpose of washing chicken carcasses in the United Kingdom, and therefore, chicken that has been chemically washed cannot be placed on the UK market. Any changes would require ministerial agreement across the nations of the UK and then an amendment to legislation, which would be subject to parliamentary oversight.

While the UK was a member of the European Union, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) completed assessments on behalf of member states, including the UK, relating to the effects of chemical washes applied to chicken. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) periodically reviews the available evidence, including scientific literature, for new information that could address previously identified evidence gaps or trigger reviews of previous risk assessments. Although some new research has been published in this area since the previous assessments and has been reviewed since the UK’s exit from the European Union, this has not significantly changed the conclusions drawn by the EFSA with regard to chemical, microbiological, or antimicrobial risk. The FSA has no active work in this area and no current plans to initiate new assessments.
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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024 (CP1218), what guidance they have issued to NHS Trusts about the election of governors to hospital trusts. \p Baroness Merron: The Government has not published any guidance following the English Devolution White Paper on the election of governors to National Health Service foundation trusts.

The Model Election Rules set out the process by which governors are elected and are included in every NHS foundation trust's constitution. The NHS Foundation Trust Model Core Constitution, a copy of which is attached, published in 2013 by Monitor, now NHS England, requires NHS foundation trusts to comply with these rules.

Additional Document (pdf, 436.1KB)
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Earl Howe:To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost to the NHS of employing locum doctors in England in each of the past five years for which data are available. \p Baroness Merron: To date, NHS England has published reports to Quarter three of the 2024/25 financial year. The following table shows the total cost to the National Health Service of employing locum doctors in England in each of the past five years, up until Quarter three of the 2024/25:

Year

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

Total

£919,000,000

£1,012,000,000

£1,140,000,000

£1,133,000,000

£950,000,000

Source: Provider Finance Returns.
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Lord Sharkey:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeline for publishing specialised services quality dashboards data to ensure transparency. \p Baroness Merron: NHS England’s specialised commissioning uses a range of data to support quality oversight and assurance, which includes Specialised Services Quality Dashboards (SSQDs), National Clinical Audits for some services, and the triangulation of other clinical quality and safety information. The metadata for the SSQDs is already publicly available on NHS England’s website. National Clinical Audit reports, which are commissioned and managed by NHS England, are also publicly available on the Healthcare Quality Improvement

Partnership’s website, and cover some specialised services.

NHS England is actively exploring ways to publish metrics from SSQDs, ensuring that they align with the development and release of service specifications, and are updated regularly. Publication decisions on SSQDs will continue to consider information governance requirements, for example, where patient numbers are small and potentially identifiable.
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Baroness Lister of Burtersett:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish (1) an updated impact assessment for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that includes specific assessment of Clause 22, and (2) an equality impact assessment for the whole of the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill, including Clause 22. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The government is committed to supporting children in care and care leavers through the introduction of corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and relevant public bodies. The measures will require Secretaries of State and relevant public bodies to be alert to matters which might adversely affect the wellbeing of children in care and care leavers.

The impact of all of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on business, equalities and human rights has been evaluated and is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.

We will continue to review and update these documents, when the Bill has completed its passage through the House of Lords.
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Lord Foster of Bath:To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the appropriateness of gambling-related content on the online programming platform Scratch which is used by children in schools. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The department does not support or mandate individual products. Schools should follow the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’, supported by the department’s filtering and monitoring standards. Schools should monitor pupils’ use of devices whilst in school.

The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that young people should be taught the risks of online gambling and how to seek help if they have concerns. The computing curriculum supports pupils to make informed decisions whilst online or using other technologies.

The department-funded National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) provides training and resources to improve computing provision, including support for teaching programming concepts through languages such as Scratch.

The NCCE is reviewing all teacher resources that include Scratch content. Guidance for keeping children safe when using Scratch will be included in all relevant content by June 2025. NCCE materials do not use gambling as a programming exercise for pupils. None of the NCCE’s lessons or courses recommend pupils use the search function or engage with other people's content on Scratch. Teachers are advised to use the offline version of the platform to prevent pupils from searching ready-made code.
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Lord Storey:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of the adoption and special guardianship support fund. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government fully recognises the importance of support for adoptive and kinship children and families. The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) has been a valuable part of the support landscape for ten years. This is why we have provided £50 million of funding for the ASGSF for 2025/26, alongside £8.8 million for Adoption England, to complement the range of support available in local areas.
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Lord Storey:To ask His Majesty's Government what are the names of the further education providers who have been subject to a concluded financial investigation since 2017; when each of those investigations was opened; what was the nature of the concerns raised in each investigation; and when each investigation concluded. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The department holds the data to enable a response to this question. However, putting into the public domain the details of all providers who have been subject to investigations over the previous 8+ years has the potential to harm the department’s relationships with providers, and could result in the effective conduct of public affairs being compromised. Similarly, release of this information without consultation could be prejudicial to the commercial interests of further education providers.

The department does have a policy in relation to the publication of reports relating to its investigations, in that we now publish reports for completed investigations which began in or after December 2023. This policy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/efa-investigation-publishing-policy/efa-investigation-publishing-policy.

Prior to December 2023, there are commercial issues with releasing information in respect of providers subject to investigations. This government has recently updated the House on action taken.
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Baroness Lister of Burtersett:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the problems affecting poorer students in accessing A level computer science, as identified by Teach First on 8 May. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter their background. However, the department knows that disadvantaged pupils are more likely to face barriers which hold them back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.

Whilst it is ultimately for individual schools to decide which courses to offer their students, the best way of supporting schools to offer A level computer science, including those in deprived areas, is to ensure high-quality computing teaching by helping schools to recruit and retain good teachers.

For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department is offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support the recruitment and retention of specialist computing teachers in the schools and areas that need them most. There are also bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to teach computing.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 496 new postgraduate entrants to computing initial teacher training (ITT), a 21% increase on the number of entrants in the 2023/24 academic year (411). The number of postgraduate entrants in 2024/25 was broadly in line with the average across the last ten years.

As of April 2025, we are seeing positive recruitment trends regarding postgraduate ITT recruitment in computing. So far, there have been more candidate submissions (+10%), offers (+42%) and acceptances (+47%) compared to the same point in the previous recruitment cycle.
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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to ensure that state schools provide same-sex toilets and changing facilities for (1) pupils, and (2) staff. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Single-sex spaces based on biological sex are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.

Under the Premises Regulations (2012) and Independent School Standards (2014) which apply to all maintained schools, academies and free schools, responsible bodies (such as school governing bodies, academy trusts or local authorities) are required to ensure that suitable toilet and changing facilities are provided. Regulation 4 states “separate toilet facilities for boys and girls aged 8 years or over must be provided except where the toilet facility is provided in a room that can be secured from the inside and that is intended for use by one pupil at a time”.

The responsibility for complying with the standards and regulations lies with the appropriate responsible body for the school.
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Lord Shinkwin:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with StandWithUs UK about the report Voice of Students 2024/25, published on 7 May. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: I was grateful to attend a roundtable organised by StandWithUs UK in this House on 11 March 2025. At that event, I heard directly from students about their horrifying experiences of antisemitic abuse, many of which are captured in the StandWIthUs UK Voice of Students report.

The antisemitic incidents detailed in the report are wholly unacceptable and the wellbeing and safety of Jewish students remains a government priority.

I recognise the efforts that university Vice Chancellors and their staff are making to foster cohesion on campuses across the country. However, the StandWithUs UK report highlights that there is still more to do. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will soon host a roundtable, to which she has invited Vice Chancellors representing many of the institutions featured in the report. This will be an opportunity to discuss what more can be done collectively, and at all levels, to make universities a safe and inclusive environment for all.
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The Earl of Clancarty:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to negotiate rejoining the Erasmus+ Programme. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The government has agreed to work towards the association of the UK to the EU Erasmus+ programme. The specific terms of this association, including mutually agreed financial terms, should be determined as part of that process in order to ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions of and benefits to the United Kingdom.
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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to issue guidance to single-sex schools about the admission of pupils who are not of the same biological sex. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children. The guidance will cover a range of topics relating to the requests that gender questioning children might make and the action schools and colleges should take.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the final report of the Cass Review, which was published post-consultation, before setting out next steps.
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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to issue guidance to schools about single-sex spaces, sports and activities for pupils and staff of the same biological sex. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The government has set out its expectation that organisations follow the clarity the ruling provides. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has already committed to supporting organisations with its updated statutory code of practice. We will engage them as necessary as they progress this work.

For children in schools, the department are currently reviewing the draft statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance and the draft non-statutory guidance on gender questioning children, ensuring that children’s wellbeing is at the heart of both. Departmental officials are analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering the evidence, including the Cass Review, before deciding next steps.
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Lord Shinkwin:To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the scale of antisemitic activity and incidents on university campuses. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Since the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023, there has been an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents on university campuses.

The Community Security Trust report ‘Campus Antisemitism in Britain 2022-2024', published on 9 December 2024, states that in the two academic years 2022/2024, 325 university-related antisemitic incidents were recorded: 53 incidents in 2022/23 and 272 incidents in 2023/24. This is a 117% increase from the 150 incidents recorded between academic years 2020/2022.

Within the period covered by the report, there was an increase of 413% from academic year 2022/23 to academic year 2023/24, which clearly demonstrates the impact of the 7 October attacks.

Officials and Ministers continue to liaise closely with Universities UK and with key Jewish Community stakeholders, including the Community Security Trust and the Union of Jewish Students, to remain appraised of issues and how they are being handled by universities.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will soon host a roundtable with Vice Chancellors to discuss what more can be done collectively, and at all levels, to make our universities a safe and inclusive environment for all.
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Baroness Grey-Thompson:To ask His Majesty's Government what ministerial meetings have been held in relation to (1) school library funding, and (2) school libraries as mechanisms for critical literacy development. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: School libraries complement public libraries by giving pupils access to a range of books and other kinds of texts, both in and out of school. The national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information, as part of developing their literacy skills.

There are a number of strong links between reading for pleasure and attainment, as well as other positive effects, such as improved text comprehension and grammar, increased general knowledge and character development.

It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. The Autumn Budget 2024 announced an additional £2.3 billion for schools for the 2025/26 financial year, compared to 2024/25, bringing the total core schools budget to almost £63.9 billion in 2025/26.

The government’s reading framework offers non-statutory guidance for teachers and school leaders, including helpful guidance for schools on how to organise their school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers.

My hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards, meets with a wide range of individuals and organisations to discuss matters within her portfolio, including English and literacy in schools.
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Baroness Deech:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to penalise universities that fail to counter antisemitism in their institutions. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: As autonomous, self-governing institutions, universities should have robust policies and procedures in place to ensure that they deal with any incidents of racial and religious hatred decisively and take concerted action to prevent and tackle antisemitism on campus.

The Office for Students (OfS) introduced a new registration condition in July 2024 that will come into force on 1 August 2025 and covers incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct that affect students. It will establish regulatory requirements around training, reporting mechanisms and provision of support and will require universities to develop the capability and resource capacity to implement them. The OfS will be able to take action against providers where there is, or has been, a breach of this condition.
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Lord Touhig:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the campaign by pupils of Meath School in Ottershaw, Surrey, to ensure that UNICEF UK's "Rights Respecting Schools Award" scheme is available to all schools in England; and whether they will provide funding along similar lines to the provision in Scotland. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Education plays a vital role in promoting integration and ensuring children and young people are prepared for life, including learning about the values that underpin and unite our society. All schools in England have a duty to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of their pupils and to prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life. It is up to schools to decide whether to join UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School programme.

Citizenship education provides a framework for pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and values that will prepare them to take their place in society as responsible citizens. Citizenship forms a core part of the statutory national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4 and primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, following the non-statutory framework for citizenship.
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Lord Patten:To ask His Majesty's Government further to Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 May (HL6802), how many higher education students self-assessed as having a learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, AD(H)D, social/communication conditions such as a speech and language impairment, or an autistic spectrum condition in each year since 2015; and how many assessment results took these conditions into account, in each year since 2015. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The numbers of students declaring the conditions referenced are published in detail on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-15.

The ways in which higher education providers (HEPs) best support these students is based on the individual needs of the student.

HEPs have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students. Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HEPs. They are also entitled to reasonable adjustments in the assessment and marking of their work to ensure that they are not disadvantaged. Students should discuss their needs, provide any appropriate evidence and work with the university's support services to identify and implement suitable adjustments.

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available for eligible students in addition to the reasonable adjustments made by HEPs for the provision of more specialist support, such as ergonomic equipment and assistive software. To be eligible for DSA, students must be eligible for higher education student finance and must have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to reduce mobile phone usage by pupils in schools. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance 2024. The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

New research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools, 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools, already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the 6 per cent levy on international student fees referred to in the Restoring control over the immigration system White Paper, published on 12 May, applies only to England or to the whole of the UK. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The immigration white paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK’s globally competitive offer to international students and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting our skills base. This includes the commitment to explore the introduction of a levy on higher education (HE) provider income from international students, with proceeds to be reinvested in the domestic HE and skills system. We will set out more details around this in the Autumn Budget.

Analysis provided in the technical annex that accompanies the immigration white paper shows the potential impact of a 6% levy. This analysis is for illustrative purposes and is based on the levy applying to English HE providers only; education policy is devolved. We will fully consult all the devolved governments on the implementation of the international student levy and work with them on proposals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards meeting their clean energy targets by 2030, and what assessment they have made of the impact of these targets on in high-energy-use sectors \p Baroness Curran: We are making strong progress towards Clean Power 2030. Last month, the Prime Minister announced £300 million of investment to boost offshore wind supply chains, Ofgem approved major grid reforms to unlock investment and accelerate connections.

We have also introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will speed up the approval process for nationally significant infrastructure projects. These changes will help deliver major infrastructure projects, including wind, solar, and hydrogen, in this Parliament.

The National Energy System Operators independent analysis shows that a clean power system will protect families and business from volatile fossil fuel markets, and can be delivered without increasing costs to consumers and business.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Hay of Ballyore:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of EU laws that apply to Northern Ireland; and whether they have any plans to address their continued application to Northern Ireland. \p Baroness Smith of Basildon: The legal texts of the Windsor Framework are available online and set out the rules that are applicable. The Government submits Explanatory Memoranda to Parliament and the NI Assembly about proposed changes to those regulations to facilitate scrutiny, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/explanatory-memoranda-on-eu-documents

The Government remains committed to implementing the Windsor Framework and protecting the UK internal market.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Davies of Gower:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support Ukraine’s reconstruction and economic recovery. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: To date, the UK has committed over £5 billion in non-military support to Ukraine, including £4.1 billion in fiscal support and over £977 million in bilateral assistance.

We are helping lay the foundations for long-term recovery through the Foundations for Infrastructure and Recovery (FIRE) programme, which supports Ukraine in delivering key infrastructure projects. The UK-led Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) is restoring essential services in frontline regions. Our Triggering Investment Growth and Economic Resilience (TIGER) programme is unlocking hundreds of millions in private lending to bolster Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises.

We continue to engage with international partners to galvanise support in preparation for the 2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome in July and beyond.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Turnberg:To ask His Majesty's Government what information they have about the condition of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas; and what assessment they have made of reports that the hostages are being denied medical care. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: Reports of the mistreatment of the hostages held by Hamas, as set out by released hostages such as Eli Sharabi, are deeply concerning. We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, including Avinatan Or, Shay Levinson, and Yossi Sharabi who have strong links to the UK.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has consistently shared that it hasn't been permitted access to hostages. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We have reiterated our call for the ICRC to be granted unfettered and immediate access to the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The ICRC has been facilitating the handover of hostages and the delivery of aid into Gaza.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Turnberg:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Israeli hostages held by Hamas have access to the Red Cross. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has consistently said that it has not been permitted access to hostages. The ICRC has been facilitating the handover of hostages and the delivery of aid into Gaza. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We have reiterated our call for the ICRC to be granted unfettered and immediate access to the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of intimidation and targeting of the family of Sheikh Ali Salman and individuals who visit his home by Bahrain’s Criminal Investigation Directorate; and whether this will impact the technical support and assistance they provide to that body. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: We have made no assessment of the referenced allegation. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has previously raised the case of Ali Salman with the Bahraini Government, as well as with the independent oversight bodies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Baroness Deech:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised concerns with the United National Human Rights Council about the proportionality of its standing agenda item 7 with regard to Israel. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The UK has regularly raised concerns at the Human Rights Council about the proportionality of the standing agenda item 7 with regards to Israel. Most recently, at an Interactive Dialogue on the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 25 February, we said that 'the UK is opposed to the existence of item 7. The UK wants to see all countries face appropriate scrutiny of their human rights record but opposes the disproportionate focus of this item'.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

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Lord Turnberg:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any information on the proportion of deaths in Gaza reported by the Gazan Ministry of Health represented by (1) civilians, and (2) Hamas operatives. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: Like many of our partners, the UK Government uses data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to report on daily casualties in the current Gaza conflict. OCHA draws on figures issued from the Gazan Ministry of Health (MoH). Producing reliable casualty statistics in contexts of violent conflict is never straightforward. The MoH verify and identify the dead by age, gender and ID number.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has consulted experts, including from the London School of Tropical Medicine, OCHA, the World Health Organization and Every Casualty Counts, and interrogates relevant research. Experts assess that the total number of deaths in Gaza since 7 October 2023 estimated by the Gaza Ministry of Health is a reasonable figure, and likely to be an underestimate. MoH data does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas operatives.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-30 conversation_49

Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make representations to the government of Bahrain in the light of reports of medical neglect of Abduljalil al-Singace by Bahraini authorities; and whether they plan to endorse calls for his immediate release. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: We continue to follow and discuss the case of Abduljalil al-Singace with the Bahraini Government, as well as with the independent oversight bodies, where appropriate. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain and to encouraging the government to meet its human rights commitments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-30)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-30 conversation_50

Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with the government of Albania recent reports of alleged illegal and corrupt practices at the Albanian general election on 11 May. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK promotes free and fair elections and works closely with international community partners, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in support of democratic process and structures in Albania. The UK contributed observers to the ODIHR-led observation mission. We share the mission's preliminary conclusions that the election was "competitive and professionally conducted but took place in a highly polarized environment and contestants did not enjoy a level playing field".

It is important that deficiencies in electoral practices and reported election irregularities are addressed to support public confidence in the process. We continue to encourage the Albanian authorities and Central Election Commission to make best use of ODIHR expertise and implement outstanding recommendations.