theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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The Lord Bishop of Lincoln:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to implement the recommendation made in the report by the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities (Session 2017–19, HL Paper 320), published in April 2019, and in the follow-up letter to that report from the Chair of the Liaison Committee, published in March 2021, that they conduct a detailed review of the coastal transport network. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government recognises the importance of reliable public transport services in keeping communities connected, including in coastal areas.

The Government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of our ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, including in our coastal communities. The Bill includes a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.

In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

Rail also has an important role in connecting coastal communities as part of the wider transport system. The Department requires its train operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer. These timetables are kept under review and, where appropriate, adjusted to reflect fluctuations in demand.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Framlingham:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they reimburse the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for assistance with boats bringing migrants across the Channel; and, if so, what is the basis for that reimbursement; and what is the total cost to date. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: HM Government does not reimburse the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for any Search and Rescue (SAR) activity and does not differentiate the SAR response to small boats crossing the Channel from any other type of SAR.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with train operating companies and other public transport providers about the use of artificial intelligence for announcements, following the case of 'Iona' on ScotRail. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Train Operating Companies are required and regulated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as part of their licence conditions to ensure they provide appropriate and accurate information to enable railway passengers and prospective passengers to plan and make their journeys with confidence, including when there is disruption. Buses in England outside London are largely run on a commercial basis, and so any decisions over announcements are for bus operators to make, who are responsible for managing their fleet.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Rooker:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the UK's capacity to manufacture E10 unleaded petrol; and how this has changed since July 2024. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: E10 (petrol containing up to 10% bioethanol) was introduced as the standard petrol grade in September 2021. To manufacture E10, fossil petrol is blended with ethanol either at refineries or downstream in the supply network. Accordingly the UK’s capacity to manufacture and supply E10 is impacted by the availability of bioethanol.

On 15 August 2025 Vivergo announced the closure of its UK bioethanol production plant in Hull, which at full capacity could produce 420 million litres of bioethanol per year from wheat for blending with petrol.

Whilst the UK retains bioethanol production capacity elsewhere, the closure of Vivergo represents a significant loss. However, it is not considered likely to impact the manufacture or supply of E10 petrol in the UK. It is expected that the supply of bioethanol for petrol suppliers will continue to be met by both bioethanol produced at the remaining UK plants and by imports.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Deech:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on local businesses caused by low traffic neighbourhoods across councils in England. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government is clear that traffic management measures such as low traffic neighbourhoods are a matter for local authorities as they know their areas best. Traffic management schemes should always be developed through engagement with local communities. This is a long-standing policy and there are no plans to change it.

It is also for local authorities to assess the impact on businesses and others of their traffic management schemes. The Department commissioned research into the impacts of low-traffic neighbourhoods which was published in March 2024 and is available on the Department’s website.

As a matter of good practice authorities should always obtain a wide range of views on traffic management schemes, including from those directly impacted by them and those with particular requirements, and should provide information on how consultation responses have been acted on. However, the Department has no plans to make this a legal requirement.

Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) must be made following the procedures set out in the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996. These already include a requirement for ongoing consultation for 6 months once in place, with statutory consultees including bus operators, emergency services and freight industry representatives. An ETRO may be in place for a maximum of 18 months after which the authority must either revoke it or make it permanent. The Government considers that these requirements provide sufficient time to allow objections to be made.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Snape:To ask His Majesty's Government whether rail ticketing software providers will be invited to tender to manage Great British Railways’ retail ticket sales. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Once Great British Railways (GBR) is established, it will retail online by consolidating individual train operators’ ticket websites. This will take place alongside a thriving private sector retail market, which will continue to play a key role in driving innovation and investment and encouraging more people to choose rail.

The Railways Bill consultation took place in the spring. As part of this process, the Government consulted closely with industry, the private sector, and wider stakeholders including in relation to the future of the rail retail market. A formal update will be provided in due course, and we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure transition plans are as smooth as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether driving licence numbers are adjusted or encoded to reflect the sex of the licence holder; and if so, how. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: A driving licence number reflects the gender of the licence holder as notified to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The seventh character of the number will be a zero or one if the driver record shows the licence holder is male, and five or six if the record shows the licence holder is female.

The DVLA records gender according to the information provided by the applicant and as indicated on the evidence of identity that is provided at the time the licence is applied for.

Those wishing to change their gender will need to apply to the DVLA and provide supporting evidence, which can include a deed poll, statutory declaration or a gender recognition certificate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Birt:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will commission and publish an integrated cross-departmental strategy for the development of an electric vehicle charge point network across the United Kingdom (1) covering the ready availability of charge points where people live and work, (2) ensuring that charge points are as simple to use as petrol pumps, and (3) covering the development of the National Grid to supply power to charge points where it is needed. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. This includes improving availability including through the Local EV Infrastructure Fund and grants to support workplaces to provide charging infrastructure for their staff and fleets.

To ensure chargepoints are reliable and simple to use, the Public Charge Point Regulations have requirements for operators relating to contactless payments, open data, and roaming. These enable consumers to reliably locate, charge, and pay at public chargepoints.

We are also working with DESNZ and Ofgem to ensure the energy sector can support EV charging infrastructure. We are very confident the grid can support the increase in power supply to chargepoints and the wider transition to EVs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Jopling:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 28 July (HL9485), what plans they have to undertake permanent repairs to the bridge on the A1 at Water Newton following the "temporary maintenance and technology works" referred to; and whether the repairs will require the reimposition of lane closures following their reopening on 12 September. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: National Highways has confirmed that detailed design work for the permanent repair will commence once the current project to realign the southbound carriageway has been completed.

Realignment work (temporary repair) started on 8 September 2025. Most of the work is scheduled to take place over several weekend closures between 12 September and 20 October 2025.

Lane closures on the southbound carriageway are not expected to be reimposed until the programme of permanent repairs commences, which is currently anticipated to be in late 2026. All traffic will remain subject to a temporary 40mph speed restriction until permanent repairs are complete. This measure is necessary as the newly realigned driving lanes will be narrower than the standard width.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Jopling:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 28 July (HL9485), what caused the delay to the remedial work taking place on the A1 at Water Newton between the imposition of lane closures on 1 November 2024 and July 2025. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: National Highways has had to take into account and work within several engineering, environmental, and archaeological constraints. The nature of the required works at this location were both challenging and complex.

The constraints included the presence of numerous public utilities in the immediate area, including a large water main situated close to the carriageway and the existing culvert. The site also includes Billing Brook which runs beneath the A1 at Water Newton and flows into a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. Finally, the proximity of the nearby historic Roman town of Durobrivae which meant that archaeological factors have needed to be taken into account.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to enable voters in Northern Ireland who already have a form of identification to obtain electoral identity cards. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is responsible for the supply of electoral identity cards in Northern Ireland.

There has been a requirement to show photographic voter ID in Northern Ireland since 2003 and there is a comprehensive list of accepted documents to bring to the polling station. If an individual does not have any of these forms of photographic ID, they may apply for an electoral identity card.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee:To ask His Majesty's Government when they will announce the independent expert who will scope out the viability of a transition process within the remit of the Independent Reporting Commission. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland expects to be in a position to make an announcement on this appointment in the near future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Lilley:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with EU counterparts at the level of the Joint Committee to fulfil paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol which states that the Joint Committee “shall adopt appropriate recommendations with a view to avoiding controls at the ports and airports of Northern Ireland to the extent possible”. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: All Joint Committee meetings are conducted in line with the rules of procedure set out in Annex VIII of the Withdrawal Agreement, and are therefore confidential unless otherwise decided by the co-chairs (Rule 10).

A full depository of Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee announcements and activity can be found at gov.uk.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Frost:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 21 July (HC68604) on the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, whether a date has yet been set for the publication of the Review. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland laid a copy of the report in Parliament and transmitted a copy to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 4 September 2025, which was confirmed to this House on the same day in Written Ministerial Statement HLWS907. The report has also been made available online.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Caine:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission retains the full confidence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the light of her recent comments about the employment of former members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary at the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is operationally independent from Government. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met the Chief Commissioner to discuss a range of issues, including the Government’s approach to legacy reform.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Caine:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent comments of the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission regarding the employment of former members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary at the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is independent of Government and has a statutory duty to ensure government and other public bodies protect the human rights of everyone in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met the Chief Commissioner to discuss a range of issues, including the Government’s approach to legacy reform.

The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery is operationally independent from Government, and its recruitment processes are a matter for it to determine within the statutory framework.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Penn:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average length of maternity leave broken down by income decile. \p Lord Leong: We have not made a direct estimate of the average length of Maternity Leave broken down by income decile. The 2019 Parental Rights Survey asked mothers the total number of weeks of paid or unpaid maternity leave that they took (or planned to take) broken down by household income bands. This data is available in Table 30 of the mothers data tables here - https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/resource/parental-rights-survey-2019.

In addition, the most recent HMRC statutory payments data was released as part of the Parental Leave review. This information is published here - https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/parental-leave-and-pay-review-call-for-evidence - and includes a breakdown of individuals receiving Statutory Maternity Pay by income decile (Table 15) and separately by the number of months the payment spanned (Table 21).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Rooker:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure improved transparency and access to information about beneficial ownership of overseas entities since July 2024. \p Lord Leong: The Government remains committed to increasing knowledge of beneficial ownership of overseas entities. In February 2025, the Government introduced The Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. This enables the public to apply to access unpublished trust information on the Register of Overseas Entities from 31 August 2025, increasing transparency and empowering stakeholders to scrutinise entities more effectively. The Government will also publish a response to the public consultation on the Transparency of Land Ownership Involving Trusts in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Maclean of Redditch:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their policy paper Backing your business: Our plan for small and medium sized business (CP 1358), whether they will publish a detailed plan setting out the process and timetable for cutting administrative costs of regulation by 25 per cent for small and medium sized businesses. \p Lord Leong: Determining the cumulative administrative costs of regulation that businesses face, has not been done for 15 years. That’s why we are undertaking a baselining exercise to understand the administrative costs of regulation to all businesses, including SMEs. We have considered different analytical options and looked to identify the most proportionate methodology to calculate the baseline for costs.

We are working across government to identify savings to deliver this ambitious target and we will set out our more detail in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with devolved administrations to develop a shared nationwide research strategy for rare and less common cancers, including sarcoma, to overcome barriers including market failure in the development of new drugs and underfunding, and to promote clinical trials and patients' equitable access to them and speed up the development of new treatments. \p Baroness Merron: There are no plans to work with the devolved administrations to develop a nationwide research strategy for rare and less common cancers. However, both the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which is the Department’s research delivery arm, and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are members of the UK Cancer Research Strategy Forum, which brings together funders and other stakeholders from across the United Kingdom to share information and identify areas for collaboration where beneficial. Similarly, we acknowledge the importance of a UK-wide data focus, and that health and care data can be accessed safely and effectively across the UK to support individual care and to improve outcomes.

The Department is proud to invest £1.6 billion each year on research through the NIHR. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

The NIHR is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, by working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including for rare cancers.

The Government supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and increase access to innovative treatments for rare cancers, such as sarcoma. As such, the Department has been closely engaging with the devolved administrations who are supportive of the ambitions of the bill.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across England. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.

The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including rare and less common cancers. It remains committed to the role of research to improve outcomes for patients.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure intensive care is adequately resourced to deal with the next pandemic or major national emergency. \p Baroness Merron: The Government will continue to support the National Health Service with the investment and reform it needs so it is there for patients when they need it most.

Our approach, based on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and previous outbreaks, is to ensure that there are flexible, adaptable and scalable capabilities that can respond to any future novel disease or threat to public health.

While acute care resourcing decisions are made at a local level, the existing Adult Critical Care Surge Plan provides guidance on a consistent approach by which providers of adult critical care services can escalate capacity pressures locally, regionally and nationally for action. A copy of the plan is attached.

Additional document (pdf, 281.6KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care Opportunities For England, published in May. \p Baroness Merron: The Minister of State for Care (Stephen Kinnock MP) met the Hon. Member for York Central and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff to discuss the progress of their independent commission into palliative and end of life care, including the commission’s first of three reports, published on 13 May 2025, which he has formally responded to.

In line with the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community. The palliative and end of life care sector will have a big role to play in that shift.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Fowler:To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the reduction in resources provided by the Government and voluntary sector to tackle HIV and AIDS domestically since the beginning of the year. \p Baroness Merron: The Government is committed to ending HIV transmissions within England by 2030 and is developing the new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year.

There has been no reduction in resources provided by the Government to address HIV domestically since the beginning of the year.

In 2025/2026, the Government has increased funding through the ringfenced Public Health Grant, and the 100% retained business rate arrangement for local authorities in Greater Manchester, to £3.858 billion. This represents a significant turning point for local health services, marking the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.

£27 million of additional funding was confirmed for 2025/26 to expand and continue the highly successful National Health Service emergency department opt-out HIV testing programme until March 2026, which has helped to identify more than 1,500 untreated or undiagnosed HIV cases in its first 36 months.

Furthermore, HIV Prevention England, which is the national HIV prevention programme for England funded by the Department and delivered by the Terrence Higgins Trust, has been extended for a year until March 2026, and is backed by £1.5 million of additional funding.

The Government has not estimated the HIV/AIDS resources provided by the voluntary sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:To ask His Majesty's Government how many intensive care unit directors are involved in disaster planning at a local level. \p Baroness Merron: Exercise PEGASUS will aim to test our ability to respond to a pandemic, involving all regions and nations of the United Kingdom and thousands of participants.

At a local level, Exercise Pegasus is being delivered through regional teams and integrated care board (ICB) structures. It is the responsibility of the local system to engage National Health Service providers as necessary.

The NHS needs to plan for and respond to a wide range of incidents and emergencies which could affect health or patient care. The extent of clinical stakeholders in emergency planning will be determined by local arrangements and operational needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the accuracy of data about complications arising from medical abortions. \p Baroness Merron: It is a legal requirement in England and Wales that all terminations must be notified to the Chief Medical Officer within 14 days of the procedure. The HSA4 abortion notification form is provided to collect the required information up until the time of the patient’s discharge from the abortion service. Information is collected on the abortion and the woman that had the abortion, including the method of the abortion, whether any abortion pills were taken at home, the gestation, or number of weeks, and details of any known complications.

The Department continues to work with abortion providers to ensure that abortion complications known up until the time of discharge from the abortion service are recorded on the HSA4 form. There are no plans to require the notification of complications that occur after discharge from the abortion service.

Abortion continues to be a very safe procedure, for which major complications are rare at all gestations. Home use of early medical abortion pills is recognised to be a safe procedure by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the World Health Organisation
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in the number of terminated NICE appraisals in the 2019–24 period, compared to the preceding five-year period. \p Baroness Merron: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) data on terminated appraisals shows that terminated appraisals increased from 2019 to 2021 and stabilised thereafter.

There is no overall increasing trend, in fact the percentage of terminated appraisals has fallen in the last three years, and was 18% in 2024/25.

NICE’s appraisals may be terminated for a number of reasons, including a delay in the evidence provided by the manufacturer being ready.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the findings of the EFPIA Patients W.A.I.T. Indicator 2024; and (2) the case for health technology assessment reform at NICE to improve the availability of innovative therapies on the NHS. \p Baroness Merron: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of medicines for use in the National Health Service. Analysis from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations’ waiting to access innovative therapies indicators, published in May, showed that England’s ranking had improved from 9th to 6th for the total rate of availability of innovative medicines compared to last year’s report.

NICE keeps the methods and processes it uses to develop its recommendations under review to ensure that they are appropriate to emerging technologies and represent best practice. The Life Sciences Sector Plan, published in July, states that any future changes through NICE’s modular updates can be considered where they are evidence based, financially sustainable, and represent value to the taxpayer. This ensures that new medicines do not displace funding for other more effective treatments and services that are so important to delivering high-quality care for patients.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-12)

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Baroness Goudie:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to close the Fleming Fund and, if so, whether they have an alternative model for maintaining Britain's antimicrobial resistance commitments. \p Baroness Merron: As set out at the Spring Statement, the Government is reducing its Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027 to respond to pressing security and defence challenges that the United Kingdom is facing. As a result, the Fleming Fund will close at the end of its current grant agreements by March 2026. The Government is committed to exiting the Fleming Fund responsibly. Each country context is different, and we are currently in discussions with governments and partners to ensure all possibilities of sustainability are explored. We are working through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used in future years, including future allocations for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) activities. This will be informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Tackling AMR remains a priority for the Government and is vital for protecting our National Health Service, including via delivery of the UK National Action Plan on AMR, as laid out in the recent publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. Through global partnerships and diplomacy, the UK is working with our partners to drive robust implementation of the commitments from the Political Declaration, including on the importance of strengthening multisectoral surveillance.
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Lord Roberts of Llandudno:To ask His Majesty's Government what provision will be made for wounded children with no surviving family in Gaza who require urgent medical care to be brought to the United Kingdom for medical treatment. \p Baroness Merron: The Government is working urgently to get some of the critically ill and injured children medically evacuated from Gaza. The first patients are expected to arrive in the United Kingdom in the coming weeks.

Children will only be transferred to the UK where it is clinically safe to do so and in the interests of each individual patient and where there is capacity within the National Health Service to treat them. They will be accompanied by their immediate family which means their parents, and siblings aged under 18 years old. Where both parents are deceased, they must be accompanied by a legal guardian. We will not be evacuating unaccompanied children.

It is too early to say how long this process will run for and thus the number of children we expect to be evacuated.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

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Lord Black of Brentwood:To ask His Majesty's Government how many independent schools have been visited by Ministers at the Department for Education since July 2024. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 46839.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_2

Lord Watson of Invergowrie:To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools in England have mental health support teams. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

Over 90% of schools report having a designated mental health lead. The department provides guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing in schools. For example, a resources hub and a toolkit to help choose evidence-based early support for pupils. These can be found here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/, and here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.

The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.

As at March 2025, 10,100 schools and colleges were supported by an MHST. By April 2026, we estimate an additional 900,000 pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, around 6 million in total, or 60% of all pupils and learners, up from around 5 million in April 2025.

The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff to treat children and adults and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_3

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have undertaken of the expected contribution of precision-bred crops and foods to gross domestic product, agritech growth and public revenues; and whether any such analyses have been independently reviewed or validated by the Treasury. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The Department has taken an evidence-based approach, underpinned by expert scientific advice and published data, to estimate the impacts of implementing the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023. All estimations are informed by data from independent, reputable sources including market research, scientific papers, and reports by economic institutions.

This includes the Department’s De Minimis Assessment of the impacts of The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025, which has been compiled by Defra economists and reviewed by the Defra Chief Economist. The Treasury does not routinely assess departmental analysis.  This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_4

Lord Hay of Ballyore:To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to protect critical national infrastructure from security threats. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The UK Government works closely with Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) owners and operators through the Lead Government Department (LGD) model to build resilience against security threats.

Each LGD is responsible for routinely undertaking risk assessments for their sector, including assessing CNI risks within the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). All NSRA risks are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform industry and government’s emergency preparedness and resilience activity, and reflect the evolving risk landscape. The external-facing National Risk Register, which mirrors the NSRA, was last updated in January 2025 and will be updated regularly to address changes to the risk landscape.

Alongside the LGD’s active engagement with industry, the National Technical Authorities (National Cyber Security Centre and National Protective Security Authority) also provide advice on best practice for CNI security and resilience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_5

Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has (1) the Cabinet Office and (2) the Information Commissioner provided to public authorities regarding sharing the personal identity of FOI request applicants when consulting a third party in relation to the FOI applicant’s request. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: All public authorities that process personal data for the purposes of responding to FOI requests must comply with the requirements of data protection legislation.

The Freedom of Information Code of Practice, issued under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, provides guidance to public authorities on consultation with third parties. The Code is published on GOV. UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-code-of-practice.

Guidance issued by the Information Commissioner can be found at www.ico.org.uk
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_6

Lord Robathan:To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers, and on how many occasions, used the Windsor Suite at Heathrow Airport (1) between 1 July 2024 and 14 May, and (2) between 1 July 2023 and 1 July 2024. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_7

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office exercises oversight or control over the location of arm’s-length bodies; and if so, what form that oversight or control takes. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: As part of the Places for Growth programme, the Cabinet Office engages with departments that have arm's-length bodies (ALBs) based in London, to encourage them to be located outside of London, increasing the geographic diversity of the Civil Service. In addition, newly created bodies are not headquartered in London, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean this is necessary.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_8

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 7 May (HL6683), what potential prison sites they are considering for the 14,000 new prison places by 2031. \p Lord Timpson: The prison population has nearly doubled in the past three decades, with just 500 extra prison places added in the last 14 years. To put an end to this crisis, the Government confirmed plans to invest £4.7 billion more in prison building, putting the Government on track to open 14,000 places by 2031. This will be the largest expansion of the prison estate since the Victorians. Since July 2024, 2,400 places have already been opened.

As outlined in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places through the 20,000 prison place programmes. Delivery will be achieved through the construction of new prisons, the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and temporary accommodation. A breakdown of the prison build programmes by region and build type can be found within the Capacity Strategy.

The construction of four new prisons will deliver c.6,500 of the remaining 14,000 places. This includes the recently delivered HMP Millsike, which officially opened in March 2025. It also includes a new prison in Leicestershire which has full planning permission, a new prison in Buckinghamshire which has outline planning permission and a new prison in Lancashire which also has outline planning permission.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_9

Lord Carter of Haslemere:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill on the capacity, resourcing and caseload of the courts and tribunals system. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: We continue to work closely with the Ministry of Justice to agree how the Renter’s’ Rights Bill will be implemented so that the justice system has the resources needed to adjust to any changes in caseload.

Work is also progressing on updating Court and Tribunal rules and procedures in readiness for the implementation of the new legislation.

We are committed to digitising the court process to make it more efficient and easier to understand for landlords and tenants.

In the longer term we expect our reforms to reduce the volume of court possession claims, as only those cases where there is a clear, well-evidenced ground for possession will be able to proceed. This will help to offset any increased pressure on the courts resulting from our reforms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_10

Lord Roborough:To ask His Majesty's Government for how many acres of ‘best and most versatile agricultural land’ (grades 1, 2 and 3A) consent has been granted for solar energy generation as nationally significant infrastructure projects since 4 July 2024. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: Since 04 July 2024, 6 solar farms have been approved which are located either mostly or entirely on grade 1-3 agricultural land (not distinguishing between 3a and 3b type). Together, these projects have a total area size of 11,671 acres within their Development Consent Order (DCO) limits. Just over half of this will be used for the solar farm development and the remaining land within the projects’ DCO limits will be used for purposes such as environmental mitigations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_11

The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government why the new rules increasing the safety and simplicity of consumer promotional offers in gambling cannot be introduced sooner than 19 December. \p Baroness Twycross: We have set the gambling industry a clear task to do more to work together to ensure that gambling advertising and sponsorship is appropriate, responsible and does not exacerbate harm. The Betting and Gaming Council has since commissioned an advertising report which will be published in due course. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all key stakeholders to inform next steps in this space and ensure effective measures are in place to protect those at risk.

Strengthened measures on socially responsible incentives (SRI) are being delivered through the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). As the statutory regulator, the implementation date is a matter for the Gambling Commission and the rationale for its decision was set out in their formal response to the SRI consultation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-27 conversation_12

The Earl of Clancarty:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to negotiate rejoining Creative Europe. \p Baroness Twycross: This government does not have any plans to rejoin Creative Europe, though we are committed to finding constructive ways to work with the EU and deliver for the British people on shared priorities and global challenges.

We recognise the UK’s creative and cultural sectors provide a unique and valuable contribution to Europe’s diverse cultural landscape. We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad, including through initiatives such as the £7 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the £1.6 million Music Export Growth Scheme.