theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_19
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord German:To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the validity of the Maldives’ claim to sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Islands were between the UK and Mauritius, following a long-standing dispute. They were bilateral negotiations between the two countries: no other states were involved. The Maldives are a valued partner and we are in regular contact with them about a range of issues.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Kennedy of Cradley:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking together with the Overseas Territories to improve the transparency of the beneficial ownership of assets. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: On 21 November, the Foreign Secretary launched his campaign to tackle illicit finance and corruption. Tackling financial secrecy by raising the bar on corporate transparency globally, including in partnership with the Overseas Territories, will be an important priority within this campaign.

At the Joint Ministerial Council last month, I confirmed the UK Government's expectation that OTs implement fully public registers of beneficial ownership. Fully public registers have already been introduced in Montserrat and Gibraltar, and commitments were made by the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena to introduce these by April 2025. Saint Helena has recently passed relevant legislation.

Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands committed to implement registers of beneficial ownership accessible to those with legitimate interest, which offer the maximum possible degree of access and transparency whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions, at the latest by June 2025.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_21
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage free and fair elections in Bangladesh. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK is committed to supporting free, fair, participatory, and peaceful elections in Bangladesh. We support the Interim Government's efforts to establish a pathway toward an inclusive democratic future and free elections. We continue to emphasise to the Interim Government the critical importance of respecting human rights, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring access to justice - key pillars of democracy. During the Minister for the Indo-Pacific's recent visit to Dhaka, she met with political leaders where she encouraged progress towards an inclusive political settlement. Our Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme promotes the protection of civic and political space. We are providing up to £27 million under this programme.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_22
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Wallace of Tankerness:To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to signing and ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK Government recognises the significant work done by the Council of Europe in this area and is committed to the core principles outlined in the Convention. The Freedom of Information Act enables individuals to freely access official information from a wide range of public authorities. As it stands, in this government's view, the Convention would not allow for the appropriate protection of sensitive information and of journalistic independence, as Parliament intended when the Act passed. The Government proactively discloses information beyond our obligations under the Act and will continue to do so.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_23
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Helic:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the efforts of the government of Switzerland in convening a meeting of the parties to the Geneva Conventions. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949, to be respected around the world. 196 States have ratified the Conventions and have obligations to respect and adhere to their provisions. Our Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva met Swiss Government officials in December to discuss their plans to convene a meeting of High Contracting Parties. We are considering how to engage in preparations for the meeting, and await further information on its scope, objectives and timing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton:To ask His Majesty's Government which external consultants or advisors, if any, have been involved in the negotiations with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: Jonathan Powell was appointed as the PM's Envoy for the BIOT sovereignty negotiations on 6 September 2024. He started his role as the UK's National Security Adviser on 2 December. However, he will continue to engage on matters related to BIOT. The Government has also received external legal advice in relation to the negotiations with Mauritius over BIOT/the Chagos Archipelago over the course of several years.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_25
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government what is its timeline for the agreement and ratification of a treaty with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, and whether they still plan to pursue ratification of such a treaty in 2025. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: On 20 December, the UK and Mauritian governments released a joint statement reiterating their commitment to finalising a treaty as quickly as possible. The timetable for treaty ratification has not yet been confirmed. However, following signature, the Treaty will be laid before Parliament in the usual way, consistent with the Constitutional Reform and Governance (CraG) Act 2010. The Government also intends to bring forward a Bill to implement the Treaty in domestic law.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_26
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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The Lord Bishop of Newcastle:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address loneliness and social isolation as a root cause of foodbank usage following a recent report published by the Centre for Social Justice which found that over twice as many people who use foodbanks feel lonely most of the time compared to other adults. \p Baroness Sherlock: The government’s current work to tackle loneliness includes the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, a grant fund designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England.

Jobcentres carry out an important role in identifying people at risk of loneliness by directing people to tailored support such as social prescribing, volunteering opportunities, befriending schemes and other local community opportunities and helping them to return to or prepare to return to the labour market. Good work is also a key element in our approach to tackle poverty and reduce mass dependence on emergency food parcels.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_27
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Boycott:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact on the living standards of different groups of people in receipt of Universal Credit resulting from the difference between the benefit uprating of 1.7 per cent from April 2025 and a higher inflation forecast for 2025–26. \p Baroness Sherlock: The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions. The latest figure that the Secretary of State can use is the Consumer Price Index in the year to September to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year.

All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. Given the volumes involved (over 20 million customers), the technical and legislative requirements and the interdependencies across Government, it is not currently possible to undertake the up-rating exercise any later. There are no current plans for the Secretary of State to revisit these decisions.

At present, no estimate has been made of the impact on the living standards of different groups of people in receipt of Universal Credit resulting from the difference between the benefit uprating of 1.7 per cent from April 2025 and the inflation forecast for 2025-26.

The estimated number of individuals in families benefitting from the uprating of benefits in the financial year 2025/26 in each region of the UK and the UK overall can be found here Benefit uprating: estimated number and type of families and individuals in families benefitting from the uprating of benefits in financial year 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_29
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people were employed by small, medium, or large businesses in the financial years (1) 2021–22, (2) 2022–23, and (3) 2023–24. \p Baroness Sherlock: The department publishes a range of statistics from the Annual Population Survey (APS) on the employment of disabled people. This includes the number of disabled people who were employed by workplace size. Workplace size refers to the total number of employees at the respondent’s workplace, not just the section/department or the whole organization. The APS does not collect information on the size of the whole organization, therefore only analysis on workplace size can be provided. A full time-series from 2013/14 can be found in the employment of disabled people 2024 supplementary table EMP006.

Number of disabled people in employment by workplace size, aged 16 to 64, UK

Workplace size

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Small (less than 50 employees)

1,919,144

2,036,454

2,080,529

Medium (between 50 and 250 employees)

909,827

917,802

970,471

Large (more than 250 employees)

1,117,175

1,168,427

1,332,062

Don't know but between 50 and 500 employees

190,401

204,425

199,334

Source: The employment of disabled people 2024: Table EMP006
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_30
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were in receipt of an Access to Work grant by small, medium, or large business in the financial years (1) 2021–22, (2) 2022–23, and (3) 2023–24. \p Baroness Sherlock: Estimates of the number of individuals who received a payment for an Access to Work element, by employer size, at the end of each of the last three financial years, are provided in the table below.

Employer Size

End of March 2022

End of March 2023

End of March 2024

Small (0-49 employees)

8,180

10,770

17,480

Medium (50-249 employees)

2,680

3,190

4,420

Large (250 or more employees)

18,330

20,690

27,880

Missing

180

150

140

Total

29,370

34,800

49,920

These figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and do not include payments for an Access to Work assessment. Data on the number of Access to Work recipients by employer size is not directly recorded in the Access to Work admin datasets, so these estimates are derived from information which may provide insights to employer size. They may change in future as a consequence of subsequent system updates or changes to methodology.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people were in receipt of an Access to Work grant in the financial years (1) 2021–22, (2) 2022–23, and (3) 2023–24, and by sector. \p Baroness Sherlock: Table 6 of the latest Access to Work Official Statistics includes the number of individuals who were in receipt of Access to Work Provision within each financial year. The latest publication can be found here: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2024 - GOV.UK

The information requested about the number of individuals who received a payment for AtW provision by sector is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the savings of one disabled person being in full time work, rather than out of work and fully reliant on benefits. \p Baroness Sherlock: The department published an estimated saving for the Government of having one extra disabled person in full-time work, in July 2023. This can be found in the Consultation outcome Occupational Health: Working Better.

For Government, having one extra disabled person in full-time work, rather than being out of work and fully reliant on benefits, would mean the Government could save an estimated £18,000 a year. It could give societal savings of £28,000 a year when considering increases in output, reductions in healthcare costs and increased travel. The societal savings could increase to £34,000 a year if including Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) impacts, or £36,000 a year if including subjective wellbeing impacts. For a disabled person working part-time, the equivalent figures could be a saving to the Government of £8,000 a year, and a societal saving of £15,000 a year, rising to £19,000 a year if including QALY impacts, or £20,000 a year if including subjective wellbeing impacts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Dodds of Duncairn:To ask His Majesty's Government what was the level of fraud and error in relation to benefits payments by the Department for Work and Pensions in each of the past two years. \p Baroness Sherlock: Levels of fraud and error in relation to benefit payments, as well as levels of overpayments, are outlined here Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2024 - GOV.UK for 2023/24, and here for the previous year 2022/23: Fraud and error in the benefit system Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2023 - GOV.UK

Please see the requested information in the attached document.

Attachment (docx, 23.0KB)
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Lord Empey:To ask His Majesty's Government what are the implications of the judgment of the High Court in Northern Ireland that the Government must hold a public inquiry into the death of Sean Brown in 1997 for other such inquiries, particularly in light of the Government's decision not to establish an inquiry into the Patrick Finucane case. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The murder of Sean Brown was an appalling act, and the Government has enormous sympathy for the Brown family and the wider community, for what they have had to endure. The Government has confidence in the ICRIR’s ability to investigate the killing of Sean Brown which is why the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has encouraged Mrs Brown and her family to meet with Sir Declan Morgan and the ICRIR to hear how the Independent Commission would approach such an investigation.

The recent judgment by the High Court, however, raises a number of important issues, including matters of constitutional significance that go beyond this individual case. The Government has, therefore, lodged a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal and is seeking expedition.

The matter will now be considered by the Court of Appeal and as such it would not be appropriate to further comment on the appeal, or matters related to it.

This will in no way delay our commitment to repeal and replace the Legacy Act, including reforming the ICRIR, to strengthen its capacity to find answers for victims and families.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_35
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Pearson of Rannoch:To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the population was Muslim at the time of the last census, and what is their projection for the next 10 years. \p Baroness Twycross: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Lord Pearson of Rannoch

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

23 December 2024

Dear Lord Pearson,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of the population was Muslim at the time of the last census, and what is their projection for the next 10 years (HL3696).

Please see Table 1 which includes the data on the proportion of the population that identified as Muslim in the 2021 Census. Please note that this is a voluntary question which had a 94% response rate to the question.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not currently produce projections on religion or any other characteristic that might indicate the size of the Muslim population in the future.

Table 1: 2021 Census dataset for England and Wales, including total usual residents, Muslims, and not answered[1].

Religion

England and Wales

England

Wales

number

%

number

%

number

%

Total: All usual residents

59,597,540

100.0

56,490,048

100.0

3,107,494

100.0

Muslim

3,868,133

6.5

3,801,186

6.7

66,947

2.2

Not answered

3,595,589

6.0

3,400,548

6.0

195,041

6.3

Source: Office for National Statistics

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]In order to protect against disclosure of personal information, records have been swapped between different geographic areas and counts perturbed by small amounts. Small counts at the lowest geographies will be most affected.

UKSA Letter (pdf, 113.0KB)
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Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 15 November (HL1929), whether the Prime Minister approved the proposal from HD Committee to transfer the responsibility for honours committees’ appointments from the Prime Minister to the Head of the Civil Service; and, what was the policy reason for such a change. \p Baroness Twycross: The Prime Minister was consulted on the proposal to transfer the responsibility for honours committee appointments from the Prime Minister to the Head of the Civil Service.

As noted in our answer to HL1929, this policy change was made to ensure political independence of process.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Twycross on 1 November (HL1767) and by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 7 November (HC9001), on what dates before the Taylor Swift concert did representatives of the Prime Minister speak to representatives of Taylor Swift in relation to the provision of a police escort for Taylor Swift. \p Baroness Twycross: I refer the Noble Lady to the Minister for the Cabinet Office's response of 7 November, Official Report, PQ 9001.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the length of time that (1) Cabinet Ministers, and (2) the Foreign Secretary, should remain in office. \p Baroness Twycross: The Prime Minister is responsible for the overall organisation of the Executive.

All ministers serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_40
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government how many and which Permanent Secretaries have left office since the general election; and how many and which Permanent Secretaries have given notice that they intend to stand down in the next six months. \p Baroness Twycross: Since the general election on 4 July 2024 three Permanent Secretaries have announced they will stand down: Sir Jim Harra (HMRC), Sir Philip Barton (FCDO) and Sir Crawford Falconer (DBT).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a current organisational chart of the senior staffing structure of the Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street, including (1) all organisational units and (2) their headcount. \p Baroness Twycross: The latest Cabinet Office organisational chart is due for publication on the 30th of January as part of gov.uk transparency publications. This will contain all organisational units, including 10 Downing Street, and headcount. I will arrange for a copy of the organisational chart to be deposited in the house libraries upon publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Roborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to keep and publish detailed records of farmer, landowner, and family business owner suicides in the months leading up to the reduction of agricultural and business property reliefs for inheritance tax, for the purpose of public interest. \p Baroness Twycross: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Roborough

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

19 December 2024

Dear Lord Roborough,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking whether we plan to keep and publish detailed records of farmer, landowner, and family business owner suicides in the months leading up to the reduction of agricultural and business property reliefs for inheritance tax, for the purpose of public interest (HL3558).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration, which is a legal requirement. This data enables the ONS to produce detailed statistics on suicides that are registered in England and Wales and we publish regular annual[1] and quarterly[2] statistics. All these are based on date of registration, rather than occurrence.

In England and Wales, all deaths by suicide are certified by a coroner and cannot be registered until an inquest is completed. This results in a delay between the date the death occurred and the date of registration. Due to these registration delays, it will not be possible to produce accurate statistics on suicides occurring in 2026 until 2028. The ONS will continue its quarterly publication of suicide statistics and analysis of suicide deaths by occupation based on registration date. However, a more regular presentation of suicide deaths by occupation is not planned.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/previousreleases

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/quarterlysuicidedeathregistrationsinengland/previousreleases

UKSA Letter (pdf, 106.0KB)
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Lord Watson of Invergowrie:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help local authorities and schools regularly to monitor and support the attendance of young carers. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for all young people. This includes young carers, who provide a critical role caring for their loved ones but are all too often hidden from view.

The department’s expectations of local authorities and schools are set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory on 19 August 2024. The ‘support first’ ethos of the attendance guidance is that pupils and families, including young carers, should, where appropriate, receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome any barriers to attendance they are facing. This includes holding regular meetings with the families of pupils whom the school, and/or local authority, consider to be vulnerable.

Young carers are also now part of the school census, which will improve their visibility in the school system, allowing schools to better identify and support them.

Furthermore, Ofsted has committed to developing and consulting upon a revised schools’ inspection framework for the next academic year. This will support the new school report card. A consultation on the framework and report card is scheduled to launch early in the new year, and the department and Ofsted are engaging closely to take this forward. The consultation will set out proposals for how Ofsted will evaluate how schools are approaching the twin issues of attendance and inclusion in order to support the government’s mission to ensure that all children, including young carers, can achieve and thrive at school.

The children’s social care national framework, issued in December 2023, is statutory guidance for local authorities. It provides clarity on the outcomes that leaders and practitioners should achieve when supporting children, young people, and families, including in the identification and assessment of support for young carers.
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Baroness Boycott:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to revise the school food standards guide so as to maximise the nutritional value of food served through the school breakfast programme. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made early progress towards this, announcing that up to 750 early adopter schools will be delivering these new breakfast clubs from April 2025.

Schools will be expected to provide a healthy, nutritious and varied breakfast offer to pupils which will set them up for the school day ahead. The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided throughout the school day, including at breakfast clubs. The school food standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They ensure that pupils always have healthy options.

The school food standards practical guide provides useful advice for headteachers and governors to ensure that food offered at breakfast clubs is compliant with the school food standards, and is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/school-food-standards-practical-guide.

As with all policies, we will keep our approach to school food under continued review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to extend the £10,000 tax free bursary available to trainee art and design teachers, so that it is also available to trainee music teachers. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Earlier this year, the department announced an initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, which is a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a £10,000 tax free bursary to encourage trainees to teach music.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_46
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the lowering of the threshold for employers' national insurance payments in the Autumn budget on the provision of daily school transport for children with special educational needs, and whether they will make an exception to ensure the continuation of those services. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 19397.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Baroness Coussins:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Education will consult the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the security services before it makes a decision on the funding of the Mandarin Excellence Programme beyond August 2025. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.

The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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The Lord Bishop of Newcastle:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to make apprenticeships more financially viable for young people and their families. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity and we want to rebalance opportunities towards young people, who have the most to gain from apprenticeships.

From April 2025, the Apprentice Minimum Wage will increase by 18% from £6.40 to £7.55. This welcome increase will boost the hourly wage for thousands of young apprentices across a range of sectors, and those in their first year of an apprenticeship. We also know that many employers pay their apprentices more than the minimum. Latest data shows that the median gross hourly pay for apprentices in 2023 was £11.63 an hour.

The department continues to provide employers and providers with additional funding to support more apprenticeship opportunities for young people. The department provides £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and up to age 24 for apprentices with an education, health and care plan, or who have been in local authority care. These payments can be used to support costs such as work equipment, uniforms or travel.

Apprentices aged under 25 who have been in local authority care may be eligible for a £3,000 bursary, as well as wages from their employer. The bursary is not subject to tax and is not treated as income for benefits purposes.

Apprentices may also be eligible for local discounted travel schemes. For example, apprentices over 18, living in a London borough and in the first year of an apprenticeship, can get discounted travel with an Oyster photocard.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_49

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential the Laboratory for AI Security Research could offer for both the public and private sector. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: We are committed to building an AI sector that can scale globally and boosting responsible AI adoption across the economy.

We are aware that AI provides an increased threat to national security. DSIT is working closely with partners to understand those risks, and are using that knowledge to shape policy-making. AISI’s collaboration with the Laboratory for AI Security Research and the National Cyber Security Centre aims to understand the interplay of cybersecurity and AI security - coordinating where there are shared objectives.

This collaboration enables progress towards ensuring effective global AI governance whilst capitalising on the benefits of AI.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_50
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_50

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage more investment into new data centres in the UK. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The Government is actively taking steps to remove blocks to the growth of our data centre sector. This includes changes to planning rules, designating the sector as critical national infrastructure (CNI), introducing new legislation to improve security and resilience, and securing more than £25 billion in investment for the sector.

CNI designation signals the Government’s intention to better partner with data centres to promote development that delivers maximum community benefit and mitigation of risks.

Additionally, as part of work to future-proof digital infrastructure, the Government is implementing cross-sectoral power reforms to reduce connection timelines and publishing an AI Opportunities Action Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_51

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure consumers' data is protected from smart devices collecting more information than their function requires. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: All organisations in the UK that process personal data already have to comply with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

In addition, Regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) sets specific rules in relation to the placement of cookies (and similar technologies) on people’s devices.

The data protection legislation requires any company processing personal data to design their products and services with privacy in mind from the start. Providers of smart devices have to consider how their product implements the data protection principles effectively and bakes in necessary safeguards to protect people's rights. For example, they must be transparent with consumers about the data they collect and how they use it, only processing data where there are legitimate grounds to do so, only using what is necessary for their purposes, and ensuring that the data is not used or shared in ways that people would not expect.

People also have rights under the data protection legislation to access their personal data, object to its processing and rights to rectification and erasure.

The legislation is monitored and enforced independently of government by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO has published a range of guidance for organisations to help them comply with their obligations, including guidance on how to design their products and services in a privacy-friendly way, available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/designing-products-that-protect-privacy/privacy-in-the-product-design-lifecycle/.

The ICO has also published advice for the public on protecting themselves from security risks when using smart products here: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/smart-products/.

Anyone concerned about the handling of their personal data by any organisation can contact the ICO further advice or to make a complaint. The ICO can be contacted by telephone on xx-xxxx-xxxx. Further contact details are on the ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/. The ICO has a number of tools to take action against those who breach the data protection legislation, including criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement and the power to impose civil monetary penalties.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_52

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they will apply to "small unitary authorities" when assessing whether they will be expected to merge with other authorities. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Minister for Local Government wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and neighbouring small unitaries on publication of the English Devolution White Paper on 16th December to set out his ambitions and expectations in greater detail. In this letter the Minster set out his intention to formally invite unitary proposals in January 2025, and this invitation will set out further detail on the criteria that will be considered when taking decisions on proposals that are submitted to Government.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_53

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered alternative proposals to local government unitarisation put forward by district councils. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Local Government Minister wrote to all councils on the 16 December in two tier areas to set out the arrangements for local government reorganisation, including inviting council leaders to develop unitary proposals that are in the best interests of the whole area, rather than developing competing proposals.

Unitary councils can lead to better outcomes for residents, save significant money which can be reinvested in public services, and improve accountability with fewer politicians who are more able to focus on delivering for residents. The Government’s policy is to facilitate a programme of local government reorganisation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_54

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL2389), in which he says that the Home Office review into immigration detention will not assess all areas of the Brook House Inquiry, whether they intend to review the recommendations in another review or assessment, and what would the timescale be for this work. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The previous government published a command paper on 19 March 2024 in response to the Brook House Inquiry report. Positive progress continues to be made in addressing the Inquiry’s findings.

A cross departmental working group chaired by the SCS Deputy Director for Detention Services has been meeting since September 2023. The working group continues to meet monthly to consider and monitor delivery of the Inquiry’s recommendations, providing oversight and overarching governance to monitor Inquiry recommendations. Home Office Ministers are fully sighted on progress.

30 out of the 33 recommendations made have been accepted or partially accepted, with 12 recommendations met and closed as of October 2024. The remaining recommendations remain on track for closure by summer 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_55

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of funding for the Dover Port Health Authority in conjunction with UK Border Force to carry out checks for illegal personal imports of meat; and whether funding is adequate at other border points for arrivals by air and sea. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office does not hold this information in an easily accessible format; budget information is available only at overall directorate level and not at individual unit levels.

However, previous published financial figures for Border Force from 2023 to 2024 can be found at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_56

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to devolve drugs policy to councils or mayors. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Local areas already have an important role to play in tackling drugs and reducing harms through Combatting Drugs Partnerships which operate in all areas of England. There are examples of effective work by mayors and councils, working with policing, health, housing and employment agencies locally that show the value of the contribution being made by local partnerships.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_57

Baroness Boycott:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have estimated what proportion of food being sent to anaerobic digestion plants that is edible and fit for human consumption. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The Government does not collect data on the proportion of edible food waste sent to anaerobic digestion plants.

This Government will work with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need.

We continue to support the Waste and Resources Action Programme and its work to drive down food surplus and waste in homes and businesses. This includes work to ensure surplus food is redistributed to charities and other organisations who can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_58

Baroness Boycott:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of aligning subsidies paid out of public expenditure with the food waste hierarchy statutory guidance. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The Government has not made any assessment of aligning subsidies with the food waste hierarchy guidance.

Our priority is to prevent food waste occurring in the first instance, this is in line with the food waste hierarchy. Where waste cannot be prevented, edible surplus food should be redistributed. For unavoidable food waste, the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms will require all local authorities, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises in England to arrange for the separate collection of food waste for recycling. The Government's preference is that food waste is treated via anaerobic digestion (AD), the main route for producing biomethane, which is a low-carbon replacement for fossil fuel natural gas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_59

The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research led by Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad of the University of St Andrews showing that people exposed to high levels of pollution are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and psychosis; and whether they plan to reduce pollution in cities as a result. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the UK. Epidemiological studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution (over years or lifetimes) reduces life expectancy, mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Short-term exposure (over hours or days) to elevated levels of air pollution can also cause a range of health impacts.

Defra has not yet reviewed the research led by Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad. The Government continues to consider and evaluate the evidence of links between exposure to air pollution and a wide range of health effects including, adverse birth outcomes, diabetes, and increased dementia risk, as well as mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants provides independent advice to the Government on how air pollution impacts on health, including on emerging research.

The Government is committed to protecting the public from the harm of pollution and will introduce a Clean Air Strategy to deliver our existing legally binding air quality targets, including a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-01-06 conversation_60

Lord Teverson:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper 30by30 on land in England: confirmed criteria and next steps, published on 29 October, what role they intend Local Nature Recovery Strategies to have in achieving their '30 by 30’ targets. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Delivering the UK’s 30by30 target on land in England will require a strategic approach, to address the scale of action needed, and ensure a diverse and well-connected network of 30by30 areas. Over the coming months, we will be developing a delivery strategy for 30by30, to ensure we make good on this important commitment. This will confirm the key levers that will help us to achieve this target and set out the pathway to 2030. We hope to finalise and publish this strategy next year.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are currently being prepared across England. Each LNRS will agree priorities and propose practical actions in the best locations for nature recovery and wider environmental benefits, such as water quality, flood risk management and climate mitigation. Where appropriate action is then taken, some of these areas could go on to contribute towards 30by30 where landowners/land managers are willing.