theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to issue guidance to (1) royal medical colleges, (2) healthcare professional organisations, and (3) other stakeholders that interact with the department, about implementing the Supreme Court ruling. \p Baroness Merron: The Supreme Court ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 case has provided much needed confidence and clarity to service providers. We expect all providers to follow the clarity this ruling provides.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently reviewing sections of the draft Code of Practice which need updating. They will shortly undertake a public consultation to understand how the practical implications of this judgment may be best reflected in the updated guidance, which will be seeking views from affected stakeholders.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to ensure that NHS services offered to people of the female biological sex are provided by staff of female biological sex; and whether they will issue guidance about the rights of patients to request a staff member of the same biological sex. \p Baroness Merron: The Supreme Court ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 case has provided much needed confidence and clarity to service providers. We expect all providers to follow the clarity this ruling provides.

National Health Services are patient centred, and the NHS Constitution is clear that patients have the right to receive care and treatment that is appropriate to them, meets their needs, and reflects their preferences.

Patients are able to request that intimate care is provided by someone of the same sex. This is recognised through the accompanying Care Quality Commission statutory guidance to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. In line with this guidance, we expect that providers will make every reasonable effort to respect patient preferences.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to include the biological sex of civil servants in reports about those employed by the Department of Health and Social Care and its agencies and public bodies. \p Baroness Merron: The Department, like all other Government departments (OGDs) and public bodies, has a Public Sector Duty to ensure equality of opportunity, including when reporting on sex. This means the Department will continue to consider the impact of its policies and decisions on all people with protected characteristics. The Department will continue to include the biological sex of civil servants in reports about those employed by the Department and its agencies and public bodies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to implement the planned transformation of the NHS App to support seamless delivery of pharmacy services, including by enabling patients to nominate distance-selling pharmacies for home delivery. \p Baroness Merron: The NHS App supports seamless pharmacy services by allowing patients to order repeat prescriptions, nominate their preferred pharmacy, and manage their medication. A new prescription tracker feature means that nearly 1,500 pharmacies are now offering the new prescription tracking service through the NHS App, which provides updates on when prescriptions are ready to be collected. Work has also commenced on an ‘in App’ notification, which will enhance this feature further.

In relation to nominating distance selling pharmacies (DSPs), users of the NHS App are currently given the option to nominate a ‘high street’ or an ‘online-only’ pharmacy. For those wishing to nominate ‘online-only’ pharmacies, users are directed to the internet pharmacies section, to search for and contact their chosen DSP directly, as key information is required by the DSP before the nomination can be applied.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they will use in reducing staff costs by 50 per cent for NHS England; and how this methodology was established with regard to local and regional outcomes. \p Baroness Merron: Ministers and senior Department officials are working with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead the formation of a new joint centre.

At this stage, while we are scoping the transformation programme, it is too early to share details of any programmes to reduce staff costs, but we are looking closely at areas of duplication between NHS England and the Department. The reductions will be achieved through a mix of efficiencies, removing duplication between the Department and NHS England and stopping functions at the centre that will support our aim of empowering the frontline.

The Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure the public and parliamentarians are informed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, whether they will issue guidance to hospital trusts to ensure patients of male biological sex are not placed in wards or facilities used by patients of female biological sex, except in emergencies; and whether they will publish this guidance within six weeks. \p Baroness Merron: We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex.

The Supreme Court ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 case has provided much needed confidence and clarity to service providers.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has already committed to publishing guidance about placing transgender patients on hospital wards in the summer.

The National Health Service is currently reviewing its Delivering same-sex accommodation guidance and will ensure it reflects the Supreme Court’s ruling and is aligned with the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s statutory guidance, when this becomes available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what plans they have to issue guidance to NHS staff regarding patient requests to be placed on a ward with other patients of the same sex; and whether staff who report patients with those requests will face disciplinary action. \p Baroness Merron: We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex. The Supreme Court’s ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 has provided clarity to service providers.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has already committed to publishing guidance about placing transgender patients on hospital wards in the summer.

The National Health Service is reviewing its Delivering same-sex accommodation guidance and will ensure it reflects the Supreme Court’s ruling and is aligned with the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s statutory guidance, when this becomes available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, whether they will issue guidance to ensure that NHS staff who refer to another person by the pronoun of their biological sex do not face disciplinary action. \p Baroness Merron: It is the responsibility of National Health Service employers to determine their own policies for staff, in accordance with their legal obligations. We expect NHS providers to follow the clarity that the Supreme Court’s ruling brings.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government how many care workers there are in the United Kingdom; and what assessment they have made of impact of the planned end of visas for overseas care workers on the number of care workers to meet demand. \p Baroness Merron: Every day our 1.59 million-strong adult social care workforce provides vital care and support to people of all ages and with diverse needs. Care workers are essential to those who draw on care and support, helping them maintain their quality of life, independence and connection to the things that matter to them.

Adult social care is a devolved matter. In England in 2023/24, data from Skills for Care shows that there were 905,000 filled care worker roles.

The Home Office has estimated an annual reduction of approximately 7,000 main applicants as a result of ending overseas recruitment for social care visas. This is based on their internal management information for entry visas granted, covering the period of March 2024 to February 2025. This estimate reflects that there was a drop in visa grants of more than 90% compared to the 12 months ending in March 2024, when more than 83,000 entry visas were granted to care workers and senior care workers.

The analysis in the Technical Annex, published alongside the Immigration White Paper, will be refined and included within the relevant Impact Assessments accompanying the rule changes, as appropriate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Climate Change Committee Progress in adapting to climate change: 2025 report to Parliament, published on 30 April, with regard to wildfires and the impact on natural and wildlife habitats. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: We welcome the Climate Change Committee’s constructive assessment, recognising the progress that has been made in planning for climate change across our transport system and the economy, as well as areas for improvement.

As part of our Plan for Change we are investing a record £2.65 billion to repair and build flood defences, protecting tens of thousands of homes and businesses and helping local communities become more resilient to the effects of climate change such as overheating and drought.

We are considering the Climate Change Committee’s Progress Report and will respond to its recommendations in October as required by the Climate Change Act.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in developing an app to update drivers on which of their consignments has been selected for a physical check under the Border Target Operating Model. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: HM Revenue & Customs provides drivers with the Inspection Location Service, which allows drivers access to identify whether their consignments have been selected for an inspection. The portal is linked to the Goods Movement Vehicle Service (GMVS) whereby a driver can enter their Goods Movement Reference, and they will be shown the inspection status for their consignment. If the driver does not use GMVS, Imports of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) will provide an initial risk assessment telling the importer/agent if their consignment needs SPS checks when they submit their import notification. If the consignment does need checks, the importer/agent and haulier will also receive a text and email message two hours before the driver’s estimated time of arrival in GB. The message will conform what the driver needs to do. Additionally, the notifier can check their IPAFFS dashboard for updates on whether their consignment will be checked.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government what further steps they plan to take to reduce microplastic pollution. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Defra recognises the importance of addressing contaminants in soil, including microplastic pollution. To tackle microplastics in soil, we need to tackle plastics up-stream. The plastic problem is one of management, not removal or eradication, to reduce, reuse, and recycle the material we have and not let it escape into, and damage, our environment.

The Environment Agency is supporting collaborative research which will support future policy and regulatory decisions on microplastics. This includes six investigations with the water industry under the Chemical Investigations Programme, considering generation of microplastics within wastewater treatment works through breakdown of plastic equipment, emerging sewage treatment technologies, and pathways of microplastics from biosolids applied to land to soils and groundwater. The Environment Agency are also conducting research into tyre wear particles and associated chemicals which is due to be published later this year, and supporting National Highways on research into microplastics generated during driving.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Teverson:To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that all catches are accurately recorded and accounted for in line with the bycatch objective under section 1(6)(b) of the Fisheries Act 2020; what assessment they have made of the adequacy of these measures in achieving this objective; and what plans they have to enhance monitoring of catches in the short term. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: As fisheries control and enforcement is a devolved matter, each UK Fisheries Administration is responsible for ensuring catches from their waters are reported accurately. In English waters, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) monitors all catches from commercially licensed fishing vessels, for vessels over 10 metres, information is recorded in logbooks whilst English vessels under 10 metres record their catches using a purpose-built mobile app or website. All catch data is submitted to the MMO to provide an accurate picture of how much fish we are taking from our seas. To ensure catch details are accounted for correctly, the MMO regularly conduct inspections of fishing vessels based upon a risk-based intelligence led marine enforcement model.

Defra has been reviewing the operation of the landing obligation as part of wider reforms to discards management in England. In 2025, these reforms include trialling changes to how we account for catches. This work aims to help ensure that catches are recorded and accounted for and contribute to the achievement of the bycatch objective.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate on 20 March (HL5840), what annual returns they have received regarding conservation covenant agreements made under section 117(3)(b) and (c) of the Environment Act 2021 to conserve land for reasons of archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic interest. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Under section 136 of the Environment Act 2021, a designated responsible body must make an annual return to the Secretary of State. This return must include the number of conservation covenants under which an obligation was owed to the responsible body during the reporting period, along with the area of land to which each covenant relates.

As part of the first annual return to Defra by 31st of March 2025, where responsible bodies were able to provide additional information regarding the type of covenant, they reported 43 covenants that conserve the natural environment. No covenants were reported that conserve land, or the setting of the land, as a place of archaeological, architectural, artistic, cultural or historic interest.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to protect peatlands. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands and committed in our manifesto to expanding nature-rich habitats including bogs. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatland across the country.

Defra is currently seeking views on proposed changes to The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021, which would provide protection to a broader area of upland peat. A public consultation was launched on 31 March and will close on 25 May, the results of which will be used to inform future policy in this area.

We are also looking at next steps regarding measures to ban horticultural peat and will continue to work alongside the horticultural sector to accelerate progress on the peat free transition.

Heather + Grass Burning Regulations (pdf, 164.6KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of shipments were checked under the Border Target Operating Model in (1) January, (2) February, (3) March, and (4) April, 2025. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of this approach, we cannot share granular data on inspections.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Balfe:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to work with the Turkish-Cypriot diaspora in the United Kingdom to promote community engagement and stronger ties between the United Kingdom and Northern Cyprus. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. Several UN Security Council Resolutions and other multilateral agreements limit links between the UK and the north of Cyprus. However, we support measures aimed at reducing the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community within these constraints. This includes promoting rule of law, good governance, open societies, and positive inter-communal relations. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials regularly engage members of the Cypriot diaspora, including from the Turkish Cypriot community.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Sikka:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure all UK Overseas Territories approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a legitimate interest, as they committed to do by April 2025. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers, such as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.

Every Territory is making progress towards these commitments and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at JMC. The Cayman Islands has introduced an accessible beneficial ownership register. Officials are working together to ensure that this system offers the best possible level of transparency and accessibility.

The Minister of State, Stephen Doughty MP continues to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories including a recent conference call with all leaders and representatives - and has recently spoken to and written to the Premiers of a number of territories individually on this issue, and offered further assistance to the small number who remain off track from meeting their commitments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Cass:To ask His Majesty's Government what further sanctions or other actions they are taking against the government of Myanmar, in response to the bombing of healthcare facilities following the recent earthquake. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: We condemn the Myanmar military's continued use of airstrikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities. We are particularly concerned by reports that the military has continued to attack healthcare facilities after the recent earthquake. Since the coup in 2021, the UK has announced ten sanctions specifically targeting the military's ability to procure aviation fuel.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Hannan of Kingsclere:To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of their statements denouncing the lack of democratic legitimacy of the Venezuelan election of 28 July 2024, whether they plan to evict the representatives of the government of Venezuela from the legation building at 1 Cromwell Road, and to make the premises available to representatives of those they consider won the election. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK has been clear that the outcome of the presidential elections on 28 July 2024 was neither free nor fair and that Nicolas Maduro's claim to power is fraudulent. The results published by the opposition appear to show Edmundo Gonzalez secured the most votes by a significant margin. Whilst the UK does not accept the legitimacy of the current administration put in place by Nicolás Maduro, we maintain limited engagement with Venezuelan officials where necessary.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale:To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Syria in response to reports of violence and persecution against the Druze community in areas under its control. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: In our statement on 3 May, we publicly urged the Syrian government to take steps to shield civilians from violence and hold those responsible to account. The protection of all civilians and their full inclusion in the transition process is vital for peace in Syria. This will continue to be a priority in our engagement with the Syrian government.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Jenkin of Kennington:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office intends to fund Stonewall in (1) 2025–26 and (2) 2026–27. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the spending review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Oates:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase flexible funding to support the most food-insecure people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: Last financial year, the UK provided £226.5 million to Sudan and its neighbouring countries, supporting over 1 million people affected by the conflict. On 15 April, the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £120 million of life-saving aid for the current financial year. This includes 650,000 people to be reached with food assistance for 3 months, 205,000 people to benefit from financial assistance and 600,000 people who will receive nutrition, water and sanitation support.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they deem (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland to be (a) countries, (b) nations, or (c) regions. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The United Kingdom comprises four nations. Each of these has their own distinct identities, which are valued as part of our collective and diverse cultural landscape.

The Government is committed to delivering for people across the UK and is working with all levels of government to do so. That is why the Prime Minister established the Council of the Nations and Regions, which will be meeting again imminently.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 2,100 Cabinet Office roles they plan to cut or move over the next two years are currently vacant or unfilled. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The CO has announced plans to restructure and re-organise, to create a more strategic, specialist and smaller centre of government.

We are currently working with the HR Directorate and our trade unions on the implementation of our directive, and will seek to achieve the necessary reductions through voluntary means and attrition.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Deech:To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to appoint a Chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: An interim Chair of the Committee, Isabel Doverty, was appointed on 1 April 2025 by the Prime Minister. Ministers are considering options for the recruitment of a permanent Chair to lead ACOBA.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place a copy of the desknote about direct ministerial appointments in the Library of the House. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: As set out in our Written Answers on 22 October 2024 (PQ 6096) and 31 March 2025 (PQ 41100), we have been considering whether the commitment to publish guidance on direct ministerial appointments made by the previous administration was sufficient and appropriate for meeting the Committees’ recommendations. We will provide a further update in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Framlingham:To ask His Majesty's Government how much the HS2 project has cost to date; what estimate they have made of the cost of completing the project; and when they anticipate that it will be completed. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: This Government inherited an exceptionally bad position at HS2, and has been working hard to grip HS2’s spiralling costs and has tasked HS2 Ltd’s CEO with conducting a comprehensive review of the programme, including assessing the current position on cost and schedule. He will provide advice for government to assess leading to agreeing a reset budget in 2026.

As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament in December 2024, overall spend to date was £30.2 billion (2019 prices). An update will be provided in the next report to Parliament.

The date for delivery of initial HS2 services between Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common by 2033 remains, but there are significant pressures on this schedule.

We will report to Parliament once we have agreed a revised estimate for cost and schedule.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce cross-subsidy between rural and urban areas for franchised bus services where routes exist that are not themselves profitable. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Local authorities can choose to subsidise bus services, including those that span urban and rural areas, where commercial provision alone is not sufficient to meet the needs of local communities, and where it represents value for money. This is a decision for local authorities to make.

Under franchised bus services, the local authority can have responsibility for all elements of the bus network including routes, timetables and fares. There are many different options available for franchising for local authorities and cross subsidy between profitable and non-profitable routes is a possible feature of some models.

The Government is investing in bus and has committed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated £12.2 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services across the area. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government what volume of freight entered Britain from (1) Northern Ireland, and (2) the Republic of Ireland, in (a) the most recent year for which figures are available, (b) 2020, and (c) 2015; and what proportion of each of those figures was goods for onward transport to countries within the European Union. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Department for Transport publishes Port Freight Statistics annually where the statistics are broken down by route. They show that in 2023 (latest data available), Great Britain imported 19.2m tonnes of goods from Northern Ireland through its maritime ports, and Great Britain imported 6.8m tonnes goods from the Republic of Ireland through its maritime ports.

The maritime freight from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and, from Republic of Ireland to Great Britain for 2020 and 2015 can be seen in table 1.

Table 1: Maritime freight from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to Great Britain in the years 2015, 2020 and 2023. (Source: Department for Transport)

Year

Northern Ireland – Great Britain (million tonnes)

Republic of Ireland – Great Britain (million tonnes)

2015

15.4

7.2

2020

17.7

7.8

2023

19.2

6.8

For the time series back to 2000, please see the Department for Transport’s published tables, PORT0707 for Northern Ireland - Great Britain and PORT0499 for Republic of Ireland - Great Britain.

The Department for Transport (DfT) also publishes road freight statistics, which provides information about the domestic and international activity of British-registered and Northern Ireland-registered heavy good vehicles (HGVs). This excludes activity by foreign-registered HGVs and light good vehicles. This is collected by DfT road freight haulage surveys. Due to a methodology change in the data collection, domestic road freight statistics data before and after 2021 should not be compared.

For 2023 (latest figures), 2.2 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered vehicles between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 0.5 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered vehicles between Great Britain and the Republican of Ireland. This is published in the domestic road freight statistics table RFS0130 and RFS0131. Please note, this refers to the volume lifted from and to, not just entering Great Britain.

The Department for Transport has not included aviation freight because these volumes are significantly lower than maritime and road freight (of the order of a few thousand tonnes).

The Department for Transport does not hold information on the proportion of the goods that were subsequently moved onwards to countries within the European Union.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_48

Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact in the Turks and Caicos Islands of the explosions of SpaceX rockets in January and March. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: Following the Starship 7 failure in January, the Government supported the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands. This support included the development of plans to restore the state of the Turks and Caicos Islands coastal and marine environment to a condition pre-flight 7.

The Government has not conducted a formal environmental impact assessment. Environmental policy is a devolved matter for UK Overseas Territory governments.

The Government continues to support the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands on the local response to the Starship 7 incident.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_49

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which services are operated, whether directly or through third parties, from which servers in which data centres across the government IT estate. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: No central assessment has been made of which services and servers are operated from which data centers across the government estate. Whilst we would expect individual organisations to have an understanding of the physical locations that are associated with the running of their digital services to support business continuity planning this is not information that is recorded centrally. In the public cloud the information required by organisations is different and they should understand the cloud regions in which their services are hosted rather than the physical location of servers, especially for modern cloud-native workloads which are abstracted from physical servers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_50

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of all government back-office digital systems have been migrated to public cloud; and what timeline the Government Digital Service has set to complete migration. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The State of Digital Government review (January 2025), states that at least 60% of the central government IT estate is now hosted in the cloud, but that other areas of the public sector, such as local authorities, policing and the NHS, are less advanced in cloud adoption. GDS is committed to working with all public sector organisations to drive cloud adoption as per Cloud First policy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_51

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what the Government Digital Service has done since its inception to encourage public sector organisations to improve their efficiency by shifting data from self-provided server rooms to AI-enabled data centres. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The government introduced a ‘Cloud First’ policy in 2013 for all technology decisions. Since then, under the former GDS/CDDO and new GDS, we continue to encourage adoption of cloud services, including those providing AI services from AI enabled data centres. We do this by developing policy and providing practical guidance and support to help organisations move to the public cloud. The 2023 update to the Government Cloud First policy strengthened the Cloud First mandate with public sector organisations now required to ‘default to cloud’. For organisations that cannot move services to the public cloud they should utilise Crown Hosting Data Centres.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_52

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what the total kilowatt-hours and average power usage effectiveness have been for each year since 2019/20 of (1) the government server rooms, and (2) their industry suppliers in providing the equivalent, including via public cloud. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: No central assessment has been made of what the total kilowatt-hours and average power usage effectiveness have been for each year since 2019/20 of (1) the government server rooms, and (2) their industry suppliers in providing the equivalent, including via public cloud. Whilst we would expect individual organisations to have an understanding of the power usage costs associated with the running of their on-premise services this is not information that is recorded centrally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_53

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total annual estate and electricity cost of housing digital infrastructure and IT systems, legacy and otherwise, across the server rooms of the government estate. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: There is currently no centrally conducted analysis of the total estate and electricity cost across for housing digital infrastructure or IT systems. HMT provides guidance for how to estimate the cost of both land and energy consumption when a business case is being developed. This helps to ensure that the best value for money option is selected when a new project is undertaken. For digital projects the Government Cloud First policy states that when procuring new or existing services, public sector organisations should default to Public Cloud first and where there is no choice but to host on-premises, use Crown Hosting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_54

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of total government savings over the past five years of shifting data from locally hosted back-office IT systems, legacy or otherwise, to the public cloud. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: No central assessment has been made of total government savings over the past five years of shifting data from locally hosted back-office IT systems, legacy or otherwise, to the public cloud. Whilst we would expect individual organisations to have an understanding of the costs associated with the running of their cloud and on-premise services, to support their own business cases, this is not information that is recorded centrally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_55

Baroness Lister of Burtersett:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number and proportion of people who may lose their entitlement to (1) Carer's Allowance, and (2) the carer element of Universal Credit, because they care for a disabled person who is no longer eligible for Personal Independence Payment because they score fewer than four points in the daily living component, broken down by gender. \p Baroness Sherlock: The Department does not hold the data requested.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_56

Baroness Alexander of Cleveden:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of an interim update on 25 April by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), An interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment, what discussions they have had with the EHRC regarding the two-week consultation period. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are currently updating their Code of Practice to reflect the ruling. It is for the EHRC to ensure that any consultation process is appropriate and meaningfully engages with varied stakeholders. We are engaging with them on this and expect them to consult widely and broadly, listening to diverse voices.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_57

Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 on 16 April, whether they plan to issue guidance to public bodies to ensure that application forms for appointments to public bodies ask for biological sex rather than gender. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: We will review and update policy and guidance wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_58

The Earl of Clancarty:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of streaming on the level of the income of musicians and composers. \p Baroness Twycross: The Government recognises the vital importance of ensuring that music creators, including musicians, songwriters and composers, are appropriately compensated for their work.

Many creators have legitimate concerns about remuneration from streaming. Revenues from recorded music constitute a small proportion of UK music creators’ earnings, with live music and teaching being the main ways in which music creators make a living from music (IPO report, 2021). I commend the efforts of industry to address this, such as the major labels’ decision to disregard unrecouped advances in older contracts, but there is further progress to be made.

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the creative industries, we are engaging constructively with a broad range of stakeholders from across the music ecosystem through a working group aiming to drive industry-led action on music streaming remuneration.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_59

Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the British film industry of the proposed US tariffs on non-American films. \p Baroness Twycross: We are in active discussions with senior members of the US administration and we are clear that the deep ties between the US and UK film industries provide mutual benefits to both countries. This is a fluid situation, and we will continue to take a calm and steady approach.

We are engaging closely with industry and we are absolutely committed to ensuring our film and TV sector can continue to thrive and create good jobs across the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_60

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the governments of (1) China, and (2) the United States of America, regarding the introduction of trade tariffs. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. We are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.

In April, Minister Alexander travelled to Beijing where he met ministers from the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to discuss a range of bilateral and global trade issues, including the trade tariffs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-20 conversation_61

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support high street shops and to prevent further closures following the rise in National Insurance contributions. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: We intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

The government is protecting the smallest businesses from changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that in 2025-26, 865,000 employers (43%) will pay no NICs at all.

Later this year we will publish our Small Business Strategy which will focus on, amongst other issues, what more we can do to support high streets.