theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Syria and international partners following the attack at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church on 22 June; what assessment they have made of the implications of this attack for religious freedom in Syria; and what steps they are taking to support accountability and the safeguarding of religious minorities in Syria. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The UK strongly condemns the horrific terrorist attack at Mar Elias Church and remains committed to combatting terrorism. The Minister for the Middle East sent a personal message to Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani, expressing condolences and the UK's continued support. On 25 June our Special Representative for Syria visited Damascus and discussed the assessment of the situation with the Foreign Minister. We will continue to underline the importance of an inclusive political transition and protection of the rights of all Syrians, as well as advocate for the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made to the government of India regarding the forced deportation of Rohingya refugees. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: We are aware of reports of Rohingya refugees being deported from India to Myanmar. The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to support Rohingya refugees. We have contributed £406 million to the response in Bangladesh since 2017, and provided over £52 million to supporting the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state, Myanmar.

The UK is committed to supporting human rights globally. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our diplomatic network across India engage Indian stakeholders on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with civil society.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Hamwee:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a clear and affordable route for permanent leave to remain in the UK for Ukrainians who (1) hold visas, (2) are established in, and contributing to, their communities, (3) are employed, and (4) have children in education. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025, provides up to an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK for those with existing Ukraine Scheme permission.

The scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare, and education as the existing Ukraine schemes.

This extension represents a generous and meaningful commitment. It aligns with the UK Government’s ongoing support for Ukraine and its people, while also respecting the Ukrainian Government’s strong desire for the eventual return of its citizens. It is for this reason that our offer of sanctuary through the Ukraine schemes remains temporary in nature and does not lead to settlement in the UK.

There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements, such as work routes and family routes. These routes are published on GOV.UK at: Work in the UK - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) and Family in the UK - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

The UK Government continues to keep both the Ukraine Schemes and the evolving situation in Ukraine under active review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 21 October 2024 (HL1289), what steps they have taken to work closely with the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs' Council to strengthen the training for officers on violence against women and girls; where is progress up to; and how they are monitoring this with specific regard to intimate image abuse. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: As set out in the written answer of 21 October, the College of Policing set the curriculum for policing which includes educational outcomes on image-based abuse. At present, forces choose how to deliver this training, often by commissioning local experts and support services.   However, to ensure that every force has the right specialist capability to investigate Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) crimes, including Intimate Image Abuse, we have invested £13.1 million into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, which launched in April 2025. This included a £2 million uplift to support improvements in police training – this work is now under way, beginning with an extensive review of the current approach.   The Home Office will be working closely with the College and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure the training covers all forms of VAWG, including intimate image abuse. In addition, innovative, data-driven and evidence-based police practices is being prioritised through ringfenced funding for academic input into the development of training and guidance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Foster of Bath:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Advertising Standards Authority and the Gambling Commission about Premier League football clubs that are sponsored by unlicensed gambling businesses. \p Baroness Twycross: The Minister for Gambling and Heritage met with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in December 2024. However, sponsorship of this kind is not within the remit of the ASA, whose CAP Code includes a specific exclusion for ‘sponsorship’.

However, we regularly engage with the Gambling Commission on this issue. The Commission has been clear that sports organisations must diligently and continuously ensure that they are not advertising illegal gambling. Under current rules, sports organisations who engage in sponsoring and advertising arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators are at serious risk of committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling under Section 330 of the Gambling Act 2005. The Commission has warned relevant club officials that they may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain. The Commission is taking active steps to monitor online gambling activity for these unlicensed brands and to ensure they are blocked and inaccessible to consumers in Great Britain, and will take steps as necessary.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the state of the UK commercial art market, particularly in London, and what plans they have to support that sector. \p Baroness Twycross: We published art market statistics in December 2024 and the sector will be included alongside DCMS’s regularly scheduled publication of GVA, employment and trade in goods statistics going forward.

The UK has the second largest art market in the world and the Government is committed to embedding our position as a global centre for the trade of art. This commitment is shown through the sector’s inclusion in the Creative Industries Sector Plan published in June.

The Government takes a joined-up approach to supporting the art market and, in 2024, launched the first Cross-Government Art Market Working Group, bringing together officials across Government to ensure the sector is represented in all relevant policy matters.

The Government recently announced improvements to Temporary Admission (TA), a customs procedure to suspend import duties for artwork temporarily in the UK.

The Minister for the Creative Industries is hosting an art market roundtable later this month to explore the part the art market plays in the wider UK art and creative industries ecosystem, and how the government and the sector can work together to support its growth.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness McIntosh of Pickering:To ask His Majesty's Government, when full online access will resume at the British Library. \p Baroness Twycross: The cyber attack on the British Library caused multiple capabilities to be destroyed simultaneously which has required a rebuild of its entire technology infrastructure, a process of considerable complexity.

Significant steps to recover have already been taken, including restoring on-site access to the entire print collection, and restoring access to electronic Legal Deposit material via the National Libraries of Wales and Scotland, the Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.

However, a range of online systems and services continue to be disrupted for users, both on-site and via the web. The Library is committed to urgently restoring these, safely and securely, and has apologised for the ongoing impact on its users. It expects to take further significant steps toward full online access over the coming months, however this does remain a complex process. Regular updates are provided via the British Library website and further details will be communicated with users as soon as these are confirmed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Cruddas:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to businesses of the 10 per cent tariff on almost all imports into the United States from the United Kingdom, except exempt industries like cars and steel. \p Baroness Gustafsson: On 8 May, we concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK - and the US has committed to further negotiations, including on the 10% tariffs.

We continue to support and engage UK businesses affected by tariffs. Businesses can access export support (via business.gov.uk) such as the Export Academy, International Markets Network, Growth Hubs and Help to Grow: Management scheme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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The Lord Bishop of Gloucester:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK-registered businesses comply with the United Nations' Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and relevant international laws and standards in their activities relating to the establishment or maintenance of Israeli settlements. \p Baroness Gustafsson: The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity.

The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators. UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the potential reputational implications of involvement in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible abuses of the rights of individuals that such activity may entail. Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential economic growth generated by the full utilisation of the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, and what steps they are taking to fully utilise that Act. \p Baroness Gustafsson: The Electronic Trade Documents Act’s Impact Assessment estimates that electronic trade documents (ETDs) could generate £1.1bn over a decade by reducing trade costs, accelerating transactions, and improving access to trade finance, particularly for SMEs.

To support ETD uptake, we have recently launched several initiatives in the Trade Strategy. This includes plans to establish Digital Trade Corridors with key European markets, setting up an SME Capability Programme to help smaller firms adopt digital trade tools, and launching an ETD Information Hub on Business.Gov.UK to support businesses transition. We are also promoting international legal reform on ETDs through bilateral and multilateral engagement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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The Lord Bishop of Gloucester:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of goods and services exported from the UK for activities related to the construction and growth of Israeli settlements on civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. \p Baroness Gustafsson: The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity.

The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides further information for UK operators. UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the potential reputational implications of involvement in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible abuses of the rights of individuals that such activity may entail. Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage businesses to increase their hiring rates; and whether further support is needed to help businesses expand their workforce. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The Government is committed to building a firm economic foundation, working closely with businesses and workers to kickstart and rebuild our economy.

The SME Strategy will be published later this summer, including the Business Growth Service that will make it easier for businesses to get the advice and support they need to grow and thrive. The Government-backed British Business Bank aims to improve access to finance to help businesses invest and grow.

Employment is central to the recently announced Industrial Strategy, supporting growth sectors to create high-quality, well-paid jobs across the country.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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The Earl of Effingham:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Leong on 30 June (HL Deb col 550), which companies have contributed to the £100 billion of inward investment in this country, and in what amounts by company. \p Baroness Gustafsson: Since taking Office, the Government has welcomed announcements of around £100bn in investment into the UK. Investments announced at the International Investment Summit are detailed on the Gov.UK website titled ‘The UK IIS Summit secures £63bn’ and recent investments into the UK can be found online under ‘Revamped OfI’.

The UK continues to attract major investments across its priority sectors. Recent announcements listed on Gov.UK include Lendlease, DP World, Universal, OCBC, MBDA, Vishay, JLR and Rolls Royce.

These figures and examples are announcements and, in many cases, do not yet represent actual realised investment into the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Grey-Thompson:To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that children in poverty receive early years support. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The government’s Plan for Change commits to giving children the best start in life. From age 2, children from low-income families, those with education, health and care plans, and looked-after children are eligible for 15 hours of funded early education. Disadvantaged children may also receive the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP), which supports high quality early education. In December 2024, EYPP funding was increased by 45%.

As part of the Opportunity Mission, £37 million has been awarded to 300 primary schools to create or expand nurseries, opening from September 2025.

From September 2026, all pupils in school-based settings whose families receive Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals. This will benefit over 500,000 children, lift 100,000 out of poverty, and support families ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy.

Additionally, £126 million will be invested in 2025/26 to expand the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Already, 75 local authorities have opened over 400 family hubs in some of the country’s most deprived areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Porter of Fulwood:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the number of foreign national offenders held on remand. \p Lord Timpson: The decision to remand any individual in custody or to grant bail for is solely a matter for the courts and independent judiciary acting in accordance with the law.

We are working with partners across the system to ensure that the recent growth in the remand population is effectively managed.

The Home Office has trialled starting deportation casework earlier in the foreign national offender (FNO) journey, focusing on FNOs awaiting sentencing.

So far, this process has proved effective in increasing the time available to effect departures and has now been expanded to all prisons.

Since 5 July 2024, we have returned over 4,000 FNOs which is more than in the same period 12 months prior.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reopen HMP Dartmoor, and if so when. \p Lord Timpson: Dartmoor has been temporarily closed since August 2024 after radon monitoring results were higher than expected. We are working with specialist radon experts to investigate whether we can re-open the prison safely.

A decision on re-opening will be made based on the viability of the site, cost and efficiency of works to reduce levels of radon and value for the public purse.

The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be our top priority.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government which probation service areas in England provide women only arrangements at dedicated times of the week in their reception facilities. \p Lord Timpson: All probation regions in England provide women-only arrangements. The impact of partnerships, geography and environmental variables mean that these arrangements comprise of a mixture of dedicated times, trauma informed spaces and co-location with partner agencies to create women-only environments.

The Women’s Policy Framework (2024) sets out our shared HM Prison and Probation Service principles for working with women in the criminal justice system to enable better outcomes, ensuring that staff are supported, and the work is evidence based.

The document includes the options of being supervised by a female probation practitioner; being seen in a women-only environment; and not being placed in what would otherwise be an all-male work environment when undertaking Unpaid Work as part of a community order, or when undertaking any group work.

The Probation Service is working to increase the availability of women-only reporting spaces, either within probation offices or where co-located with partner agencies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge:To ask His Majesty's Government how many women's centres there are in the UK and how they are funded. \p Lord Timpson: Women’s centres provide information, advice and support to women in the community, including those that have an offending history. Women’s centres are run by the voluntary sector and receive funding from a range of sources, such as local authorities, health services, charities, trusts, and central government. There is no agreed figure for the number of women’s centres in the UK.  The Government recognises the vital support that women’s centres provide to vulnerable women in or at risk of contact with the justice system. In 2025/26, the Ministry of Justice is investing £7.2 million in community support, including women’s centres, focused on steering women away from the justice system and custody.

HMPPS also provides funding for women’s Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts with women’s community sector organisations, delivering specialist support to women on probation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Sandhurst:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will introduce legislation to reverse the effect of R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28, as recommended in the Final Report of the Civil Justice Council's Review of Litigation Funding, published on 2 June. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.

The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We will outline next steps in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness McIntosh of Pickering:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to rural proof (1) the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and (2) the Renters' Rights Bill. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: This government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas.

The reforms in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will fast-track the delivery of homes and critical infrastructure in all parts of the country, including in rural communities.

The Bill will work in tandem with our wider package of planning reforms to get Britian building again, and the government has committed to giving further consideration as to how we can better support rural affordable housing in national planning policy.

The reforms in the Renters’ Rights Bill will benefit tenants and landlords in rural areas. We recognise that rural areas sometimes have different needs to urban areas and have developed our reforms, accordingly, ensuring landlords have access to robust grounds for possession when necessary. This includes a possession ground to allow properties to be occupied by agricultural workers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Wills:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are proposing to take any new measures to prescribe the inclusion of swift boxes in new housing. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: I refer the noble Lord to the answer to Question UIN 62367 on 2 July 2025.

UIN 62367 (pdf, 80.0KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Baroness Whitaker:To ask His Majesty's Government how Awaab's Law will provide equal protection to Gypsies and Travellers living permanently in caravans on sites with amenity blocks that are rented from social landlords. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: We have introduced regulations to bring the first phase of Awaab's Law into effect in the social rented sector. Awaab's Law will protect tenants with relevant social housing leases by imposing obligations on the landlord to address dangerous damp and mould and emergency hazards quickly.

As caravans are not buildings according to the definitions set out in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 or the Housing Act 2004, it is the government’s position that Awaab’s Law will not extend to Gypsies and Travellers living permanently in caravans on sites with amenity blocks that are rented from social landlords.

We expect local councils to ensure amenity blocks provided on local authority managed GRT sites are safe and healthy. We will continue to engage with Parliamentarians and stakeholders on the issues affecting those in non-traditional tenures.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Lucas:To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold to support the conclusion in the impact assessment of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that the proposed environmental measures will have a positive economic and social impact. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Nature Restoration Fund proposed in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would take a strategic approach to assessing environmental impacts and supporting nature recovery. This will reduce the need for costly project-level assessments while ensuring that every pound spent helps deliver our environmental goals as effectively as possible.

Through the Fund, developers will be able to discharge their environmental obligations at an earlier stage and through a simpler process, which will help to facilitate the earlier delivery of housing and other socially valuable development.

The impact assessment for the Bill contains the relevant data and sources that were used to support the conclusions in respect of the economic and social impact of the Nature Restoration Fund.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government how many public charging points for electric vehicles there are in each local authority area, and how many there will be in each of the next three years. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: As of 1 June 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 80,552 publicly available charging devices across the UK (including 16,231 devices rated 50kW or above).

The latest data available regarding the number of public charging devices, for electric vehicles in each local authority area, in the UK, as at 1 April 2025, can be found in table 1a of the attached document.

The £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has been allocated to all highest tier local authorities in England and will support the installation over 100,000 local chargers, ensuring the rollout continues at pace to support drivers across the country.

EV Public Charging Infrastructure Stats - April 25 (xlsx, 674.0KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Davies of Gower:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of licensing requirements on small and medium-sized enterprises in the aviation sector; and what steps they are taking to streamline regulatory processes for both labour mobility and innovative and low-emission technologies. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government’s New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, which launched in March, has introduced a host of initiatives to streamline regulatory processes across aviation and all other sectors. These include committing to cut the administrative costs of regulation to businesses, whether small, medium sized or large, by 25% by the end of the Parliament.

Government is funding the Civil Aviation Authority to deliver this for innovation and low emission aviation technologies through: the Future of Flight Programme that is developing the regulatory framework to enable innovative aviation technology, such as electric Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft (eVTOL) and Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (e.g. drones); and the Hydrogen Regulatory Challenge to support its engagement with innovators on the development of the regulatory framework for this technology.

The Government and the Civil Aviation Authority are also taking steps to streamline the regulatory processes for people working in the sector, including by bringing in a digitised process for commercial pilot licence applications to speed up and deliver admin savings for up to 6,500 pilots every year.
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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government how, if at all, they publicise the specific location and availability of charging points for electric vehicles. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government is committed to making it easy for consumers to find public chargepoints. To support this, the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 came into effect in November 2023. These regulations require operators to share open data freely – including chargepoint location and availability information. This data is then made available to consumers via commercial platforms such as mapping services and roaming providers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the uptake of electric vehicles. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government is reducing the initial costs of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by providing plug-in vehicle grants for vans, trucks, motorcycles, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles. Drivers of ZEVs also benefit from favourable tax rates, such as generous company car tax incentives. ZEVs will continue to have preferential first year rates of vehicle excise duty in comparison to the most polluting vehicles.

Government is also committed to increasing awareness of the benefits of ZEVs. We have been working with industry to create a more coordinated, focused cross-industry and Government approach to promoting ZEVs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord Norton of Louth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Baroness Smith of Basildon on 19 June (HLWS717) on nominations to the House of Lords, what consultations took place with the House of Lords Appointments Commission and other relevant bodies prior to the statement. \p Baroness Smith of Basildon: The Government is grateful for the work of the House of Lords Appointments Commission in nominating individuals to the crossbenches and vetting all candidates for appointment to the House of Lords for propriety.

The written statement set out how the Prime Minister will approach appointments to the House of Lords and reflects the existing roles and responsibilities of all parties in the appointments system, including the Prime Minister, the Commission and party leaders.
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Lord Norton of Louth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Baroness Smith of Basildon on 19 June (HLWS717) on nominations to the House of Lords, what is the limit on the number of recommendations they will make directly each year of candidates to sit as crossbench peers. \p Baroness Smith of Basildon: It is established practice that the Prime Minister can appoint individuals with a record of service to the public to the crossbenches. As set out in the written statement, the Prime Minister will continue to make a limited number of appointments via this route.

The number of appointments to the House of Lords is a matter for the Prime Minister and any future appointments will be announced in the normal way.
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Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring forward the in-service date of the first multi-role strike ship; and what steps they will take to increase the build rate of the five remaining multi-role strike ships. \p Lord Coaker: The Multi-Role Strike Ship (MRSS) programme is progressing through the Concept Phase and remains on target for the first of class to be delivered in the early 2030s.

The Royal Navy and Defence Equipment and Support are conducting detailed work on key user requirements, conceptual designs, affordability, and exportability assessments. Alongside other shipbuilding programmes, they are maintaining engagement with all leading UK shipbuilding entities and the National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) on the best commercial approach to deliver for the Navy and the Nation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

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Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have sufficient Poseidon aircraft to meet anti-submarine needs and to fly missions along the borders of Belarus and Ukraine. \p Lord Coaker: The RAF P-8 Poseidon fleet procurement is complete, and all purchased aircraft are in service. Poseidon is therefore resourced to deliver against Defence tasking as directed and aircraft are tasked according to Defence priorities. For reasons of operational security, specific details about operational areas and missions are not publicly disclosed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_38

Lord Truscott:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the cost to the NHS of implementing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. \p Baroness Merron: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill impact assessment considered the impacts of the bill at the end of Committee Stage in the House of Commons and, where possible, provided indicative cost ranges to the National Health Service for illustrative purposes.

If the will of Parliament is to pass the bill, detailed work on a delivery model and its cost implications would need to be developed.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_39
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_39

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable (1) people with dementia to live independently, and (2) their families to care for them at home, for longer. \p Baroness Merron: Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.

We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.  The commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.

In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes, through practical changes like installing stair lifts or level access showers, to make them safe and suitable for their needs. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_40
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_40

Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron (HL7383), whether they plan to develop NHS App functionality to allow patients to nominate a distance selling pharmacy directly within the app. \p Baroness Merron: There are no current plans to allow patients to directly nominate a distance selling pharmacy (DSP) from within the NHS App. Patients can continue to nominate a DSP through existing routes, which currently provide a more seamless patient experience.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_41
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_41

Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consulted the Equality and Human Rights Commission before publishing the Equality Impact Assessment for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. \p Baroness Merron: The Equality and Human Rights Commission was not consulted before the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) was published for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. However, the briefing authored by the commission in November 2024 has informed the EQIA.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a Private Member’s Bill, and the Government has taken a neutral stance. The EQIA for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a neutral and independent assessment of the impact of the bill, and the Government did not undertake a consultation process on this assessment.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_42
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_42

Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they considered the legal opinion by Tom Cross KC and Ruth Kennedy entitled In the Matter of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill published on 28 April when updating the ECHR Memorandum for Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, published on 26 June. \p Baroness Merron: We were aware of the advice, but did not reference it in our European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) memorandum. The Government prepared the ECHR memorandum to assist the Joint Committee on Human Rights. In that memorandum, the Government has set out the articles of the ECHR which it considers are likely engaged by the bill, including Article 14 together with Article 2.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_43
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_43

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage earlier and more accurate diagnosis of dementia. \p Baroness Merron: Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

Commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and funded by NHS England and the Welsh administration, the National Audit of Dementia Memory Service Spotlight reports include data on aspects of the diagnostic process, including waiting times and variation in service delivery in terms of diagnosis speed, neuroimaging use, and post-diagnostic support. The aim is to aid commissioners and providers in planning and targeting improvement where appropriate.

The Government is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, with further information available at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ website, in an online only format.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_44
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_44

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:To ask His Majesty's Government how many victims of contaminated blood in the UK were infected with hepatitis D in addition to hepatitis B; and how this has affected their prognosis. \p Baroness Merron: The work undertaken so far to address the issues regarding contaminated blood in the United Kingdom has been related to the hepatitis C and HIV infections.

The Infected Blood Inquiry, in its Expert Report to the Infected Blood Inquiry: Statistics noted in relation to hepatitis B (HBV), that “due to the limitations in the data available, it is not possible to answer the questions set with any reasonable accuracy when compared to other infections we investigated. There was a lack of an integrated approach at the onset of donor screening in 1971/72 to identify donors who were infectious HBV carriers. Furthermore, people infected with HBV have never received financial support, and so funds are not a source of data.”

For these reasons, the Government has not made an assessment of the number of victims from contaminated blood that have been infected with HBV or hepatitis D in the United Kingdom, due to the lack of available data.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_45
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_45

Lord Wasserman:To ask His Majesty's Government how much was spent by NHS England on sign language interpreters for NHS appointments in each of the past five financial years. \p Baroness Merron: The information requested is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients in the community.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_46
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_46

Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government how much they will allocate to the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme (1) next year, and (2) for each year of the Spending Review 2025 (CP 1336). \p Baroness Merron: The 10-Year Health Plan confirmed that we will expand the Graduate Management Trainee Scheme by 50%, to ensure we attract the best and brightest talent. Alongside that, we will increase its diversity and reform it to focus on the three shifts and system working. National Health Service employers and contractors will be required to facilitate the scheme as part of their core business.

Funding has been allocated for an expansion of the Graduate Management Training Scheme as part of the Spending Review. Further detail will be set out in the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_47
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_47

Lord Wasserman:To ask His Majesty's Government how much was spent by NHS England on reasonable adjustments to remove the barriers faced by individuals with disabilities in all health and social care settings in each of the past five financial years. \p Baroness Merron: The information requested is not collected or held centrally.

It is the responsibility of individual employers and providers to provide reasonable adjustments. Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations have a legal duty to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are as accessible to disabled people as they are for everybody else.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_48
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-14 conversation_48

Lord Wasserman:To ask His Majesty's Government what data they collect about the uptake by health providers of the reasonable adjustment flag in NHS England records; and whether they will publish those data. \p Baroness Merron: The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the National Health Service and social care, wherever a person is seen or treated. Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, published September 2023, the flag went live in the National Care Record Service, and is being rolled out across England. To support health and social care organisations in implementing the Digital Flag, NHS England has published a useful checklist, which is available on the NHS.UK website in an online only format, and staff can access free training, also on the NHS.UK website.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally, however NHS England has set an expectation that integrated care boards can collect this data for their local populations.