theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-25 conversation_15

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children develop the strong media literacy skills needed to navigate an increasingly digital world, including the skills to use generative artificial intelligence safely and effectively, to recognise credible sources of information, and to identify misinformation. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: I refer my noble Friend to the answer of 22 July 2025 to Question HL9295.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what are the procedures in support of public safety for dealing with migrants arriving at detention centres who have suspected links to organised criminal groups. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration controls and securing the UK’s borders, particularly in connection with the removal of people who have no right to remain in the UK but who refuse to leave voluntarily.

A range of safety and security safeguards operate in all immigration removal centres (IRCs) to ensure the safety of all individuals detained, staff and visitors. This includes physical security measures, dynamic security, use of intelligence and a range of strategies and policies to deal with anti-social behaviour, bullying, self-harm and violence.

We do not tolerate any kind of criminal activity in our IRCs, and any allegation of crime is immediately reported to the police for investigation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to protect wider public safety and security in respect of bail conditions given to asylum seeker claimants processed through RAF Manston and their decanting to bail hostels and other accommodation in Kent. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: All asylum seekers processed through Manston undergo mandatory identity and security checks before they are bailed to appropriate asylum accommodation. We capture the given identity, and biometric (facial and fingerprint) data. This biographic and biometric data is checked and compared against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases, including domestic and international data so we can establish whether the person is a threat to public safety.

When bailing asylum seekers from Manston, the Home Office assesses each case individually to impose appropriate bail conditions. Further information on the powers to grant immigration bail and impose bail conditions can be found in published guidance: Immigration bail (accessible) - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Crime Agency about alleged criminal activity by asylum seekers processed through RAF Manston. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: When an individual claims asylum, the Home Office will conduct mandatory identity, criminality and security checks. Biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data.

No one in the UK, including foreign nationals, asylum seekers or refugees, is above the law. Asylum seekers are clearly advised of the expectations the Home Office and accommodation providers have for them to behave responsibly while they are accommodated in Home Office properties and not to engage in any form of criminal or anti-social activity.

Criminality in the UK would normally be an operational matter for local law enforcement. Police forces do work with a wide range of partner agencies including the National Crime Agency as appropriate to investigate and disrupt crime as or when it occurs so as to protect local communities from harm.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Clement-Jones:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the project "Context, Value, and Decision Making From Synapses To Circuits", outlined in the Non-technical summaries for project licences granted April – June 2025 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, published on 11 July, what assessment they have made of mice being given psychostimulant rewards, including cocaine and amphetamine; and how this is expected to benefit human beings, animals or the environment. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Every project application to use animals in science is subject to a robust and rigorous harm benefit assessment by a trained Home Office Inspector whom is a member of either the veterinary or medical profession. This ensures that any harm that may be caused to the animals is justified by the likely expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment. This project is researching basic neuroscience. The research aims to inform fundamental understanding of how neural networks work in healthy adults, and how this is altered by experience during adolescence.

Applications for animal research must conform with all legal requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This includes, applying the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement).

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is engaging with stakeholders to finalise a strategy to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing which is scheduled for publication later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Mackinlay of Richborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make pre-application advice a compulsory service offered by local planning authorities. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government strongly encourages local planning authorities to utilise best practice guidance for pre-application engagement and Planning Performance Agreements published by the Planning Advisory Service. This is available here. Most local planning authorities will offer some form of pre-application advice service, but we have no plans to make this a mandatory function.

Planning Performance Agreements (pdf, 477.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Mackinlay of Richborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered applying deemed consent to listed building consent applications. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government has no plans to apply deemed consent to listed building consent applications when a local planning authority has failed to determine such application within the statutory time period given the potential impacts of any proposed work to listed buildings. Applicants can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate if local planning authority has not determined a listed building consent application on time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Mackinlay of Richborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of National Listed Building Consent Orders for alterations such as (1) secondary glazing, (2) roof re-tiling, including full strip and re-tile, and (3) any other routine works. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: Listed Building Consent Orders are a useful mechanism to allow for streamlining in the decision making process for regular works unlikely to cause harm to heritage assets. We are aware of examples across the country where local authorities have introduced these, including for secondary glazing and other routine works. A national listed building consent order has not yet been introduced.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Mackinlay of Richborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of empty listed buildings; and how they can be brought back into use. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The National Planning Policy Framework is already supportive of bringing heritage assets back into use, putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation. We will continue to consider this matter as we develop our approach to heritage policy including through the creation of a suite of national policies related to decision making.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Birt:To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of suppliers to Government and to publicly-funded services have their invoices settled on the due date. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Government departments routinely publish the percentage of invoices paid within 5 and 30 days, and there is a requirement under the Procurement Act 2023 for invoices relating to public contracts to be paid within 30 days.

The most recent published data indicates that all departments pay at least 95% of invoices within 30 days and half of departments pay at least 99% within 30 days.

For publicly-funded services, we do not hold this data centrally at present. However, from 1 October, a new Payments Compliance Notice (under the Procurement Act 2023) will commence. This will require all contracting authorities to publish information every six months on the average number of days taken to pay invoices and the percentage of invoices paid within 30 days, 31-60 days, 61+ days.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson followed the advice given by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointment in April 2024 in relation to a paid role with Better Earth, in particular the advice that he should not personally lobby contacts that he made while in office for a period of two years after leaving office. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Chapter 11 of the Ministerial Code sets out the obligations on leaving office, including in relation to the Business Appointment Rules. The obligation is on former ministers to abide by the advice they receive about any outside appointment or employment they wish to take up within two years of leaving office.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government whether national security related vetting procedures are applied equally to permanent recruitment exercises and to government internship programmes in all departments and agencies, including summer intelligence internships. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Levels of National Security Vetting required are not primarily based on length of employment, or whether an individual is employed on a permanent or temporary basis.

The level of vetting required for a role is instead based on a range of factors, including: access to classified material, buildings and other assets; proximity to public figures assessed to be at particular risk from terrorist attack; and access to information or material assessed to be of value to terrorists or hostile states.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Mott:To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place between ministers, special advisors and officials and representatives of the Resolution Foundation since 4 July 2024. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Details of ministers’ and certain senior officials’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Special Advisers are required to publish meetings with senior media figures. Meetings with other external individuals and organisations are not collected as part of routine Special Adviser Transparency publications.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that one million households are now falling behind with their energy bills. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

The Government's review of the 2021 fuel poverty strategy and the latest fuel poverty statistics confirm that a new plan is needed to accelerate progress to alleviate fuel poverty. The consultation closed on 4 April and we are considering the responses received. We are committed to publishing a new fuel poverty strategy this year. Our new fuel poverty strategy will be developed alongside our Warm Homes Plan and clean power mission, and our work to make the energy market fairer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Sharpe of Epsom:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish statutory guidance that defines what constitutes "all reasonable steps" for the purposes of clause 21 of the Employment Rights Bill; and if so, when. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The Government will ensure businesses have clear guidance on clause 21 (harassment by third parties) of the Employment Rights Bill in advance of the new legislation coming into force in October 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Baroness Smith of Llanfaes:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Twycross on 2 August 2024 (HL188), what progress have they made in commencing section 106 of the Equality Act 2010. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The Government is committed to commencing Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections. Our Call for Evidence included questions on implementing the Duty. Responses are being considered and we will set out next steps on this work in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Black of Brentwood:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the details of the standard vetting procedures that ambassadors undergo before they are appointed. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: All those appointed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office roles undergo pre-employment checks and National Security Vetting. All Ambassador and High Commissioner roles require Developed Vetting (DV) level national security clearance. National security vetting is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) which follow a set process. Full details on the process can be found online.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Baroness Hodgson of Abinger:To ask His Majesty's Government, as pen holder for Women, Peace &amp; Security (WPS) at the United Nations, how they will mark the 25th Anniversary of the WPS Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1325). \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: 25 years on from landmark UN Security Council resolution 1325, the UK is proud of its global leadership on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. It is important that we mark this milestone, with women remaining disproportionately impacted by high levels of global conflict. We are grateful to members of this House for their unwavering commitment to this agenda over the last quarter of a century. We are proud that the UK's strong track record on WPS is due to our meaningful cooperation across Government, Parliament, and UK civil society as we strive together to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325. The UK is working closely with our domestic and international partners, including utilising our global network of posts, to ensure we appropriately mark the anniversary around the world. The UK is steadfast in its commitment to the WPS agenda and will continue to demonstrate this during the 25th anniversary and beyond.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the capacity of women's centres to support women who are serving community sentences. \p Lord Timpson: Women’s centres provide vital information, advice and support to women in contact with the criminal justice system, including those serving community sentences.

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) currently funds specialist support for women on probation through Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) delivered by third sector organisations, including providers of women’s centres. HMPPS is committed to ensuring CRS contracts deliver holistic, gender-specific support that meets women’s needs, informed by service users, stakeholders and providers.

The Ministry of Justice is providing a further £7.2 million this year to support the women’s community sector. This funding is aimed at building sustainability, expanding interventions and increasing capacity, including residential provision where needed. Funding for future years is subject to internal allocations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase mandatory random drug testing in prisons in England and Wales, and to expand the range of drugs tested for. \p Lord Timpson: The Government is committed to tackling drug use in prisons, which threatens prison safety and security, undermines our work to rehabilitate prisoners and drives reoffending. We therefore need to have a multi-pronged approach that tackles the supply of drugs, drives down demand and supports recovery – drug testing plays an important role in delivering this.  Random mandatory drug testing (rMDT) forms one part of our wider approach to tackling drug use in prisons. In custody, we also conduct more targeted testing, such as suspicion-based testing, when staff have reason to believe an individual has used drugs illicitly, as well as voluntary testing, which forms part of our approach on our Incentivised Substance Free Living Units, where prisoners sign a compact to remain drug free, receive access to improved conditions compared to a standard wing and are regularly tested. In probation settings, we are expanding our drug testing powers through the Sentencing Bill, meaning that any offender on licence can be tested.

We test for a wide range of substances and keep this under regular review to ensure we identify emerging trends to keep both staff and prisoners safe. Our new drug testing contract supports this by giving us greater flexibility to identify areas for improvement in our drug testing capabilities, ensuring we can keep pace with changing patterns of drug use and target support where it is most needed.

In recent years, levels of rMDT have fallen short across the estate because of staffing constraints, and as a result, volumes have not been sufficient nor consistently high enough to produce publishable data – though results are still used as part of adjudication proceedings. There has been some encouraging progress made in recent months to increase levels, and we will continue to keep performance under close review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on jobs in life sciences and access to new medicines of Merck's decision to cancel a planned £1 billion expansion of its UK operations. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: The decision by Merck, or MSD, not to progress its investment, is part of a broader effort by MSD to optimise its resources. It announced in July that it would cut $3 billion per year by 2027 and that 6,000 jobs would go worldwide. MSD continues to employ over 1,600 staff in the UK across other operations, including more than 40 collaborative working agreements with the NHS, the Our Future Health project and UK clinical trials. This decision will not impact UK access to new medicines.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Freyberg:To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to national museums and galleries about the copyright status of exact digital reproductions of two-dimensional artworks that are in the public domain. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: According to case law, a work will only be protected by copyright if it is original, in the sense that is the author’s ‘own intellectual creation’. It is questionable whether an unaltered reproduction of an existing work where copyright has expired could satisfy this criterion if there has been no (or very limited) scope for the creator to exercise free creative choices. However, this will depend on the individual facts of the case.

Further guidance is published on GOV.UK in an Intellectual Property Office copyright notice on digital images, photographs and the internet.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Freyberg:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how national museums and galleries treat the copyright status of exact digital reproductions of two-dimensional artworks that are in the public domain. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: According to case law, a work will only be protected by copyright if it is original, in the sense that is the author’s ‘own intellectual creation’. It is questionable whether an unaltered reproduction of an existing work where copyright has expired could satisfy this criterion if there has been no (or very limited) scope for the creator to exercise free creative choices. However, this will depend on the individual facts of the case.

The Government has made no assessment of how cultural heritage institutions treat the copyright status of such reproductions in practice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Prime Minister's "Budget Board" will be able to improve economic coordination ahead of the November budget. \p Lord Livermore: At the Budget later this year, the Government will focus on building an economy that works for working people using investment and reform as our tools for renewal. The Government does not routinely comment on internal processes and meetings, including those in advance of fiscal events.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-25)

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Lord Jopling:To ask His Majesty's Government, during the building of eight new bridges on the M6 in Cumbria, how many nights will (1) both carriageways be closed and (2) one carriageway be closed. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: National Highways are still determining the optimal construction methodology, which will consider how to minimise the number of closures for both or one carriageway. This includes consideration of various techniques, such as Enhanced Mobile Carriageway Closures, to employ short-term rolling roadblocks that could remove the need for some full overnight closures.

Until this work is complete, National Highways are unable to confirm the number of nights when either one or both carriageways will be closed. However, due to the need to replace several bridge decks in their entirety, full closures will be required to undertake work such as high-risk demolition activity.

National Highways will endeavour to minimise disruption to road users, including freight, and the local communities that live close to Lune Gorge, whilst ensuring safe and efficient delivery of the project.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

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Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure (1) funding, and (2) research infrastructure investment, reaches underrepresented regions to reduce inequity in cancer research. \p Baroness Merron: The Department is committed to funding health and care research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) across England, to ensure that the research we support is inclusive and representative of the populations we serve.

In 2024, the NIHR made equity, diversity, and inclusion a condition of funding for all domestic research awards. This means applicants must demonstrate how their research will contribute towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities, with a focus on participant inclusion from diverse populations of the United Kingdom.

NIHR research infrastructure has national coverage across the whole of England. Our infrastructure schemes aim to build research capacity and capability across the country, across all geographies and settings. In line with prior commitments, the Department has increased funding for NIHR research infrastructure schemes delivering cancer research outside the Greater South East, including Biomedical Research Centres, Clinical Research Facilities, and HealthTech Research Centres.

Through the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN), the NIHR provides funding to 100% of National Health Service trusts in England to deliver research, operating across 12 regions throughout the country. From 2026/27, the RDN will adopt a new national funding model for NHS support costs and research delivery. This will be a consistent, nationally agreed funding distribution model across all regions of England and will reduce regional variation in health research delivery investment. This aims to reduce inequity in research delivery across all therapy and geography areas, including in underserved areas and settings.

The NIHR also provides an online service called Be Part of Research which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-28)

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Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 25 September 2024 (HL781), what steps they have taken to help those affected by historical forced adoptions; whether they plan to give an apology to affected individuals; and what assessment they have made of the approach of devolved administrations to this issue. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This abhorrent practice should never have taken place, and our deepest sympathies are with all those affected.

The department continues to follow up on the 2022 Joint Committee on Human Rights report, including improving access to adoption records, enhancing intermediary services and preserving historical records. Regulations have been amended to make it easier for adults to access adoption support, and local authorities have been encouraged to retain records for at least 100 years.

The department is also working with Adoption England, which recently published new guidance to support consistent and legally compliant practice across adoption services. Adoption England continues to fund the pilot initiative Family Connect, a national advice line designed to provide support to adopted adults, birth parents, relatives and professionals. Officials remain in contact with the Scottish and Welsh governments to understand and learn from their approaches.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-28)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the survey of Jewish teachers conducted by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers published on 1 July, what steps they are taking to combat antisemitism in schools. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

This government will not tolerate antisemitism in our educational institutions. We are investing £7 million to tackle antisemitism in education and are committed to ensuring all teachers and pupils are safe and supported inside and outside of the classroom.

This funding will support scholarship programmes for education staff on building confidence in identifying and tackling antisemitism. A new Innovation Fund will also invite creative approaches to working with children and young people on the issue of antisemitism.

The department’s Educate Against Hate website continues to provide a range of resources to support education staff, governors, and parents in promoting tolerance and helping young people understand antisemitism and its historical context, in order to reduce children’s susceptibility to hateful narratives.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-28)

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Baroness Taylor of Bolton:To ask His Majesty's Government how much was spent on the inspection of independent schools by Ofsted in the five financial years prior to 5 July 2024. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Ofsted inspects around 50% of the 2,496 (July 2025) registered private schools in England. There is currently disparity between the fees charged for inspections and full cost recovery.

The table below sets out the budgeted cost of inspections compared to the fee income, over the last three years. Ofsted do not hold comparable data for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years as Ofsted inspections were heavily affected by COVID-19 and were therefore not typical years of inspection activity.

Year

Full cost - £million

Fee income - £million

% of costs recovered

2022/23

6.8

1.9

28%

2023/24

6.4

2.3

36%

2024/25

6.5

2.2

34%

Government policy is that costs associated with inspections by government bodies should be recoverable. This will reduce the need for government subsidy. The government is considering options to close the gap.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-28)

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Baroness Wolf of Dulwich:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern (HL8283), what assessment they have made of whether clause 46 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which refers to school teachers' qualifications and induction, applies to 16–19 academies. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Qualified teacher status (QTS) has never been a requirement for further education (FE) settings. QTS is the professional qualification for teachers in primary and secondary schools, therefore the requirement established through clause 46 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will apply to primary and secondary state funded schools in England, with some limited exemptions set out in regulations.

High quality teacher training qualifications are available that are specifically targeted to those wishing to teach in FE settings.

The government has liaised extensively with stakeholders from a range of settings to ensure that the exemptions to the requirement for QTS set out in regulations will continue to provide them with the flexibility to employ individuals with the specialist skills and experience to support the needs of their pupils.
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Lord Knight of Weymouth:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the Oak National Academy market impact assessment in full alongside the independent review findings; and, if so, when. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is currently considering the findings of the independent review and market impact assessment of Oak National Academy. Both the findings of the review and the market impact assessment will be published in due course.
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Baroness Boycott:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of warm days on school pupil performance. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: In June 2025, we published a summary of our initial assessment of the three climate risks (flooding, overheating, and water scarcity), in response to the adaptation committee’s independent assessment of UK climate risk. This was to raise awareness in the education system of how the predicted rise in temperatures could impact education. The publication is attached and can also be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-of-uk-climate-change-risk-on-the-delivery-of-education.

Findings show the extent to which rising temperatures, from subtle general increases to extreme heat events (heatwaves), could affect students’ ability to learn.

From our initial assessment, we understand that even when temperatures are less extreme, persistent increases in temperature can affect the ability to learn. That is why the government is supporting responsible bodies to take steps to manage the impact of rising temperatures in school and college environments. It is important to recognise that these findings are based on emerging evidence, giving only an indication at this stage.

HL9583 attachment (pdf, 1441.4KB)
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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 plan to issue guidance to the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that all people involved in a case are referred to by their biological sex in paperwork, records and orally. \p Lord Hermer: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are updating their Code of Practice and once it has been submitted, the Government will engage with the EHRC to ensure it provides the certainty and clarity service providers need, in line with the Supreme Court ruling. How court proceedings will be dealt with under the Court’s ruling will be a matter for the judiciary.
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Lord Clement-Jones:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the 2017 Electronic Communications Code introducing a ‘no scheme’ basis for valuing land, how they intend to ensure property-owners, including schools, hospitals, local councils, and farmers, are incentivised to host the mobile infrastructure for network roll-out. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The Code statutory valuation regime provides a framework that means, in addition to an amount for permitting land to be used, site providers may also receive compensation for any loss or damage from the operator’s use of Code rights. Although the “no network” valuation regime means additional value generated by use of the land for telecommunications purposes is not taken into account, any alternative use of the land can be considered.

Taken together, these provisions strike the right balance between ensuring landowners receive fair payments for allowing their land to be used and the public need for robust digital networks.
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Lord Clement-Jones:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they carried out an impact assessment before extending the 2017 Electronic Communications Code ‘no scheme’ valuation model in accordance with Part 2 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022; if not, why not; and what assessment they have made of the potential impacts on landowners and the pace of 5G roll-out. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Following the 2017 reforms, government representatives engaged regularly with stakeholders about their impact. The changes made by the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 were consulted on and received Parliamentary scrutiny during passage of the Act. The Act itself was subject to a published De Minimis Impact Assessment. A technical consultation on draft regulations related to the provisions referred to is open until 2 July.

Government’s decisions on 5G policy are informed by a wide range of evidence and information. We continue to work with mobile operators to meet our 5G standalone coverage ambition by 2030.
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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the grants awarded by Innovate UK since 1 January 2018 have been (1) formally terminated prior to full completion, (2) suspended or places on hold due to non-performance, non-compliance, or suspected misuse of funds, and (3) subject to financial recovery or clawback proceedings; what is the total value of those grants; and what is the total number of those grants. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: Innovate UK has robust processes in place for monitoring its grants and ensuring that only eligible costs are supported. It centralised the process for the suspension, withdrawal, and termination of grants from 1st April 23 to provide a consistent record for continuous improvement. Data is presented from then until 31st March 25. The value of grants paid for this period was £2.78 billion.
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The Lord Bishop of Bristol:To ask His Majesty's Government how much income the NHS has received from immigration health surcharge payments in each of the last two financial years. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office collects the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Devolved Health Administrations (DHAs). After deducting administration/collection costs, the Home Office transfers the balance to DHSC and the DHAs through the Estimates process, according to the Barnett Formula population percentages.

Information on the income raised by the IHS is published annually in the Home Office Annual report and Accounts. Note that the IHS total is made up of both amounts of Retained Income and amounts payable to the Consolidated Fund.

During the 2022-23 financial year, the IHS generated £1,706m.

During the 2023-24 financial year, the IHS generated £1,782m.

Information on the income for the 2024-25 financial year will be available once the accounts are published later this year.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review. The Home Office undertook an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) and an Impact Assessment (IA) alongside the IHS increase.
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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposal to remove Sport England as a statutory consultee on planning decisions on the protection of playing fields. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: I refer the noble Baroness to the answer given to Question UIN 40670 on 31 March 2025.

PQ 40670 (pdf, 79.0KB)
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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the effective management of artificial light in new build homes. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: Part L of the Building Regulations sets standards for the energy efficiency of new build homes. As part of this, it includes standards for lighting efficacy and aims to minimise the energy needed to appropriately light homes. A consultation on updates to Part L of the Building Regulations closed last year. We are carefully considering the feedback received in advance of publishing the new version of Part L later this year.
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Lord Roborough:To ask His Majesty's Government how many times compulsory purchase order powers have been used by all permitted bodies in the most recent year data are available. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government did not use its compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers in 2024.

The Department does not collect data on the number of times CPO powers have been used by local authorities and other bodies to compulsory acquire land. The following data on the number of CPOs made by such bodies which were confirmed in 2024.

Type of acquiring authority

Number of CPOs confirmed in 2024

Local authority

54

Other

7
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Lord Roborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the Nature Restoration Fund balance sheet by 2029. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Nature Restoration Fund will collect levy payments from developers seeking to discharge relevant environmental obligations through an Environmental Delivery Plan (EDP). The EDP will spend those funds on conservation measures deployed by Natural England to outweigh the negative effects of development. The fund is not intended to accrue value, as it is intended that levy receipts will be rapidly deployed into the delivery of conservation measures to deliver environmental benefit.
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Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consult the intelligence agencies, in particular the National Cyber Security Centre, about security issues for the planning application for a new site for the embassy of China. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN HL5338 on 11 March 2025.

PQ HL5338 (pdf, 78.6KB)
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Baroness McIntosh of Pickering:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cumulative impact on rural and coastal communities of major infrastructure projects, such as offshore wind farms, battery storage plants, and solar farms; and what steps they are taking to alleviate any negative impact on communities. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: Major infrastructure projects that go through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) process are thoroughly considered and scrutinised on a case-by-case basis before any decision is taken on whether planning consent should or should not be granted. As part of this process, applicants are required to carry out environmental impact assessments to assess the impacts of any proposed development on the environment, and identify measures needed to mitigate negative environmental impacts. This includes consideration of cumulative impacts resulting from other projects and plans, where relevant.

Statutory consultees play a crucial role by providing assessment and feedback on applications to ensure a balance between a distinct number of needs, including environmental protections. The Examining Authority has a legal duty to test whether key environmental issues are being addressed during the examination phase. Further to this, the government has committed to introducing Biodiversity Net Gain for NSIPs, which will require these developments to have a positive impact on nature.

Through the Clean Power Action Plan, the government has made clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they will benefit from it. On 21 May, DESNZ published a consultation on proposals for mandatory community benefits for low carbon infrastructure and seeking views on shared ownership – this closes on 16 July 2025.
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Earl Howe:To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) doctors, and (2) nurses, who were trained in the UK left the UK within five years of completing their training to work abroad in (a) 2023–24, and (b) 2024–25. \p Baroness Merron: The Department does not hold the information requested.