theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 20 March (HL5602), what representations the government of China or its representatives have made to the Cabinet Office relating to the latest planning application for the Chinese Embassy, prior to and after the Secretary of State's call-in decision, and on what dates. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role.

Cabinet Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

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Lord Black of Brentwood:To ask His Majesty's Government how many teachers were employed in primary and secondary state-funded schools in England on 31 December 2024. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school phase and type, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, there were 218,534 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers employed in state-funded nursery and primary schools in England and 217,563 FTE teachers employed in state-funded secondary schools in England.

School workforce statistics as of November 2024 will be published in June 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

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Lord Watson of Wyre Forest:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they issue guidance to schools and colleges regarding their use of social media channels, particularly the use of these to mark religious occasions and festivals. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The department has not issued specific guidance for schools on the use of social media channels, although the department’s ‘Political impartiality in schools’ guidance makes the point that school-branded social media channels should not be partisan and should present a balanced presentation of political issues. However, this guidance is clear that the principles or views in line with the tenets of a particular faith are not considered to be political, so are not covered by statutory requirements on political impartiality. The full guidance is attached and can also be read at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

HL6276 attachment (pdf, 2048.0KB)
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Lord Knight of Weymouth:To ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms exist to ensure that catering contracts agreed by schools and academies comply with the duty in the Children and Families Act 2014 to support pupils with medical conditions, by including provision for children with conditions such as coeliac disease and severe food allergies to have access to the same opportunities as others, including safe meals. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: For the provision of school food, catering companies and suppliers are subject to allergen and packaging rules and regulations, such as the Food Information Regulations. Compliance with the Regulations falls under the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on governing bodies of maintained schools, proprietors of academies and management committees of pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils at their school with medical conditions. These may be food-related, for example a pupil may have a food allergy or coeliac disease. Schools should therefore take appropriate action in supporting such pupils to access food provision, particularly when schools have a legal requirement to offer free school meals (FSM) to those eligible for means-tested FSM or universal infant free school meals.

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Lord Knight of Weymouth:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to schools and academies in England of upgrading computers following the most recent update to the Windows 11 operating system. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: I refer my noble Friend to the answer of 1 April 2025 to Question HL5134.
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Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that young girls continue to engage in sport from primary school to senior school. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The government is committed to breaking down barriers to accessing sport and physical activity for children and young people, including girls. We set out our intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.

The School Games Mark, funded by the government and managed by the Youth Sport Trust, has introduced mandatory equality criteria for PE, school sport and physical activity participation for the 2024/25 academic year. Schools can review their provision and test whether they are overcoming barriers girls and boys may face and ensure they are listening to the voice of the pupils as part of their planning and delivery. Best practice from the School Games Mark will be shared with all schools to enhance girls' equal access to sport.

Schools are also supported to increase girls’ engagement in sport through programmes delivered by sector organisations, such as the Football Association’s ‘Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships programme and Sport England’s online ‘Studio You’ programme.
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Baroness Thornton:To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards making music education and the opportunity to learn a musical instrument available for all children and young people. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government believes that music is an essential part of the well-rounded and enriching education that every child deserves. That is why music is included in the national curriculum for all maintained schools, for students aged 5 to 14. To support the delivery of music education, the government has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, including the 2024/25 academic year.

The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment, and technology from the 2024/25 academic year. This funding enables Music Hubs partnerships to better cater to the needs of the children and young people they work with.

The government is also investing £2 million to support the Music Opportunities Pilot over a four year period from the 2024/25 academic year to the 2027/28 academic year, backed by a further £3.85 million funding from Arts Council England and Youth Music. The pilot is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country and aims to help disadvantaged children and young people, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities, to learn how to play an instrument of their choice or learn to sing to a high standard.

On 18 March 2025, the government announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs. The intention is to launch in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course.
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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will invite the Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate the conduct of ministers following the declassification of the minutes of a meeting with Sinn Fein at Hillsborough Castle on 9 October 2001 which record that ministers had "turned a blind eye" to serious crimes of the IRA, as reported in the Belfast Telegraph on 28 March. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Government does not comment on National Archives releases or releases relating to previous Governments.
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Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of declassified files stating that the Government “turned a blind eye” to IRA criminality, including murder; and whether they have plans to make a statement in response. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Government does not comment on National Archives releases or releases relating to previous Governments.
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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the introduction of 25 per cent tariffs on European car imports to the United States, and (2) the impact of those tariffs on UK car exports. \p Baroness Gustafsson: We’re disappointed by the decision to impose global tariffs of 25% on the auto imports and know this will be deeply concerning for our automotive sector. We support our automotive industry, and in the first instance we will continue to pursue a deal that works for both us and the US.

We have backed the auto sector with £2 billion to support the transition of domestic manufacturing and £300 million announced in the Budget to drive uptake of electric vehicles. We will also use our Industrial Strategy to strengthen UK automotive competitiveness.

This government is clear that we will always do what is necessary to defend the UK’s national interest. This is why the government has launched a request for input from businesses to help shape our response to US tariffs.
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Lord Sikka:To ask His Majesty's Government what has, so far, been (1) the highest, and (2) the lowest, amounts of compensation actually paid to sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office as a result of the Horizon software. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: As of 31 March 2025, the total amount of redress paid to victims across all schemes has increased by more than three and a half times since the General Election, nine months ago, with £892 million having now been paid to over 6,200 claimants across all schemes. During this same time period, more than 3,300 victims have received compensation for the first time.

We are unable to share details of individual claims. Releasing this type of information risks the identification of vulnerable individuals if combined with other information that may become available via other means outside of our control.
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Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government by what date they anticipate that all compensation payments arising from the Post Office Horizon issue will be fully paid. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Horizon redress applications continue to be received and no deadlines have yet been set for them. However the Department’s target for the schemes which it administers is to respond to 90% of full claims within 40 working days. We hope, for example, to have settled nearly all cases in the GLO scheme by the end of 2025.

The Government remains committed to providing fair redress to all victims affected by this scandal as quickly as possible. We continue to encourage those victims who have not yet submitted a claim for redress to come forward. As of 31 March 2025, the total amount of redress paid to victims across all schemes has increased by more than three and a half times with £892 million having now been paid to over 6,200 claimants across all schemes.
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Baroness Pinnock:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Khan of Burnley on 1 April (HL Deb col 134) that clause 3 of the Non-Domestic Ratings (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill provides powers to "exclude classes of hereditament from the higher multiplier", whether they will exclude those hereditaments that are publicly funded, including (1) hospitals, (2) police stations, and (3) educational buildings. \p Lord Livermore: To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants, so that they can help support the viability of high streets.

The Spring Statement confirmed the spending envelope for phase 2 of the spending review, which will deliver new mission-led, technology-enabled and reform-driven budgets for departments. We will consider the full range of priorities and pressures facing departments in the round, including any impact of the higher multiplier, when setting these budgets.

The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.
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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Resolution Foundation titled Happy new tax year 2025 published on 3 April which indicates that household income will fall by £400. \p Lord Livermore: The Government’s Plan for Change outlines our goal to raise living standards across the United Kingdom. The measure of living standards used in the Government’s Plan for Change milestones is real household disposable income (RHDI) per person.

In the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) March 2025 forecast, RHDI per person is expected to rise over this parliament – twice as fast compared to the previous parliament, which was the worst on record for living standards growth.

The Resolution Foundation report uses an alternative measure of living standards, rather than the more widely used RHDI per person. This measure excludes some categories of income and some groups that would be included in living standards as measured by RHDI per person.
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Baroness Stedman-Scott:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the construction sector. \p Lord Livermore: A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 19 February of Current PFI and PF2 projects as at 31 March 2024, what is the total value of all unitary charge payments made on projects with (1) no equity holders listed, and (2) equity holders listed as "not known", in 2023–24. \p Lord Livermore: The value of those charge payments where no equity holder is listed, where the contracting authority has indicated they do not know who the equity holders are, is £5,570m across 33 projects. Where the contracting authority has indicated they know who equity holders are but have not provided the information to His Majesty’s Government, thereby making it “not known”, represents £8,872m across 44 projects. Cumulatively both represent a total value of £14,442m for unitary charge payments made on projects.
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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 19 February of Current PFI and PF2 projects as at 31 March 2024, what assessment they have made of the total remaining public liability across all PFI contracts where (1) no equity holder is named, and (2) the special purpose vehicle is registered offshore. \p Lord Livermore: His Majesty’s Government is aware of a total of £5,242m of public liability across all PFI contracts represented by 33 projects, where the contracting authority has indicated they do not know who the equity holders are, and 44 projects, where the contracting authority has indicated they know who the equity holders are, but have not provided data to His Majesty’s Government. To our knowledge no Special Purpose Vehicles are registered off shore.

This information is provided by the central government departments and devolved administrations that have procured or sponsored projects and represents 98.7% of PFI projects on the portfolio provided a data return in 2024. With the eight projects that did not provide a return, the most recently available data from previous years is used.
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Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce VAT on reuse and repair practices. \p Lord Livermore: VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. The Government therefore has no plans to introduce a new VAT relief on reuse and repair practices.

The Government keeps all taxes under review.
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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government on which date each department submitted their final costings for new policy measures included in the Spring Statement 2025, and how many were submitted after the certification deadline set by the Office for Budget Responsibility. \p Lord Livermore: The OBR certification deadline refers to Policy Costing Notes. These documents outline the methodology used for costing policies. The OBR scrutinise them to determine that the costing is reasonable and central.

HM Treasury submitted notes for all policies to the OBR in advance of the certification deadline and an initial policy package was certified by the OBR.

The OBR noted in their March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that 'relatively small changes were made to the policy parameters of two welfare measures following the costings certification deadline', the changes to the Universal Credit Health Element, and the Universal Credit Standard Allowance.

The OBR did not certify the costings for the final policy design for these measures, although they noted that the relatively small size of the changes means they 'do not expect this will have a material impact on the costings'.
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Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 21 October 2024 (HL1252), whether they have established a returns and enforcement unit, and how many of the additional 1,000 staff allocated to the unit have been recruited. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 21 October 2024 in response to Question HL1252.
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Lord Addington:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they analyse the use of assistive technology to ensure there is a continuity of supply offered to students and workers throughout their lifetimes, and if so, which department is responsible for the analysis. \p Baroness Sherlock: In 2022 the Disability Unit within the Cabinet Office contracted the Global Disability Innovation Hub to complete a needs and capacity assessment of Assistive and Accessible Technology (ATech).

This research sought to improve our understanding of the country’s capacity to finance, procure and provide ATech; identifying system inefficiencies and maximising the greatest positive impact on the life outcomes for individual ATech users.

The research, “Assistive Technology Changes Lives: an assessment of AT need and capacity in England” was published in 2023.

This research, alongside our engagement with disability stakeholders and Atech experts, has enabled us to understand some of the biggest barriers that disabled people face in accessing Atech to support them into employment and wider society.

Insights from this research have recently fed into the DWP Pathways to Work Spring Green Paper, which announced that the government is going to develop and deliver a digital resource that will help raise awareness of existing Atech and provide guidance on how it can be used to support disabled people. We will also set up an Atech expert working group to identify and, where possible, develop solutions to the barriers disabled people face when trying to use and access Atech.
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government, following their Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, what steps they will take to upscale resources to accommodate the proposed increase in face-to-face Personal Independence Payment assessments. \p Baroness Sherlock: The Green Paper sets out measures to make improvements to the PIP assessment, including looking again at our safeguarding processes, moving back to having more face-to-face assessments while continuing to meet the needs of people who may require different assessment methods, recording more assessments to increase trust in the process, and exploring ways to use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe health conditions to undergo a full PIP functional assessment. The Department will consider its commitment to ensure resources are in place to carry out more face to face PIP assessments alongside other plans for reform laid out within Pathways to Work.

We also plan to review the PIP benefit assessment, working closely with stakeholders and those with lived experience, with an ambition of shaping a system of active support that helps people manage and adapt to their condition in ways that expand their functioning and improve their independence.
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Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government how much money has been provided for legal assistance to individuals under section 28 of the Equality Act 2006 since its enactment, and to how many individuals. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) intervention and enforcement decisions are independent of government. This question has been passed to the EHRC who will be providing a written response to Baroness Coffey.
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Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government how many legal proceedings, other than judicial review or as an intervener, have been initiated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission under section 30 of the Equality Act 2006 since the legislation was enacted. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) intervention and enforcement decisions are independent of government. This question has been passed to the EHRC who will be providing a written response to Baroness Coffey.
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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Estonia and other NATO allies concerning their commitment to provide military support. \p Lord Coaker: The UK remains committed to Baltic and NATO security through a variety of means, including its commitment to the Enhanced Forward Presence deployment, NATO Air Policing, and the Joint Expeditionary Force. The Secretary of State for Defence regularly meets with his Estonian counterpart to discuss military contributions to European defence and security, having met most recently on 26 March 2025.
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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to obtain usable data from legacy systems to enable the Civil Service to incorporate more artificial intelligence technology into its operating procedures. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: HMG is committed to adopting AI to increase efficiency and quality of services. All departments are promoted to explore all of their existing data sets from all sources to find opportunities for innovation as part of the 'Scan, Pilot, Scale' approach set out in the AI opportunities plan. Further work is being scoped to look into data quality from both cloud and legacy services as part of the 'Lay the foundations of AI' mission also set out in the AI Opportunities Plan.
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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the data collection in the independent report published on 19 March, Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, by Professor Alice Sullivan. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: This was an independent review by a leading academic. As such, the Government has not made an assessment of the approach to data collection.
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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the risks posed by online communities to teenage boys, and what assessment they have made of the role these play in encouraging sexual and physical abuse, violence and extremism. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: We are aware that harmful content exists online including the risk it poses to boys and children. The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to tackle illegal abuse and protect users from illegal content. This includes content which incites hatred, abuse, harassment and sexual exploitation content.

In addition, in-scope services likely to be accessed by children need to put in place measures to protect children from harmful content, including providing age-appropriate access for content which encourages violence.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has enforcement powers where platforms fail to fulfil their duties.
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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations in the report published on 19 March, Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, by Professor Alice Sullivan. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to Question UIN HL5960 on 2 April 2025.
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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to invest in emerging artificial intelligence technologies to help boost productivity in the UK. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that while the exact economic impact hinges on the wider development and adoption of AI, the UK could see productivity gains of up to 1.5 percent annually. By investing in AI now, we’re ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.

To encourage widespread adoption, we are targeting high-growth Industrial Strategy sectors and supporting diffusion across the whole economy by appointing AI Sector champions. The Technology Adoption Review will also set out recommendations for how government should work with industry to support businesses to adopt AI.

This builds on Innovate UK's £100 million BridgeAI programme, which has so far provided £68 million in funding to nearly 800 businesses to boost AI-enabled productivity.
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Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop and implement an ethical framework for artificial intelligence. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The Government recognises the importance of responsible and ethical AI to provide business and consumer confidence in this technology and support its adoption across the economy.

AI assurance is crucial to ensuring that AI systems are developed and deployed ethically, responsibly and safely. That is why we have designated AI assurance as a key pillar of support for meeting the commitments made in the government’s response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

To drive demand for AI assurance, DSIT has developed and consulted on AI Management Essentials, a self-assessment framework designed to help businesses establish responsible management practices for the development and use of AI systems.
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Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government which body directions to transfer data, made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care under section 254 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, will be given to following the abolition of NHS England. \p Baroness Merron: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

As we develop what this new centre looks like we will be transparent and clear about the precise changes in organisational design. It is essential that information relating to people’s identifiable health and care is shared appropriately, lawfully, and in line with their reasonable expectations.
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact of announced 50 per cent cuts to the running costs of integrated care boards on the provision of support to blood cancer patients, particularly in relation to patient experience and shared decision-making initiatives. \p Baroness Merron: As part of the necessary changes to support the National Health Service to recover, NHS England has indicated that integrated care boards (ICBs) should reduce in size. The Government is supportive of NHS England’s decision and will work with NHS England to make the tough choices that are needed to get the NHS back on its feet. We expect ICBs to deliver on all of their commissioning responsibilities, including the provision of support for blood cancer patients. The Department has not carried out an assessment in regard to this area.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_43

The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government how much the treatment of patients with gambling disorders cost the NHS in 2024–25. \p Baroness Merron: In the 12 months between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, 24 of the referrals to National Health Service gambling services in England were of young people aged between 13 and 18 years old, according to the most recent 12 months of data available nationally.

In terms of referrals made to NHS gambling clinics in England, in quarter one of 2024/25, 876 referrals were made, and in quarter two of 2024/25, 1,038 referrals were made. This totals 1,914 referrals in the first half of 2024/25. This data is published on NHS England’s website, and is available in an online only format.

In relation to the cost of the treatment of patients with gambling disorders to the NHS, NHS England is not able to provide this information for 2024/25, as individual integrated care boards hold this data.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_44
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_44

The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 7 November 2024 (HL1998), when they intend to publish feedback to the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures consultation, which ran from 2 September to 28 October 2023. \p Baroness Merron: The Government is committed to taking action to address longstanding concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in our response to the consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which we will publish as soon as possible.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_45
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_45

Lord Black of Brentwood:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of osteoporotic fractures on hospital bed occupancy. \p Baroness Merron: The latest data for 2023/4 on hospital inpatient admissions with a primary diagnosis of 'Osteoporosis with pathological fracture' shows that patients with this diagnosis accounted for 60,760 ‘bed days’, or approximately 0.1% of the overall total number of bed days that year.

The Government recognises that patients around the country, including those suffering from osteoporosis, are waiting too long for care and treatment. Our Plan for Change will get the health service back on its feet and make it fit for the future.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_46
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_46

Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the Department for Health and Social Care is taking to publish national data around delivering targets under (1) the NHS Long Term Plan, and (2) the Teenage and Young Adult Service Specifications, to enrol 50 per cent of young people with cancer into clinical trials by March 2025. \p Baroness Merron: The Department is committed to maximising our potential to lead the world in clinical trials and ensuring clinical trials are more accessible, including for children and young people. The Department does not hold data on the overall percentage of children and young people with cancer that are enrolled in clinical trials nationwide, but does collect data on participation through National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded infrastructure.

The Department funds research and research infrastructure through the NIHR. NIHR-funded infrastructure is enabling clinical trial participation for children and young people with cancer. In particular, the NIHR Clinical Research Network, now the NIHR Research Delivery Network, supported 117 cancer studies which children and young people were eligible for between 2021/22 and 2023/24, and across all these studies, 6904 total participants were recruited during this timeframe.

The NIHR 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.

Through the NIHR, the Department also jointly funds the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Paediatric Cancer Network with Cancer Research UK and the Little Princess Trust, which brings together clinicians and translational scientists to run early phase clinical trials for children and young people with cancer.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_47
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_47

Lord Frost:To ask His Majesty's Government how many drivers were disqualified from driving in (1) 2022, (2) 2023 and (3) 2024 in the United Kingdom. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The table below shows the number of disqualifications from driving for each of the years requested. The figures also include disqualifications imposed in the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that apply in Great Britain, under arrangements for the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications.

2022

134,078

2023

127,557

2024

131,628

These figures are for Great Britain only. Driver licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_48
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_48

Lord Moylan:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received representations from ambassadors or High Commissioners resident in Palace Green and Kensington Palace Gardens about the temporary obstacles erected there by the Crown Estate to manage the behaviour of bicyclists. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government has received no such representations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_49

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 19 February of Current PFI and PF2 projects as at 31 March 2024, why the A69 Carlisle to Newcastle project (project ID 245) incurred payments in 2023–24 of £14 million on a capital value of £9 million, and what proportion of those payments was for (1) lifecycle maintenance, and (2) capital repayment. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The A69 Carlise to Newcastle Project is a 30-year PFI project expiring in March 2026. At financial close in 1996, the project comprised of the design and build of Haltwhistle Bypass, a 2-mile section of the A69, and the maintenance and renewal of the 52-mile route between Carlisle and Newcastle for the 30-year contract period. The capital value in the 19 February published data refers to the cost of the design and construction of the Haltwhistle bypass.

The unitary payments to the PFI company (Road Link (A69) Limited) are an all-in payment that covers the overall services provided. This effectively includes amounts related to the original design and construction of the Bypass, as well as both the maintenance (routine and lifecycle) and operation of the longer stretch of road. However, the payment is not structured such that there are defined parts for each of the different elements within the services provided.

Road Link (A69) Limited will continue to incur maintenance, renewal and operating costs on the 52-mile route until the expiry next year. They will also incur costs related to their handback obligations to National Highways, which include extensive, independent surveys to confirm asset condition, and any costs to bring it up to the required condition, before the road is handed back to National Highways when the PFI expires.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_50
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_50

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to ensure that additional railway station staff are employed to help people with disabilities negotiate barriers to travelling on public transport following their proposed cuts to personal independence payments. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Providing assistance for passengers who require it is crucial. Under license conditions and as part of their Accessible Travel Policy (ATP), operators must participate in the Passenger Assist scheme. This scheme is designed to help disabled passengers and those with additional needs to use the rail network with confidence and in safety. More broadly, rail operators are responsible for ensuring staff are available to deliver this assistance.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_51
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_51

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published by the Association of British Commuters on 7 March which found that Great Western Rail cut ticket office staffing by 344 hours each week across 39 stations between 2022 and 2024. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Any changes to ticket office opening hours in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement process and Secretary of State guidance. Ticket office changes made by Great Western Railway in 2022 followed that process and guidance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_52

Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the railway stations in London are fully wheelchair accessible; and what plans they have to increase that number. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: There are currently 137 railway stations with step free access between the entrance/ exit and platforms in Greater London (this excludes those operated by Transport for London). Since April 2024, the Access for All programme has delivered step free access at 25 stations across Britain, with Newtown station in Powys being one of the most recent. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_53
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_53

Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the most recent figure for the number of people killed annually in road traffic accidents in England per million of the resident population; and how this compares with the rate of deaths in road traffic accidents in each of the other parts of the United Kingdom. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. In STATS19, a fatality is defined as a death that occurred within 30 days of the collision. The rates of fatalities in road collisions in 2023 per million population for different parts of the United Kingdom are shown in the table below.

Region

Fatality rate per million population (2023)

United Kingdom

24.8

Great Britain

24.5

England

23.7

Wales

31.9

Scotland

27.9

Northern Ireland

37.0
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_54
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_54

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on people with disabilities of the plans of South Eastern Trains to cut ticket office hours by an estimated 555 hours each week across 14 stations, according to the Association of British Commuters. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of our passenger-focussed approach. Southeastern Trains (SET) is seeking to implement changes to ticket office opening hours at 14 of its stations. We are aware that SET’s proposals include mitigations to ensure staff would continue to be available to support passengers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-10 conversation_55

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the carriage of freight by rail. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and is committed to supporting its growth.

We encourage modal shift from road to rail through the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme which has a budget of £18 million. The scheme has been extended to March 2026.

Under our plans to reform the railway, there will be a statutory duty on Great British Railways to promote the use of rail freight and there will be an overall rail freight growth target set by the Secretary of State, with clear and meaningful targets for rail freight growth within pre-defined periods.