theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_3
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_3

Lord Dubs:To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) applications, (2) grants, and (3) refusals, were made under Appendix Child Relative (Sponsors with Protection) of the Immigration Rules in (a) 2023, and (b) 2024. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by year and visa type in the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release'. Data on visa applications are published in 'Vis_D01' whilst data on the outcomes of visas are published in table 'Vis_D02' of the detailed entry clearance dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the 'Notes' page of the workbook. Data is from January 2005 up to the end of March 2025.

For 2023 and 2024 the applications issued and refused are as follows:

Family: Child

2023

2024

Applications

10,407

11,711

Issued

9,646

9,391

Refused

2,955

3,912
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_4
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_4

Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers and refugees have been dispersed by the Home Office to Northern Ireland in each of the past five years, and how many from Syria, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine in the relevant official schemes. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The number of supported asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years were as follows:

Immigration group

As at 31 March 2021

As at 31 March 2022

As at 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2024

As at 31 March 2025

Supported Asylum seekers

912

1,404

3,030

2,765

2,637

Afghan Resettlement Programme

Scheme not open

Data not available

Data not available

203

305

Homes for Ukraine (arrivals)

Scheme not open

Data not available

Data not available

1,502

1,949

Please note that Asylum seekers are accommodated in Northern Ireland only if they apply for asylum there. These figures are a snapshot as at 31 March for the last 5 years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_5

Lord Hayward:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the current full weekly cost of the staff team who operate the door at Peers' Entrance, including contractual costs and VAT; and who is covering that cost. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The resources costs associated with the operation of Peers’ Entrance have been met from existing pools of staff and departmental budgets, with no additional cost to the House or to the taxpayer. The average annual cost to Parliament of a front-line security officer is around £46K including salary, pension and national insurance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Wigley:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the annual cost of the House of Lords, including all expenses related to Members, staff and the running and maintenance of all associated parliamentary buildings. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The most recent audited costs of the House of Lords are the 2023-24 financial year. In that year the costs of the House of Lords excluding non-cash items was £143,814,000. This cost includes costs directly relating to the Members Finance Scheme (including allowances and travel expenses), staffing costs (including House of Lords share of the costs of joint department staff), costs associated with the running and maintenance of parliamentary buildings, and other running costs such as Digital, Broadcasting, Catering and Security. It does not include non-cash items, such as depreciation and revaluation adjustments.

The costs for the 2024-25 financial year are currently being audited.

Further details of the House of Lords accounts are available in the Annual Report and Accounts, published on the parliamentary website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_7

Lord Hayward:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to the remarks by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 12 June (HL Deb col 1533), whether the cost of £9.6 million for the Peers' Entrance door includes VAT and all other associated costs. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The cost of £9.6m for Peers Entrance does include VAT. This sum covers both the design, and the construction works at the Entrance.

In addition, £1,500 in maintenance cost have been incurred for call outs where operator or user error have been the cause.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Rogan:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what the tender process was used before the contract for the supply and installation of the door at Peers' Entrance was finalised; how many tenders were submitted; which contractor was successful in securing the contract; and who made the final decision to award that contract. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The tender processes that were used are as follows:

Security Portal Contract

The Authority tendered to and contracted with Meesons A.I Ltd for the supply of a mobility accessible security portal and a secure revolving door portal which conforms with nationally recognised standards. Meesons A.I Ltd were identified as the only approved distributor capable of meeting Parliament’s requirements.

Main Works Contract

Three contractors were given the opportunity to be issued an invitation to tender for the main works contract (including the installation and commissioning of the portal and revolving door) at Peers’ Entrance through a mini-competition on a Parliamentary Framework. Two contractors confirmed they wanted to bid for the works and were issued an invitation to tender. Both contractors submitted tenders which were evaluated. The procurement was conducted in line with standard Parliament procurement procedures, where tenders are evaluated against a comprehensive set of criteria. The tender included a technical weighting (quality aspects) of 60% and a commercial element (cost) of 40%. The highest scoring contractor was awarded the contract.

The contractor that was successful in securing the installation Works Contract was DBR (London) Limited. The contractor that was awarded the supply contract was Meesons A.I Ltd.

Authorisation to award both contracts followed Parliament’s existing contract award and governance process, including approval of the project business case by the Accounting Officers of both Houses.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Dodds of Duncairn:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for freedom of religion or belief in China following the introduction of China’s “Measures for the Administration of Religious Activity Venues” in 2023, which require religious leaders and venues to demonstrate loyalty to the Communist Party. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: Chinese regulations on religious activity severely restrict religious and cultural expression in China. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary have all raised human rights recently with their counterparts.

More broadly, this Government champions freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to verify reports that the killing of 200 people in Benue was "highly organised", to establish who was responsible, and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: Through the Strengthening Peace and Resilience Programme (SPRiNG) programme, the UK continues to support initiatives to enhance the capacity of state institutions and community groups to arrest and prosecute perpetrators. This includes partnering with the Kukah Centre to strengthen the capacity of the Benue Civil Protection Guard. Through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), we are working with Nigeria's security forces to tackle insecurity and violence against civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and belief systems. At the last UK-Nigeria SDP dialogue in February 2024, the UK welcomed a commitment from Nigeria on timely, effective and human rights compliant investigations of, and prosecutions for, terrorism crimes. Investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the attack in Benue is a matter for the Nigerian authorities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the extent to which the unique relationship between Nepal and UK through the brigade of Gurkhas is taken into consideration when allocating bilateral support to Nepal. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government on what grounds they have removed sanctions against Owen Ncube, Isaac Moyo, Godwin Matanga, Anselem Sanyatwe and Zimbabwe Defence Industries. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The UK regularly reviews its sanctions designations. The four individuals removed from the UK Sanctions list are no longer in the positions held when they were designated in 2021. The revocations follow a similar move from the European Union in February 2025, when they delisted their last remaining entity (ZDI) whilst renewing their existing Zimbabwe sanctions framework. The US also removed a number of designations in March 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_13

Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote peace-building, inclusive local governance and religious freedom across Myanmar’s diverse ethnic and religious landscape. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK supports the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and UN Special Envoys' efforts to seek stability and peace in Myanmar, including for ethnic and religious minorities. The Minister for Indo-Pacific met the UN Special Envoy, Julie Bishop, on 13 June and reiterated our support for the Myanmar people, including Rohingya.

We continue to discuss the political and humanitarian situation in Myanmar with a range of opposition stakeholders, including the National Unity Government (NUG) and a number of Ethnic Resistance Organisations (ERO).

Furthermore, UK Aid continue to support the role of civil society to promote peace and stability in Myanmar.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the strength of local print media; and what plans they have, if any, to offer financial or other assistance to that sector. \p Baroness Twycross: Sustainability of local journalism, in print as well as online, is an area of particular concern for this Government. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level: reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors to discuss our planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has now been set up to consider the issues in more detail and we will announce more in the coming months.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_15

Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what additional resources they will provide to combat hunger during school holiday periods. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Through the Spending Review, the department has announced funding to ensure the poorest children do not go hungry outside of term time, supporting our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a scheme for local authorities to provide discretionary support to vulnerable households in the most need. The department is providing £742 million in England to extend the HSF by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will enable local authorities to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.

The government also remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food programme to ensure children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. More than £200 million has been allocated to the programme from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Cashman:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address high levels of interest some graduates pay on student loans. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Student loans are subject to interest so as to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree.

Interest rates on student loans do not affect monthly repayments made by borrowers. Regular repayments are based on a fixed percentage of earnings above the applicable student loan repayment threshold, not on amount borrowed or the rate of interest. If income is below the relevant student loan repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower.

Interest rates are set annually in relation to the Retail Price Index. The government caps maximum student loan rates when needed to ensure that student loan interest rates do not exceed market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans.

A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Blunkett:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to paragraph 4.36 of the Spending Review 2025 (CP 1336), what proportion of the additional £1.2 billion allocated per year by 2028–29 for skills will be (1) part of the growth and skills levy, and (2) drawn down from the skills surcharge levied on employers for bringing in overseas staff. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The government is providing £1.2 billion of additional investment per year by 2028/29.

As set out in the Immigration White Paper, the government will increase the Immigration Skills Charge for the first time since its introduction, by 32% to bring the rates in line with inflation.

Further details on how skills funding will be allocated in future years will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_18

Lord Blunkett:To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to announce the revised formula for allocating the growth and skills levy (formerly the apprenticeship levy), including (1) the total for each year of the spending review period, and (2) the amount to be held back by the Treasury. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners, and support the industrial strategy.

The growth and skills offer is vital in delivering the government’s Plan for Change and achieving its missions of driving growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The department will work through all of its budgets at departmental business planning and set out more detail on the approach to the growth and skills offer in due course.

His Majesty’s Treasury are responsible for the operation of the UK wide apprenticeships levy and for allocating funding to England and the devolved administrations through Spending Review settlements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Nash:To ask His Majesty's Government what happens to, and who owns, data digitally captured under the new Reception Baseline Assessment; and what if any commercial use could be made either of the response data itself or of any other metadata. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The reception baseline assessment (RBA) is a short, interactive assessment of early mathematics, language, literacy, and communication. Its purpose is to provide baseline data for primary progress measures, which will show the progress pupils in a school make from reception until the end of key stage 2.

RBA data is owned by the department. From the 2025/26 academic year, data from the assessment will be collected via the Standard and Testing Agency’s digital assessment platform, after which the data necessary to calculate school-level progress measures will be transferred to the National Pupil Database (NPD). This data will be stored in the NPD until the relevant cohort of pupils reaches the end of key stage 2. Some data and metadata will be used to support operational delivery of the assessment, for example to support helpdesk queries. The use of the data is governed by the RBA Privacy Notice which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reception-baseline-assessment-privacy-notice. RBA data is not available for commercial use.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_20

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total expenditure by local-authority-maintained schools and academies in England on agency supply teachers in the financial years (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Supply teachers perform a valuable role and the department is grateful for their important contribution to schools across the country.

Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers.

In the 2023/24 financial year, local authority-maintained schools spent approximately £522 million on agency supply teaching staff. In the 2023/24 academic year, academies spent approximately £898 million on agency supply teaching staff (financial returns data for academies is aligned with academic years). There is no data available for the 2024/25 academic or financial years. This data is from published school financial returns. Note that the two figures cannot be added together directly, due to the different time periods covered and the risk of double counting spend for maintained schools who convert to academy status.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Baroness Wolf of Dulwich:To ask His Majesty's Government what is their definition of (1) a teacher, (2) a school, and (3) a qualified teacher. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The definition of a teacher, school and qualified teacher is outlined in the relevant statistics that the department publishes. The methodology section of ‘School workforce in England’ publication outlines the following definitions in the context of the school workforce census. The full methodology section can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/school-workforce-in-england.

A teacher in school is defined as anyone who is employed by a school as a:

A school includes:

Qualified teachers are defined as those holding any of the following:

The methodology section of ‘Further education workforce’ publication outlines the following definitions in the context of the further education workforce census. The full methodology section can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/further-education-workforce.

A teacher in further education is defined as member of staff with teaching responsibilities. Main Roles which would determine whether a staff member is a “Teacher”:

Schools are not defined within the scope of the further education workforce.

Qualified teachers are defined as those holding any of the following:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Gilbert of Panteg:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to invite UK-based civil society organisations and those representing the interests of children to attend their international summit on generative AI in education to be held in 2026. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The UK will host a high-level international summit on generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education in 2026. This initiative reinforces the UK’s commitment to international collaboration and to ensuring AI benefits all learners, everywhere.

Planning for the summit is underway, and the department is currently considering the format and attendees. Further information will be made available in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Gilbert of Panteg:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of generative AI in schools and its impact on (1) children's education and long-term skills, and (2) children’s safety and well-being. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The department recognises the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education and is taking a measured, evidence-led approach to its adoption. In January 2025, the department published updated guidance on the safe and effective use of generative AI in schools, including product safety expectations that prioritise child-centred design and safeguarding.

Secondly, to assess the impact of AI on children’s education and long-term skills, the department is investing over £1 million in a test-and-learn pilot with schools, colleges, and educational technology (EdTech) firms. This EdTech Impact Testbed Pilot is designed to evaluate how AI tools affect staff workload, pupil outcomes, and inclusivity. The department is also funding Ofsted to research how early adopter schools are using AI to support teaching and learning, with findings due in June 2025.

Additionally, the EdTech Evidence Board pilot launched in partnership with the Chartered College of Teaching is developing criteria to assess the effectiveness of EdTech tools. This will support schools in making evidence-based decisions about AI adoption.

Finally, to ensure safety and well-being, the department has published free training materials for educators and continues to work with regulators and the sector to ensure AI tools are safe, effective, and inclusive.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Gilbert of Panteg:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the speech made by the Secretary of State for Education at the Education World Forum on 19 May regarding funding to test the effectiveness of EdTech products in schools, what consultations they have held with civil society and other relevant organisations representing the interests of children as part of this work. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The department has announced over £1 million in funding to test the effectiveness of education technology (EdTech) products in schools and colleges. This initiative is part of a broader commitment to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools to improve staff workload, pupil outcomes, and inclusivity. This work is based on findings from the department’s 2023 call for evidence on AI in education, which gathered views from educators, academics and civil society organisations on technology and AI in the classroom.

As part of this work, the department has launched an open expression of interest for schools, colleges and EdTech companies to participate in the EdTech Impact Testbed Pilot. The department is working with the Open Innovation Team to engage the education sector and gather insights on what works. This includes collaboration with educators and EdTech firms to ensure the tools tested are relevant and impactful.

The department is also currently undertaking deliberative engagement with pupils, parents and teachers to explore the use of pupil work to train AI. We are putting children, teachers and parents at the centre of work to explore responsible governance structures.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of women remanded in custody were (1) not sentenced to prison, and (2) sentenced to a short prison term less than the period on remand, in each of the past three years. \p Lord Timpson: The percentage of women remanded in custody that were not sentenced to prison was 52% in 2022 and 2023. This increased slightly to 54% in 2024.

Percentage of women remanded in custody not receiving immediate custodial sentence

2022

2023

2024

Magistrates’ Courts

68%

65%

67%

Crown Courts

45%

45%

45%

Magistrates’ and Crown Courts

52%

52%

54%

Prisoners’ sentences are counted only once in these figures, at the court where they were sentenced: either at Magistrates’ or Crown Court.

Separate Magistrates’ and Crown Court figures are included in the table to show the varying custodial sentence rates, which are reflective of the different types of case sentenced at Magistrates’ and Crown courts.

Prisoners were remanded at some point in the proceedings, for any length of time (i.e. not necessarily remanded throughout court proceedings).

Further important caveats are found in the ‘Notes’ tab of the data source "Remands data tool: 2017 to 2024" (particularly notes 27-31), which is available through the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.

Information relating to the total time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice, due to the considerable complexity in interpreting custodial journeys, which may include multiple cases in parallel. Although the Department has released estimates in the past, it has since been identified that results from the methodology previously used may no longer be accurate, and on that basis the Ministry of Justice cannot continue to use them. The Department is, however, working to improve its data and insights around this cohort of prisoners.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government whether prisoners over the age of 50 with complex or multiple needs are still considered to be a separate cohort. \p Lord Timpson: We have always recognised the distinct needs of older prisoners, some of whom can have complex health and social care requirements.

We welcome the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendation to produce a national strategy for older prisoners, including those with complex or multiple needs and are currently speaking to partners to agree how we take this forward.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Aberdare:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 30 October 2024 (HL1966), how many subcontractors to ISG Limited the Ministry of Justice has been in contact with; what assistance the department has provided or may be able to provide to subcontractors whose payments were not available in the relevant project bank account; and what has been the outcome of the department's work with EY to establish whether the sums remaining in project bank accounts were correct. \p Lord Timpson: The Ministry of Justice has been in contact with c.350 subcontractors of ISG Construction Limited. The Department has used a dedicated mailbox for this purpose and issued an update letter to subcontractors on 6 March 2025.

Since ISG entered administration, the Department has worked to minimise the impact on subcontractors. We enabled the swift return of subcontractor’s tools and equipment from affected sites and are supporting subcontractors to retrieve any materials that were on site with the cooperation of the Administrator.

The Ministry of Justice did not have a direct contractual relationship with ISG’s subcontractors and the Department’s assessment to date is that there is no obligation to act as the guarantor of all of ISG’s payments to its subcontractors. Payment by the Ministry of Justice into the project bank account does not create a direct contractual relationship between the Department and subcontractors.

Due to ongoing legal and commercial sensitivities, we are unable to comment on the final part of the question regarding the outcome of our engagement with EY.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Justice has spent in each year since 2020 under the RM6141 and RM6302 language services frameworks; and whether the department has used or maintained any separate or competing frameworks, contracts or commercial routes for the procurement of language services during the same period, and, if so, how much has been spent through them. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The Ministry of Justice has not called off against Crown Commercial Service frameworks RM 6141 (Language Services) or its successor RM 6302 at any point since 2020; spend under both frameworks in every year is therefore £0. The timing of available frameworks did not align with the Department’s needs. Timelines have since been aligned for the following round of tendering.

Instead, the Department has continued to meet its interpretation and translation needs through its MoJ Language-Services Framework, first established in 2012 and re-let in 2016 following open competition. Courts also operate a non-contracted, or “off-contract” process, typically to cover requirements that arise at short notice and those that are more challenging to fulfil, such as the requirement for languages that are rare or scarce. The use of off-contract interpreters allows hearings to go ahead, to continue the delivery of justice. The next generation of contracts, currently being procured, include the use of a secondary supplier of interpreters, specifically to source those short notice bookings, and to bring this spend on-contract, with benefits such as improved data and value for money. Furthermore, we are the only organisation to also utilise an independent quality assurance supplier of these services.

The arrangement is open for other public-sector bodies to use, but is let independently of the CCS frameworks so that the Ministry of Justice can:

Expenditure recorded against the MoJ framework since 2020 is below:

Year

Contracted Expenditure

Off-Contract expenditure

Total Expenditure

2020

£20,217,548

£1,193,788

£21,411,336

2021

£25,062,618

£2,157,759

£27,220,377

2022

£26,883,747

£4,856,616

£31,740,363

2023

£30,374,050

£6,565,781

£36,939,831

2024

£31,625,158

£7,037,731

£38,662,889
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_29
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_29

Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that output of titanium, magnesium and lithium from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is set to increase; and what action they are taking to decrease UK dependency on these products where slave labour has been used. \p Baroness Gustafsson: This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.

The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_30
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_30

Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 14 January (HC22193), whether cross-government special advisers are deemed to be employed by the Cabinet Office or a department; and whether unionised departmental special advisers who have affiliated to the First Division Association can undertake strike action as a consolidated block across government. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: All special advisers are employees of their appointing minister's department in line with the terms of the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Special advisers have the same legal rights as other employees regarding the possibility of undertaking industrial action.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_31

Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impartiality of the Civil Service Muslim Network, and whether the principles of Civil Service impartiality are understood and adhered to by that body. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: All civil servants are bound by the Civil Service Code. All civil servants are expected to follow the standards of behaviour as set out in the Code, including the core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. It is the responsibility of the employing Department or Agency to make their employees aware of the Code and its values.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_32
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_32

Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what formal governance structures underpin the Civil Service Race Forum (CSRF), including whether it operates under a constitution or terms of reference; who is accountable for oversight of the CSRF; which department sponsors or hosts the CSRF; whether the departmental sponsor has changed since the inception of the CSRF; and what formal responsibilities the sponsoring department has in relation to CSRF governance, cost and activity. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Civil Service Race Forum (CSRF) was established in 2016 as a cross-government volunteer network. CSRF has developed their own Terms of Reference which govern their ways of working. These are informed by the Civil Service Code and CSRF’s own Governance Committee.

Cross-Civil Service networks do not have a sponsoring department. All network members are bound by the Civil Service Code. It is the responsibility of their employing department to make sure as civil servants they adhere to the Civil Service Code at all times including whilst conducting network activity.

CSRF does not hold a budget and there has been no cost to the public purse of the CSRF since 2020. We do not hold any records prior to this date.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_33

Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the list of Cabinet Committees and their membership updated in October 2024, whether the National Security Adviser is a formal member of any Cabinet Committee or sub-committee. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The National Security Adviser is not a member of any Cabinet committees. The full list of Cabinet committees and their membership is available on Gov.uk. Officials and advisers may attend committees with agreement of the Chair.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_34

Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings of the Civil Service Race Forum's network leaders have taken place in each of the past four years; whether minutes are recorded and published; and how many ministers or Permanent Secretaries participated in those meetings in the past 12 months. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Civil Service Race Forum (CSRF) is a cross government volunteer network which is responsible for arranging its own meetings. The network has held a total of 48 meetings over the past four years which have included its network leaders. Due to the informal and often personal nature of these discussions formal minutes are not recorded or published. In the past 12 months, no Ministers or Permanent Secretaries have participated in CSRF network meetings.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_35
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_35

Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what formal governance framework underpins the Civil Service Muslim Network, and whether that network operates under a written constitution, charter or terms of reference agreed with the Cabinet Office. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Civil Service Muslim Network (CSMN) is a cross-government volunteer network. CSMN operates under Terms of Reference that were agreed at Senior Civil Service level by the (then) Faith and Belief Champion.

The Civil Service Code, which is published and available here, sets out the standards of behaviour expected of all civil servants.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_36

Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria determine eligibility for membership of the Civil Service Muslim Network, and whether membership is open to all Civil Servants regardless of faith or belief. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Staff networks are volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department.

The only membership criteria the Civil Service Muslim Network has is for members to be a current civil servant.

The Network openly invites civil servants of all backgrounds, beliefs, and non-beliefs to join the Civil Service Muslim Network.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_37
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_37

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the funding for the AI Opportunities Action Plan will be allocated for improving infrastructure in the UK that AI technologies rely on, such as data centres. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: The government agreed to take forward all the AI infrastructure related recommendations in the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

As part of this we’re enabling the build out of AI data centres by: establishing AI Growth Zones; classifying data centres as critical national infrastructure; and supporting delivery through planning and power reforms. These initiatives have already resulted in £45 billion in private-sector investment announced since July 2024.

In addition, at the Spending Review, we committed £1 billion to expand the UK's public compute capacity through the AI Research Resource.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_38
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_38

Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government how many households with children have an income of £35,000 or more and receive Universal Credit. \p Baroness Sherlock: In November 2024, 220,000 out of 2.9m Universal Credit households with children that were paid an amount of Universal Credit had earnings that, according to publicly available tax and salary calculations, were equivalent to an annual salary of £35,000 a year or more.

Universal Credit is a means-tested in- and out-of-work benefit which reduces as household earnings increase. The level at which entitlement to Universal Credit ends will be different for different claimants/households depending on their circumstances and other unearned income.

Households with a higher entitlement to Universal Credit due to, for example, high housing costs and childcare costs, can earn more before their UC is tapered away compared to those with a lower entitlement.

It is right that the amount of Universal Credit a household is entitled to increases with the needs of a household and that it reduces as a household earns more.

Notes:

This analysis uses internal management information therefore UC households with children figures do not precisely match published statistics.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_39
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_39

Lord Foster of Bath:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a publicity campaign to reduce the stigma of suicide. \p Baroness Merron: While there are no specific plans to establish a publicity campaign to reduce the stigma of suicide, the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023 – 2028 highlights the importance of reducing the stigma surrounding suicide. The strategy aims to destigmatise help-seeking for those who are at risk of suicide.

The Government believes that suicide prevention is everyone’s business. Every person, organisation, and service up and down the country has a role to play. In recent years, good progress has been made in tackling the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_40
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_40

Baroness Parminter:To ask His Majesty's Government how integrated care boards are implementing and reporting on patient safety frameworks and strategies in eating disorder services, in particular for patients with longstanding eating disorders. \p Baroness Merron: We are working closely with NHS England and local integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver eating disorder services but ultimately it is for ICBs to decide how they choose to implement and report on patient safety frameworks and strategies in eating disorder services.

The Department of Health and Social Care have worked with NHS England to produce various guidance for integrated care systems to plan and deliver eating disorder services, and to provide treatment for patients with longstanding eating disorders.

NHS England published guidance in 2019 for adult eating disorder services, to support delivery of community eating disorder services, reduce admissions, length-of-stay and improve outcomes for users, families and carers. A revised service specification for Adult Eating Disorder inpatient provision has just been through public consultation, and following a review of the comments received will progress to publication in 2025.

In addition to these guidance, all Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) have received support via fair shares funding since April 2021 to transform their adult community mental health services. This includes the transformation and expansion of eating disorder services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-26)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-26 conversation_41

Lord Caine:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 20 December 2024 (HL3343), in which said that they were "currently considering the best way to take forward the approach referred to in Annex B of the Safeguarding the Union command paper", what was the outcome of those considerations. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: This Government continues to make progress on delivering the commitments made in the Safeguarding the Union command paper. The best way to take forward the approach referred to in Annex B remains under consideration.