theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-04-08 conversation_64

Lord Katz:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Lambeth Council, Friends of the Wall, and other volunteer groups about the ongoing maintenance of the National Covid Memorial Wall, and what assessment they have made of ongoing maintenance costs. \p Baroness Twycross: The Government recognises the significance of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London and its special role in supporting bereaved families to remember their loved ones. Its preservation was specifically recommended by the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration.

The Government is working closely with local partners including the Friends of the Wall and Lambeth Council, and other key partners to consider options, including the likely costs, for the longer term preservation of the Wall. We will respond to the report by the UK Commission in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to encourage young children to participate in sports, and (2) to emphasise the benefits of physical activity. \p Baroness Twycross: The Government puts children and young people at the heart of our priorities. This includes breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child to realise the benefits of and access high-quality sport and physical activity, especially those who are less likely to be active.

The independent, expert-led review of the school curriculum will ensure that all children can engage with a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport.

The Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment. Funding will ensure that sites can provide a more inclusive and sustainable offer throughout the year for local communities, including for children and young people.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Smith of Finsbury:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the potential for emergency use of satellite communication in remote areas of the UK which are currently without any normal mobile coverage. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Satellite connectivity can complement the coverage provided by terrestrial mobile networks by providing connectivity, for example, in remote areas beyond their reach. The mobile operators have already used satellite services to provide backhaul to some Shared Rural Network sites where it is challenging to provide traditional fibre or microwave backhaul.

Ofcom is currently consulting on proposals to authorise Direct to Device satellite services in certain mobile spectrum bands in the UK. These proposals could enable people to make satellite calls from their mobile phones and bring mobile coverage to rural areas. This consultation is an important and pioneering step towards enabling these services. We also welcome Vodafone’s recent trial in which the first ever video call over satellite was made, from an area with no terrestrial mobile coverage.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Smith of Finsbury:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with representatives of community councils in the Highland Council area about the future of the Shared Rural Network programme. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Feedback from community councils and special interest groups play an important role in agreeing the best locations for new infrastructure as part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN). Both the government and the four mobile network operators have worked with stakeholders across Scotland to ensure the benefits of new sites are balanced with any environmental impacts and other concerns.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Smith of Finsbury:To ask His Majesty's Government what further consideration they have given to the size and coverage of the Shared Rural Network programme, and whether they have made any change to the scale of the programme or number of masts required as a result. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: The Shared Rural Network (SRN) has already delivered significant coverage improvements across the UK. However, there are still rural parts of the UK where there is either limited or no mobile coverage. The government-funded parts of the SRN will deliver this new coverage by utilising existing Home Office masts across Great Britain and building new masts in Scotland. We continue to work with the four mobile network operators to minimise the number of new masts required in Scotland and now expect to meet this part of the programme’s objectives with far fewer masts than originally planned. We expect to reach a position on exactly how many new masts will be built in Scotland soon.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Baroness Pidgeon:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Regulatory Innovation Office has for regulating self-driving delivery robots that operate primarily on pavements, alongside regulation of airborne drones. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) is not a regulator. Responsibility for regulating pavement robots and drones lies with the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority, respectively. One of the RIO’s current focuses is 'drones & other autonomous technology', which includes pavement robots, a promising technology for the UK. The RIO is working with the Department for Transport to understand the regulatory interventions the government could take to stimulate their rollout in the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announced increase in defence spending, what steps they are taking to research artificial intelligence technologies and encourage their implementation in defence programmes. \p Lord Coaker: AI (and the autonomy it enables) has potential to transform every aspect of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Armed Forces. Rapid and scaled adoption of these technologies is a key Defence priority and significant work is underway across the Department, including over 400 AI-related projects and programmes.

MOD’s efforts to harness AI are cohered through the Defence AI Centre - a partnership between Defence Digital, Defence Equipment and Support and Dstl. Dstl’s Science and Technology research capabilities therefore underpin our approach to AI, helping to ensure that the MOD understand key technological developments while also developing the standards, tooling and Test and Evaluation capabilities to adopt and use AI-enabled systems safely and responsibly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the advertisement of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation Head of People Development and Culture, what is the business justification for the salary, and how recruitment into that job role will benefit the Ministry of Defence. \p Lord Coaker: The salary for the role of Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) Head of People Development and Culture is determined by the established banding within Defence. The grade is defined by the responsibilities of the position and level of experience needed to successfully deliver in role.

This role is aligned with Defence Reform initiatives, particularly in transforming culture across the organisation, with DIO playing a key role. Attracting the right leaders into the right positions is essential for building capability within Defence. In doing so, we foster the right culture and behaviours ensuring we develop a workforce equipped with the professional expertise needed for the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Roberts of Llandudno:To ask His Majesty's Government how they define the difference between the right to defend and an offensive action by a state. \p Lord Coaker: As recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter, States have the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence against armed attack. Self-defence permits States to use necessary and proportionate force to repel such armed attacks. States’ uses of force outside of self-defence or absent some other legal basis such as a Chapter 7 UN Security Council Resolution, consent or humanitarian intervention would be unlawful as a matter of international law.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton:To ask His Majesty's Government under what circumstances they would reconsider the decision not to award a clasp to the General Service Medal for service in BRIXMIS. \p Lord Coaker: As the noble Lord was advised in 2023, cases regarding historic medallic recognition are a matter for the independent Advisory Military Sub-Committee (AMSC) to consider, rather than the Ministry of Defence. In 2020, the AMSC considered the issue of awarding a clasp to the General Service Medal for service on BRIXMIS, and the recommendation of the Sub-Committee was that BRIXMIS did not meet the criteria for medallic recognition. This recommendation was accepted by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee).

Any further review of this issue would be for the AMSC to consider, should additional evidence be submitted, which fulfils at least one of the following criteria: significant new evidence has become available that had not been considered previously; facts relied upon during the original decision-making process are shown to be unsound; the original decision appears to be manifestly inconsistent with those for other similar campaigns; or the decision appears to have been taken for reasons which have nothing to do with risk and rigour.

Should the AMSC agree that any such new evidence was sufficient to alter their original decision, they would make a recommendation to the HD Committee for further consideration and, if agreed, submission to His Majesty The King for His Majesty’s final approval.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Gascoigne:To ask His Majesty's Government what specific outcomes they expect from the UK–EU summit on 19 May. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Prime Minister and President of the European Commission have agreed to strengthen the relationship between the UK and EU. We are working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience.

The UK-EU Summit on 19 May will provide an opportunity to make further progress on areas which will deliver tangible benefits, for those in the UK and the EU on making people safer, more secure and more prosperous. We will set out further details in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure access to accurate and up-to-date statistics, following reports of delays and mistakes in releases of data from the Office for National Statistics. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Taylor of Warwick

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

31 March 2025

Dear Lord Taylor,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what steps have been taken to ensure access to accurate and up-to-date statistics, following reports of delays and mistakes in releases of data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (HL6081).

In recent months, as part of routine quality assurance, the ONS identified issues with some of our statistical outputs, resulting in a small number of publications being delayed. Prioritising quality in our statistics is at the forefront of what we do. As such, we are consistently improving systems, investing in quality assurance, and undertaking vital transformation programmes. Further steps to ensure quality in our statistics will be communicated in our 2025/26 Strategic Business Plan. In early April, we will also be publishing our new survey strategy. This will build upon our existing surveys recovery plan, and will chart the pathway to a robust, sustainable survey system that can deliver the critical data required by Government and other key stakeholders.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond
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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance they have made available to small firms in Northern Ireland who receive goods from Great Britain to ensure a smooth flow of trade. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the Government will ensure the interests of small businesses are embedded into our Industrial and Trade Strategies, as part of a comprehensive approach to delivering on our economic growth mission. The Windsor Framework established a broad set of arrangements to support Great Britain-based businesses to move goods to Northern Ireland, including to small businesses based in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme reduces checks and administrative burdens on retail agrifood movements. The Northern Ireland Plant Health Label scheme removes unnecessary costs and enables previously prohibited goods to enter Northern Ireland. The first stage of the UK internal market scheme was implemented in 2023, and ensures thousands of businesses can move goods without being subject to customs duties. Businesses can also use the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme to waive any duties entirely, regardless of the destination of the goods, subject to an overall limit. The Government works closely with industry stakeholders and trade associations on the implementation of these arrangements and will continue to do so.
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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths of working age people there have been as a result of cardiovascular disease in each of the past three years. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Lord Weir of Ballyholme

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

26 March 2025

Dear Lord Weir of Ballyholme,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths of working age people there have been as a result of cardiovascular disease in each of the past three years (HL6089).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish regular statistics on deaths in England and Wales. These statistics are based on information recorded when deaths are certified and registered. They are based on when the death was registered rather than when it occurred. The number of deaths registered in England and Wales over 2021 to 2023 where the underlying cause was cardiovascular disease, and the deceased was aged 16-64, can be found in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause was cardiovascular disease in England and Wales, aged 16 to 64, deaths registered 2021 to 2023.

Year

Deaths

2021

18,554

2022

18,869

2023

19,094

Source: Office for National Statistics

Any death assigned an underlying cause of death using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes I00-I99 was included. This will include deaths where the underlying cause was ischaemic heart disease, heart failure and cerebrovascular diseases. Further information on the definition can be found on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website1 .

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

1 https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/IX
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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they submitted (1) a costing note, or (2) a draft scorecard to the Office for Budget Responsibility for the updated versions of (a) the National Procurement Policy Statement, and (b) Procurement Policy Note 002, in accordance with paragraph 2.9 of the Memorandum of understanding between the Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Treasury, the Department for Work &amp; Pensions, and HM Revenue &amp; Customs, published on 9 November 2023. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The National Procurement Policy Statement and Procurement Policy Note 002, as Cabinet Office policies, are not subject to the requirements set out in paragraph 2.9 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Treasury, the Department for Work & Pensions, and HM Revenue & Customs, published on 9 November 2023.

An impact assessment in relation to the Procurement Act and associated reforms was published in May 2022 and can be found at: https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46429/documents/1767
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord German:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 4 August (HL9810), which are the 151 Conventions of the Council of Europe to which the UK is a signatory. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: I understand that Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials have been in touch with you on 5 September and provided you with a full list of the 151 Council of Europe Conventions to which the UK is a signatory.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that the standards-based market detailed in the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan will consider legal rather than voluntary standards. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK is working with G7 partners to identify the outline of a proposed voluntary Standards Based Market to ensure the secure supply of responsibly produced critical minerals. We expect G7 Energy Ministers will discuss a clear articulation of this outline in late October. The UK's priority is to ensure that critical mineral markets operate in accordance with relevant international law and to standards that are rigorous and context sensitive.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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The Lord Bishop of Lincoln:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the mental health support services available to children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. \p Baroness Merron: The 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by delivering mental health support teams to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30.

It also sets out the core principle of early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis, and that this particularly applies for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This autumn, the Government will bring forward a schools white paper setting out the Government’s approach to reforming the system for special educational needs and disabilities, ensuring joined-up support for children and young people. This will involve education and healthcare providers working together with other local services to plan and deliver evidence-based early interventions for children. Through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people, and their families.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Farmer:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Health and Social Care on 31 March (HC38280), what progress they have made in linking fathers' health and contact information to their children's NHS records via birth notification as they currently do with mothers' data. \p Baroness Merron: Once a child is registered with the General Registry Office of Births and Deaths (GRO), the National Health Service receives information showing the parents listed on the birth certificate. Due to a period where not all GRO relationships were added to the NHS record, the NHS is currently working to ensure this happens in the future. This work should be complete by the end of 2025.

Following this, NHS England will be integrating the data into a new service, to make it easier for fathers to access their child's health record and tasks. This will be delivered through 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish the findings of the review undertaken by the apheresis working group. \p Baroness Merron: The apheresis working group was established in 2024 to provide independent advice to the Department on issues around apheresis capacity and the resilience of the United Kingdom’s stem cell supply. The group has submitted an internal, interim report to ministers for consideration and is currently working to gather additional data to strengthen the evidence base of this report, before proceeding to publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the apheresis working group plans to consult external stakeholders, including patient organisations and the life sciences industry, prior to publishing the apheresis review. \p Baroness Merron: The apheresis working group was established in 2024 to provide independent advice to the Department on issues around apheresis capacity and the resilience of the United Kingdom’s stem cell supply. Membership includes the UK aligned stem cell registry, health professionals, and service providers. Stakeholder views have been captured through member organisations, including the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and blood cancer charities, and industry representatives have also been invited to present at meetings of the group.

There are no plans to consult external stakeholders prior to the publication of the group’s review of apheresis capacity. The group will look at options for formalising feedback following publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government given the revenue generated by industry clinical trials for the National Health Service, what steps they are taking to ensure companies are promptly invoiced for research. \p Baroness Merron: NHS England wrote to the National Health Service providers’ chief financial officers and research and development directors on 30 May 2025, requiring them to ensure all commercial trial activities are invoiced in a timely manner. A copy of this correspondence is attached.

NHS England is currently holding a series of round tables to explore the challenges facing some NHS providers in maintaining good financial management for research, and this includes invoicing. The outcome of these roundtables will be the revision and strengthening of NHS England’s Research Finance Guidance, which was first published in 2024.

Additional document (pdf, 99.1KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered introducing reporting, and accountability, for the delivery of clinical trials at (1) regional NHS level, and (2) integrated care board level. \p Baroness Merron: The Government publishes United Kingdom-wide data on clinical research delivery performance through the Department’s UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) Key Performance Indicator Report. This monthly report brings together data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to monitor system-wide progress in the delivery of globally competitive clinical research across the UK. Alongside this reporting, the Department also publishes National Health Service trust level data on the study set-up performance of sites in England.

The Health and Care Act 2022 sets legal duties for integrated care boards (ICBs) in relation to research, and these duties include requirements to include research in ICB joint forward plans and reports. The Department and NHS England are currently developing plans for the future structure and functions of ICBs and regions and this includes consideration of where governance for research will sit. In May, NHS England wrote a letter to NHS providers requiring board-level reporting of research activity and income, with scrutiny of the UKCRD programme’s site-level performance metrics for study set-up. A copy of this correspondence is attached. NHS England will publish revised guidance on financial management for research later in 2025.

Additional document (pdf, 99.1KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Oates:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with the chair, trustees and chief executive of the Samaritans regarding the implications of their decision to close at least half of their branches in the UK. \p Baroness Merron: We have made no such assessment. The decision to close some of their branches is a matter for Samaritans.

We engage with Samaritans and other voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations closely and will continue to work with them in their important role in supporting suicide prevention efforts.

Department officials met recently with the Samaritans CEO, who set out this change programme and their plans.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Baroness Crawley:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Khan of Burnley on 16 October 2024 (HL1196), what plans they have to provide the finances for a Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum to those of a Muslim faith who gave their lives in two World Wars, as announced in the March 2024 Budget. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: We are absolutely committed to remembering the vital contribution made by Muslim soldiers who fought incredibly bravely throughout the World Wars in the British Army and Allied Forces.

The Government are developing plans to provide funding of up to £1 million to build a fitting Muslim War Memorial and honour the lasting legacy of their vital contribution.

It is important that the Government considers a broad range of options for delivering the memorial and to inform our thinking, MHCLG ran a market engagement exercise earlier this year. The exercise was published on the Contracts Finder and Find a Grant portals. Responses have been evaluated and we are now developing plans for a competitive funding award process to be launched later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Risby:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to finance for small and family-run businesses in the light of recent increases in borrowing costs. \p Lord Livermore: As part of the recent Spending Review and the Government’s Plan for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, this Government has committed to a range of measures to improve access to finance for small and family-run businesses. These include:

Delivered by the British Business Bank (BBB) through around 50 accredited lenders, the Growth Guarantee Scheme helps SMEs who may not meet traditional creditworthiness criteria, to access debt finance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Massey of Hampstead:To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners in Category A prisons are foreign nationals; and how many of the total prison population are undocumented migrants without proof of a UK visa or granted asylum. \p Lord Timpson: As of 30 June 2025, 577 foreign national offenders were held in Category A prisons. The immigration status of individual foreign nationals is a matter for the Home Office, and the Ministry of Justice does not hold information in relation to it.

All foreign nationals given a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to consider whether they should be removed from the UK on account of their criminality or immigration status.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent high-volume offenders from reoffending, and whether they will consider introducing minimal sentencing provisions for reoffenders. \p Lord Timpson: We know that prolific offenders represent nearly 10% of offenders but account for just over 50% of all sentences. That clearly cannot continue, which is why David Gauke was asked to look at this issue in the independent sentencing review, to ensure we have fewer crimes committed by prolific criminals.

Prolific offenders often have a complex set of needs, and to tackle the underlying causes of offending community sentences may also have rehabilitative requirements attached, including drug, alcohol and mental health difficulties. The Independent Sentencing Review made a clear recommendation to expand the use of Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs) - we have acted on that and have published an Expression of Interest process to identify future areas, with plans to begin implementation within the next year. These courts impose orders with tough conditions, including regular judicial reviews and rehabilitative requirements, along with strict consequences for non-compliance to tackle the root causes of prolific offending. There is strong international evidence showing that these approaches can break the cycle of re-offending, and early results from the ISCs are promising.

Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders – including prolific offenders – and this includes discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences, and custodial sentences.

Minimum sentences are rare in England and Wales, and are only provided in legislation for certain offences where there is a particular concern. It is the function of the court to decide the sentence in each case subject to the maximum that Parliament has provided, and any relevant Sentencing Guidelines published by the Sentencing Council. Sentencing must also be proportionate to the offence committed, taking into account all the circumstances of each case.
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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what information His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service holds on (1) the immigration status and (2) the nationalities of prison chaplains. \p Lord Timpson: The immigration status of Prison Chaplains is not held internally by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Immigration status is checked as part of the recruitment and vetting process, and all Prison Chaplains must hold valid right to work and meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules to be eligible for employment in HMPPS.

Table: Chaplaincy staff directly employed(1)(2) by HMPPS in public sector prisons(3), by Nationality(4), as of 30 June 2025.

Nationality

Headcount

Full-time equivalent

British

245

188

English

38

28

Irish

0

0

Scottish

1

1

Welsh

1

1

German

1

1

Italian

0

0

Polish

1

1

Other National Identity

18

11

Not known/Prefer not to say

203

162

Grand Total

508

393

Notes:

1. Religious provisions in prisons are also delivered by Chaplains engaged on a sessional basis and by unremunerated Chaplains. The number of non-directly employed Chaplains is not recorded centrally. The table contains information on the number of full time and part time Chaplains directly employed by HMPPS.

2. Unpaid staff, such as those on career breaks and on long term sick or unpaid maternity / adoption leave, are excluded from the data.

3. Only includes staff who are based in public sector prisons.

4. Most staff who joined the Ministry of Justice after 2017 have their nationality recorded but this information is missing from the centralised HR database for the majority of staff who joined before this date. If the nationality composition is different for newer recruits, then the above table might not be representative of all chaplains in post.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-10 conversation_15
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-10 conversation_15

Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 4 July 2019 (HL16560), what is the number of prison chaplains for each recognised faith or belief. \p Lord Timpson: The statutory duties of a prison chaplain are set out in the Prison Act 1952.

We recognise and respect the right of prisoners to register and practice their faith or belief while in custody. Chaplaincy plays a critical and unique role in the work of prisons and the life of prisoners. It not only provides advice on faith/belief matters, but also offers pastoral care, in support of HM Prison and Probation Service’s commitment to decency, safety and rehabilitation. Chaplains may work on an employed basis (either full-time or part-time), or be engaged on a contracted, sessional or voluntary basis.

The number of prison chaplains in prisons in England and Wales by faith or belief (as of 2 September 2025) is set out in the following table:

Faith/Belief

Number of Chaplains

Baháʼí

3

Buddhist

62

Christian

584

Christan Science

7

Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints

21

Hindu

22

Humanist and Non-Religious

13

Jehovah Witness

137

Jewish

35

Muslim

263

Pagan

26

Quaker

33

Rastafarian

13

Salvation Army

3

Seventh Day Adventist

3

Sikh

36

Spiritualist

5

Total

1,266

Data sources and quality:

The figures in the table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-10 conversation_16
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Baroness Fox of Buckley:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the E Wing unit for trans women in HMP/YOI Downview is classified as part of the female prison estate. \p Lord Timpson: The E Wing at HMP/YOI Downview is not part of the general women's estate. Prisoners on E Wing are held separately from other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview and can only access the wider prison's regime where this is supervised by staff and has been risk assessed to ensure safety.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-10 conversation_17
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Baroness Fox of Buckley:To ask His Majesty's Government whether HM Prison and Probation Service interprets the word "woman" in the Prison Rules 1999 as excluding biological men in possession of a Gender Recognition Certificate, following the Supreme Court ruling in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. \p Lord Timpson: The Supreme Court has ruled that for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, sex means biological sex, while also being clear that protections against discrimination for transgender people remain. We are currently assessing our policies relating to prisoners in light of this ruling and we will be able to say more in due course.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_1
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_1

Baroness Thomas of Winchester:To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people are employed in the Access to Work division of the Department for Work and Pensions. \p Baroness Sherlock: DWP staff are not required to disclose details of any disabilities, however, the information can be voluntarily provided and based on those responses, 127 staff that work for Access to Work have declared a disability.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_2
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_2

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that inflation-linked benefits and tax credits for 2026–27 will be uprated in line with the consumer prices index rate of inflation for September. \p Baroness Sherlock: The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review benefit and State Pension rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant benefit or State Pension rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value. Following this review, benefit and State Pension rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.

By convention, these discretionary benefits are typically increased annually in line with the increase in prices as measured by the increase in CPI in the year to September. The outcome of Secretary of State’s statutory up-rating review will be announced in the Autumn. The Uprating Order, which seeks Parliamentary approval of her decisions, is usually laid upon return from recess in January and the new rates will enter into force from 6 April 2026.   Tax Credits ended 5 April 2025.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_3
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_3

Lord De Mauley:To ask His Majesty's Government what are the specific economic conditions that would trigger the 20-per-cent increase in the number of active reserves set out in recommendation 14 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June. \p Lord Coaker: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns) in the House of Commons on 13 June 2025 to Question 57778 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty).

Reserve Forces (docx, 16.2KB)
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_4
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_4

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the announcement by Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia that they intend to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines; and whether they intend to consider withdrawal as well. \p Lord Coaker: His Majesty’s Government (HMG) has noted that Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have stated their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention. The UK acknowledges and shares concerns about the security environment in the region as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We also acknowledge that it is the sovereign right of those countries to make this decision. The UK will work to mitigate impacts on vital arms control and disarmament norms, while continuing to engage bilaterally on the actions States plan to take.

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention) continues to play an important role in protecting civilians from harm caused by anti-personnel landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, the UK’s commitment to it remains unwavering. We continue to encourage countries to join the Ottawa Convention, subscribe to its provisions; and discourage States from using anti-personnel landmines.

HMG continues to publicly express its commitment to the Ottawa Convention, most recently by Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Baroness Chapman, at a House of Lords debate on Landmines and Cluster Munitions on 3 April 2025 (Official Report vol 845, column 425).
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_5
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_5

Lord Spellar:To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to announce the appointment of the National Armaments Director, and when they expect the director to take up the role. \p Lord Coaker: An announcement on the appointment of the National Armaments Director will be made in due course once the necessary recruitment processes and relevant approvals have been finalised.

The successful candidate will take up the role after the appropriate notice period from their previous employer has been served.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_6
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_6

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to combat vaccine hesitancy. \p Baroness Merron: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes research to understand how people experience vaccine services, their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety, and disease severity, and how these may influence vaccine uptake decision-making. This evidence helps to assess public confidence in national vaccination programmes, guide programme management, and support the creation of vaccine information materials in multiple languages and accessible formats.

The Government is committed to having high uptake in all vaccination programmes and has an established independent scientific advisory group, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which is responsible for advising United Kingdom health departments on immunisations for the prevention of infections and/or disease.

The UKHSA has also established a forum bringing together the four UK nations together to review factors impacting uptake, to identify actions and shared learning to improve access to services, and to address other potential barriers.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_7
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_7

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases of (1) measles, (2) whooping cough, (3) mumps, (4) rubella, and (5) polio, were recorded in each of the last three years. \p Baroness Merron: The following table shows the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) routinely published data on laboratory confirmed cases of measles, mumps, rubella, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in 2022, 2023, and 2024:

Disease

2024

2023

2022

Measles

2,911

367

53

Mumps

137

161

59

Rubella

0

0

0

Pertussis

14,894

856

68

The United Kingdom was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization in 2003. The last case of natural polio infection acquired in the UK was in 1984.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_8
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-23 conversation_8

Lord Booth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 10 April (HL6032), what estimate they have made of the annual cost of Ploughshare. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Departments are responsible for assessing the potential costs of proposed new arms length bodies as part of their business case development. The Cabinet Office does not centrally estimate costs for departments’ proposals.

The Government has conducted a full line-by-line Spending Review which covered the costs of proposed and existing ALBs to ensure value for money is being delivered for the taxpayer.

On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all ALBs, including new ALB proposals, to drive efficiency and reduce bureaucracy and duplication as part of Prime Minister’s Plan for Change. This review is ongoing. Any future decision to set up any new ALBs would need to follow the joint HMT and Cabinet Office approval process for new bodies.