theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-27)

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Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, of making a dry dock in Gibraltar available for use by Royal Navy nuclear submarines. \p Lord Coaker: Analysis of docking capacity for the maintenance of Submarines and Warships is the subject of ongoing analysis as part of the Royal Navy’s planning process - the Naval Support Integrated Global Network (NSIGN) Programme is an integral part of this.

There are no current plans to mandate the use of Gibraltar for Submarine Dry Docking.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-27)

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Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to facilitate the return of the anchor of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to the United Kingdom to be placed in the National Memorial Arboretum. \p Lord Coaker: The Ministry of Defence are currently exploring various options regarding the anchor from HMS Prince of Wales, but no final decisions have yet been made. The Malaysian authorities continue to have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of the ship.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-27)

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Lord Bailey of Paddington:To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to support members of the armed forces with their mental health following retirement. \p Lord Coaker: Throughout the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence Veterans’ Welfare Service (VWS) provides advice and support to veterans, anyone supporting a veteran, their families and dependants. The VWS works with the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, local authorities, voluntary organisations and service charities and will routinely assign a case manager and assist with engagement with other services where needed. In England, Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE provide a broad range of specialist mental health, physical and wellbeing care services to veterans, with similar services available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Earlier this year, we announced VALOUR, a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support, which will ensure easier access to essential care and support for veterans across the country.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-27)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to investigate and report on how the failures in process which led to the collapse of the trial of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh occurred. \p Lord Hermer: On 7 October 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service applied to appeal to the High Court by way of case stated, challenging the Chief Magistrate’s interpretation of the law. As these remain active proceedings, you will understand that it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.

It makes sense to await the final resolution of the case before conducting any sort of post-mortem and that also avoids any risk of prejudicing any future proceedings.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government how many palliative care beds are provided in (1) hospices, and (2) NHS Hospital Trusts, in each integrated care board area in England. \p Baroness Merron: We do not hold data centrally on the number of palliative care beds provided by hospices and National Health Service hospital trusts in each integrated care board area in England.

Charitable and private sector palliative care and end of life care providers, including most hospices in England, are independent and autonomous organisations, and as such, they are not legally required to share such information with the Department.

Palliative care and end of life care are broad, holistic approaches provided through a range of professionals and providers, both generalist and specialist, across the NHS, social care, and voluntary sector organisations. Therefore, the number of beds specifically used for palliative care within NHS hospital trusts is difficult to measure as the relevant consultations and tasks are not always coded as such.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect patients during the planned strike by resident doctors in England in July. \p Baroness Merron: The priority is to keep patients as safe as possible during any industrial action. The National Health Service makes every effort through rigorous contingency planning to minimise disruptions and their impact on patients and the public during industrial action.

The NHS works hard to prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and to ensure that patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery are prioritised.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those who are unwell can secure an appointment with their general practitioner. \p Baroness Merron: The Government is determined to work with the National Health Service to fix the front door of our health service and ensure that everyone who is unwell can access general practice (GP) appointments and services. Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a GP. The 8:00am scramble will end, we will train more doctors, and we will guarantee digital consultations within 24 hours.

In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of 1,900 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. We have also delivered the biggest boost to GP funding in years, an £889 million uplift, with GPs now receiving a growing share of NHS resources. The new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 practices across England. This investment will deliver more appointments and improve patient care.   Health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, and responsibility for GP services lies with the Northern Ireland Executive and at Stormont.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Empey:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the growth in demand for health services caused by the increase in the population of the United Kingdom in the past five financial years. \p Baroness Merron: The effects of population increases and wider demographic change on the demand for services are analysed through the use of age cost curves and Office for National Statistics population statistics. Age cost curves estimate the demand for services for a person of a particular age and characteristics. The Department uses these along with bottom-up estimates to understand how population change will affect the National Health Service.

These show, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, that demographic change and population ageing are set to increase demand on an already stretched health service.

In the short term, to respond to these pressures, we have seen the recent Spending Review announce that annual NHS day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, which is the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period. The Spending Review also announced a £2.3 billion real terms increase, a £4 billion cash increase, in the Department’s annual capital budgets from 2023/24 to 2029/30. This will deliver the largest ever health capital budget, representing a more than 20% real terms increase by the end of the Spending Review period.

In the longer term, the 10-Year Health Plan also outlines that we must bend the demand curve, through a vision for a new model of care predicated on the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. This will help secure the financial sustainability of the NHS and make it fit for the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Mott:To ask His Majesty's Government how many instances of debt write-off for NHS treatment of overseas visitors there have been in the past 12 months. \p Baroness Merron: The Department does not hold or collect the information requested.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government how many palliative care beds are currently provided by (1) the NHS, (2) charities and (3) the private sector, in each region of England. \p Baroness Merron: Palliative care and end of life care are broad, holistic approaches provided through a range of professionals and providers, both generalist and specialist, across the National Health Service, social care, and voluntary sector organisations. Therefore, the number of beds specifically used for palliative care is difficult to measure as relevant consultations and tasks are not always coded as such.

We do not hold central data on the number of palliative care beds provided by the NHS, charities, or the private sector in any region of England. Charitable and private sector palliative care and end of life care providers, including most hospices in England, are independent and autonomous organisations, and as such, they are not legally required to share such information with the Department.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) adults, and (2) children, in England who have autism. \p Baroness Merron: There is varied evidence on the ‘true prevalence’ of autism, which is the proportion of the population who would meet the criteria for a diagnosis if they were to be assessed, regardless of whether or not they have received a formal diagnosis.

Part II of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, due to be released in Autumn 2025, will give us an indication of autism prevalence. We are also exploring options through the National Institute for Health and Care Research to improve our current understanding of autism prevalence.

In respect of numbers of people diagnosed as autistic, the NHS Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service dataset shows that, as of March 2025, 968,651 people, both children and adults, had an autism diagnosis recorded in their general practice (GP) records, based on 98.21% of the GP-registered population.

Evidence shows that there is variation in rates of autism diagnosis by age. Some information on diagnosis rates by age group can be taken from the Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics 2023 to 2024, published by NHS England, and based on 54.7% of registered patients. This data shows that 3.41% of zero to 17-year-olds have an autism diagnosis, compared to 0.79% in adults aged 18 years old and over. Evidence suggests that diagnosis rates remain below the levels indicated by evidence on prevalence in some cohorts, such as older people, but are higher than the most recent prevalence estimates in other cohorts, such as younger people.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government how many general practitioners became fully qualified in England in 2024–25. \p Baroness Merron: According to the latest published data from May 2025, there are 28,250 full time equivalent (FTE) fully qualified general practitioners (GPs). The corresponding headcount figure is 38,868.

Compared to May 2024, there has been a net increase of 601 FTE fully qualified GPs in May 2025. The net increase in headcount over the same period is 1,293.

Data on the number of vacancies is not held centrally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government where the first 10 Neighbourhood Health Centres will be located, and when will those centres open. \p Baroness Merron: The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.

That is why over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we will establish over 200 neighbourhood health centres nationwide, with 40 to 50 expected over the course of this Parliament.

We will start in some of the most deprived communities, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proposed population base for each Neighbourhood Health Service in the 10 Year Health Plan. \p Baroness Merron: The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service that moves care closer to home. The Neighbourhood Health Service will embody our new preventative principle, that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and only in a hospital if necessary.

Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s home, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors and more, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that meets the needs of local populations. Rather than applying a rigid, one-size fits all model, the population base for Neighbourhood Health Services is intentionally flexible and locally determined. The geography of a ‘neighbourhood’ will be determined locally by integrated care boards in partnership with their strategic partners, particularly local authorities.

The plan introduces two new contracts, including one to create multi-neighbourhood providers covering populations of approximately 250,000 people, that will unlock the advantages and efficiencies possible from greater scale working across all general practices and small neighbourhood providers in their footprint.

In the future, there will also be neighbourhood health plans drawn up by local government, the National Health Service, and its partners. The integrated care board will bring together these plans into a population health improvement plan for their footprint and use it to inform commissioning decisions.

To support the delivery and spread of neighbourhood health, we have launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP). The NNHIP will support systems across the country to test new ways of working, share learning, and scale what works.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Callanan:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the increased naval and infrastructure presence of China in Southeast Asia for the UK's strategic and economic interests. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK has enduring interests in South-East Asia and is committed to maintaining regional security and stability. In the South China Sea, we are committed to international law, the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to freedom of navigation and overflight. We oppose any action that raises tensions or the risk of miscalculation, take no sides in sovereignty disputes and encourage all parties to settle their disputes peacefully through the existing legal mechanisms, particularly UNCLOS.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Dodds of Duncairn:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report, Russia Country Update, published on 30 June; and what steps are they taking, bilaterally or through multilateral bodies, to press for accountability and improvements to religious freedom in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The report highlights issues that have long concerned this and the previous UK Government. We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief in the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine and in Russia. We condemn Russia's attempt to destroy Ukraine's religious and belief communities. We are further concerned by prosecution of "non-traditional" religious communities within Russia. We provide funding to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine to document and report human rights abuses and violations in Ukraine. We continue to raise concerns in multilateral fora to hold the Russian state to account for its human rights violations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce illegal immigration. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Government is pursuing a comprehensive plan to tackle illegal immigration, through targeted enforcement against the small boat gangs, stronger action alongside our international partners to prevent Channel crossings, increasing the removal of people with no right to be in the UK, cracking down further on illegal working, and continuing our efforts to clear the asylum backlog and end the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.

All of this work will be underpinned by the agreement we are negotiating with our overseas counterparts, and by the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill that is currently proceeding through Parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent report published by Barnardo’s and the Co-op, Deeper Roots, Stronger Futures: Unlocking the Potential of Food Partnerships with Young People, what assessment have they made of the role of food partnerships in supporting young people; and whether this will be reflected in their upcoming youth strategy. \p Baroness Twycross: We will review this report as part of our work to develop a new National Youth Strategy. The Strategy is being co-produced with young people and stakeholders working with and for young people, and the breadth of issues it covers will be shaped by our engagement.

The strategy will aim to better coordinate youth services, as well as move away from one-size-fits all approaches from central government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector. We will be publishing the strategy in the autumn.

Alongside this, The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ food strategy will articulate the outcomes we want from the food system enabling government, civil society, and the food industry to work to shared goals and priorities. Local and place-based approaches will have a key role to play in delivery of these outcomes. The government will continue to work with partners across the food system as we develop our approach.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks that artificial intelligence poses to independent media, and how AI affects the operation of independent media sites. \p Baroness Twycross: Journalism plays an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and we are committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape. In this context, we recognise concerns from the press sector, including independent media, that recent developments in generative AI pose risks, as well as opportunities, to journalism.

We are engaging with the press sector on these concerns. The Media Minister and the Technology Secretary each held roundtables earlier this year with publishers and broadcasters to discuss AI and journalism. We have also provided funding to the Bridging Responsible AI Divides research programme at The University of Edinburgh, which produced the report ‘Generative AI and Journalism: Mapping the Risk Landscape’.

We recognise that particular concerns have been raised with regard to the use of copyrighted news content in the training of AI models and how this interacts with UK copyright law. We want to support rightsholders in licensing their work in the digital age while allowing AI developers to benefit from access to creative material in the UK, including that from independent media. The government is analysing responses to the consultation and looking at all options. We will set out a detailed economic impact assessment on all options and a report on the use of copyright material for AI training, transparency and technical standards. This analysis will inform our position, alongside a series of expert working groups to bring together people from both the AI and creative sectors.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Baroness Benjamin:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to engage with the Local Government Association and other stakeholders to support the implementation of food partnerships in every local area by 2030. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK

As we develop the food strategy, we will be considering how we can better support local and place-based initiatives, to deliver the changes needed to deliver our health, sustainability and resilience outcomes. Recognising the interconnectedness and interdependence of food systems across the UK, we are working closely with the devolved governments, including Wales, to ensure alignment with their own strategies. In addition we are working with the Local Government Association to better understand the role of local authorities in supporting resilient local food systems.

Departments across the Government have worked together to agree the outcomes required to deliver food system change. This has been supported by advice from across the food system, academia, civil society, and citizens, and including Sustainable Food Places, Barnardo’s and Co-op.

The Department will continue to work with partners and seek views from across the whole food system. This includes seeking opportunities to capture the views of and listen to people of all ages including the young, the old and those with disabilities whose voices are not traditionally heard, as we develop our approach and plot a route to deliver the outcomes. Everyone, including young people, will benefit from a Good Food Cycle, and a number of outcomes in our food strategy are particularly important for young people, touching on children's health, food education, and jobs and skills in the food sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term sustainability of farmed salmon in the context of farmed salmon feed production worsening food security in Southeast Asia and West Africa and exacerbating global inequalities. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Farmed salmon is a key UK food export, and the sector provides vital support to many remote or fragile communities, particularly in Scotland, where its production is concentrated. While aquaculture policy is a devolved matter, the UK Government regularly raises in a variety of international fisheries forums the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of farmed fish.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Birt:To ask His Majesty's Government whether Natural England will provide financial compensation to cover the sunk costs of groups whose proposals for National Landscape status or extension of this status were under consideration, but where Natural England has announced it will now cease work on their bids. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Given the pressures on public finances, Defra has had to make difficult decisions about funding. It was not affordable to continue Defra funding to Natural England (NE) for the new National Landscapes designations programme in 25/26 and consequently the funding for this work is very limited. NE recognises the value of the work which has been completed to date for the projects which have been stopped and is keen to ensure this value is shared with local stakeholders and groups. NE intends to publish the relevant information on NE’s ‘Access to Evidence’ page in due course, so the evidence base which has been gathered can be shared and used.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Teverson:To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce a mandatory requirement for remote electronic monitoring systems to be installed on all pelagic trawl vessels over 24 metres in length operating in English waters. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Defra is taking a phased approach to implementing remote electronic monitoring, working first with volunteers to design and test systems before moving to mandatory implementation.

We are currently evaluating the progress of the project. Once implementation issues have been appropriately addressed, we will issue notification that mandatory requirements will be coming in, with a minimum of 24 months lead in time before mandatory requirements were introduced.

This is to ensure the fishing industry has time to adapt to the change.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Viscount Younger of Leckie:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that investment proposals submitted under the Local Government Pension Scheme pooling reforms are subject to formal cost-benefit analysis, include the use of standardised benefit-cost ratio (BCR) calculations; whether projects with a BCR below 1.0 will be deemed poor value for money; and what safeguards they will put in place to ensure projects are prioritised on economic returns rather than political factors. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: LGPS funds and strategic authorities will be required to co-operate with each other to identify and develop appropriate investment opportunities, but there is no plan to require local authorities or mayors to submit business cases. LGPS funds and strategic authorities should agree how best to work together within their region.

The decision to make local investments will be the responsibility of the pool who must implement the strategy set by partner funds. This delegation to the pools will help funds to manage potential conflicts of interest such as political pressures. While funds will be required to have regard to local growth plans and priorities, they have a legal fiduciary duty to pay benefits in the first instance. The pools will be FCA-regulated investment managers with the capacity to set their own assessment criteria for making local investments and will be required to conduct due diligence on local investments.

The Government will issue supporting guidance on these issues in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraph 19 of the Guidance on planning propriety: planning casework decisions published in December 2021, and MHCLG guidance on Crown Development and Urgent Crown development regarding security sensitive information in planning applications,  whether all representations made by other government departments on a called-in planning application or recovered appeal, including on sensitive security matters, must be disclosed to the applicant. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: Representations on planning applications are dealt with in accordance with paragraphs 18, 19 and 20 of the published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions which can be found here.

Ministers are able to issue a direction under section 321 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 on an application where required. This allows evidence to only be heard by specified persons.

Guidance on planning propriety (pdf, 406.6KB)
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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has been provided by either the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government or the Planning Inspectorate on whether a planning inspector is able to give less weight to planning representations if they believe that the representations are a result of, or have been fettered by, foreign interference. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The weight attaching to a representation is a matter for the decision-maker.

In dealing with the application, officials and Ministers will act in accordance with published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions. Further information is available here.

Guidance on planning propriety (pdf, 406.6KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Mayor of London press release of 9 May, Mayor: We must build on the green belt to help fix London’s housing crisis, whether the Government’s support for reviewing Green Belt in Greater London includes support for reviewing Metropolitan Open Land in London. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The designation, management and review of Metropolitan Open Land is a matter for the Mayor of London.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Patten:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of building sites in England with planning consent on which construction work was started in the second quarter of 2025; and what percentage this represented of all sites in England with planning permission. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Department does not hold the requested information.

On 25 May, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out (which can be found on gov.uk here) inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built.

On the same day, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential development, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the government intends bring forward the regulations to implement these measures at the earliest practical opportunity with the new build out reporting framework coming into force from 2026.

Speeding Up Build Out (pdf, 373.5KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Mackinlay of Richborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending permitted development rights on listed buildings to include (1) electric vehicle chargers, (2) small garden sheds, (3) small garden ponds and (4) fences. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the representatives from (1) overseas governments, and (2) non-governmental organisations, that the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group has met during the course of its research. \p Lord Khan of Burnley: As noted in the Terms of Reference, the advice provided to government by the independent Working Group will be private. Once the Government has had time to review the advice, it will consider its next steps.

Terms of Reference (pdf, 123.2KB)
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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether Afghans who worked directly with UK forces and their families and who live in Afghanistan or Pakistan will have a pathway to settle in the UK following the decision to close the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme. \p Lord Coaker: Afghan nationals who wish to come to the UK can still make an application to the Home Office under the most suitable route within the Immigration Rules. Any such application would need to demonstrate that the applicant meets the relevant requirements for that route, including payment of any applicable fees.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a list of (1) departments, (2) agencies, (3) non-departmental public bodies, and (4) devolved administrations, they consulted prior to the decision to close the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme. \p Lord Coaker: The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme is administered by the Ministry of Defence, and the decision to close ARAP to new applications was taken following consultation with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Home Office, His Majesty’s Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Other agencies were first informed of the intent to bring Afghan schemes to a close in the Defence Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement in the House of Commons in December 2024.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_30
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_30

Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish an impact assessment on closing the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme. \p Lord Coaker: The Ministry of Defence has considered the impact of closing the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme (ARAP). The scheme was in operation for four years and had received over 190,000 applications. Over the duration of the scheme, over 95% of total applications have been found ineligible.

It is now considered that most of those who wished to apply for ARAP and would likely be eligible, will have already applied. ARAP has therefore fulfilled its purpose. The Department is not intending to publish an impact assessment.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_31
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_31

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the susceptibility of government digital systems to cyber attacks; and what steps they are taking to improve cyber security of those systems. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Government has made important steps in understanding and mitigating cyber risk. Cyber risks against government systems are kept under review through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), and its external-facing version, the National Risk Register (NRR). The NSRA assesses a number of cyber risks, including the impact of a cyber-attack against government systems on the delivery of public services.

GovAssure - our cyber assurance regime - has given us an objective picture of resilience levels across government, allowing us to phase interventions accordingly. Government is progressing work on an implementation plan to support the delivery of the Government Cyber Security Strategy and is establishing a more interventionist operating model to clarify, enable, and enforce cross-government responsibilities for cyber and digital resilience.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_32
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_32

Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set up an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and if so, what the organisational structure of that office will be. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 10 July, Official Report, PQ HC64454.

PQ 64454 Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to establish an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. 64454

Minister Oppong-Asare response, published 10 July: Deputy Prime Ministers are rightly supported in their role to deliver the additional responsibilities.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s responsibilities are set out on Gov.uk and any such plans would be set out in the usual way.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_33
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_33

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in cyberattacks by state actors, and what steps they are taking to protect against those attacks. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The National Security Strategy concluded that state-sponsored cyberattacks represent a persistent and intensifying threat to the UK’s national security, with hostile actors using cyber operations to undermine our democratic institutions, economic stability and critical infrastructure.

The Government is taking decisive action to counter this threat by strengthening the UK’s cyber resilience, expanding the capabilities of the National Cyber Security Centre, the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Force, and introducing the Cyber Security Resilience Bill to enhance protections for critical national infrastructure. We are also deepening cooperation with international partners to deter hostile activity and respond collectively to malicious cyber operations.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_34
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_34

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government how many suppliers have been placed on the debarment list under the Procurement Act 2023; and what criteria are used to determine placement on this list. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Government is committed to tackling misconduct in public procurement. All contracting authorities and suppliers are expected to act, and be seen to act, with integrity. The debarment regime came into effect on 24 February 2025.

A supplier may only be added to the debarment list if an investigation conducted by the Debarment Review Service (DRS), on behalf of the Minister, establishes that a mandatory or discretionary exclusion ground (as outlined in Schedules 6 and 7 of the Procurement Act 2023) applies and that the circumstances leading to the exclusion ground are continuing or likely to occur again.

The Minister's decision and the outcomes of all debarment investigations, will be publicly available on gov.uk. Currently, there are no suppliers on the debarment list
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_35
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_35

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims relating to infected blood have been settled in each month since May 2024. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). IBCA publishes regular updates on its website of the progress made in delivering compensation, including how many individuals have received compensation payments.

The first payments were made in December 2024. You can find the statistics published by IBCA on their website here: https://ibca.org.uk/statistics
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_36
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_36

Lord Birt:To ask His Majesty's Government how the productivity of London’s economy compares with the UK’s economy as a whole. \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.

Emma Rourke | Acting National Statistician

The Lord Birt

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

16 July 2025

Dear Lord Birt,

As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how the productivity of London’s economy compares with the UK’s economy as a whole (HL9313).

According to our latest regional labour productivity publication for 2023, titled Regional and subregional labour productivity, UK: 2023[1], London remains by far the most productive region in the UK. The headline measure, output per hour worked, shows that London’s productivity was 28.5% higher than the UK average in 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Rourke

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/productivitymeasures/bulletins/regionalandsubregionallabourproductivityuk/2023
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_37
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-07-23 conversation_37

Lord Davies of Gower:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the levels of immigration in the last year on employment rates among UK-born workers. \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.

Emma Rourke | Acting National Statistician

The Lord Davies of Gower

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

16 July 2025

Dear Lord Davies of Gower,

As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the impact of the levels of immigration in the last year on employment rates among UK-born workers (HL9326).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates the employment rates of people born in the UK and people not born in the UK from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK.

According to LFS estimates, the employment rate for people born in the UK for the three-month period January to March 2025 was 74.6%. This was 0.2 percentage points higher than the equivalent employment rate one year earlier. Meanwhile, the employment rate for people born outside of the UK increased by 1.7 percentage points to 76.6% over the same period.

As the LFS does not collect information on the length of time people born outside of the UK have been residents, it is not possible to provide estimates of the employment rate for recent immigrants.

The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the LFS are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Rourke