theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_55

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of private sector productivity, and what assessment they have made of how private sector productivity affects economic growth. \p Lord Livermore: Like many advanced economies, the UK has experienced a slowdown in productivity growth rates since the global financial crisis, but this has been sharper than our peers. UK productivity growth fell to the second slowest in the G7 under the previous government at an average of 0.6 per cent a year - lower than France, Germany and the US. Low investment and falling growth in total factor productivity (TFP) were key factors in this slowdown.

Increasing productivity is vital in driving economic growth. That is why growth is the priority mission of this Government and why we continue to take steps to boost productivity, including through boosting TFP.

This includes increasing the capital envelope by over £100 billion at the Budget in October and a further £13 billion at Spring Statement 2025 compared to the plans set out at Spring Budget 2024. We are also catalysing over £70 billion in private investment through the creation of the National Wealth Fund, removing barriers to investment through ambitious planning reforms, and championing growth-enhancing sectors through our modern Industrial Strategy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Altmann:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of listed closed-ended investment companies by pension funds as a means for smaller schemes to invest in illiquid alternative assets such as energy, housing, infrastructure and small businesses. \p Lord Livermore: The Final Report of the Pensions Investment Review sets out a vision for the defined contribution workplace market and the Local Government Pension Scheme with fewer, larger schemes that will use the benefits of scale to invest in productive assets and enhance outcomes for savers, as well as better support the economy as a whole.

Last month, 17 of the largest workplace pension providers signed the Mansion House Accord and voluntarily committed to invest at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution default funds in private markets by 2030, with half of that invested in UK private assets.

Collectively these 17 schemes manage around 90% of active pension savers’ savings. This is expected to unlock £50bn of additional private market investment by 2030. As providers work towards meeting these commitments, they will be investing more in private, illiquid assets.

Additionally, we are introducing minimum standards for Local Government Pension Scheme asset pools, embedding local investment as a priority and strengthening scheme governance to ensure it is fit for the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Strasburger:To ask His Majesty's Government what are the benefits to HMRC and to affected taxpayers of requiring sole traders and landlords to quadruple the frequency and associated costs of their submissions to HMRC from annually to quarterly, starting in April 2026. \p Lord Livermore: Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax quarterly updates are not the same as full tax returns. They are simple summaries of income and expenses. Software will automatically draw data from a taxpayer’s digital records, and, where these are up to date, the updates will be quick and easy to submit.

Quarterly updates will reduce errors by moving record-keeping closer to real time underpinning the £1.95bn of Additional Tax Revenue that MTD for Income Tax is expected to generate by 2029/30.

They also enable estimates of tax liability as well as nudges and prompts to support users to get their tax right. With records captured digitally in software, preparing the end-of-year return should be more straightforward, as the information needed is already available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Altmann:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of information provided by retail investment platforms to investors in UK-listed closed-ended investment companies, and specifically that relating to whether charges are deducted directly from shareholders or are expenses paid by the company. \p Lord Livermore: In 2024, the Government legislated to enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reform the UK’s retail disclosure regime to ensure consumers have access to the most useful information – including on risks, costs and performance – to support their investment decisions. The FCA continue to engage with industry and will publish their final rules later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Alexander of Cleveden:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce inefficiencies in the tax system. \p Lord Livermore: The Government is committed to ensuring that the tax system provides the economic stability needed for growth.

At the Budget in October the Government honoured the manifesto commitment to cap Corporation Tax and outlined a clear plan in the Corporate Tax roadmap. The Government also took steps to repair the public finances through reforms that removed inefficient and distortive reliefs from the tax system. This included removing loopholes to ensure the tax system was more sustainable alongside delivering on the Government’s manifesto commitments to raise revenue in a fair way.

At Spring Statement 2025 we went further and faster to close the tax gap, making sure that everyone pays the tax they owe, and in April the Government announced measures to simplify the tax system to help deliver the Plan for Change. These measures will reduce burdens on employers and small businesses, and reform the tax system to ensure it continues to be fit for the modern world.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Alexander of Cleveden:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help increase the return on investment from pension savings. \p Lord Livermore: The first part of the landmark Pensions Review has concluded with the publication of the Final Report of the Pensions Investment Review on 29 May 2025.

The ambitious reforms outlined in the Final Report will drive scale and consolidation in both the multi-employer defined contribution pensions market and the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales. They will unlock billions of pounds in investment for productive assets, improve efficiency, and deliver better returns for savers. Estimates suggest the measures could increase a Defined Contribution pot at retirement by £5,900 for an average earner who saves over their career.

To deliver these reforms, the Government has introduced the Pension Schemes Bill, providing the necessary legislative framework to implement these reforms, alongside wider pension reforms. The Bill received its first reading on 5 June 2025.

These measures will support the new more ambitious industry-led voluntary Mansion House Accord, announced on 13 May 2025. The Accord is a commitment from 17 of the UK’s largest defined contribution pension schemes to invest 10% of their default funds in private assets, with half of that earmarked for the UK, by 2030. This will unlock more productive investment and help support the diversification of savers’ pensions assets.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Barran:To ask His Majesty's Government how much revenue has been raised since introducing VAT on private schools on 1 January; and what has this revenue has been spent on or is planned to be spent on to date. \p Lord Livermore: At the Budget in October, the Government set out its estimate that this measure will raise £460 million in VAT revenue in 2024/25, rising to £1,725 million in 2029/30.

Ending tax breaks for private schools will secure additional funding to help the Government deliver its commitments relating to education and young people.  DfE’s 2028-29 settlement includes £101.5 billion of day-to-day spending, a 1.4% average annual real-terms increase from 2023-24 to 2028-29

This includes an additional £4.7 billion cash increase per year for schools by 2028-29 (compared to 2025-26), increasing per pupil funding in real terms to a new record high.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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The Earl of Effingham:To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings ministers in the Treasury have had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024. \p Lord Livermore: The Chancellor meets regularly with the Mayor of London and has discussed Heathrow expansion with him on several occasions.
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Baroness Neville-Rolfe:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the unemployment rate and its impact on economic growth. \p Lord Livermore: In their Spring forecast, the OBR expect the unemployment rate will remain broadly flat for the rest of the year, falling to 4.1% by the end of 2027 and remaining at that rate for the rest of the forecast.

A key part of the Government’s growth mission is our commitment to get more people into work. That is why the Government has set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government how much tax revenue they have collected from the vaping industry in each of the past three years for which figures are available. \p Lord Livermore: HM Revenue & Customs does not hold readily available tax revenue data from the vaping industry.
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Baroness Neville-Rolfe:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their fiscal policies on the United Kingdom's economic growth potential. \p Lord Livermore: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for preparing forecasts for the UK economy and public finances. This includes an assessment of the impact of the Government’s policies.

The OBR publish their judgements in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policies announced at Spring Statement 2025.

The OBR’s assessment of the Government’s policies at the Budget in October can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – October 2024 - Office for Budget Responsibility.
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will ask the Office for Budget Responsibility to examine cancer trends in the next report about fiscal risks and sustainability, with a focus on the economic implications of early intervention. \p Lord Livermore: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is required to prepare an analysis of the sustainability of the public finances annually, known as a Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report (FRS), as set out in the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act (BRNAA) 2011.

The OBR is an independent body and the BRNAA requires that the OBR performs its duties objectively, transparently and impartially. As a result, the content of the FRS is determined independently by the OBR. Previous reports by the OBR have covered health-related risks. For example, the 2024 FRS included a chapter on long-term health trends [1].

The next FRS will be published on 8 July 2025 [2].

[1] Fiscal risks and sustainability report, Office for Budget Responsibility, September 2024.

[2] Fiscal risks and sustainability 2025 due 8 July, Office for Budget Responsibility, May 2025.
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Baroness Neville-Rolfe:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the latest consumer price index figures; and what plans they have to address these figures. \p Lord Livermore: The OBR, in their Spring forecast, expect inflation to fall back towards the Bank of England's 2% target in 2026.

The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to the 2% target. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the Bank of England has cut Bank Rate four times since August as underlying inflationary pressure has eased.
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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the United Nations document Moving Forward, Whilst Looking Back: Reflections on the Effective Implementation of the Genocide Convention, published in 2024, that the signatories of the Genocide Convention failed to look beyond geopolitical factors with regard to the protection needs of the Isaaq people; and what steps they will take to work with international partners to prevent similar failings in future. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The UK has made note of the findings of the United Nations document Moving Forward, Whilst Looking Back: Reflections on the Effective Implementation of the Genocide Convention. As a party to the Convention, the UK is fully committed to the prevention and punishment of genocide under the Convention. To fulfil its duty to prevent under the Genocide Convention, the Government adopts a consolidated, whole-of-government effort, using our diplomatic, development, defence and law enforcement capabilities, to help find pathways to global peace and stability. Where we see immediate risks of atrocities, we take diplomatic steps to highlight our concerns: bilaterally with the countries concerned and with regional neighbours, and multilaterally through international organisations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Cass:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 20 May (HL7302), what steps they are taking in their role as penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council to propose a new resolution further to Resolution 2669 to address any violations by the government of Myanmar. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: As I highlighted on 20 April, the UK are concerned by reports of continued violations by the military on civilians of Myanmar. The UK consistently uses its role as penholder at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to maintain a spotlight on Myanmar. On April 4, we led a joint UNSC press statement, reaffirming the importance of "the timely and effective delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to all those in need, without disruption or discrimination". This statement marked the first unified UNSC message since UNSC Resolution 2669. On 30 April, we convened a UNSC meeting to address human rights violations by the Myanmar military and the impact of the March earthquake. In 2024, we convened six UNSC meetings on Myanmar. The UK will continue to shine a spotlight on Myanmar, including through our leadership role at the UN Security Council.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord West of Spithead:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Chinese ambassador to Mauritius expects Mauritius to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: It is for Mauritius to comment on its national approach and foreign policy. The UK will take a consistent and pragmatic approach to China's role in Africa - we will cooperate where we can, compete where we have different interests, and challenge where we must.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government how much they contributed to the BBC World Service in each of the past two years; and what percentage of that organisation's cost they contributed in each of the past two years. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: In Financial Year 2023/2024, the government contribution to the World Service was £104.4 million. The Licence Fee contribution was £265 million, so we provided 28.3 per cent of the budget. In 2024-2025, the government provided £104.4 million of the budget, and in 2025-2026 we will provide £137 million - an uplift of over 31 per cent. The BBC will not publish the final Licence Fee contribution and total World Service budget for 2024/2025 until the summer, so we cannot provide the percentage calculation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support freedom of expression in Myanmar in the context of the Myanmar military’s restrictions on independent media. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: We are concerned by the recent UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report, which stated since the coup in February 2021 that 15 media outlets have been shut down and 193 media workers arrested, of whom at least 57 remain in detention. The UK continues to support organisations, such as Myanmar Witness, to collect independent, verifiable data, foster collaboration with independent media outlets and counter the military's mis and disinformation. This work continues to increase attention on human rights abuses across the country. We also continue to call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar, including those who worked in the media.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Balfe:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 20 May (HL7156), whether they plan to send a representative to the Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival as part of their engagement with the Turkish Cypriot community. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The Government does not currently have plans to send a representative to the specific event referenced in PQ HL7889. However, we continue to engage members of the Cypriot diaspora and welcome the strong contribution that the diaspora has and continues to make to UK culture and communities.
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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to press for the release of political prisoners detained in Myanmar. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK condemns the arbitrary detention of politicians, civil society members and journalists by the military regime. We have repeatedly called for their release, On 31 January 2025, the Foreign Secretary called for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar, including Aung San Suu Kyi. In April, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Myanmar, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those who have been arbitrarily detained, charged, or arrested, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Chris Mburu Past Human Rights Abuses in Somalia: Report of a Preliminary Study Conducted for the United Nations, published in 2002; and what assessment they have made of its recommendations following the Isaaq genocide. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The Government is aware of the findings of the report 'Past Human Rights Abuses in Somalia: Report of a Preliminary Study Conducted for the United Nations', by Chris Mburu, published in 2002. The UK is committed to improving respect for human rights in Somalia, including Somaliland, which is crucial to building a more secure, democratic and prosperous Somalia. It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that any judgement as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the flow of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, following the airstrike on a school in Sagaing region on 12 May. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The recent airstrike on a school in Sagaing was devastating. On 13 May, the Minister for the Indo-Pacific called for all parties, particularly the Myanmar military, to refrain from airstrikes, safeguard civilians, and protect civilian infrastructure. In October 2024, the UK issued its 19th round of sanctions, targeting companies involved in the procurement of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar armed forces. The UK remains committed to targeted sanctions, which directly impact the military without harming the wider population.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of international activists and artists in raising awareness of human rights abuses in Myanmar, and what steps they are taking to support such individuals in their advocacy work and ensure that bureaucratic barriers do not prevent their contribution to cultural and political life in the United Kingdom. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The UK supports the role of international activism and art as powerful expressions to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Myanmar. We condemn all human rights atrocities committed in Myanmar, notably by the military regime. In April, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar calling for the Myanmar military to fully respect and protect the human rights of all persons in Myanmar, including Rohingya and other persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities. We will continue to support the role of activists and artists, in our shared commitment to shining a light on the grave human rights atrocities taking place in Myanmar.
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Baroness Gohir:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 9 December 2024 (HL2824), what assessment they have made of the prevalence of transnational marriage abandonment cases for 2024 and 2025. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Since 31 January 2024 those who find themselves a victim of domestic abuse in the form of transnational marriage abandonment (TMA) can apply for entry clearance (Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE)) under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse to the Immigration Rules.

Data on the number of applications under the TMA route is published each quarter on gov.uk under the category ‘Settlement VDA LTE’: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/682b151450dbd3ce8372abb4/visas-status-and-immigration-data-q1-2025.ods.

The data shows there were 9 cases in 2024 Q1, 17 in Q2, 34 in Q3, 23 in Q4. For 2025 the data shows there were 12 cases in Q1.

Prior to this, cases of TMA were not distinguishable in published statistics. We will continue to monitor the prevalence of TMA cases over time.
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Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted:To ask His Majesty's Government how many intellectual property licences the Home Office holds under contracts or terms of reference for (1) grants, (2) pre-procurement or proof of concept work, and (3) procurement; how many of those have sub-licensing rights; how many of those have resulted in sub-licensing; and how many of those sub-licences are for patents, and for which countries. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be provided for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to require that solar farm and battery energy storage system developments are backed by sufficient performance or decommissioning bonds to guarantee the removal of infrastructure and the full reversion of land to its former use in the event of insolvency or project failure. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: We do not currently have plans to require solar and battery projects to be covered by decommissioning bonds.

Solar farms are normally temporary structures and planning conditions can be used to ensure that the installations are removed when no longer in use and the land is restored to its previous use. Solar panels can be decommissioned relatively easily and cheaply. It is a legal requirement for any company that imports, manufactures or rebrands solar products to join a ‘Producer Compliance Scheme’, which then ensures their legal obligations are met, most significantly for the collection and recycling of old PV panels.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Lord Harris of Haringey:To ask His Majesty's Government how many fires at electricity substations have been reported in each of the last five years. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network, and Government takes the protection of energy infrastructure very seriously.

4 substation fires have been reported to Government over the last 5 years. Such incidents are reported to Government when there is a potential or actual impact to customer supplies.

The Government works closely with the energy industry to ensure robust response plans are in place to mitigate the impacts of energy disruption.
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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the UK achieves its target of 43 to 50 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: This Government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction – clean energy. The Government has launched its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan setting out a detailed plan for achieving the target of clean power by 2030. The plan includes a bold set of measures focused on delivering a once-in-a-generation upgrade to Britain’s energy infrastructure, including cleaning up the queue to connect the right projects in the right place, fixing the planning system to fast-track critical clean energy infrastructure, and reforming our renewables auctions to secure a strong pipeline of technologies including offshore wind.
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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil cases have been lodged with the Northern Ireland Office in relation to the 2020 Supreme Court decision that the signing of interim custody orders by a Minister or official other than a Secretary of State was unlawful; when were the interim custody orders signed; how many of the claimants are deceased; how many cases have been determined; and at what cost they were determined. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Approximately 100 civil damages claims relating to Interim Custody Orders signed by a Minister or official other than the Secretary of State have been lodged with the Northern Ireland Office since the decision of the Supreme Court in 2020. Around a tenth of these have been brought on behalf of an individual who is deceased. The relevant date period for an ICO claim relating to the signing of an order by a Minister or official other than a Secretary of State is between 24 March 1972 and 5 December 1975. None of the claims have yet been determined by a judge.
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Baroness Grey-Thompson:To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the funding agreements for the railway industry announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 4 June has been allocated for improved accessibility. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions settlements for 9 eligible mayoral strategic authorities on 4 June 2025. As a devolved funding programme, it is for local areas to decide how to allocate this funding to address their local transport priorities. The Government’s wider investment plans for transport, including rail, have been set out in the Spending Review.
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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of the closure of Heathrow Airport due to the fire at the North Hyde substation on 21 March. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The UK aviation sector is predominantly privately operated therefore airports are responsible for managing their own contingency plans and ensuring that they are robust and meet their own individual circumstances.

The Department does not formally assess the impact of individual resilience issues due to the complexity of the impact and vast range of indirect impacts across the economy.
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Lord Framlingham:To ask His Majesty's Government whether owners of property purchased for the route of HS2 were required to enter non-disclosure agreements as a condition for receiving compensation, if so why, and who authorised this. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: It is not a condition of receiving compensation for property purchased on the HS2 route that the owner must enter into a non-disclosure agreement.
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Baroness Pidgeon:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to increase rail freight through the Channel Tunnel and support a more sustainable logistics network across the UK and Europe. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government is keen to see the growth of international rail freight, which supports the Government’s growth mission. DfT officials engage regularly with the sector to discuss the potential to increase the number of international freight flows through the Channel Tunnel.

While it is ultimately a commercial decision for industry as to whether to operate new services, the Government is engaging with the International rail freight sector to examine potential measures to facilitate cross channel rail freight. The Department also welcomes ORR’s recent decision to reduce HS1 access charges for freight as part of its control period determination, as well as Network Rail’s freight track access charge discount scheme, both of which will help to facilitate growth in international rail freight.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_88

Lord Patten:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will define the term "directing mind" in relation to Great British Railways. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Railways Bill will set out Great British Railway's statutory functions, as the directing mind for the railway. In general terms Great British Railways (GBR) will manage cross-network planning and operations for current and future customer needs. With oversight by the Secretary of State and where necessary Scottish Ministers, GBR will make informed trade-offs between different uses of the railway, which is as crucial for the efficiency of freight operations as it is for passenger services.

Passengers and taxpayers expect a consistent service across the rail network, and the majority support the move to a publicly owned-rail network, as outlined in a YouGov survey from 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_89

The Earl of Effingham:To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings ministers in the Department for Transport have had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Minister for Aviation, in the Department for Transport, regularly meets with stakeholders across the sector and values this engagement.

For the period in question, the Minister for Aviation has held no meetings with the Mayor of London, and therefore, has not discussed Heathrow Airport expansion proposals.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_90
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_90

Baroness Eaton:To ask His Majesty's Government what threshold needs to be met by utility companies to start emergency roadworks without a permit under highway authority permit schemes. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Emergency works are defined in legislation as works needed to deal with dangers to life and property and so must be carried out urgently. For these, and other urgent works needed to restore customer connections or deal with leaks, permits must be submitted to the relevant highway authority within two hours of works starting on site. The authority can assess these permits and request works are completed by a particular time.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_91
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_91

The Earl of Effingham:To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings the Secretary of State for Transport has had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Secretary of State met with the Mayor of London in February 2025. The agenda of this meeting was not to discuss Heathrow Airport Expansion. However, the expansion proposal was briefly raised in the appendage of the meeting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_92

Baroness Eaton:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend section 81 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 so that local authorities can levy fines against utility companies that fail to maintain street apparatus to their reasonable satisfaction. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Government does not currently have any plans to amend the legislation in this way. Utility companies already have a duty to maintain their apparatus in the street. Where a local authority becomes aware of defective apparatus they should notify the owner of the apparatus. If the apparatus presents a hazard that could result in danger to the public, then the authority should take any appropriate action, which might include an officer remaining on site until the owner of the apparatus attends, or ensuring that suitable actions to make the site safe are carried out. The authority can recover reasonable costs for doing so from the asset owner.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_93
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-16 conversation_93

Baroness Penn:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 14 April (HL6369), whether the static microsimulation model used in their impact assessment provided an estimate for how many of the additional 250,000 people moved into relative poverty by their welfare changes will already be in work, regardless of the funding to support those not in work into employment. \p Baroness Sherlock: No assessment has been made on this basis.

The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable and give disabled people equal chances and choices to work.

We will continue to carefully consider the impacts of reforms as we develop our detailed proposals for change.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_1
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_1

Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the expected remit of the proposed Health Data Research Service includes providing direct care. \p Baroness Merron: On 7 April 2025 the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations.

Providing access to data for direct care purposes is not one of the Health Data Research Service’s planned capabilities. The Health Data Research Service will deliver a single point of access to health data for research from multiple sources, National Health Service and non-NHS. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.

The Health Data Research Service will be delivered across the UK to provide a single, integrated system for approved researchers across all sectors to access health, social care, and public health data safely. The service will streamline and simplify current processes, ensuring the safety and security of the data, allowing researchers to spend less time talking to different NHS bodies around the country and more time unlocking new insights that will transform our understanding of health.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_2
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_2

Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement that they will accept all recommendations of an independent review into physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) on 16 July, what additional support and training they will provide to existing PAs and AAs to ensure that they can continue to care for patients while addressing concerns about patient safety. \p Baroness Merron: NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks to reiterate their responsibilities to their staff as employers, including providing pastoral support where required. Importantly, NHS England has also written directly to staff most affected by the recommendations, in the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review), available on the NHS.UK website, setting out where they can find support if required.

Implementing the recommendations will require organisations to work together and take action. Some actions will be implemented immediately, whilst others will require wider input, with benefits being fully realised over time. The Department and NHS England will work to ensure that both patient and staff needs are met throughout this process. We will also work collaboratively with other key partners to set out a clear implementation plan for making the required changes, in advance of publishing a fuller response.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_3

Lord Dodds of Duncairn:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the legal protections of unborn children in the event that abortion is decriminalised through the repeal of sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929; and whether any alternative legal provisions would remain in place to provide protection to unborn children. \p Baroness Merron: Existing criminal offences relating to fetuses are contained in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929.

The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion for a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967. The Government has no plans to change these.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_4

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington:To ask His Majesty's Government what communications (1) the Department for Health and Social Care, and (2) NHS England, have had with the Professional Records Standards Body about the definitions of (1) gender identity, and (2) gender. \p Baroness Merron: The Department and NHS England have had no communications with the Professional Records Standards Body about the definition of gender identity and gender.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-08-08 conversation_5

Lord Dodds of Duncairn:To ask His Majesty's Government what they are taking to ensure that women considering abortion are provided with comprehensive information on all available options, including parenting, adoption, and perinatal palliative care. \p Baroness Merron: Women seeking abortion services must be given impartial, accurate, and evidence-based information so that they are able to make an informed choice about their preferred course of action.

The National Health Service website provides factual information on abortion, including directing people seeking impartial information and support to their general practice or to regulated organisations such as Brook, for under 25 year olds, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, MSI Reproductive Health Choices UK, and National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service. All the main abortion providers offer pregnancy counselling, which includes advice on options such as parenting and adoption.

Following a diagnosis of fetal anomaly, women and their partners must receive appropriate counselling and support. At no stage should there be a bias towards abortion. All staff involved in the care of a woman or couple facing a possible termination of pregnancy must adopt a nondirective, non-judgemental, and supportive approach. It should not be assumed that a woman will choose to have a termination, and a decision to continue with the pregnancy must be fully supported. In addition, the charity Antenatal Results and Choices offers information and support for people who have received a diagnosis after antenatal screening.