theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the overall primary school population attend one of the 754 early-adopter schools announced as part of the breakfast club scheme. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department is clear on the impact that breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn, which is why the government committed in its manifesto to introduce free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged pupils. From April 2025, free breakfast clubs will be available in 750 early adopter schools, as part of a test and learn phase in advance on national roll out.

On 24 February 2025, the department published the list of schools that have been confirmed as early adopters of the free breakfast club scheme. The list is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopters-schools-in-the-scheme.

As part of the scheme, around 180,000 children will have access to a free breakfast club, which equates to around 4% of the overall state-funded primary aged school population.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to teach artificial intelligence skills in state schools. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Programming, algorithms and the use of information technology are taught to pupils through the statutory national curriculum subject of computing from key stage 1 to key stage 4, providing the foundation for further study in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI).

To support the teaching of AI in schools, the department funds the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), which delivers a range of courses for teachers on machine learning and AI, ethics, and teaching about AI in primary and secondary computing. For example, this includes ‘AI in key stage 3 computing’, which supports teachers to understand what AI is and how it can be used for asset creation, equipping them with the knowledge required to promote the effective and safe use of AI tools. The government’s continued investment in the NCCE for the 2025/26 financial year will ensure that teachers can access the support they need to be able to teach about AI, and other computing topics, effectively and confidently.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The review seeks to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive. This includes considering how young people will acquire the key digital skills needed for future life. The review group will publish an interim report in early spring setting out its interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work, and will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn. The department will take decisions on what changes to make to the curriculum in light of these recommendations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness Lister of Burtersett:To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of children who will be lifted out of (1) poverty, and (2) deep poverty, as a result of free school breakfast clubs. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is a key step towards delivering the government’s opportunity mission to break the link between young people’s background and their future success. It will put in place a package of support to drive high and rising standards throughout our education and care systems so that every child can achieve and thrive.

We are taking action to break the unfair link between background and success by rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school which will offer all children, regardless of their background, a settled start to the day, improving their attendance, behaviour and attainment. It will also help with the costs of living and mean many more pupils are fed and ready to learn at the start to the school day. This will be of particular benefit to the most disadvantaged families.

By providing parents with a free half hour breakfast club each morning, the department estimates this will save parents up to £450 a year in paid for before-school childcare. Being able to drop children off at school earlier may also offer parents greater opportunities in terms of the timing, nature, and location of employed roles open to them.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness Wolf of Dulwich:To ask His Majesty's Government what budget was set for capital expenditure, including improvements, in the further education and sixth form college sector in the financial years 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24; and what proportion of the budget was spent in each of those years. \p Baroness Smith of Malvern: Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.

As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, the government is providing £6.7 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 for education in England, a real terms increase of 19% from 2024/25. This includes £1.4 billion for the continuing school rebuilding programme, which also includes sixth form colleges and 16-19 academies. The settlement also invests over £2 billion to improve the condition of school and sixth form college buildings, and £950 million for skills capital. Skills capital includes £300 million of new funding to support further education (FE) colleges to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estate.

The department provides capital funding to FE colleges and sixth form colleges through a wide range of programmes. The department does not publish the budgets and spend of capital programmes by provider type, however, we do publish provider allocations and awards on GOV.UK and report departmental spending through the annual reports and accounts each year.

The total departmental capital budgets and expenditure for the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years are provided in the department’s annual reports and set out in the table below.

Financial Year

Budget (£ million)

Spend (£ million)

Proportion of budget spent

2021/22

5,267

4,798

91%

2022/23

6,269

5,948

95%

2023/24

6,780

6,636

98%
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports that energy bills will rise, and (2) the effect that any such rise will have on consumers. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Energy bills are forecast to rise for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 due to an increase in international gas prices.

The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on clean energy investment in Northern Ireland of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is in an implementation period and applies to exports of electricity to the EU but not electricity for the UK market. The EU Commission has said that it intends to finalise the regulation via legislation ahead of the CBAM entering its definitive period.

The UK will continue to engage closely with the EU as it finalises the CBAM and will continue to raise the need for clarity on the practical implementation of the CBAM for trade in electricity, given the challenges involved.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness McIntosh of Pickering:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the level of the Warm Homes Discount. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There are currently no plans to review the Warm Home Discount rebate value, and this will remain at £150 for the remainder of the scheme.

We have recently published a consultation on expanding the Warm Home Discount Scheme for next winter, where we propose to remove the high cost to heat threshold, making all those on means tested benefits eligible for the scheme. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million.

We are exploring options to improve the design of the scheme beyond the current regulations which expire in 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss linking the respective emissions trading schemes of the UK and EU at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on 19 May 2025. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Under the terms of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the UK Government and EU agreed to give serious consideration to linking our respective carbon pricing schemes and to cooperate on carbon pricing. As part of our reset with the EU the Government continues to explore all options to improve trade and investment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government how many offshore oil and gas installations in the UK sector of the North Sea have been granted exemptions from full removal under OSPAR Decision 98/3 since 2000; and on what grounds these exemptions were approved. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Since 2000 there have been 7 derogations (exemptions) approved under the procedures set out under OSPAR Decision 98/3. Following an assessment of options and national and international consultations, HM Government was satisfied that leave in situ was the most appropriate solution on balance considering safety risks, environmental impact, technical feasibility, and economic and societal effects.

Details of all derogations are available via OSPAR’s public Inventory of Offshore Installations website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the total cost of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure in the UK sector of the North Sea; and how this compares to previous estimates published by the North Sea Transition Authority. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), an arm’s length body of the Department, is responsible for benchmarking and reviewing the total cost of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure in the UK’s sector of the North Sea.

The NSTA estimates the cost of decommissioning the remaining oil and gas infrastructure is approximately £40 billion, with £20 billion of that spend forecast in the next decade, in constant with 2021 prices.

The NSTA publishes estimates for the upstream oil and gas industry’s annual expenditure on decommissioning by calendar year up to 2023 which is available on its website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that oil and gas operators in the UK sector of the North Sea may default on their decommissioning obligations; and what measures are in place to prevent taxpayer liability in the event of an operator’s insolvency. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The ‘Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning’ (OPRED) monitors North Sea operators’ financial and commercial activities to ensure Government has an accurate picture of industry capacity to honour its decommissioning liabilities. OPRED regularly undertakes decommissioning risk analysis in relation to North Sea offshore installations. The Petroleum Act 1998 provides the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, with powers to serve legally binding notice on offshore operators to pay for their respective decommissioning programmes. If necessary, OPRED, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, can oblige operators to provide additional financial security to further minimise tax-payer liability.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of North Sea oil and gas decommissioning activities on UK coastal communities, including the estimated number of jobs created and the associated industrial opportunities. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The current overall cost estimate for North Sea decommissioning is approximately £40 billion, with UK suppliers in line to receive 70% of planned work in Supply Chain Action Plans submitted to the NSTA in 2022. The Government is currently consulting on the future of the North Sea and is seeking views on how we can seize the opportunities of the energy transition, including decommissioning.

Consultation launched on 5 March, last week.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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The Lord Bishop of Lichfield:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the early release scheme on the Probation Service; and what additional support and funding they are providing to the Probation Service in connection with that scheme. \p Lord Timpson: SDS40 has resulted in certain offenders being released from custody earlier. This has led to extended periods on licence within the community, thereby increasing costs for the Probation Service and the Electronic Monitoring Service.

An Impact Assessment has been conducted and is published here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2024/117/pdfs/ukia_20240117_en.pdf.

Unlike the previous Government’s disastrous early release scheme, SDS40 is being managed carefully to ensure that the Probation Service is adequately prepared and able to plan effectively for release.

The Lord Chancellor announced new measures on 12 February to address the pressures faced by the Probation Service. These measures include:

Recruiting 1,300 more probation officers in the next financial year, in addition to the 1,000 officers committed to by the end of this financial year.

Keeping the public safe by concentrating on high-risk offenders, ensuring that lower-risk offenders are moved through the system quickly and referred to services that can help manage any addictions, secure jobs, and housing.

Making better use of technology, including AI, to free up probation officers' time.

PQ HL5258 pdf (pdf, 160.9KB)
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Baroness Coussins:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the new promotional leaflets and posters about the Victims' Code in languages other than English. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The materials that are part of the ‘Victims’ Code: Understand Your Rights’ campaign are available in English, Welsh, Arabic, Bangla, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish and Urdu. These reflect the fifteen most spoken languages in the UK, in addition to English and Welsh. They are available at Victims' Code posters and leaflet translated - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness Burt of Solihull:To ask His Majesty's Government how many people currently serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences, whether in prison or on licence in the community, have served more than (1) 0, (2) 5, (3) 10, or (4) 15 years over their original tariff; and what percentage of people serving IPPs this represents in each case. \p Lord Timpson: Figures on the number of unreleased IPP prisoners, broken down by time over tariff, are published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) in Table 1.Q.18 here: prison-population-31-Dec-2024.ods. The data has also been provided with this response by separate attachment for ease.

Table 1 shows the number of post-tariff unreleased prisoners serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, broken down by time over tariff; as at 31 December 2024, in England & Wales. The bandings for these data are aligned to published data.

Table 2 shows the number of offenders serving an IPP sentence on licence in the community, broken down by the number of years since their tariff expiry, as at 30 September 2024, in England and Wales(1). The bandings for these data are also aligned to published data.

It is right that the IPP sentence was abolished, and this Government is determined that those serving the sentence get all the support and opportunities they need to make further progress towards a safe and sustainable release.

On 15 November 2024, the Government published the updated IPP Action Plan, which puts a stronger emphasis on effective frontline delivery in our prisons. It will ensure that prisoners serving IPP sentences have robust and effective sentence plans, which they are actively engaging with, and that they are in the correct prison to access the right interventions and rehabilitative services.

The IPP Action Plan and the commitment to deliver it have contributed to the overall reduction in the IPP population. The unreleased prison population fell from 1,227 in December 2023, to 1,045 in December 2024.

The Government also acted swiftly to commence the IPP measures in the Victims and Prisoners Act, which led to the automatic termination of licence for 1,742 cases on 1 November 2024. We also commenced the new power to re-release recalled IPP offenders executively through Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR).

Table 1 (xlsx, 20.9KB)

Table 2 (xlsx, 17.0KB)
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Baroness Eaton:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in the Electoral Commission report on the 2024 UK parliamentary general election and the May 2024 local elections, published on 7 October 2024. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government has, on 12 February 2025, published its response to the Electoral Commission’s report on the May polls and the UK Parliamentary general election last July.

We are grateful to the Commission for its reports and have and will continue to carefully consider its findings and recommendations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Baroness Eaton:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2025–26 (HC 623), why the London Boroughs of Croydon, Harrow, Bexley and Bromley are not to receive the Recovery Grant for the 2025–26 financial year. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Recovery Grant, worth £600 million, is only one part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, which makes available over £69 billion in 2025-26 and ensures that no council will see a decrease in Core Spending Power.

To start correcting the system, the government needs to make difficult decisions. As a result, some councils will not receive an allocation through the Recovery Grant.

The Recovery Grant is targeted towards areas with greater need and demand for services (we have used deprivation as a proxy for this) and less ability to raise income locally.

Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Harrow will all see a real-terms increase in their core spending power for 2025-26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what account they have taken of UNESCO’s best practices for assessing risks to a World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value in assessing the planning application for a new Chinese embassy on the Royal Mint site and its potential impact on the Tower of London World Heritage Site. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: A public inquiry held by an independent Inspector has heard a range of evidence and representations. The Inspector will now prepare a report and recommendation, which will be sent to the Department. As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be appropriate to comment further. Decisions on planning applications are based on material planning considerations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Pack:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review and update the Registered Parties (Non-constituent and Non-affiliated Organisations) Order 2000 (SI 2000/3183), as amended in 2002 and 2004. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government does not currently have plans to review the Registered Parties (Non-constituent and Non-affiliated Organisations) Order 2000.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Spellar:To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to issue the latest consultation on a code of practice for parking charges and debt recovery fees. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities. This government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector and will announce its plans for the new Code in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Roberts of Llandudno:To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to ensure that the beliefs of different faiths are respected. \p Lord Khan of Burnley: Our country is strengthened by individuals of different faiths and beliefs, and the valuable contribution they make to our communities. I regularly meet leaders and representatives of major faiths and beliefs, and in the first six months in my role, I am proud to have engaged with all faith groups in the UK. The insights of faith and belief groups play an important role in shaping policies that promote inclusivity, understanding, and respect across our society.

Departmental officials also hold strong relationships with many faith and belief representatives, as interfaith practitioners.

This government also recognises and respects the importance of the various festivals commemorated by our different faiths. These are marked through attendance at events and receptions, and on the department’s social media channels.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Pearson of Rannoch:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a body to define Islamophobia; and what steps they are taking to ensure that freedom of speech is protected to allow the criticism of religions. \p Lord Khan of Burnley: The Government has established a new working group to provide a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, advising government and other bodies on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims. The group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory, and we are clear that it must be compatible with British citizens’ unchanging right to exercise freedom of speech and expression - which includes the right to criticise, express dislike of, or insult religions and/or the beliefs and practices of adherents. This work will support these important freedoms, ensuring that they are preserved.

With levels of Islamophobia at a record high, this work will improve understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities and support wider and ongoing government-led efforts to root out hatred in all its forms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 5 September 2024 (HC2635), whether the Treasury approved the MHCLG efficiency saving of £5 million on legal fees relating to changing the last Administration's approach to extremism, and how that relates to the Home Office’s reference to those extremism definitions in the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 3 January (HC20295). \p Lord Khan of Burnley: National security and keeping the citizens of this country safe will always be the highest priority for this Government. That is why, soon after the election last year, the Home Secretary commissioned a rapid review of extremism. The Government will set out their approach to countering extremism in due course. Meanwhile, we will continue to work with partners to tackle extremism wherever we find it.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 10 February (HC26476), whether the Government’s policy of non-engagement extends to not engaging with (1) Extinction Rebellion, (2) Just Stop Oil, and (3) Greenpeace. \p Lord Khan of Burnley: We do not engage with Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil or Greenpeace.
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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government by what process their proposed definition of Islamophobia will be drafted; and what plans they have, if any, to outsource the process to a separate body or council of advisers. \p Lord Khan of Burnley: On 28 February 2025, we announced a working group which has been set up to provide government with a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, supporting a wider stream of work to tackle the unacceptable incidents of anti-Muslim hatred.

It will advise government on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims.

The group’s proposed definition must be compatible with the unchanging right of British citizens to exercise freedom of speech and expression - which includes the right to criticise, express dislike of, or insult religions and/or the beliefs and practices of adherents. This work will support these important freedoms, ensuring that they are preserved.

The group will be chaired by Dominic Grieve KC, bringing his years of legal and government expertise to the role. Alongside drawing on their own expertise, members will engage widely to ensure the definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of Muslim communities across the United Kingdom. Details of the members of the Group will be published in due course.
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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 21 January (HC Deb col 867), and further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 24 December 2024 (HC20228), what are the characteristics, policies or activities of (1) MEND, (2) CAGE, (3) the Muslim Association of Britain, and (4) the Muslim Council of Britain, that provide the basis for this Government’s policy of non-engagement with those individual organisations. \p Lord Khan of Burnley: The Government will only engage with organisations when it is in the public interest.
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Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to prohibit the disposal of waste in marine protected areas. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: We have a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering 40% of English waters and a statutory MPA target under the Environment Act 2021 to ensure they are in a good and healthy state. All MPAs are protected from the dumping of waste at sea and marine litter by the planning and marine licensing regimes.

The UK’s marine licensing regimes comply with the obligations of international conventions that the UK is party to, including the London Convention and Protocol and the OSPAR Convention which prohibit the dumping of waste at sea with very limited exceptions.

The UK is also a signatory to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). MARPOL Annex V controls the discharge of garbage from ships and is brought into UK law through the Merchant Shipping Regulations on the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships (2020). These regulations prohibit the discharge of garbage at sea with very limited exceptions.
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Lord Rooker:To ask His Majesty's Government how many ministerial visits have taken place since July 2024 to therapeutic farming and horticulture projects. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: We can confirm Minister Zeichner visited 'Growing Well', a mental health charity, located at Low Sizergh Farm in Kendal, on 21 August 2024.
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Lord Mott:To ask His Majesty's Government by what date the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will reopen its capital grants scheme following its closure in November 2024. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Defra announced on 24 February that the Environmental Land Management standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open in summer 2025. We will confirm the date that it will re-open in due course.
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Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of current output of the UK marine economy (1) by country, and (2) by sector. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The full output of the marine economy, and split by sector and country, is unknown due to the complexity of attributing economic output to the marine environment.

However, for human activities that use UK seas, the latest data (2015) from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science estimated the sector contributed around £27 billion to UK Gross Value Added (GVA) and employed 341,000 people. The Office for National Statistics reports that the UK marine natural capital assets, for which we can estimate a value, had an asset value of £211 billion in 2021.

For the wild-catch fishing sector, the Marine Management Organisation provides the split by country for 2023 as follows:

Wild-catch - landings by vessel nationality:

Total landings value (million)

Scotland

£694

England

£314

Wales

£13

Northern Ireland

£75
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_57

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of food procured by state-owned establishments that is locally sourced; and what plans they have to encourage this. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: We do not have an estimate for the proportion of public sector food which is locally sourced. However, as announced at the Oxford Farming Conference, the government wants to back British produce where possible. Over the next year, the government will review food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. This work will start right away and be a significant first step in understanding how to capitalise on the Government’s purchasing power: informing any changes to public sector food procurement policies in due course.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_58
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_58

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government when the communique for the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs held on 27 January will be published on Gov.uk. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The communique was published on 26 February 2025 and can be accessed here.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_59
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_59

Lord Oates:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to review the Household Support Fund guidance to ensure the fund prevents people from facing serious financial hardship. \p Baroness Sherlock: The Department for Work and Pensions conducted an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund, that ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, to understand the benefits of the awards made across England during this period. This has been published and can be found here: Evaluation of the Household Support Fund 4 - GOV.UK.

The evaluation followed a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach to assess the effectiveness of the HSF4 delivery by Local Authorities and its benefits for recipients, to inform the design of potential future funding schemes. When setting the Household Support Fund guidance, the Department considers evaluation activities alongside feedback from stakeholder engagement sessions.

The Household Support Fund scheme guidance and individual Local Authority funding allocations for the forthcoming extension will be announced as soon as possible ahead of the scheme beginning on 1 April 2025.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_60
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_60

Lord Allen of Kensington:To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to encourage young people to start a career in the construction industry. \p Baroness Sherlock: The Youth Guarantee in England was launched as part of the Get Britain Working White Paper, for all 18–21-year-olds, to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. This will start with eight trailblazers which are launching this spring.

The Department understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why DWP have a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances.

To support the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes this parliament, DWP are supporting an industry-led, cross government communications campaign to raise the profile of the construction sector. The three-week campaign launched 3 March with a particular focus on encouraging young people to consider construction as a career of choice. We are promoting the industry, connecting our customers to jobs, apprenticeships, and opportunities within it, including an emphasis on improving workforce diversity and increasing the number of construction teachers.

In the coming months, the Secretary of State for DWP, will be co-hosting a construction industry summit with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department for Business and Trade, inviting key employers and representative bodies. This will build on our commitment in the Get Britain Working White Paper to explore how we can best work with employers to address their recruitment needs. DWP officials are members of the Cross Government Built Environment Working Group which is responsible for ensuring a coordinated approach to increasing the size and skills of the construction and built environment workforce, including on-site trades and wider skilled professions.

From April 2024 to 31 December 31 we have delivered 10,220 SWAP starts in the construction helping jobseekers to develop skills to match the needs of the construction labour market.

Through our Strategic Relationship Team, we have agreed a working relationship with many construction organisations and continue to deliver bespoke packages to support their recruitment needs. The Department has a long-standing partnership agreement with CiTB with a shared agenda to recruit people into the construction sector. We are currently developing a new partnership agreement to forge closer working links and key activity to support both policy and operational connections between the organisations.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_61
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_61

Lord Oates:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide future funding to local authorities to allow them to dispense discretionary crisis support. \p Baroness Sherlock: In England, the Government is providing £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. The HSF is a scheme providing discretionary support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water.

We recognise that certainty helps Local Authorities to design and deliver sustainable plans for local welfare assistance. Committing to funding the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2026 will allow them to plan their approach with greater confidence.

No decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other Government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_62
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_62

Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of artificial intelligence powered self-driving cars; and what plans they have to introduce safety measures for self-driving cars. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Following Royal Assent of the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act, we are pressing ahead with our world-leading work on the safe implementation of automated vehicles. The AV implementation programme is designed to prioritise the development of a regulatory framework that maximises innovation, public safety and strengthens public confidence. We are aware that different approaches are taken to self-driving technology. Our regulations will take an outcome-based approach.

As part of this, we plan to run a suite of consultations to enable implementation of the regulatory framework, including our processes for assuring the safety of these vehicles throughout their lifetime. We are also playing a leading role in work to harmonise international rules on self-driving, which will enable our companies to export globally.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_63
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_63

Baroness Pidgeon:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Simpler Fare Pilot on London North Eastern Railway routes, and of how this pilot may feed into fare structures under Great British Railways. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: We have conducted an interim review of the London North-Eastern Railway Simpler Fares Trial and a full evaluation is due to be completed this year.

We will carefully consider passenger and revenue impacts before taking any further decisions, including in the context of transitioning to Great British Railways. The evaluation will be published in due course.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_64
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_64

Lord Berkeley:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will name the accounting officers, officials and ministers with responsibility for HS2 from 2015 to present. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: Within the Department for Transport, the Permanent Secretaries and Principal Accounting Officers with responsibility for High Speed Two (HS2) from 2015 to present are Philip Rutnam and Bernadette Kelly. The Directors General and Senior Responsible Owners for the project during that time period are David Prout, Michael Hurn (acting), Clive Maxwell, and Alan Over.

With respect to ministers, the Secretaries of State for Transport since 2015 bore ultimate ministerial responsibility for the project. In chronological order, they have been Patrick McLoughlin, Christopher Grayling, Grant Shapps, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Mark Harper, Louise Haigh, and Heidi Alexander.

Under the Secretary of State for Transport, various ministers have shared ministerial responsibility for HS2 within the Department since 2015. In chronological order, they have been Robert Goodwill, Paul Maynard, Nusrat Ghani, Andrew Stephenson, Trudy Harrison, Kevin Foster, Huw Merriman, and Lord Peter Hendy.

Within HS2 Ltd, individuals holding Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer responsibilities since 2015 have been, in chronological order, Simon Kirby, Roy Hill, Mark Thurston, Sir Jon Thompson, Alan Foster, and Mark Wild.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_65
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_65

Lord Hussain:To ask His Majesty's Government what were the reasons for the three delays to the decision on the development consent order for the expansion of London Luton Airport; and when a decision on that order is expected to be made. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: The Examining Authority’s report on the application by London Luton Airport Limited for consent for the London Luton Airport Expansion Development Consent Order was received by the Secretary of State on 10 May 2024.

On 24 May 2024, the statutory deadline was extended from 10 August 2024 to 4 October 2024. This was due to the General Election and to allow appropriate time for any new Secretary of State to consider the application.

On 12 September 2024, the statutory deadline for the decision was further extended to 3 January 2025 to enable the applicant further time to provide requested information, and for that information to be considered, including by Interested Parties, before the final determination of the application.

On 17 December 2024, the deadline for the decision was further extended to 3 April 2025 to allow the newly appointed Secretary of State appropriate time to fully consider this complex application before making a final determination.

The statutory deadline for a decision is therefore 3 April 2025, although a decision can be taken sooner should the Secretary of State be in a position to do so. This remains a live application to be determined by the Department and it is therefore not appropriate to comment on the application further.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_66
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_66

Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Attorney General’s Office advised the Northern Ireland Office on matters connected with the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, and the Government’s response to the Dillon case judgments regarding that Act in the High Court and Court of Appeal. \p Lord Hermer: Paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May states:

“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention and it applies to your question.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_67
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-03-11 conversation_67

Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Women and Equalities on 14 February (HC29543), what assessment they have made of the Financial Conduct Authority's proposals in its consultation "Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together to drive change" in relation to new regulatory equality burdens on private companies that are not subject to the public sector equality duty. \p Lord Collins of Highbury: The Public Sector Equality Duty's scope is clearly set out in the Equality Act 2010 - it extends to all public authorities listed in Schedule 19 of the Act and all parties carrying out public functions. This includes private sector and voluntary organisations exercising public functions.

The government expects regulators to ensure organisations comply with their legal requirements. Should regulators wish to go beyond the scope of the 2010 Act’s requirements, that is a matter for them, but they should not seek to label such additional requirements as arising under the 2010 Act.