theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-30 conversation_4
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-30 conversation_4

Lord Bailey of Paddington:To ask His Majesty's Government whether London is on track to deliver its share of the target to build 1.5 million homes in this Parliament. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government has set a target of 88,000 new homes per year in London through the new standard method and remains committed to working in partnership with the London Mayor, boroughs, and wider stakeholders to achieve a step change in building in the capital.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the (1) district council, (2) delayed county council, and (3) existing unitary council, elections scheduled for May 2026 in the Greater Essex area will be cancelled; and if so, whether they will be replaced with (a) a Mayoral Combined County Authority election in May 2026, or (b) a new unitary council election in May 2027. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead, unless there is strong justification. In May 2026, we intend that mayoral elections for new strategic authorities will take place, subject to parliamentary approval for the necessary legislation, alongside those district and unitary elections already scheduled and elections postponed from May 2025. The government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation. We anticipate elections to new unitary authorities in May 2027.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the proposed Chinese Embassy development at the Royal Mint in London, whether they have contacted the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to obtain (1) the security statement, and (2) the blast assessment, which were not placed before the planning inquiry. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not comment on live planning cases.

Where potentially relevant additional information is drawn to the Department’s attention during the decision-making process, it is routine for its potential relevance to be assessed, including consideration of whether it is necessary to obtain that information or refer back to parties.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-30 conversation_7

Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government how much capital funding has been allocated to the first year of the 2026–2036 Social and Affordable Homes Programme. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Spending Review 2025 policy paper (which can be found on gov.uk here) sets out that spending on our new £39 billion, 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme (2026-27 to 2035-36) will reach £4 billion per year in 2029-30 and rise in line with inflation subsequently.

As a result government spending on affordable housing investment will almost double by the end of this Parliament.

The government does not usually publish year-by-year spend on specific programmes in advance. We will continue to publish past year’s expenditure figures in the department's Annual Report and Accounts

Spending Review 2025 (pdf, 2564.4KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-09-30 conversation_8

Baroness Warsi:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with faith leaders regarding recent Islamophobic hate crimes against Muslim communities and mosques since August. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The government is committed to building a Britain where all communities feel safe, and where the contributions of people of faith and belief, including Muslims, are warmly welcomed. The government protects the right of individuals to practise their religion freely at their chosen places of worship. There is no excuse for violence or threats targeted at places of worship and we support the police in taking strong action against those who carry out these crimes.

The government works with partners to combat religiously motivated hatred, including by taking steps to safeguard Muslim places of worship and faith schools, providing £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme. We are providing funding for the British Muslim Trust to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and support victims. The government has also established an independent working group to advise government on a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Baroness Pinnock:To ask His Majesty's Government what statutory responsibilities ensure that the remediation of contaminated land is achieved safely for adjacent residents, those working on site, and future residents. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: The Government recognises the importance of managing land contamination to protect human health and the environment. Under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, local authorities have a statutory duty to inspect their areas to identify contaminated land and, where necessary, require its remediation. A risk-based approach is used to define contaminated land, with regulators required to intervene in cases where land poses an unacceptable risk to human health, property or the environment.

The Contaminated Land Statutory Guidance sets out the legal framework for risk assessment and decision-making under Part 2A, and the Land Contamination Risk Management framework, recently updated by the Environment Agency, provides technical guidance on assessing, managing and remediating land contamination in line with current best practice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Cameron of Lochiel:To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who received a seasonal worker visa stayed in the UK beyond the two-month limit for poultry work in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Seasonal Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar.’

Seasonal Worker

2023

2024

2025 (Jan - Jun)

Applications

33,592

36,434

28,837

Issued

32,758

35,387

28,923

Refused

676

669

194

The information requested regarding work placements in Scotland and overstayers in the horticultural and poultry industries is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Davies of Gower:To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not published a Police Covenant Report for the 2024–25 financial year, pursuant to section 1 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, and when they will do so. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Police Covenant Annual Report for the 2024–25 financial year has been completed and we plan to publish the report as soon as possible.

The Government remains committed to the Police Covenant, ensuring that the physical protection, health and wellbeing of the police workforce, both serving and retired, are properly recognised and supported.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Jackson of Peterborough:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support efforts by the Metropolitan Police and other forces to tackle the increase in thefts of mobile telephones. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.

This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.

All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and their devices.

This Government will deliver real results on crime by reducing opportunities for theft, ensure offenders are caught, and victims see swift and effective action.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Moylan:To ask His Majesty's Government when the Common Travel Area Forum most recently discussed passport-free direct air travel between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Common Travel Area (CTA) allows British and Irish citizens to travel freely between the UK and Ireland and reside in either jurisdiction. It also facilitates the enjoyment of associated rights and privileges including the right to work to study and to access social security benefits and health services.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the project 'In vivo taste assessment of pharmaceutical compounds and formulations' in Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986: Non-technical summaries for project licences granted April – June 2025, published on 11 July, what assessment they have made of carrying out that project with consenting volunteers to test small, non-harmful amount of a drug formulation to gain detailed feedback on palatability. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office ensures, in all licences, that if alternative strategies can provide sufficient information to achieve the outcomes sought then animals are not licensed for use.

The gold standard for experiments using substances which are intended for human consumption is human subjects. However, at the early stages of the drug development process toxicological data in humans are often extremely limited or non-existent, which limits the use of human panels due to ethical and/or safety reasons. In this specific licence the aversiveness test is intended for substances in the early stages of drug development and can be critical for patient compliance. The rat Brief-Access Taste Aversion (BATA) test is, in the absence of a fully effective functioning e-tongue, the only current operative test to allow the assessment of the taste acceptance of oral medicines in the early stage of drug development where there is no known safety data.

The Government is committed to working towards a vision of phasing out the use of animals in science. The Government will publish a strategy that describes how it will accelerate the development and uptake of alternative methods to animal research and testing later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the project 'Molecular architecture, function and dysfunction of the blood brain barrier' in Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986: Non-technical summaries for project licences granted April – June 2025, published on 11 July, why a licence was granted for that project when human cell-based models of the blood brain barrier are available; and what assessment they have made of how the licence complies with the section 2A of that Act that requires scientifically satisfactory non-animal methods to be used where possible. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office ensures all licences are fully compliant with all sections of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. In this specific licence, the blood brain barrier is a complex and dynamic multicellular structure. In vitro (non-animal) models cannot fully replicate the interactions in this environment that are possible in a living organism. The project also looks at dysfunction which is difficult to simulate in vitro, especially when looking at certain diseases. Whilst cell-based models exist and are becoming more advanced they are not, in this case, an acceptable model and so would not be a viable alternative. The project will explore the use of brain cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and organoids during the study which will contribute to the potential 3Rs benefits (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) in this field.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Baroness Warsi:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’s supporter network made threats to kill Muslims; and whether any investigations have been conducted as a result of those reports. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: This Government takes extremism seriously and we are committed to ensuring we have the required tools and powers needed to address this issue. Efforts to counter extremism span a broad range of Government and law enforcement activity and we must persist in our efforts to challenge extremist narratives, disrupt the activity of radicalising groups, and directly tackle the causes of radicalisation.

Where the actions of individuals cross a legal threshold, the police will investigate and bring charges where there is evidence to support this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Baroness Hoey:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Royal College of Defence Studies about its decision to ban Israeli soldiers next year. \p Lord Coaker: UK military educational courses have long been open to personnel from a wide range of countries, with all UK military courses emphasising compliance with international humanitarian law.

However, the Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong. There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanisation aid to the people of Gaza. We have therefore paused future Israeli participation in UK-run courses.

The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) is a constituent part of the Ministry of Defence, and as such implements Government policy and decisions. All relevant teams across the Department, including RCDS, were informed of the decision to pause the future allocation of places on UK training and education courses to Israel.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of job losses as a result of artificial intelligence replacing content moderation and safety roles at tech firms in the UK. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must protect all users from illegal content, and children from age-inappropriate content. The Act’s illegal content duties have been in force since March 2025, and the child safety duties since July 2025. Platforms are required to take steps to mitigate risks to users, including through implementing effective content moderation processes.

AI Adoption across businesses, including tech or non-tech firms, is a key priority for this government, and this technology can play an important role in content moderation.

DSIT is working across government to plan for different scenarios, and is monitoring data to track and prepare for these. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out how we will address key challenges and that includes giving people the skills to get those jobs and spread opportunity across the UK to fix the foundations of our economy to seize AI’s potential.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of employee monitoring tools. \p Lord Leong: Workplace monitoring technology has the potential to increase business productivity and improve efficiency, but it can also pose risks to workers’ when used disproportionately or without consideration of data protection, equality and employment rights.

The Plan to Make Work Pay makes clear workers’ interests will need to inform the digital transformation taking place in the workplace. We therefore committed to making the introduction of workplace monitoring technologies subject to consultation and negotiation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Lee of Trafford:To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are employed by (1) the Financial Reporting Council, and (2) the Competition and Markets Authority. \p Lord Leong: The latest available data is:

(1) The Financial Reporting Council – 459 staff – taken from 2024/25 Annual Report and Accounts published 22 July 2025; and

(2) The Competition and Markets Authority – 1,112 staff – taken from CMA: workforce management information published 31 July 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Bailey of Paddington:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider reducing National Insurance thresholds for employers. \p Lord Livermore: The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous government.

One of the toughest decisions we made was to raise the rate of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%, whilst reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) from £9,100 to £5,000.  The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government what the functions of the new NHS model regions will be, including which responsibilities will be delegated from (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) NHS England, and (3) integrated care boards; and whether they will publish the detail of the timescale for those new models to be in place. \p Baroness Merron: The proposed core functions of the National Health Service regional teams are set out in the Model Region Blueprint which has been widely cascaded to the service. It forms one part of the wider changes to the NHS operating model. NHS regions will have three core functions:

NHS regional teams are currently a core part of NHS England and work together with national teams to discharge the functions of the organisation. There are currently no plans to delegate additional responsibilities to regional teams from the Department or the integrated care boards.

In March 2025, it was announced that NHS England would be abolished, and its duties and functions combined with the Department, pending legislation. The future organisation will continue to have seven regional teams aligned to the current NHS England regional footprints. In the future organisation, we want our seven regional teams to be leaner and more empowered, working as an integral part of the new centre. Work is underway to consider the role that regional teams should play in the future once NHS England and the Department have been brought together as a single organisation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expedite a decision on recommending PCV20 for paediatric use, given that the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation, at its February meeting, indicated a preference for PCV20 to extend protection against pneumococcal disease in children but noted that modelling work remained ongoing. \p Baroness Merron: At the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meeting in February 2025, the Committee discussed the use of different available vaccines in the infant pneumococcal vaccination schedule. The JCVI considered that the modelling that was presented at the time suggested there should be a preference for PCV20 in the current 1+1 schedule, provided it could be obtained at a cost-effective price, and that PCV13 and PCV15 could be considered equivalent to each other and suitable for use.

Following the meeting, and in discussions with the Chair, it was agreed that the JCVI and its pneumococcal sub-committee should be given further time to properly scrutinise the models before providing final advice. This was reflected in the minutes of both the February and June 2025 meeting minutes.

Further work on the models is ongoing, meaning JCVI advice remains outstanding on PCV20 in infants. The Department will consider any further JCVI advice on the pneumococcal vaccines used in the infant vaccination schedule in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Baroness Finlay of Llandaff:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of hospitals that will have an adequate oxygen supply during a major national emergency or future pandemic. \p Baroness Merron: The supply of oxygen to hospitals is managed through contractual arrangements between individual National Health Service organisations and their respective commercial supplier(s). Each organisation is responsible for ensuring that its oxygen supply meets clinical and operational needs, including planning for emergencies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Baroness Smith of Llanfaes:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 1 August 2024 (HL461), what progress they have made in the strategic review of probation governance, and what consideration they have given to the devolution of youth justice. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The UK Government and Welsh Government regularly discuss justice matters in Wales. Both governments have agreed to work together to explore options relating to the governance and funding of youth justice services and partnership arrangements on probation services. This work is currently underway.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Freyberg:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the development of an open data policy that enables national museums and galleries to make high-resolution images of public domain artworks freely available; and whether they plan to adopt open access models such as that used by the Rijksmuseum. \p Baroness Twycross: The DCMS-sponsored museums take their responsibilities to extend engagement with their Collections seriously. As Arm’s Length Bodies national museums operate independently and are responsible for developing their own policies, including around the provision of images, and for taking appropriate commercial and legal advice. Policies can be found on the respective websites and image licensing portals of the museums, many of which provide users with the ability to view high resolution images.

The government strongly supports efforts to expand the reach and impact of the national museums, including digitally, while also recognising and encouraging efforts to balance this against the need to raise private income. Government-backed digitisation projects and investment in Collections databases since the Covid pandemic have resulted in marked increases in the accessibility of Collections records. The wider museums sector, whilst not directly funded by the department, is also making progress in increasing digital access to Collections, with the support of organisations and initiatives such as Art UK, the Museum Data Service, and the AHRC-funded Towards a National Collection research project.

The department is working with the national museums to understand the extent and pace of further planned digitisation work, alongside opportunities provided by new work to establish a Creative Content Exchange, to ensure we are both maximising public access to culture, and positioning our cultural organisations to engage fruitfully with the AI revolution underway.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay:To ask His Majesty's Government whether any ministers or special advisers at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have attended meetings with the Social Market Foundation since July 2024; and if so, whether they will list those meetings. \p Baroness Twycross: As the responsible department, DCMS Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders about gambling.

Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-30)

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Lord Storey:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what arrangements are in place to ensure that members and staff get home safely when the House of Lords sits beyond midnight. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: For staff of the House of Lords Administration, a taxi policy is in place and can be used by those who are required to be on duty as part of their role if the House is expected to rise after 10:40pm. In exceptional circumstances overnight accommodation can be arranged.

For Members, arrangements to support travel are covered by the Members’ Finance Scheme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

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Lord Weir of Ballyholme:To ask His Majesty's Government what financial assistance they plan to provide to the devolved nations as a result of the damage created by Storm Éowyn. \p Lord Livermore: The UK Government recognises the significant impact that severe weather events can have on communities across the country and pays tribute to the incredible efforts of all those involved in the response to Storm Éowyn.

Responding to weather events in their respective nations is one of the responsibilities of the devolved governments but the UK Government has provided operational support to the Northern Ireland Executive following the damage caused by Storm Éowyn. Officials from across the UK Government have been working hard, including with industry partners, to provide the practical support needed to speed up the recovery effort in Northern Ireland. Additional staff have been redeployed to Northern Ireland, alongside helicopters, drones, generators, and replacement parts from stockpiles in other parts of the UK. The UK Government is continuing to work closely with the Executive to understand the scale of the damage and support the recovery efforts in Northern Ireland.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

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Lord Lamont of Lerwick:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Livermore on 3 February (HL Deb cols 488–90), what is the statistical basis for stating that Brexit had reduced the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom by four per cent. \p Lord Livermore: The statement was based on independent analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). In 2020 the OBR forecast that GDP will be 4% lower than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. The OBR noted that around two-fifths of the 4% impact had already occurred by the time the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) came into force. The OBR publishes its findings as part of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook which can be found on its website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the proposed offence of encouraging or assisting self-harm does not criminalise individuals or charities providing support; and whether comprehensive guidance and training will be provided to police and prosecutors, with consultation from those with lived experience. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023 gave partial effect to a Law Commission recommendation to create an offence of encouraging or assisting self-harm. The proposed new offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm intends to replace (in so far as it extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland) that offence with a broader offence that can be committed by any means of communication, and in any other way (including, for example, direct assistance through the provision of bladed articles with which to self-harm). The person must have intent to encourage or assist the other person to seriously self-harm.

As with the current offence in the Online Safety Act, sharing experiences of self-harm or simply discussing the issue (including glorifying or glamourising self-harm), without an intention that another should seriously self-harm, will not be a criminal offence. We recognise the concerns of those offering support services that capturing such behaviour would potentially risk criminalising vulnerable people who merely seek to share their experiences of self-harm with no intention of encouraging others to self-harm.

The offence in the Online Safety Act comes from a Law Commission recommendation following a wide-ranging consultation and we will work with criminal justice agencies and others with an interest to update existing guidance and training to reflect the proposed expansion of the offence to include direct assistance to self-harm.
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Lord Scriven:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case of R v Mohammad Siddiqui [2025], in particular the remarks of HHJ Lucas KC that “safeguards and protections must now be put in place and put in place as a matter of urgency, to ensure that babies and young children are protected” from ritual circumcision. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The Ministry of Justice has no responsibility for non-therapeutic male circumcision or its regulation. The Government does, however, understand and sympathise with the children and their families who experience harm or trauma as a result of the behaviour of unregulated and irresponsible practitioners. It is important that those who engage in these activities, and do not comply with the required regulations, are brought to justice.

Male circumcision performed for any other reason than a physical clinical need is termed as “non-therapeutic male circumcision”. The Government is aware that parents for religious reasons, or to incorporate a child into a community, may request such a procedure. The Government would encourage all parents to ensure that in seeking such a procedure, that they discuss the matter first with their GP or healthcare practitioner.

Where a registered healthcare professional wishes to carry out non-therapeutic male circumcision, they must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures. Even where a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

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Baroness Berridge:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan for the terms of reference for the public inquiry into the care and treatment of Valdo Calocane to include the criminal justice issues raised by the families of the victims. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The Government is committed to establishing a judge-led inquiry into the issues raised by the attacks in Nottingham. Work is underway to establish the Inquiry and its Terms of Reference, and Ministers will update Parliament on it in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_6

Lord Foster of Bath:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received any advice from the Climate Change Committee regarding making the United Kingdom's nationally determined contribution binding in law; and, if so, what was that advice. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has no statutory responsibilities in relation to the NDC. However, to benefit from its independent expertise, the Secretary of State wrote to the CCC to request guidance on the UK’s 2035 nationally determined contribution (NDC). The CCC's guidance was published in October 2024 and included the recommendation that the UK’s NDC commit to a reduction in territorial greenhouse emissions of 81% from 1990 to 2035. The CCC advised that this target would be consistent with the emissions reductions required to meet the UK’s legally binding Sixth Carbon Budget (2033-2037). This guidance did not include any advice on making the 2035 NDC binding in law.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_7
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_7

Lord Teverson:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to link the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. \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.

The Government will work to reset the relationship with our European partners to strengthen ties that improve our trade and investment relationship with the EU and promote climate, energy, and economic security, while recognising that there will be no return to the single market or customs union.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_8
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_8

Lord Teverson:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism with the island of Ireland's Single Electricity Market. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The UK shares the EU’s concerns about the risk of carbon leakage and recognises the EU’s right to take action to address it. The Government plans to apply the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) across the whole UK, including in NI. The UK will continue to work with international partners, including the EU, to ensure our approach is implemented in a way that works for businesses.

The EU CBAM could only apply in Northern Ireland with the agreement of the UK and in line with the democratic safeguards of the Windsor Framework.

For goods moving from Northern Ireland into the EU, guidance is a matter for the European Commission and EU Member States. The UK have raised with the EU Commission the need for clarity on the practical implementation of the EU CBAM for trade in electricity, given the challenges involved.

The EU Commission website is the most up to date source of information and guidance.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_9
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_9

Lord Ravensdale:To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish the consultation on nuclear power being classed as environmentally sustainable in the green taxonomy; and what plans they have to make nuclear energy eligible for green financing. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: On 14th November 2024, the Government published a consultation to assess the value case for a UK Green Taxonomy, which closed on 6 of February 2025. The Government is reviewing responses and will provide a Government Response on next steps in due course.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_10
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_10

Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office maintains a standard template for (1) submissions to each department's Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer, and (2) submissions to Cabinet Office Ministers; and, if so, whether these templates are identical, and on what date they were last revised. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: His Majesty's Government can confirm that:

Each government department is responsible for their own internal Ministerial and Permanent Secretary submission templates.

The Cabinet Office maintains a standard template for submissions to Cabinet Office Ministers and the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary.

The template for both is the same and was revised on 18th October 2024.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_11
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_11

Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 9 October 2024 (HC5296), what communications representatives of Downing Street have had with Elon Musk since 4 July 2024. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Details of ministerial meetings with individuals are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda. Relevant meetings are also declared in the Special Advisor transparency publications.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_12
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_12

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not published data on central Government spend with small and medium-sized enterprises beyond the financial year 2021–22; and when they plan to publish figures for subsequent financial years. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: On 13 February the Government published a National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which sets out our priorities for public procurement and maximises the impact of every pound spent. New measures to support the transformation of public procurement and to deliver on the Government’s Plan for Small Businesses includes requiring all government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 1 April 2025, and Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) from 1 April 2026, and publish progress annually.

Under this new policy, departments will be responsible for publishing their own spend with SMEs on an annual basis. Departmental SME Action Plans (published from 1 April 2025) will include SME spend targets approved by departmental Ministers and any previous financial years unpublished SME spend data.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_13
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_13

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Crown Commercial Service annual report and accounts 2023–24, published on 24 July, what criteria are used to determine which public bodies receive payments under the new Customer Payment Initiative; what administrative costs have and will be incurred in operating this scheme for the past and next financial year; and what assessment they have made of reducing the CCS levy rate instead of issuing payments under the Customer Payment Initiative. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: Customers who have used CCS agreements in FY2022/23 were eligible to receive a payment in proportion to the amount of income collected by CCS from suppliers as result of those customers’ transactions.

Activity by customers on 231 frameworks has contributed to the distribution to individual customers, with the lowest value payment threshold being set at £1k, resulting in just under 1,500 customers being eligible to receive a payment. These payments are not part of any written agreement and are non-contractual.

CCS has not made an assessment of the administrative costs that have been, or will be, incurred in operating this scheme.

CCS is considering its opportunities to reduce its levy rates on a case by case basis as new agreements are put in place. Frameworks do not provide a level of committed spend and therefore reducing levy rates across the board would incur an unnecessary degree of risk into CCS’s financial planning. CCS’s levy rates are the lowest of all Public Sector Buying Organisations, at an average of 0.7% across the whole portfolio.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_14

Lord Agnew of Oulton:To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) annual report and accounts 2023–24, published on 24 July, when they expect the Office for National Statistics to complete its review of the CCS classification status; whether they support reclassifying the CCS as a central government entity; and how such a reclassification might affect the trading fund model and the future financial freedoms of the CCS. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: HM Treasury (HMT) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) initiated a formal review of the sector classification in 2024 of CCS as part of their ongoing programme of assessments of the statistical and financial reporting classification of public sector bodies in the National Accounts. The ONS completed the final review in October 2024 and published the outcome on its website. It concluded that CCS’s existing sector classification as a public corporation is correct. This means that CCS will remain a Trading Fund.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/articles/developmentofpublicsectorfinancestatistics/september2024
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_15

Baroness Finn:To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued on whether the requirement to publish pipeline notices for frameworks under section 93 of the Procurement Act 2023 accounts for the cumulative value of call-offs that individually fall below £2 million but collectively exceed that threshold, and on how contracting authorities should manage such scenarios to ensure compliance. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: A framework is a contract between a contracting authority and one or more suppliers that provides for the future award of contracts by a contracting authority to the supplier or suppliers.

Where a contracting authority is establishing a framework, it needs to assess the value over the lifetime of the framework from any resulting awards in accordance with that framework. This will usually be assessed based on commercial requirements. If the total amount of estimated individual awards is over £2m, this framework should be included on a pipeline notice.

Guidance has been issued on a range of topics relating to the Procurement Act 2023 and there is a specific piece of guidance that relates to the Pipeline Notice.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_16
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_16

Lord Dodds of Duncairn:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 6 February (HL4532), what are the names of the representatives of (1) the Ulster Farmers’ Union, (2) the National Farmers’ Union, (3) the Horticulture Trades Association, and (4) the businesses, who are members of the Horticultural Working Group. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to question HL4532 on 6th February 2025. To protect the identities of individuals which are not in the public domain, it is not possible to disclose the names of individual members of bodies which are part of the Group.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_17
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-02-17 conversation_17

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger:To ask His Majesty's Government what written representations the Cabinet Office has received from recognised trade unions specifically on equality, diversity and inclusion policies since the general election in July 2024. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: The Cabinet Office regularly discusses workforce matters with trade unions.