theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-09 conversation_20
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-09 conversation_20

Lord Kempsell:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat the abuse of ketamine. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Government is extremely concerned by the rising use of ketamine in the UK and its dangerous impact on people's health, which may be significantly underestimated by those who use the drug. That is why I have written to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), setting out those concerns and seeking their advice on reclassifying ketamine as a Class A substance. We will carefully consider the ACMD’s recommendations before making any decision on how to proceed.

The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (OHID) has briefed local authorities and treatment systems on data on ketamine use and harm, and guidance on prevention, harm reduction and treatment interventions. In addition, OHID has been supporting local authorities in increasing access to and retention in drug treatment through the public health grant and the significant increases in treatment funding. As a result, and in response to increased prevalence, the treatment system is responding and the number of adults entering treatment for ketamine use is 11 times higher than a decade ago (Dec 2013 - Nov 24) and proportion of children and young people under the age of 18 young people accessing help in relation to ketamine has increased from under 1% in 2015-16 to 9% in November 2024.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-09 conversation_21
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-09 conversation_21

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government when, if at all, they plan to introduce extended producer responsibility for textiles. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: We recognise the importance of continued innovation in the textiles sector and, as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England, we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed. Over the coming months, the Circular Economy Taskforce is identifying specific subject areas, such as extended producer responsibility, requiring deeper exploration to test with industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders in the sector. This will ensure that the Strategy reflects the needs and insights of all involved before publication in autumn this year.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-09 conversation_22
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Jamieson:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a target for the number of bat tunnels that will be provided as nature mitigation mechanisms as a result of the changes set out in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: No.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-05-09 conversation_23

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat presented by Asian hornets to native biodiversity; and what action, if any, they propose to take in response. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: A risk assessment was completed for Vespa velutina nigrithorax, the Asian hornet in 2011. The assessment concluded that Asian hornets eat a wide range of insect species including honey bees and that if this species were to become established in the UK, it would have a serious impact on biodiversity. For this reason, Defra and Welsh Government developed an Asian hornet contingency plan which outlines the government response and what actions will be taken when incursions of Asian hornet occur. Contingency action has been taken against all credible sightings of Asian hornet that have been reported in the UK since the first occurred in 2016.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Baroness Redfern:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of mandatory animal welfare labelling on consumer purchasing decisions. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. The consultation sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling and was accompanied by an impact assessment which assessed the potential costs and benefits. Research was also commissioned to explore animal welfare considerations in consumer purchasing decisions, which will be published in due course.

We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage investment in artificial intelligence technologies by ensuring that there is sufficient infrastructure to support the power grid. \p Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government has invited expressions of interest from local authorities and other interested parties to identify locations for AI growth zones that can facilitate the rapid development of projects.

Additionally, the Government is collaborating with Ofgem and NESO to implement major reforms in the grid connections process. This initiative could unlock up to 500GW of capacity from the connection queue, thereby speeding up connections for AI data centres.

Furthermore, the Government is establishing the AI Energy Council, which will bring together senior representatives from both the energy and AI industries to determine optimal locations for AI data centres and proactively manage their energy needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a tri-service policy that sets out the process to be followed in the event that a serving soldier develops a gambling addiction. \p Lord Coaker: Further to the answer I gave the Noble Lord Bishop on 15 April 2025 to Question HL6578, there is currently a comprehensive Gambling clinical pathway in the Defence Medical Services that assesses and supports Service personnel who come forward with a gambling issue.

Ministry of Defence: Gambling machines (docx, 15.8KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans:To ask His Majesty's Government whether gambling machines of any category as defined in the Gambling Act 2005 are provided by (1) the navy, (2) the army, or (3) the air force, in (a) catering, (b) retail, or (c) leisure facilities, of (i) UK bases, and (ii) UK-run bases abroad. \p Lord Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 April 2025, to Question HL6578.

Ministry of Defence: Gaming Machines (docx, 15.8KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Godson:To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) operational, and (2) net, assessments they have made of the effectiveness of cluster munitions and anti-personnel landmines. \p Lord Coaker: Cluster munitions and anti-personnel landmines present an enduring risk to civilians in the wake of conflict. The UK has successfully operated without anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions for fifteen and twenty-five years respectively, and in that time have developed alternative policies and systems.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government whether British troops have ever been subject to human radiation experiments; and, if so, whether they will provide details of those experiments giving dates, locations, and any subsequent care provided to those exposed. \p Lord Coaker: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the noble Lord’s Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Bradley:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the role of intermediaries in the criminal justice system. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The Ministry of Justice completed a review of intermediary provision in 2023 which was summarised in the 2023 Witness Intermediary Scheme (WIS) Annual Report.

The review recommended actions to enhance the role, accessibility, and quality of intermediary services, including:

Revising the definition of registered intermediaries and devising a communication plan to build better understanding of the intermediary role.

Seeking improved data collection and analysis around intermediary usage; and

Building relationships with stakeholders to ensure consistent quality of intermediary services across criminal, family and civil jurisdictions as well as continuing to increase understanding of vulnerable users’ needs.

We have no plans to conduct a further review at this stage, as we are progressing the above actions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Berkeley:To ask His Majesty's Government how much the annual revenue raised from the victim surcharge is given to organisations that support road crash victims and their families. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The Victim Surcharge is not a standalone funding stream and instead provides a contribution to the overall Ministry of Justice Victim and Witness budget, which is used to commission practical, emotional and therapeutic support for victims of all crime at a national and local level. Therefore, we are unable to say how much is given specifically to organisations which support victims of road traffic incidents.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Berkeley:To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the total annual victim surcharge is raised from traffic offences. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Berkeley:To ask His Majesty's Government how much money is raised annually from the victim surcharge. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The surcharge (often referred to as the victim surcharge) was first introduced in April 2007 and changes were introduced on 1 October 2012, 1 September 2014, 8 April 2016, 28 June 2019, 14 April 2020 and then again on 16 June 2022.

When a court passes a sentence, it must also order that the relevant surcharge is paid. The amount of the surcharge depends on the sentence and whether at the time the offence was committed the offender was an adult or a youth (under 18 years of age), or if the offender is an organisation.

Revenue raised from the surcharge provides a contribution towards Ministry of Justice-funded victim and witness support services.

HMCTS accounts for the amount of victim surcharge imposed and collected in the annual HMCTS Trust Statement. The Trust Statement was introduced in 2010-11 prior to that the data was not collated centrally. The table below illustrates the amounts imposed and collected each year since April 2010. The amounts collected will include receipts for amounts imposed in prior years.

Financial Year

Victim Surcharge Imposed  £000

Victim Surcharge collected  £000

2010-11

12,552

10,516

2011-12

11,234

10,165

2012-13

14,331

10,518

2013-14

30,970

19,548

2014-15

35,203

24,569

2015-16

37,866

28,307

2016-17

44,785

31,029

2017-18

46,603

35,022

2018-19

45,521

33,529

2019-20

44,424

39,689

2020-21

36,647

35,039

2021-22

46,654

37,852

2022-23

65,270

41,314

2023-24

104,032

65,496
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that sufficient prison places of appropriate standard are available on the prison estate. \p Lord Timpson: As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, the Ministry of Justice is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 modern prison places and aims to do so by 2031. These places will be delivered through the construction of four new prisons, including the recently opened HMP Millsike which will deliver c.1,500 places, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and through temporary accommodation.

We are also investing £220 million in prison and probation service maintenance in 2024-2025 and up to £300 million in 2025-2026. We are committed to undertaking critical maintenance work to allow prisons to hold offenders safely, securely and in decent conditions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Wasserman:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual cost of post-sentence supervision of an individual. \p Lord Timpson: We do not hold the requested information on the annual cost of post sentence supervision.

The average cost to the Probation Service in 2023-24 of an additional person on the probation licence caseload (including probation pre-release costs) was estimated at c.£4,500 compared with c.£3,150 for an additional person on the probation court order caseload (community orders and suspended sentence orders). This can be found through the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65537c7d50475b000dc5b590/Sentencing_Bill_-_IA_-_HDC.pdf.

Note that the costs presented exclude some costs to the Ministry of Justice, such as costs not directly tied to changes in probation caseload and Ministry of Justice HQ costs. Costs of individuals will vary considerably based on a number of factors including risk levels, requirements and needs
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Wasserman:To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual cost of a community order with (1) a drug rehabilitation requirement, (2) a mental health treatment requirement, (3) an alcohol treatment requirement, (4) an unpaid work requirement, and (5) a curfew requirement. \p Lord Timpson: We do not hold the information in the format requested. To produce and quality assure the information requested would be of disproportionate cost.

The average cost to the Probation Service in 2023-24 of an additional person on the probation licence caseload (including probation pre-release costs) was estimated at c.£4,500 compared with c.£3,150 for an additional person on the probation court order caseload (community orders and suspended sentence orders). This can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65537c7d50475b000dc5b590/Sentencing_Bill_-_IA_-_HDC.pdf.

These costs cover requirements such as unpaid work as well as sentence management time. They do not, however, include treatment costs for drug rehabilitation requirements, mental health requirements, alcohol treatment requirements and do not include curfew costs. Note that the costs presented exclude some costs to the Ministry of Justice, such as costs not directly tied to changes in probation caseload and Ministry of Justice HQ costs. Costs of individuals will vary considerably based on a number of factors including risk levels, requirements and needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the regulation of the development of artificial intelligence technologies on investment in those technologies. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: In response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Government is prioritising investment into the AI sector and creating the right conditions to ensure global AI companies want to call the UK home.

The Action Plan sets out a number of recommendations on how the Government can proactively work with regulators to support our ambitions for AI and growth, which the Government will be taking forward.

The Government is also developing legislative proposals which will allow us to safely realise the enormous benefits of the most powerful AI systems. We will be launching a public consultation in due course to ensure our proposals are proportionate and support innovation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Baroness Smith of Llanfaes:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications for the devolved authorities of the decision to abolish NHS England. \p Baroness Merron: The budgets of devolved nations are primarily funded through block grants from the Government, with annual changes determined by the Barnett formula, which aims to allocate funding based on population and the extent of devolved services.   Any saving from the decision to bring NHS England and the Department together to form a joint centre will be reinvested in frontline services within the National Health Service. The formation of a new joint centre will not impact on the Barnett formula, and the finances of the devolved nations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to raise awareness about prostate cancer and to promote testing, especially among black men. \p Baroness Merron: The Government understands that more needs to be done to improve outcomes for all people with prostate cancer, including for black men.

NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns in England to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point. These campaigns are developed and tailored to reach and resonate with people who are more likely to experience health inequalities, such as black people. Cancer alliances across the country are engaging with their local communities to deliver campaigns, community engagement, and partnership activity to increase symptom knowledge and encourage earlier presentation.

To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer earlier, we have invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms. This research will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis by targeting black men in trial recruitment, ensuring that one in ten participants are black men. This is vital as previous trials have not included enough black men to adequately demonstrate the harms and benefits of screening for this group specifically, despite their significantly higher risk.

In addition, following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will develop a new National Cancer Plan. The plan will seek to improve outcomes and address disparities for people diagnosed with cancer, including for prostate cancer. A call for evidence, seeking contributions from individuals and organisations, including ideas on how to improve outcomes for prostate cancer, is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Baroness Hodgson of Abinger:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede on 1 April (HL6113), how many of the 158 inquests completed on the Isle of Wight in 2023 (1) were heard by jury, (2) were court inquests, and (3) were held as an 'inquest in writing' under section 9C of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: The following information for the Isle of Wight coroner area is either included in, or can be extrapolated from, the Coroner Statistics 2023 which are available at: Coroners statistics 2023 - GOV.UK.

In 2023:

No inquests were heard with a jury.

81 inquests involved a public court hearing.

77 inquests were conducted in writing under the provisions of section 9C of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

The Coroner Statistics for 2024 will be published on 08 May 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Baroness Smith of Llanfaes:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede on 8 April (HL6586), what religious and non-religious groups they are aware of that wish to conduct legally recognised marriages in England and Wales and are unable to do so. \p Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: As I mentioned in my previous answer on 08 April, the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the wholesale reform of weddings law, including recommendations that would enable non-religious belief groups, such as humanists, to conduct legally binding weddings. The Government is aware that humanists wish to conduct legally binding weddings, which they have long been campaigning for, and we are grateful for the contributions that humanists make to our society.

The Law Commission also concluded that weddings law is not working for couples belonging to many different groups, and that it is unfair and inconsistent. It is the Law Commission’s view that their recommendations would create equitable rules for all groups, including religious groups; reduce the number of religious only (non-legally binding) weddings, which can leave vulnerable people without rights on separation; and provide greater choice for couples, lowering the cost of weddings and making them more accessible to all.

Marriage will always be one of our most important institutions and we have a duty to consider any changes to our marriage law carefully. As a new Government, it is right that we take the time to consider this issue, and we will set out our position on weddings reform in the coming months.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Lord Hayward:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the cost to Parliament of a traffic marshal supervisor on the Parliamentary estate. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The cost to Parliament of a traffic marshal supervisor on the Parliamentary Estate (working 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year) would be approximately £105K including VAT. However, actual marshalling hours vary according to operational need, and this sum is not what a traffic marshal supervisor would receive in pay.
lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-19 conversation_1
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-06-19 conversation_1

Lord Blencathra:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to minimise the operational and administrative compliance work for small and medium-sized enterprises. \p Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced that government will cut administrative costs of regulation to business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. Reducing these costs on businesses will allow them to flourish and to innovate, enabling economic growth.

Our SME Strategy will be published later this year, delivering on our Growth Mission of supporting SMEs. It will feature the new Business Growth Service, simplifying  available support for SMEs on access to finance and providing training and operational efficiency advice.

DBT will also resume funding for the Help to Grow: Management training and will extend the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce supporting the digitisation efforts of a greater number of SMEs. These programmes should enable SMEs to minimise their operational and administrative compliance work.

Finally, the Government supports the introduction of e-invoicing that can significantly reduce administrative tasks, improve cash flow, boost productivity and reduce errors in tax returns.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Pearson of Rannoch:To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker who is responsible for the current arrangements at Peers’ Entrance; and what assessment he has made of the impact and cost of recent changes at the Entrance to Peers’ access to the Palace. \p Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Peers Entrance project was delivered as part of Parliament’s Security Construction Programme.

The delivery of the infrastructure within the Security Construction Programme is led by Strategic Estates. A Senior Responsible Owner within Strategic Estates is ultimately accountable for the delivery of the programme. This is the Strategic Estates Portfolio Director.

The Director of Security for Parliament is the Executive Sponsor for the Security Construction Programme and is accountable for setting the requirements and assuring the achievement of the benefits for Parliament.

Both the Executive Sponsor and the Senior Responsible Owner are appointed by the Accounting Officers – the Clerk of the Parliaments for the House of Lords and the Clerk of the House for the House of Commons.

The total costs of the works at Peers Entrance were £9.6million. There have unfortunately been defects with the operation of the entrance and the costs of these have been covered as part of our supply contracts for the works. £1,500 in maintenance costs have been incurred for call outs where operator or user error have been the cause.

The House Administration together with the Parliamentary Security Department and Strategic Estates are undertaking urgent work with operational staff and with our contractors to address and resolve the ongoing issues with the Peers Entrance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Swire:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Metropolitan Police regarding the use of anti-gang legislation to investigate and prosecute those controlling Romanian beggars in London. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: It is the responsibility of law enforcement and statutory partners to work collaboratively to tackle the threat from all forms of Serious and Organised Crime (SOC), maximising the full range of legislative and disruption opportunities available. SOC is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK and organised crime groups continue to diversify their tactics in order to exploit the vulnerable and perpetrate harm. The Government is committed to tackling SOC in all its forms and ensuring police have the capabilities they need to protect individuals and communities. We are delivering the Safer Streets mission to create a safer, fairer country for all and have increased funding for policing by more than half a billion pounds this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Empey:To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the integration of immigrants in the UK, and what programmes they provide to encourage integration. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The Home Office’s Immigration White paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced proposed reforms in a wide range of areas – including integration, community cohesion, and language requirements – further details of which will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Johnson of Marylebone:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the White Paper Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May, whether they will publish a comparison of the latest individual higher education provider performance data and sector average performance data with the thresholds for the basic compliance assessment relating to (1) visa refusal rates, (2) enrolment rates, and (3) course completion rates; and whether they will publish the individual provider performance data and sector average performance data for each of the past three years. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Swire:To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Romanian government regarding preventing Romanian citizens from coming to the UK to beg. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The UK remains committed to maintaining constructive and respectful relations with Romania, and any future discussions on migration or related issues would be conducted in accordance with our shared values and international obligations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Campbell-Savours:To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) in breach of their deportation arrangements, or (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past 12 months. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: The information requested 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 (2025-06-19)

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Lord Booth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 10 April (HL6032), what estimate they have made of the annual cost of the Border Security Command. \p Lord Hanson of Flint: Allocations of funding to individual areas within the Home Office are subject to the Spending Review process and out-turns on spending will be published as usual in the Home Office annual report and accounts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Alton of Liverpool:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the arrest of ten pastors and co-workers affiliated with Zion's Light Church in Xi'an; and what assessment they have made of the implications of those reports on engagement with China on human rights issues, including freedom of religion or belief. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The environment for freedom of religion or belief in China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi, Foreign Minister Wang, Vice Premier He and Vice Premier Ding respectively).

More broadly, this Government champions freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.

We continue to do all we can to encourage freedoms for religious and cultural expression across China.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Baroness Sugg:To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club, currently held in a frozen fund, will be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes. \p Baroness Chapman of Darlington: The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia's illegal full-scale invasion.

We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far.

While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this matter through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine receive the benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Booth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 10 April (HL6032), what estimate they have made of the annual cost of the Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Reform Body. \p Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: HM Treasury is responsible for assessing the potential cost of the Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Reform Body as part of their business case development. The Cabinet Office does not centrally estimate costs for departments’ proposals.

The Government has conducted a full line-by-line Spending Review which covered the proposed costs of the Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Reform Body to ensure value for money is being delivered for the taxpayer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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

The Government has conducted a full line-by-line Spending Review which covered the proposed costs of the Technical Advisory Panel to ensure value for money is being delivered for the taxpayer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Booth:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 10 April (HL6032), what estimate they have made of the annual cost of the Regulatory Innovation Office. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: The annual costs of the Regulatory Innovation Office are met within DSIT’s budget allocations, as set out in the Spending Review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental, economic and practical benefits of mechanochemistry, and what financial support they are providing for research and commercial development in that area. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: UK Research and Innovation, via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), funds a diverse portfolio of pioneering research projects that explore the frontiers of chemistry which underpin sustainable and innovative chemical processes. This includes exploring new methodologies such as mechanochemistry.

Current live projects, totalling £1.7 million, that include a substantive mechanochemistry method development include:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of further integrating artificial intelligence into the civil service, following the recent Government-led trial of artificial intelligence software. \p Lord Vallance of Balham: As referenced in the GDS Digital Government Blueprint, AI Opportunities Action Plan, and more recently, the Spending Review, integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the civil service is a core priority of this government, with the goal of delivering a lean and agile state, where expenditure is focussed towards services on which the public rely.

The model for delivering AI into the civil service includes both central focus from GDS, and also dispersed expertise within departments who understand the complex landscape of public service delivery. Tools are also being trialled across GDS, as well as within departments such as MHCLG, Home Office, HMRC, DHSC and MoJ. Many of these trials are underpinned by technology and tools created by the government's incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Booth:To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual costs of the office of the Independent Football Regulator. \p Baroness Twycross: The Football Governance Bill Impact Assessment, which was approved under the last government, estimates that the operating costs of the Independent Football Regulator will be between £8.0m per annum and £10.2m per annum, for the first 10 years. While these are reasonable estimations of the levy charge they should not be treated as conclusive final costs. Final costs will be dependent on the scope of the Bill passed by Parliament and the work necessary to ensure clubs are complying with the regulatory regime.

These estimates have been adjusted to account for the impact of inflation, and future costs have been converted to their present value, as per Green Book guidance issued by His Majesty’s Treasury for Impact Assessments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Baroness Coffey:To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 29 October 2024 (HC8963), how many local nature recovery strategies they expect to publish before the end of June, and what incentives have been given to local authorities to meet their expected timetable for publication. \p Baroness Hayman of Ullock: Four Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) have already been published with many more expected in the coming months. The current ones are West of England, North Northamptonshire, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly and Isle of Wight.

Defra and Natural England are closely monitoring all remaining LNRS publication timescales. The Minister for Nature has written to all responsible authorities setting out her expectations around timely publication of their LNRS and transition to delivery. Officials are working closely with those few that are expecting to publish after December 2025 to seek assurance that their LNRSs will be published as soon as possible.

LNRSs will support responsible authorities, Defra group and local partners to make more strategic, informed decisions about nature recovery and planning for their area. Defra is in the process of confirming funding for this financial year to support the transition to leading and coordinating delivery of the LNRS for their area.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Wigley:To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to require local authorities in England to obtain guarantees, backed up by financial penalties, from water and sewerage providers that a new housing development can be served before they can grant planning permission. \p Baroness Taylor of Stevenage: The Government is committed to ensuring there is adequate water and wastewater capacity to support growth.

It is the responsibility of water and wastewater service providers to plan for and deliver sufficient levels of infrastructure capacity to accommodate planned growth. The majority of water companies have now published their water resources management plans which set out how they will continue to provide secure water supplies in the long term.

The government has created a new duty for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, which set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, to accommodate growth and mitigate issues related to insufficient capacity.

When granting planning permission, local authorities can seek a section 106 planning obligation from a developer to mitigate the impact of a development to make it acceptable in planning terms.  The obligation may, for example, require certain infrastructure or infrastructure contributions to be provided and specify the periods at which they must be provided. Local authorities have enforcement powers to ensure compliance with any such provisions.

I also refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 05 February 2025.

PQ 26106 (pdf, 83.1KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Sikka:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of carbon emissions generated by private planes entering or leaving the UK. \p Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill: This Government is committed to delivering greener transport and is considering its strategic approach to decarbonising aviation.

In 2023 the Department for Transport published research which estimated carbon emissions from UK-registered General Aviation aircraft arriving and departing from UK aerodromes in 2019. General Aviation includes all non-scheduled civil aviation, including business aviation.

By considering the typical maximum take-off weight of aircraft used for business aviation, his research found that approximately 370 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were emitted by UK registered business aviation or larger recreational aircraft. Emissions from non-UK registered aircraft were not included.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Taylor of Warwick:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to invest in increased energy storage solutions to reduce the cost of turning off wind farms and sourcing alternative energy sources. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: The Clean Power Action Plan was launched in December 2024 and sets out a pathway towards deploying more low carbon flexible technologies. The Clean Power Action Plan suggests we could need 4-6GW of Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) by 2030, up from 2.8GW today, and also outlines plans for the deployment of grid scale battery storage.

The Government and Ofgem are supporting the development of the next generation of LDES facilities with a cap and floor investment support scheme. We are also streamlining planning processes for storage projects to help reduce system constraint costs across the electricity network.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Jones of Penybont:To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of international best practice cases for funding advanced modular reactor development. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: The Government actively monitors advanced nuclear developments in other countries for international best practice that could support the government’s missions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Jones of Penybont:To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to fund advanced nuclear technologies through the generic design assessment process. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: The costs of nuclear regulatory services, like Generic Design Assessment, are charged to companies in regulation. The Government part-funded 3 companies to undertake GDA for their Small Modular Reactor designs through the Low-Cost Nuclear Challenge and Future Nuclear Enabling Fund grant schemes. These are Rolls-Royce SMR, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Holtec Britain Ltd.

Looking forward, the government is providing a pathway for privately-led advanced nuclear projects. Great British Energy - Nuclear has been tasked with assessing proposals within a new framework, to be published shortly, with the National Wealth Fund exploring potential investment opportunities and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero exploring revenue support for viable projects.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Lord Jones of Penybont:To ask His Majesty's Government why they have decided to dispose of 140 tonnes of civil plutonium stored at Sellafield instead of repurposing it for new energy generation. \p Lord Wilson of Sedgefield: I refer my noble Friend to the answer given by my noble Friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 8th May 2025 to Question HL6800.

The Government took the decision to immobilise the UK’s civil separated plutonium inventory based on strategic, economic, technical and safety and security considerations. Immobilisation will put the material into a form which both reduces the long-term safety and security burden during storage and ensures it is suitable for disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). Implementing a long-term solution for plutonium is essential to dealing with the UK’s nuclear legacy and leaving the environment safer for future generations. Furthermore, all current and planned UK reactors use uranium-based fuels.