Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to consolidating the anti-money laundering supervisory responsibilities of professional body supervisors under a statutory regulator, such as the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor announced in October that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will become the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) supervisor for professional services firms, simplifying the current complex model. The FCA are currently working on the implementation of this new supervisory framework and HM Treasury will announce next steps shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chancellor has met the City Remembrancer Paul Wright; and if so, on how many occasions.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has not held or attended any meetings with the City Remembrancer Paul Wright.
The Chancellor and City Remembrancer are likely to have attended a number of the same events, relevant to their respective roles.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has met the City Remembrancer Paul Wright; and if so, on how many occasions.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency publications.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the transparency standards of the governance and financial reporting arrangements of the City of London Corporation compared to that of other local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Common Council of the City of London, in its capacity as a local authority, is required to adhere to the publication requirements of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, along with all other local authorities as defined in paragraph 14 of the Transparency Code. The Transparency Code requires local authorities to publish details of financial transactions such as all spend over £500 and procurements over £5000, and assets held such as land and housing. It does not contain requirements relating to any specialist commercial activity conducted by the City of London Corporation. The government does not monitor compliance with the requirements of the Transparency Code, as the intention of the legislation is that local voters will hold local authorities to account for their performance.
The Common Council of the City of London is also required to produce an annual Statement of Accounts in accordance with proper practices as set out in statute and the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom, published by CIPFA. The Statement of Accounts must meet the requirements of reporting set out in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Authorities are responsible for ensuring that their financial reporting meets the required standards, however, Government expects authorities to demonstrate best practice in transparency.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of delivery robots to pedestrian and road safety; and what consideration they have given to making provision for local council control over deployment of those robots.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As with any new technology, there are potential risks with pavement delivery devices and safety remains our priority.
There is currently no specific legislation for delivery robots, but the Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows by creating a ‘Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle’ category, which could be used to regulate pavement robots in future.
If they were to be regulated, we recognise the need for local leaders to have control over pavement robot deployment. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill introduced in July 2025 includes powers to require licensing of micromobility schemes, and this specifically covers pavement robots in its definition of “non-passenger vehicles”.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their policy is towards applicants for student visas from Myanmar; and whether they intend to continue to provide opportunities for Myanmar students to study in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is currently an unsustainable strain on our asylum system. Nationals of Myanmar present some of the highest proportions of asylum claims to visas issued on the Student route.
We have needed to act to reduce the strain on the asylum system, in order to ensure that the system remains fair, credible, and sustainable. Our decision to introduce a visa brake on the Student visa route for nationals of Myanmar, and for three other nationalities, was data-driven, with the number of asylum claims on this route in the year ending September 2025 reaching 1,650% of their 2021 levels.
The brake will be kept under regular review. It is not intended to be permanent. It will, however, only be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of Myanmar nationals deported back to their country; and whether it is their current policy to do so.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps the situation in Myanmar under close review. The UK does not remove individuals where there is a real risk of persecution or serious harm, and all cases are considered on their individual merits.
We only seek to return those whose asylum claims have been unsuccessful, or who otherwise have no lawful right to remain in the UK. By definition, they do not need protection and are not at risk on return. Furthermore, we only seek to return those who have no lawful right to remain in the UK.
Returns are only conducted when it is safe and practical to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support efforts to strengthen unity, co-ordination and local governance among Myanmar’s pro-democracy forces and ethnic groups.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK engages with a range of opposition and civil society stakeholders, including the National Unity Government, to support voices among pro‑democracy actors. Around two-thirds of our assistance in Myanmar is delivered through local organisations, including faith groups, education providers and community‑led structures, helping to strengthen local governance capabilities and community resilience. We continue to use our role at the UN and our discussions with regional partners to encourage a unified, inclusive dialogue towards a peaceful and democratic future for Myanmar.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that supply chains of products and services reaching the UK from Myanmar, including rare earth mining, garment and manufacturing, logistics and infrastructure, do not include products sourced from forced or slave labour and involving other human rights violations in Myanmar.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer given on 18 June 2025 to question HL8153.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing land-based missile defences for major population centres and critical infrastructure in Great Britain; what estimate they have made of the cost of any such provision; and whether they have considered how a supply of requisite ordnance might be secured.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
His Majesty’s Government continually monitors and assesses the threats to the United Kingdom. A range of air and missile defence capabilities are under consideration within the Defence Investment Plan.