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.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Land Use Framework, published on 18 March, what funding and resources they plan to provide a National Soil Map of England and Wales; and what steps they will take to ensure that that map is open source and freely available.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As committed to in the newly published Land Use Framework, Cranfield University and Defra have reached an agreement to develop an open access portal of soil and related environmental data for England and Wales, including the National Soil Map of England and Wales (NATMAP).
The agreement will see a new system launch in Spring 2026, derived from Cranfield’s LandIS (Land Information System), which will give free access to the extensive data. LandIS is a substantial environmental information system operated by Cranfield University, designed to contain soil and soil-related information for England and Wales. It is one of the largest systems of its kind in Europe and is recognised as the definitive source of national soils information in the UK.
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 assessment they have made of the humanitarian impact of the USA's oil blockade of Cuba; what representations they have made to the government of the United States about that impact; and what assessment they have made of the right of Cuban people to self-determination.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK continues to follow developments in Cuba closely, including the impact of the 29 January US executive order. The UK has maintained a consistent and long-standing position on the US embargo, voting for the annual UN resolution calling for its end every year since 1996. Consistent with the International Covenants on human rights, the UK recognises the right of self-determination of all peoples, including the people of Cuba.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about the continuation of the Taith programme in conjunction with the return of the UK to the Erasmus+ scheme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Any decision on the continuation of the Taith programme following the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027 rests with the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that the UK Cruise Growth Plan, published on 16 September 2025, does not increase (1) the levels of air pollution and other factors that damage public health in port cities, (2) environmental impacts on the sea, and (3) the climate impact of the cruise industry.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Whilst the UK Cruise Growth Plan is focused on boosting the cruise industry’s economic impact, it sits alongside the Government’s Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, through which we will work together with the cruise industry on shared ambitions and policy development.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide training or other safety provisions for British Merchant Navy crews to deal with GPS jamming and spoofing; and what measures they are taking to ensure the safety of British waters in the face of those risks.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
UK seafarers are trained to use back up navigation systems, including celestial navigation for deep sea voyages and radar and visual fixing techniques in coastal waters, along with all other standard navigational aids. Training on recognising and responding to GPS jamming and spoofing is also an integral part of the competency requirements for those working toward a UK Certificate of Competency.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Collins of Highbury on 16 March (HL Deb col 668), how they will improve the oversight of compliance with the Prevent Duty as a measure to tackle extremism on college and university campuses in the light of the recommendation to reform the Prevent Strategy in Report of the Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice, published November 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Office for Students is updating its Prevent monitoring framework in line with the 2023 Prevent statutory guidance. It will publish a new framework and guidance in September, which will come into force at the start of 2027, where they will make greater use of Prevent review meetings to target areas of concern and gather more detailed evidence where necessary.
The department will, where required, use its enforcement powers under section 30 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, including issuing directions enforceable by court order, to secure full compliance with the Prevent duty.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Waste Management article Comprehensive study of physicochemical and environmental properties of Air pollution control residues from UK energy-from-waste facilities, by Ximena Chamorro Bolaños, published on 15 March, what plans they have to tighten controls on air pollution control residues from energy-from-waste plants.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The treatment, recovery and disposal of air pollution control residues (APCR) from energy-from-waste plants is regulated by the Environment Agency in England. APCR is classified as a hazardous waste and must be sent to an appropriately permitted facility for treatment, recovery or disposal (including prior treatment where relevant to meet the waste acceptance criteria for a landfill site). The Government believes the current robust controls for the management of APCR to be sufficient to protect human health and the environment. Hazardous waste should be managed by waste producers and handlers in accordance with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises prevention, preparation for reuse and recycling over recovery and disposal.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the strategy Replacing animals in science, published on 11 November 2025, whether they plan to establish a national platform to catalogue and share non-animal methods and expertise used in research and regulatory testing.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) Gateway on F1000Research is an established platform to accelerate the dissemination of detailed non-animal methodologies, data notes, and software tools to improve animal welfare and reduce animal use in science. In the ‘Replacing animals in science’ strategy published in November 2025 we commit to increasing the scope of the gateway so that by the end of 2026 it is available to all researchers developing alternative methods.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to implement a national screening programme of children for exposure to lead (1) in general, or (2) in cases where there is a reason to suspect exposure; and what action they plan to take to identify and remove or seal off sources of lead contamination.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is advised on all screening matters by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which is made up of leading medical and screening experts. Where the committee is confident that there is robust evidence that demonstrates that to offer screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.
The UK NSC made a recommendation not to screen children for lead poisoning in 2018. This is because:
- the number of children affected in the United Kingdom is currently not known;
- the test was not reliable enough; and
- treatments in children with mild symptoms have not been proven and may also be harmful.
In 2024 a proposal was submitted to the UK NSC via its open call, to review the decision made in 2018 for screening children for lead poisoning. The UK NSC is planning to undertake an evidence map, which is the first step in the evidence review process.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises that exposure to lead should be as low as reasonably practicable. The UKHSA support partners in identifying the pathway and source of lead and advises on appropriate public health interventions to aid in reducing exposure. Interventions include interruption of lead exposure pathways by source identification and remediation or abatement, behavioural interventions, and consideration of whether others may be at risk of exposure. The UKHSA is also involved in raising awareness as many healthcare professionals are unaware that lead still poses a risk in the UK and elsewhere.
The remit of the UKHSA in relation to lead contamination is advisory and does not extend to undertaking any remedial measures.