Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of providing free GCSE and A-level examinations for home-schooled pupils; and what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of such provision.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government provides funding to state schools and colleges which covers examination entries for students who are on roll. When a parent chooses to educate their child outside of the school system, for any reason, they take on full responsibility for their child’s education, including all associated costs, such as examination fees. For this reason, the department has not made an estimate of the cost of providing free GCSE and A level examinations for home-educated pupils or an assessment of the potential benefits of such provision.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce a new requirement for local authorities to provide information on accessing GCSE examinations to home-educating families in their areas who are registered with them and who request it. We will provide additional funding to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties.
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 whether they plan to review whether the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 should be applied to all activities of the City of London Corporation, including those conducted through its private funds and non-municipal functions.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) sponsors the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the statutory regulator for Freedom of Information (FOI), however DSIT is not responsible for government policy and legislation regarding the FOI Act 2000.
The Government is committed to FOI and continues to monitor the performance and implementation of the FOI Act to ensure it is operating as intended by Parliament. Any changes to FOI legislation would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
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 provision of public transport for foot passengers to ferry terminals, such as those at Liverpool Birkenhead and Belfast; and what consideration they have given to requiring companies providing such transport services to ensure that they operate at appropriate times and frequencies.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
“Better Connected: a strategy for integrated transport” sets out this government's vision for a transport network that works well for people so they can make the journeys they need to easily. It supports the creation of unified and integrated transport systems at the national and local level, including by improving integration between modes and empowering local leaders to make decisions that are right for their areas.
In terms of connections between ferry terminals and rail services, we would expect Local Transport Authorities to identify any gaps and discuss potential solutions with the appropriate train operator.
The Government knows the importance of reliable bus services in enabling people to stay connected and access vital services, as well as for allowing people to reach other modes of travel, including ferry terminals. We are committed to delivering better bus services and the Bus Services Act 2025 puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England.
Transport is devolved so the provision of public transport to ferry ports in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be for the devolved administrations to consider.
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 what consideration they have given in the light of the current geopolitical situation to establishing food stores to be available to feed the population in event of commercial food supplies being unavailable.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is monitoring risks posed by Middle East tensions to the UK’s critical supply chains. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and in response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office and other departments to ensure food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors. At present, there are no significant impacts to the supply of food to consumers from the Middle East conflict.
The UK does not have national food stockpiles or plans to create these. The UK has a food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with any potential disruption. The UK’s food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes.
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 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 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.