Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government role public libraries will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading 2026; and what steps are being taken to increase library engagement with the campaign.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 2 March DCMS announced £150,000 for public libraries to support the National Year of Reading. Funding will be delivered by The Reading Agency in support of the Go All In campaign to reconnect people with reading for pleasure.
The £150,000 fund is expected to support projects across 72 library authority areas which are disadvantaged by high deprivation, weak social infrastructure and low library engagement with the aim of encouraging greater library use and new members.
Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading across the UK. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that those in the criminal justice system benefit from the National Year of Reading 2026.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Year of Reading is a welcome opportunity to promote a wide range of activity to improve literacy and engagement with reading for people in custody and on probation.
As part of this work we have appointed the first ever Prison Reading Laureate, the author Lee Child. He will champion the transformative power of reading across the criminal justice system, continue expansion of his successful literacy pilot programme which has been running in a number of prisons since 2025 and will bring in more authors to work with prisons across the country, promoting the benefits of reading to rehabilitation.
Reading is a priority for HMPPS who work with many voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations such as the Reading Agency and National Literacy Trust. A programme of work is planned throughout this year to improve national access to books and facilitate workshops with authors. The Youth Custody Service is also launching its first ever Literacy Festival to inspire reading amongst some of the most complex children in our society.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to hold public bodies to account in the light of the findings of the report Hillsborough Disaster: The report of the IOPC and Operation Resolve investigations, published on 2 December.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The unlawful killing of 97 people at Hillsborough 36 years ago remains a stain on our nation’s history, and publication of the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) report serves as a stark reminder of one of the most significant failings in policing the country has ever seen.
The IOPC’s report is clear there was a lack of candour from the police officers involved. Thanks to the tireless campaigning of the families and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster, this Government is introducing the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, otherwise known as the Hillsborough Law. This landmark legislation will place a new legal duty of candour on all public servants and authorities, requiring them to act truthfully and to fully support inquests, investigations and inquiries. It will also bring clarity to the offence of Misconduct in Public Office by placing it on a statutory footing, introduce a new criminal offence of misleading the public, and provide legal aid for victims of disasters and state-related deaths.
Whilst it is extremely frustrating that none of the police officers named in the IOPC’s report will face disciplinary action, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 now ensures that police officers cannot evade misconduct proceedings by retiring or resigning, meaning this failing can never be repeated.
These measures directly respond to the failings identified by the IOPC and ensure that, if a similar situation were to arise today, those responsible would be held to account.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all future use of hydrogen in the UK is of green hydrogen.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government encourages a range of hydrogen production technologies, including CCUS-enabled ‘blue’ and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen technologies, provided they can meet the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard, they fit within our broader strategic approach to hydrogen, and that we understand the system and environmental impacts.
‘Blue’ hydrogen is an important tool for scaling up the hydrogen economy while electrolytic hydrogen costs fall and the power system decarbonises. It is well-suited to provide continuous predictable 'baseload' supply of hydrogen to industrial clusters as both hydrogen storage and electrolytic production increase.
‘Green’ hydrogen is likely to be a core long-term hydrogen production technology as it is expected to be able to operate flexibly, responding to the availability of electricity inputs, and when paired with renewable electricity, can deliver zero carbon hydrogen.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the production of original UK content in film, television and radio.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government continues to incentivise the production of original content across film, television and radio. The Creative Industries is one of eight growth-driving sectors in our Industrial Strategy. Our ten-year Sector Plan, published in June, sets out over sixty commitments, with film and TV prioritised as a 'frontier industry' due to its high growth potential and strong connections across the wider economy.
The Sector Plan supports the screen sector, through a £75 million Screen Growth Package to fund original UK film and television content, helping independent British productions reach global audiences. This includes an £18 million per annum scale up of the UK Global Screen Fund supporting development, co-productions, and international distribution. We have also maintained a 40% reduction on business rates for eligible film studios in England until 2034, directly supporting world-class filming facilities across the country.
Our competitive tax reliefs across the audiovisual sector, including high-end TV, visual effects and independent British film, in addition to our generous support for studio infrastructure encourages production activity across the UK.
Our public service broadcasters, in particular, are all subject to original production quotas, which require them to make a minimum level (by hours) of original content, whether commissioned or produced, available on their respective services. Our reputation as a world-leader in film and television production coupled with the attractive fiscal incentives offered by the Government means we also continue to attract significant inward investment from global streaming services and studios.
The UK’s commercial radio sector has benefited from changes in the Media Act to reduce regulatory burdens on licensed stations and the introduction of new protections for the carriage of radio services on smart speaker platforms. We are exploring, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the scope to encourage further growth in the UK’s audio and podcast sector. We have recently commissioned a new study by Frontier Economics to assess the economic potential of the radio and podcasting sector. This research will be completed no later than summer 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to community equipment for disabled people throughout the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated community equipment services are critical to the provision of health and social care, supporting people in their homes, preventing avoidable admissions, and reducing delayed discharges.
Under various legislations, including the Care Act 2014, and the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure provision of disability aids and community equipment, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area.
Local authorities should develop and maintain contingency plans in case of service disruption, working with local partners including integrated care boards.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the efficacy of measures intended to increase the energy efficiency of newly built and renovated housing.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it.
Through the Building Regulations, the Government sets minimum performance standards for new homes and buildings. In 2021, these standards were strengthened to ensure new homes and buildings are highly energy-efficient, with high-quality insulation and effective ventilation. These changes came into force in June 2022. We intend to introduce further changes to the Building Regulations through the Future Homes and Buildings Standards in the coming months. These standards will ensure new homes and buildings are extremely energy-efficient and use low-carbon heating.
A range of other mechanisms are being used to facilitate the retrofitting of existing buildings to higher energy efficiency standards.
We are investing £13.2bn in the Warm Homes Plan over the Spending Review period, which is a major step forward in the government’s plans to upgrade 5 million homes over this Parliament and cut energy bills for good. Through the Warm Homes Plan, we will help households take up measures like solar panels, heat pumps, home batteries and insulation, helping them save money on their bills and benefit from cleaner, cheaper heating.
Additionally, schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme help property owners make the transition from fossil fuel heating to more efficient, low-carbon systems, by offering upfront grants for self-build homes and retrofit installations, including renovation projects.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that achieving clean and quality air is embedded in all legislation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to further improving air quality to unlock benefits for public health, the environment and the economy.
The environmental principles policy statement sets out how ministers should interpret and proportionately apply the principles, so that they are used effectively to shape policy to protect the environment. Environment refers to the natural environment as set out in [section 44 of] the Environment Act 2021, which includes air.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to embed fire safety measures in all newly built and renovated housing and public buildings.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to ensuring that fire safety is embedded in all new and refurbished buildings.
The Building Regulations 2010 set functional requirements for fire safety in new building work, including new builds, extensions, material alterations, and certain changes of use, the Regulations are support by statutory guidance – Approved Document B (Fire Safety). Under the Building Safety Act 2022, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has a duty to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review.
Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Government has implemented a series of reforms to strengthen fire safety in new and existing buildings. These include:
To ensure fire safety is considered from the earliest stages of development, Planning Gateway One was introduced in August 2021. It requires developers of relevant high-rise residential buildings to submit a fire statement with their planning applications and establishes the Health and Safety Executive as a statutory consultee.
For existing and renovated buildings, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places duties on the responsible person to carry out and regularly review a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and to implement appropriate fire precautions.
In response to the Phase II Grenfell Inquiry Report, The Government has committed to keeping Approved Document B under continuous review.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to support elected mayors and devolved authorities in tackling climate change in the light of COP 30.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government’s English Devolution White Paper (attached) sets out Environment and Climate Change as a core area of competence for Strategic Authorities. It commits to strengthening their role in leading Local Nature Recovery Strategies and supporting wider environmental delivery. The White Paper also highlights opportunities for Strategic Authorities to influence energy system planning, act as heat network zoning coordinators, and embed climate adaptation principles in local services.
Alongside this, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill introduces a ‘Right to Request’, enabling Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to seek additional devolution, including in relation to climate and environmental responsibilities. Departments across government will work with Strategic Authorities to ensure they have the tools they need to tackle climate change.