Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of non-assured grain being imported and undercutting the price of home-grown grain.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

UK Farm Assurance schemes are industry led and managed, therefore government has made no assessment on the level of assured grain in the UK supply chain.

British farmers are world-leaders and know their own land best - carefully planning their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy. In 2023, domestically produced wheat accounted for 83% of the wheat used in the milling grist.

Due to environmental and climate conditions the UK milling industry require a certain level of imports of high protein milling wheat year on year to meet con-sumer demand. Cereals are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability.

This is a good example of food security, built as it is on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. The import part of this supplements domestic production and ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.  Due to environmental and climate conditions the UK milling industry require a certain level of imports of high protein milling wheat year on year to meet consumer demand.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how effectively livestock projects funded by the International Finance Corporation implement the good management practices set out in its Good Practice Note on Improving Animal Welfare in Livestock Operations, published December 2014.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government works internationally to promote high standards of animal welfare and recognition of the overlap between animal welfare, animal health and sustainability.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has rigorous and internationally recognised standards which align to those of other jurisdictions such as the EU. The IFC assesses potential industrial livestock projects which it supports against these standards as part of its due diligence processes.

The UK will continue to engage with IFC to ensure it applies its Performance Standards to all investments, including related to livestock production, and where appropriate, provides guidance and support to clients to achieve these.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board on whether the Afghanistan team should participate in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK Government condemns the appalling erosion of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan. Sport operates independently of government, and Afghanistan’s participation in the ICC Champion’s Trophy is a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and International Cricket Council (ICC).

My officials are in ongoing contact with the ECB on the wider issue of support for the Afghanistan women’s cricket team. We welcome the recent announcement of the Global Refugee Cricket Fund to help support Afghanistan women’s cricket. We strongly urge the ICC to ensure a safe return to competition for the Afghanistan women’s team in some capacity as soon as possible.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to removing VAT on refitting works to encourage developers to repurpose buildings rather than demolish them; and what other plans they have to encourage them to do so.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax forecast to raise £171 billion in 2024/25. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services.

To stimulate the renovation of existing buildings, residential renovations are subject to a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent if they meet certain conditions. These include conversions of buildings from one residential use to another, conversions from commercial to residential use, and the renovation of properties that have been empty for two or more years.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, and if so why, they are advocating for parish councils to change to ‘gov.uk’ domain names and associated email addresses for councillors; and what assessment, if any, they have made of the cost of such a change.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has advocated for Parish Councils to use .gov.uk domains for their websites and email accounts although there is no legal obligation to do so. This helps councillors to use government branded email for official business, have additional security benefits and meet legal obligations such as Freedom of Information and Data Subject Access Requests.

The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has helped to lower the cost of buying .gov.uk domain names and has set up the Parish Council Domains Helper Service to support councils, which choose to move to .gov.uk. The department also works with the National Association of Local Councils and Society of Local County Clerks to support their efforts to professionalise the Parish Council sector.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the egg-laying hen population in the UK is; how many of those are kept in caged systems; what proportion of eggs laid in the UK come from caged hens; and what progress has been made on reducing the use of cages for hens.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

According to Defra’s official statistics on livestock populations in the United Kingdom, from June 2024 the total number of egg-laying hens (including breeding birds) was 54.6 million birds. Of these, 41.9 million were laying hens and pullets for table egg production.

Eggs produced from hens in enriched ‘colony’ cage systems accounted for 20% of the total egg throughput in Q4 2024. We do not hold figures on the number of egg-laying hens kept in caged systems.

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the deadline for payment of parish council election costs has been brought forward into the same year as the elections; and what assessment they have made of the implications of this change for the ability of parish councils to accurately predict their budgets.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The costs of any local elections are to be met locally. Elections (whether to principal local authorities, or to parish and town councils) are administered by returning officers, who recover their expenditure of the election from the principal authority. The principal authority may then, if it chooses, require the parish council in turn to meet those costs.

It is for each principal authority to decide whether to require payment for all or part of the cost of a parish election or by-election, and to set deadlines for this payment.

Parish councils are responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient income to meet their costs and can do so by charging a precept on council tax. We recognise that parish councils do not take the decision to increase precepts lightly.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of reports that the statutory costs for parish council elections have risen by up to 80 per cent even without a contested election; and, if so, why they consider this has come about.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The costs of any local elections are to be met locally. Elections (whether to principal local authorities, or to parish and town councils) are administered by returning officers, who recover their expenditure of the election from the principal authority. The principal authority may then, if it chooses, require the parish council in turn to meet those costs.

It is for each principal authority to decide whether to require payment for all or part of the cost of a parish election or by-election, and to set deadlines for this payment.

Parish councils are responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient income to meet their costs and can do so by charging a precept on council tax. We recognise that parish councils do not take the decision to increase precepts lightly.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of changes to costs for parish councils putting some councils into deficit; and any resultant effects on local democracy.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The costs of any local elections are to be met locally. Elections (whether to principal local authorities, or to parish and town councils) are administered by returning officers, who recover their expenditure of the election from the principal authority. The principal authority may then, if it chooses, require the parish council in turn to meet those costs.

It is for each principal authority to decide whether to require payment for all or part of the cost of a parish election or by-election, and to set deadlines for this payment.

Parish councils are responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient income to meet their costs and can do so by charging a precept on council tax. We recognise that parish councils do not take the decision to increase precepts lightly.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the decision by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 5 December 2024 to approve the demolition of the Marks & Spencer building on Oxford Street, how they took into account (1) the architectural interest of the building, and (2) the increased climate change impact of a demolition and rebuild over a conventional refit, when considering the proposal.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision are set out in the decision letter and Inspector’s Report published on 5 December 2024.

Found: The Chair); Baroness Browning; Lord Crisp; Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell; Baroness Goudie; Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

Found: Security Bill The Women, Peace and Security Bill is a private members’ bill introduced by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger