Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to communities to access media literacy education and bridge the digital divide.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government has adopted a holistic approach to digital inclusion, integrating digital skills and media literacy. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan outlines steps towards delivering digital inclusion and bridging the digital divide, including supporting community initiatives for boosting digital skills and media literacy. Through our TechFirst programme, we are committed to giving one million students in schools and colleges across the UK the chance to develop their digital skills.
Under their Online Safety Act media literacy duties, Ofcom is developing a ‘place-based’ model to embed media literacy into community digital strategies, working with the Good Things Foundation to support Digital Inclusion Hubs to offer media literacy support.
Prevent’s network of Civil Society Organisations also deliver projects across England & Wales related to media literacy and critical thinking skills.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of poor media literacy on young people's employability.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to the Essential Digital Skills Framework, media literacy-related skills, including understanding online risks, are essential for work. FutureDotNow research funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology showed that improving essential skills such as media literacy delivers measurable value to society and the economy.
The government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan outlines steps towards delivering digital inclusion and media literacy for everyone in the UK. Through our Tech First programme, we are committed to giving one million students in schools and colleges across the UK the chance to develop their digital skills. We welcome the report of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 4 November, which recommends children should be taught how to spot fake news and disinformation, including AI-generated content, and develop critical thinking skills to help protect themselves online.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - 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 factors allowing housing estate developers not to comply with planning requirements to install swift and bat bricks.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are no current planning requirements to install swift and bat bricks. The government has committed to consult on changes which require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings unless there are compelling reasons which preclude their use, or which would make them ineffective.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Nature Restoration Fund is accessible to individual farmers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Nature Restoration Fund will provide opportunities to fund farmers, habitat banks, and environmental and conservation groups to deliver conservation measures. This will represent a source of revenue diversification for these businesses and organisations.
The Bill is drafted to enable delegation and partnership working, allowing Natural England to fund farmers to supply conservation measures directly or through third-party arrangements. The Government will publish guidance to Natural England on how they should work with the third parties to deliver EDPs.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Nature Restoration Fund is accessible to environmental and conservation groups.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Nature Restoration Fund will provide opportunities to fund farmers, habitat banks, and environmental and conservation groups to deliver conservation measures. This will represent a source of revenue diversification for these businesses and organisations.
The Bill is drafted to enable delegation and partnership working, allowing Natural England to fund farmers to supply conservation measures directly or through third-party arrangements. The Government will publish guidance to Natural England on how they should work with the third parties to deliver EDPs.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government in which cases work on new estates being built on flood plains has been held up by a lack of inspection partners.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Local authorities are best placed to determine in their Local Plan whether building on flood plains is suitable, as this is a complex issue that involves balancing development needs with environmental and safety concerns.
The government is strengthening the planning system to reduce flood risk in new developments. Updates to the National Planning Policy Framework require sustainable drainage systems in all developments and reinforce the use of the sequential test to avoid high-risk areas.
We are also improving flood risk assessment tools and aligning planning guidance with the Flood Ready Action Plan to embed resilience early in the planning process.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the core education offer for prisoners does not include a distinct reading curriculum.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The core education offer in all prisons includes reading skills and their practical application. These are an integral part of literacy provision. In addition to this, prisons benefit from locally commissioned support delivered by voluntary and community sector organisations. These partners play a vital role in engaging individuals who may lack the confidence to participate in classroom-based learning, offering tailored and accessible routes into reading. Every prison now has a dedicated reading strategy, underpinned by HMPPS’s National Prison Reading Framework which supports the development and evaluation of effective reading provision.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of organisations involved in delivering education services in prisons through the new Prisoner Education Services contracts.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Education Service (PES) is a collection of different and complementary contracts and partnerships aimed at improving prisoner outcomes through education. Three providers currently deliver core education services, with one regional Lot still subject to competition. PES also includes services such as careers advice (5 providers), library services (34 providers) and higher education delivered in partnership with the Open University and Prisoners’ Education Trust.
To broaden provider diversity, the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System has grown significantly, from 250 qualified suppliers in 2019 to over 500 in 2025. There are currently 270 active contracts with 88 suppliers. Additional programmes include the Future Skills Programme (5 providers), Literacy Innovation Fund (2 providers) and 12 employers delivering prison academies. The Ministry of Justice continues to explore ways to sustain and grow a diverse market of education and skills providers.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, whether their proposed recognition of a Palestinian state will apply if Gaza remains under the control of Hamas.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
In her statements confirming the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine, the Foreign Secretary has made clear that there can and will be no role for Hamas terrorists in the future governance of Gaza. She has also welcomed the unanimous declaration by the Arab League calling for Hamas to release all hostages, lay down its arms and relinquish all power in Gaza. Those goals will remain a priority for the UK Government as we work with international partners to progress efforts to secure a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, based on the two states of Israel and Palestine living securely side by side.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what new measures they are considering (1) to reduce the time for hiring and vetting, and (2) to attract and develop more applicants with STEM skills, in order to improve socio-economic diversity in recruitment to the Civil Service fast stream summer internship programme.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Initiatives are under way to improve time to hire across the Civil Service, which include establishing and benchmarking standardised recruitment metrics and using ‘test and learns’ to find new ways to attract and recruit talent.
UK Security Vetting (UKSV) has made significant progress in improving overall times to process applications for National Security Vetting. Performance continues to track at an all time high and UKSV remains committed to continuous improvement.
Our Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme will be for undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds for 2026. The annual recruitment exercise aligns to the academic year, with vetting and recruitment conducted in time for the students summer start dates.
The Fast Stream, for which the Summer Internship is a feeder route, continues to focus on its 2022 ambition that 50% of hires to the Fast Stream will have a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) qualification. This was exceeded in 2023 and 2024.