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

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the agreement noted in the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Communiqué, published on 5 February, to use a joined-up approach to take forward legislation to ban the use of peat in horticulture, whether that joint legislation would include Northern Ireland; and what plans they have to prioritise the introduction of legislation to end peat sales.

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

This Government is committed to protecting our nature-rich habitats, including peat bogs. As part of this, the Government has pledged to legislate for a ban on the sale of peat and peat-containing products when Parliamentary time allows. This commitment is reflected in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).

Peat protection policy in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. Defra Ministers have responded recently, agreeing to representations from Devolved Governments to work collaboratively and adopt a UK-wide approach.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how the farming roadmap will support farmers to adapt to climate impacts whole maintaining resilient domestic food production.

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

Defra is working with farmers, farming and environmental organisations to develop the Farming Roadmap, which will set the direction for farming in England to 2050. The Government’s aim is to maintain food production, meet our environmental outcomes, and deliver a thriving and profitable farming sector.

The Roadmap will set out how farming will need to evolve in response to changing markets, technologies, and environmental pressures, including how Government will support that transition. It will present an honest picture of the current realities in farming and outline how the sector can adapt and evolve to meet future needs.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Plug-In Motorcycle Grant

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Between 2016 and grant closure, the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant supported over 15,500 zero emission vehicles.

Ending the £500 per vehicle Plug-in Motorcycle Grant is not expected to have a significant impact on uptake of zero emission motorcycles or on riders. The Government, working with industry, will continue to monitor the development of the zero emission motorcycle market and the need for any further interventions on an ongoing basis.

The Government continues to focus available funding to the areas where it can have the greatest impact.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they have made the decision to end the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Between 2016 and grant closure, the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant supported over 15,500 zero emission vehicles.

Ending the £500 per vehicle Plug-in Motorcycle Grant is not expected to have a significant impact on uptake of zero emission motorcycles or on riders. The Government, working with industry, will continue to monitor the development of the zero emission motorcycle market and the need for any further interventions on an ongoing basis.

The Government continues to focus available funding to the areas where it can have the greatest impact.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, if any, to introduce private finance to farming and nature recovery budgets.

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

Defra published the Land Use Framework in March this year. The Framework set out the steps Government will take to increase private demand for the environmental services that farmers and land managers provide and ensure that public payments can be combined with private payments as recommended by the Corry Review.

The Landscape Recovery (LR) scheme pilot phase will help Defra understand how much private finance projects are able to secure from private nature markets and what areas of projects that funding supports. Defra will apply that learning across LR and other schemes where appropriate.

Defra will publish the Farming Roadmap later this year. It will set out the role of private finance alongside public funding in supporting farms to profitably meet environmental outcomes and increase long term productivity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure that integrated care boards adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline that body mass index should not be used to exclude patients from referral for joint replacement surgery.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with interested parties. They are not mandatory but represent best practice, and National Health Service organisations are expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that local services meet the needs of their populations.

It is the responsibility of individual integrated care boards to determine policies for their local area. As with all surgery, Body Mass Index (BMI) should be considered as part of a holistic, personalised perioperative evaluation of the risks versus clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, BMI should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the integrated care boards' use of body mass index threshold criteria for joint replacement surgery is in line with their commitments to reduce health inequalities, particularly in regions with lower life expectancy and higher burden of obesity and musculoskeletal conditions.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of individual integrated care boards (ICBs) to determine policies for their local area, including that of the body mass index (BMI) threshold criteria for joint replacement surgery.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed guidelines for BMI thresholds by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with interested parties. They are not mandatory but represent best practice and National Health Service organisations are expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that local services meet the needs of their populations.

As with all surgery, BMI should be considered as part of a holistic, personalised perioperative evaluation of the risks versus clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, BMI should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

No specific assessment has been made of the impact of BMI based restrictions on waiting times, pain, mobility, and disease progression among patients awaiting joint replacement surgery, and there are no current plans for the Department to issue guidance to ICBs on this matter.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue guidance to integrated care boards to stop the exclusive use of body mass index thresholds in restricting access to joint replacement surgery.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of individual integrated care boards (ICBs) to determine policies for their local area, including that of the body mass index (BMI) threshold criteria for joint replacement surgery.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed guidelines for BMI thresholds by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with interested parties. They are not mandatory but represent best practice and National Health Service organisations are expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that local services meet the needs of their populations.

As with all surgery, BMI should be considered as part of a holistic, personalised perioperative evaluation of the risks versus clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, BMI should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

No specific assessment has been made of the impact of BMI based restrictions on waiting times, pain, mobility, and disease progression among patients awaiting joint replacement surgery, and there are no current plans for the Department to issue guidance to ICBs on this matter.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of body mass index-based restrictions on waiting times, pain, mobility and disease progression among patients awaiting joint replacement surgery.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of individual integrated care boards (ICBs) to determine policies for their local area, including that of the body mass index (BMI) threshold criteria for joint replacement surgery.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed guidelines for BMI thresholds by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with interested parties. They are not mandatory but represent best practice and National Health Service organisations are expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that local services meet the needs of their populations.

As with all surgery, BMI should be considered as part of a holistic, personalised perioperative evaluation of the risks versus clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, BMI should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

No specific assessment has been made of the impact of BMI based restrictions on waiting times, pain, mobility, and disease progression among patients awaiting joint replacement surgery, and there are no current plans for the Department to issue guidance to ICBs on this matter.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to instruct NHS England to increase the baseline number of specialty training places in clinical oncology in order to progressively eliminate workforce shortfalls and reduce delays in cancer care.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government committed in the 10-Year Health Plan to create 1,000 new specialty training posts over the next three years with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. Further information on which specialties will receive these places and when will be announced in due course.

Alongside this, the Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later this spring. It will set out a clear roadmap to improve working lives in the National Health Service, through better treatment of staff, higher-quality training, and more fulfilling roles.

In addition, the Department will also use training more directly as a lever to support improvements in operational performance, prioritising training places in trusts, often those in rural or coastal areas, where vacancy rates are higher and performance is lower.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether any of the 1,000 new specialty training places announced in the 10 Year Health Plan will be available for recruitment rounds this year; and if so, whether clinical radiology and clinical oncology will receive any of the additional posts.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government committed in the 10-Year Health Plan to create 1,000 new specialty training posts over the next three years with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. Further information on which specialties will receive these places and when will be announced in due course.

Alongside this, the Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later this spring. It will set out a clear roadmap to improve working lives in the National Health Service, through better treatment of staff, higher-quality training, and more fulfilling roles.

In addition, the Department will also use training more directly as a lever to support improvements in operational performance, prioritising training places in trusts, often those in rural or coastal areas, where vacancy rates are higher and performance is lower.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which specialities will receive new specialty training places from the 1,000 new training posts announced in the 10 Year Health Plan.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government committed in the 10-Year Health Plan to create 1,000 new specialty training posts over the next three years with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. Further information on which specialties will receive these places and when will be announced in due course.

Alongside this, the Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later this spring. It will set out a clear roadmap to improve working lives in the National Health Service, through better treatment of staff, higher-quality training, and more fulfilling roles.

In addition, the Department will also use training more directly as a lever to support improvements in operational performance, prioritising training places in trusts, often those in rural or coastal areas, where vacancy rates are higher and performance is lower.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of clinical negligence claims to the NHS in each of the last five years.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The following table shows the total payments made for clinical claims between the 2020/21 and 2024/25 financial years, broken down by the financial year of the payment, and including damages, NHS legal costs, and claimant legal costs paid in each financial year, with payments relating to both claims that were open and claims that were closed at the end of each financial year:

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the NHS in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.

David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps in due course.

Found: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Nye; Lord Randall of Uxbridge; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Found: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Nye; Lord Randall of Uxbridge; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Found: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Nye; Lord Randall of Uxbridge; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Found: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Nye; Lord Randall of Uxbridge; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Found: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Nye; Lord Randall of Uxbridge; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Found: Against the backdrop of a marked increase in reporting such call outs, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Found: We firmly believe, however, that now is not the time to take this step.”51 9.11 Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Submit Evidence (by 9 Jul 2026)

The Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee is conducting an inquiry into Article 2 of the Protocol/Windsor Framework (Article 2 WF), the so-called 'non-diminution of rights' provision.