Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for greater pricing transparency in the mobile and broadband sector where some deals are accessible only through negotiation at the end of fixed contracts.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the Rt Honourable Lady to the answer given on 27 October 2025 to Question UIN HL10944.

People need to feel empowered when interacting with the telecoms market so they can be confident that they are getting a fair and transparent deal. DSIT’s Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s CEO on 31st October to ask for its assessment of telecoms consumer protections and what further action should be taken.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to recognise the result of the upcoming general election in Myanmar; and whether they will raise the issue of that election at the United Nations General Assembly.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 3 November to Question HL11182.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether patients with a cancer diagnosis will have access to local genomic testing; and if so, what is the timeline for that access to be in place.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan committed to every cancer patient having the choice to receive a comprehensive genomic analysis and molecular profiling, where appropriate. The NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) ensures equitable access to genomic testing for cancer patients across England through seven regional GMS geographies working with Cancer Alliances and National Health Service trusts. Genomic testing is delivered by a national network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs, guided by the National Genomic Test Directory, which includes over 200 cancer indications for a range of genomic tests, including whole genome sequencing. In 2025/26, NHS England is continuing its Cancer Genomics Improvement Programme for a second year to deliver quality improvement initiatives, education, local engagement, and to establish Cellular Pathology Genomic Centres to streamline cancer genomics pathways and accelerate genomic testing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of including broader value elements, such as societal and economic benefits, in the health technology assessment of vaccines.

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

The Department works closely with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to design, implement, and deliver programmes offering high levels of long-term protection against preventable diseases.

When doing so, the Department takes into consideration the expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent departmental expert committee. The JCVI bases its advice and recommendations on evidence of the burden of disease, of vaccine safety and efficacy, and of the impact and cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies.

Broader socio-economic factors such as productivity costs from illness, improved educational attainment from reduced school absences, and out-of-pocket expenses and opportunity costs from attending a vaccination may be highlighted by the JCVI or other colleagues across the tripartite to inform policy-making.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for a personalised approach to testing for patients.

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

The Government is committed to delivering a personalised approach to testing, including genomic testing, as part of its 10-Year Health Plan. The National Health Service will introduce a genomics population health service by 2035, including newborn genomic screening and polygenic risk scoring, both subject to evidence and funding, to enable earlier, tailored interventions. Genomic testing in the NHS in England is already delivered through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS). A national network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit. As part of the NHS GMS testing strategy, there is increasing use of cutting edge, high throughput comprehensive sequencing technologies to ensure efficiency. These measures will transform diagnostic services and treatment across the NHS to make them increasingly individualised, while empowering patients and improving outcomes.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 30 October (HL11477), whether they will keep the flooding spending formula under regular review as the evidence base for the effectiveness of natural flood management techniques grows.

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

Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, we are investing record levels in flood protection. Over the next Spending Review period (2026/27 to 2028/29), £4.2 billion will be allocated to build new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country. This equates to an average of £1.4 billion per year, a 5% increase on the current average of £1.33 billion for 2024/25 and 2025/26. Further details will be published in due course, including the split between capital and revenue funding.

Natural flood management (NFM) plays a vital role in reducing flood risk while delivering wider benefits for people, communities, and the environment. That is why we will be investing at least £300m in NFM over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme. We have also removed barriers that previously held back these projects. Working closely with the Environment Agency, we will explore opportunities to enable more landscape-scale NFM through partnership working and strengthen the evidence base for these interventions.

To ensure the new funding policy delivers effective outcomes, including NFM, we will review its impact after three years.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with the technology industry to ensure artificial intelligence models are tested robustly before deployment, and to embed safeguards such as suicide prevention into model development.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has ongoing partnerships with artificial intelligence developers to ensure the safety of the models they develop. It is essential that AI models are appropriately tested to ensure safeguards are robust, possible harms are considered and risks mitigated, to ensure the British public are protected.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base of these risks, to inform government decision making and help make AI more secure and reliable. AISI works in close collaboration with AI companies to assess model safeguards and suggest mitigations. To date, AISI has tested over 30 models from leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic. AISI’s findings lead to tangible changes to AI models before deployment, reducing the risk from day one.

Once deployed, many AI services are captured by the Online Safety Act 2023, which places robust duties on all in-scope user-to-user and search services, including those deploying generative artificial intelligence chatbots, to prevent users from encountering illegal suicide and self-harm content. These duties apply regardless of whether content is created by AI or by humans.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the risks of harm from generative artificial intelligence and chatbots.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Generative AI services, including AI chatbots, which allow users to share content with one another or search live websites to provide search results, are regulated under the Online Safety Act. In-scope services are required to protect all users from illegal content and children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.

The Government will not hesitate to act where required – for example we have introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create child sexual abuse material.

Responding to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to work with regulators to boost their AI capabilities. We are committed to ensuring our rule book is up to date and future-proofed so the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to recommendation 11 of An independent review of Defra’s regulatory landscape, published on 2 April, which environmental regulations will be in scope of the rolling programme of regulatory reform.

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

Dan Corry’s review of Defra’s regulatory landscape recommends that the Department scope a rolling programme of reform for specific regulations, suggesting several early priorities for reform. Work is ongoing to establish where improvements are most needed and where legislation would be required. In the meantime, the Department continues to lay statutory instruments on a regular basis to deliver environmental improvements and commitments.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 30 October (HL11477), how much of the £4.2 billion spending review commitment for flood defences will be made up of capital spending.

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

Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, we are investing record levels in flood protection. Over the next Spending Review period (2026/27 to 2028/29), £4.2 billion will be allocated to build new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country. This equates to an average of £1.4 billion per year, a 5% increase on the current average of £1.33 billion for 2024/25 and 2025/26. Further details will be published in due course, including the split between capital and revenue funding.

Natural flood management (NFM) plays a vital role in reducing flood risk while delivering wider benefits for people, communities, and the environment. That is why we will be investing at least £300m in NFM over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme. We have also removed barriers that previously held back these projects. Working closely with the Environment Agency, we will explore opportunities to enable more landscape-scale NFM through partnership working and strengthen the evidence base for these interventions.

To ensure the new funding policy delivers effective outcomes, including NFM, we will review its impact after three years.

Found: Lord Hope of Craighead Baroness Browning Baroness Pitkeathley Lord Crisp Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick