Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 23 July, what steps they have taken to engage with the families of young disabled people who may be affected by the proposal to removal eligibility of those under 22 years of age for the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper was published on 18 March 2025 and closed on 30 June 2025, setting out plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support.
We ran a programme of consultation events to hear from disabled people and people with health conditions directly, including 7 virtual events and 11 in-person events across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
As part of the consultation, we welcomed views on raising the age someone can access the Universal Credit Health Element to 22. This consultation received over 45,000 responses and we are considering responses; we will set out our plans in due course.
If we proceed with this change, we will consider what special provisions need to be put in place for those young people where engagement with the Youth Guarantee is not a realistic prospect.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much DEFRA spent in total in the past financial year to create new opportunities for the public to access nature, or to improve existing public access, excluding engagement programmes.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed both to creating new opportunities for the public to access nature, and to improving existing public access. For instance, in FY24/25 we spent £5.5 million on progressing delivery of the King Charles III England Coast Path and £5.6 million on progressing delivery of the Coast to Coast National Trail. We also spent £5.8 million on our Access for All programme to increase accessibility of the countryside. This excludes funding for engagement programmes such as Generation Green and Green Social Prescribing, and funding for access casework, maintenance, monitoring, and staff costs.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much financial assistance DEFRA will provide in total to support the agriculture sector in the new Spending Review period.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are investing more than £2.7 billion a year in farming and nature recovery.
Funding for the Environmental Land Management Schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29.
Overall farmers and land managers will benefit from an average of £2.3 billion a year through the Farming and Countryside Programme. And up to £400 million from additional nature schemes, including those for tree planting and peatland restoration.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much financial assistance DEFRA provided in total to support the agriculture sector in the past financial year.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report setting out commitments in the previous financial year. Defra intends to publish the annual report for the financial year 2024/25 later this year, which will set out how money was spent in that financial year.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much DEFRA plan to spend in the new Spending Review period to create new opportunities for the public to access nature, or to improve existing public access, excluding engagement programmes.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England. Our spending plans are dependent on business planning outcomes.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that imports of (1) meat, (2) dairy, and (3) eggs meet animal welfare standards.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage.
All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. This includes ensuring imported meat products have been slaughtered to animal welfare standards equivalent to our domestic standards.
The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - 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 advantages of implementing the recommendations set out in The London Climate Resilience Review, published in July 2024, for other parts of the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The London Climate Resilience Review which reported to the Mayor of London is a clear example of the importance of local assessments of climate resilience, making 50 recommendations for how London can be better prepared for our changing climate.
Nationally, we are conducting a pilot of the Adaptation Reporting Power with a number of local authority partners across the country to explore the value of extending adaptation reporting and planning to the local authority sector and the learning from this pilot will inform our approach to the next ARP strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a goal of 100 percent compliance by 2028 with the 2021 NICE guideline on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), as part of their delivery plan for ME/CFS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The content of the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), delivery plan has not yet been finalised. The responses to the 2023 interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan, which we aim to publish by the end of March. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
To support this, we have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists, and representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the devolved administrations, and ME/CFS charities and organisations, in the development of the final delivery plan for ME/CFS.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether houses in multiple occupation will be included in their target for building new homes.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to building 1.5 million homes over the duration of the parliament. New residential dwellings, including Houses in Multiple Occupation (an HMO) that have not been converted from an existing home, will be included in the target for building new homes.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to retain goals to improve access to and engagement with nature as part of the rapid review of the current Environmental Improvement Plan, announced on 30 July; and whether they intend to engage with stakeholders representing public access and recreation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to enhancing public access to nature, as evidenced by our manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests. We are currently considering how best to continue to drive forward our goals in this area and we will be engaging with stakeholders as we do so.