Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a statutory requirement for local authorities and Integrated Care Boards to jointly commission services across all layers of SEND support.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Under section 26 of the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities and Integrated Care Boards have an existing duty to jointly commission the arrangements for the education, health and care of children and young people with Special educational needs and disability (SEND) in the local area.

In the SEND consultation, the government asked how to ensure the most effective use of SEND local partnerships through the SEND reforms. Partnership working includes the existing joint commissioning arrangements between local authorities and Integrated Care Boards.

The consultation has now closed. The department is carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation alongside feedback from over 200 engagement events we held over 12 weeks and will set out our response in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether NHS England's Specialised Neurology Services (Adults) Specification will be implemented by all specialised neurology centres in England; and what steps they are taking to monitor compliance with those requirements for patients with Primary Progressive Aphasia.

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

The adult neurology service specification, published by NHS England, sets out the standards expected of specialised neurology services commissioned across England, including multidisciplinary care, timely access to diagnostics, and coordinated pathways for people with complex neurological conditions such as primary progressive aphasia. Specialised neurology services are commissioned against these national specifications, and providers are expected to deliver care in line with these requirements.

NHS England requires all commissioned specialised neurology centres to have regard to the service specification and to embed its standards within clinical practice. Implementation is supported through contractual arrangements and service development discussions between NHS England and providers, recognising that local service configuration and patient need may shape the way in which requirements are delivered in practice.

Compliance with service specifications is monitored through a structured combination of contractual obligations, routine data reporting, and external regulatory oversight. In addition, national improvement programmes, such as Getting It Right First Time, support the reduction of unwarranted variation and promote adherence to best practice, including for people with rarer neurological conditions such as primary progressive aphasia.

Together, these arrangements help to ensure that patients receive high-quality, evidence-based care in line with nationally defined standards, while allowing services to be delivered in a way that reflects local clinical pathways and patient needs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to embed speech and language therapists in neighbourhood health teams.

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

Neighbourhood health underpins delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan. It will bring together integrated neighbourhood teams of professionals and partners closer to people’s home, to work together to support people and places to improve their health and wellbeing. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan, which will put the National Health Service workforce on a sustainable footing so it can deliver the service model set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

We expect the design and delivery of neighbourhood health to be locally led, including for integrated neighbourhood teams (INTs). However, INTs can include allied health professionals like speech and language therapists if this reflects the specific needs of the local population.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 22 June (HL765), what engagement they have had with Gypsy and Traveller communities in respect of insurance for people who live permanently on caravan sites.

Answered by Lord Livermore

The Government understands the importance of insurance in building the financial resilience of consumers and protecting them when things go wrong. The Government engages with a wide range of interest groups as part of its work to ensure insurance markets work well for consumers. The Government exchanged correspondence with Friends, Families and Travellers on the issue of access to insurance in late 2025.

While insurers make commercial decisions on whether to offer cover, and at what price, they must comply with relevant legislation and regulatory rules. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics, such as race. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also requires firms to treat customers fairly under its rules and, where necessary, has robust powers to take action against firms that do not comply with its rules.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to prevent a recurrence of the riots in Ballymena in which members of the Roma community were targeted.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The disorder in Ballymena last year was shocking and unacceptable. There is no place for racism or violence of any kind in Northern Ireland. One of the characteristics of this country is that we treat people with equality, respect and dignity, regardless of where they come from.

Following the disorder in Ballymena, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland spoke with community organisations supporting the Roma community and the Romanian Ambassador to the UK to ensure those impacted were receiving appropriate support. Following the disorder in June of this year, he has also spoken directly with Northern Ireland Party Leaders, and Northern Ireland Office officials engaged with the Consulate General of Romania. I have also visited Ballymena since the riots and met with community groups.

Northern Ireland Office officials remain active in cross-Government forums to prevent the recurrence of unrest. The UK Government is committed to supporting the Northern Ireland Executive to develop strategies to strengthen community cohesion and prevent disorder in future.

Found: of Ewelme Lord Krebs Lord Lennie Lord Redwood Lord Rooker Earl Russell Lord Trees Baroness Whitaker

Found: Ewelme Lord Krebs Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Lord Redwood Earl Russell Lord Trees Baroness Whitaker

Found: Baroness Whitaker No relevant interests declared

Found: Baroness Whitaker: Is this human health not from the parasites, though?

Found: International anti-corruption and illicit finance Baroness Whitaker raised the importance of sustained

This inquiry will consider how the UK can maintain a secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity supply during ‘dunkelflaute’ events – periods of low wind and solar energy generation. This will include an assessment of current UK preparedness for dunkelflaute conditions, future plans, and policy and regulatory gaps.