Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of the ongoing utility of the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention following recent developments in Eastern and Northern Europe.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention) continues to play an important role in protecting civilians from harm caused by anti-personnel landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, the UK’s commitment to it remains unwavering. We continue to encourage countries to join the Ottawa Convention, subscribe to its provisions; and discourage States from using anti-personnel landmines.

His Majesty's Government has noted that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have stated their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty. The UK acknowledges and shares concerns about the security environment in the region as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We also acknowledge that it is the sovereign right of those countries to make this decision. The UK will work to mitigate impacts on vital arms control and disarmament norms, while continuing to engage bilaterally on the actions States plan to take.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants attended COP29 in Baku in November 2024.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The full list of UK delegates who attended COP29 was 448 and was published by the UNFCCC, along with other country delegations. It can be found on the UNFCCC website. The number of UK delegates that attended COP28 was 674.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many welding apprentices there are currently in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The number of starts and enrolments on welding apprenticeship courses in England are shown in the table below.

Note:

(1) Published in March 2025, the data set includes full-year figures from 2021/22 to 2023/24 and figures from August 2024 to January 2025 for 2024/25.

(2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(3) Total starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.

These figures are published in the ‘Apprenticeships’ accredited official statistics publication, which can accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many nuclear certified welders there are currently in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not produce their own figures on the number of welders in the United Kingdom.