Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to resume uranium conversion in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of conversion for our nuclear industry and has a stated ambition to re-establish conversion services in the UK. In 2023, through the Nuclear Fuel Fund, we invested £13m, match-funded by Westinghouse, into their conversion project at the Springfield’s site in Preston.
The UK continues to be supportive of this ambition, and the role UK based conversion can play in delivering secure and reliable fuel supply chains.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many drivers were trained for C+E heavy goods licences at the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield in the last year.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Between 31 August 2025 and 1 September 2026, 646 Category C+E licences were awarded following training at the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield. The award of a Category C+E licence marks successful completion of the training and has therefore been used as the measure for the number of drivers trained.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of productivity in the building industry; and what steps they are taking to improve it.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
An ONS study in 2021 (Productivity in the construction industry, UK - Office for National Statistics) concluded that both the level of productivity, and the rate of productivity improvement in the construction sector, have historically been below that of the wider economy, and have not changed much in decades.
The Government is addressing this challenge through investing £625m in the Construction Skills Challenge, £85m in the Industrialising and Digitalising Construction Challenge, and has also worked with the industry to develop a Publicly Available Specification, PAS 4010, which will create a consistent approach to managing productivity improvement in the sector.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Leong on 9 July (HL1468), what steps they are taking to ensure that the 484 zero emission buses to be funded by additional bus funding will be built in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
While the Government cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses, at the final UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) agreed to commit that a 10% minimum of social value criteria would apply in all future bus procurement exercises.
This means that when procuring buses, MCAs will consider the positive impact a manufacturer has on our society, the environment, and on the local community as part of their decision-making process.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review National Highways' management of major incidents, in light of the closure of the M25 on 16 July.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways routinely reviews the management of major incidents to identify lessons learned and opportunities for improvement. In relation to the closure of the M25 on 16 July 2026, National Highways will undertake both an internal debrief and contribute to multi-agency review processes involving the emergency services and other partners.
Major incidents on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are managed through a multi-agency response led by the police. National Highways works in accordance with the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) and the Collision, Lead, Evaluate, Act, Reopen (CLEAR) process and supports partners in delivering a coordinated response.
As part of the review process, National Highways will consider the tactical options available and deployed during the incident, including arrangements for traffic management, the release of trapped traffic where appropriate, and support for driver welfare. The review will identify what worked well and any areas where improvements can be made.
National Highways will share relevant lessons learned with operational partners and incorporate any agreed actions into future incident management arrangements. The Government is also supporting work to review local arrangements for driver welfare during major incidents.
There are no current plans to review either the CLEAR or JESIP processes which National Highway works in accordance with to clear incidents on the SRN.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered replacing the census with in-depth sampling in the light of ongoing issues at the Office for National Statistics.
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)
On 15 July 2025 HM Government confirmed its commitment to hold a mandatory, questionnaire based census in England and Wales in 2031. The Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have confirmed their commitment to hold tradition censuses in their nations at the same time.
HM Government reached this decision after the UK Statistics Authority conducted extensive research and consultation into alternative options and concluded that a traditional census best met the needs of the UK’s government, local authorities, businesses, charities and citizens. Their reasoning is set out in their detailed recommendation, which was also published on 15 July 2025.
The Government remains committed to delivering the census in 2031 and is working closely with the ONS to ensure the programme’s success.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking towards the use of 3D printing for maintenance and repair in all three branches of the armed services.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The National Armaments Director Group are accelerating Defence adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) through Project TAMPA, working with industry, including Defence primes and small and medium enterprises, to improve supply chain resilience and platform availability. UK Defence Innovation is funding a 2-year sprint to accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing. This will support coherence across the Military Commands, facilitate regulatory compliance and adoption of safe and secure practices in alignment with the Defence Advanced Manufacturing Strategy.
The Royal Navy (RN) are employing additive manufacturing across multiple shore locations and selected vessels to produce spare parts as part of ongoing innovation efforts. This technology has primarily been utilised for low-complexity, non-critical but important components, allowing the RN to build experience and confidence in its application. HMNB Clyde, the home of the Submarine Service, have AM capabilities to support in-service submarines through obsolescence and supply limitations. Multiple components were additively manufactured for HMS ANSON using Australian sovereign AM capabilities during her recent maintenance period at HMAS Stirling.
The Army Equipment Support Publication for Land Systems Expedient Repair outlines the process for applying AM across the Army in the delivery of maintenance and repair. The Army have a permanent capability deployed in Estonia on Op CABRIT, and have recently placed capability in Cyprus, with forward locations supported by a network of advanced manufacturing nodes across the UK.
Since 2020 the RAF have delivered multiple AM parts to front line platforms, helping to return aircraft to availability months earlier. This year, the RAF will release a strategy outlining their ambition by 2030 to make AM business‑as‑usual within the supply chain for both on‑ and off‑aircraft components.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the Fingleton review.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
This Government is taking forward all of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce’s recommendations and has published an implementation plan. Delivery is already under way, including establishing a lead regulator model and taking forward reforms to cut duplication and improve proportionality.
Our reforms focus on outcomes over process, accelerating nuclear deployment while maintaining the UK’s robust safety and environmental standards.
Delivery is overseen by a cross sector Nuclear Regulatory Implementation Panel, ensuring accountability and pace. I will chair this Panel with the first meeting scheduled for 30 June.
The Government response commits to completing implementation by the end of 2027, supporting faster, more cost-effective delivery of new nuclear projects.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what ratio of apprentices to professional staff they consider appropriate when inviting bids to build ships for naval or civil purposes.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department does not require a specific ratio of apprenticeships to professional staff from shipbuilders as part of the tendering process, but all of the shipyards currently delivering major programmes have significant apprenticeship schemes.
We fully recognise the powerful value that apprenticeships offer to boost employment and as an important part of building a diverse and highly skilled workforce. The Government works closely with employers to encourage and support them to invest in training and development at all stages to build a sustainable pipeline of labour.
The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) works closely with businesses across the sector to understand their skills requirements and challenges and will set out more detail in the Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect directed energy weapons designed to combat low cost drones to be available to the UK armed forces.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Government is committed to accelerating the development and deployment of directed energy weapons to counter low-cost drones. The UK is a world leader in research on High-Energy Lasers and Radio Frequency weapons, working with key allies who share our mutual aims in this field. The first DragonFire high-energy laser system is due to be installed on a Type 45 destroyer in 2027, five years ahead of the original plan. This will make the UK the first European NATO nation to operationally deploy advanced laser directed energy technology.