Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many public inquiries are currently ongoing, what was their total cost last year, and what is their estimated cost for the current year.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are currently 18 ongoing public inquiries.
The Cabinet Office does not hold data on the current or projected costs of each public inquiry. Sponsor departments should hold this information for the inquiries under their remit, and, in some cases, it is published on inquiries' own websites.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given, or was given by the recent review of HS2 by James Stewart, to estimate the final additional cost of completing the HS2 project; and whether they have given any consideration to cancelling the project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We recognise the scale of the challenges highlighted by James Stewart and we accept his findings on HS2 in full, including all the recommendations on cost control. This government is committed to implementing these recommendations.
On 18 June, the Transport Secretary made an oral statement to the House on the current status of HS2, explaining the cost and schedule pressures the project is facing and that she has tasked new HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild with resetting the programme
Mark Wild has delivered his initial assessment, which was published alongside the Transport Secretary's oral statement, and is currently undertaking a comprehensive reset of the programme which will provide a realistic budget and schedule to deliver the remaining works.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer Baroness Merron on 30 May (HL7541), whether they will place a copy of the European Food Safety Authority assessment on the effects of chemical washes applied to chicken in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Four reports by the European Food Safety Authority assessing the possible effects of chemical washes applied to chicken have been placed in the Library. These are:
- Report of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health (SCVPH) on Benefits and Limitations of Antimicrobial Treatments for Poultry Carcasses;
- Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health on the Evaluation of Antimicrobial Treatments for Poultry Carcasses;
- Opinion of the Scientific Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) related to Treatment of poultry carcasses with chlorine dioxide, acidified sodium chlorite, trisodium phosphate and peroxyacids; and
- Assessment of the possible effect of the four antimicrobial treatment substances on the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of HS2 to date, and how much it will cost to complete the project in current prices.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Mark Wild, the new CEO of HS2 Ltd, is leading a comprehensive reset of the programme to deliver the remaining works at the lowest reasonable cost. As part of this work, he will advise the Department on a revised cost estimate for HS2.
As Mark Wild set out in his letter to the Secretary of State on 31 March 2025, HS2 Ltd’s unassured estimate of the maximum cost of HS2 excluding Euston in June 2024 was £61.8bn in Q3 2019 prices, however he identified the programme was facing significant additional pressures which he will assess as part of the reset.
Once a revised cost estimate is agreed, this will be expressed in an updated price base in line with the commitment made by the Department to the Public Accounts Committee in December 2024.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of domestic heat pumps sold in the UK last year; how many of those were produced in the UK; and how many were imported, and from which countries.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Heat Pump Association estimates that over 98,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK in 2024. The majority of these will be for domestic use. https://www.heatpumps.org.uk/resources/statistics/
Research commissioned by the Government in 2020 found that around two thirds of heat pumps installed in the UK were imported, the majority from the European Union
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-pump-manufacturing-supply-chain-research-project
The Government is supporting domestic heat pump production through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, which provides grants to manufacturers to expand, repurpose, or build facilities, to help strengthen the UK supply chain and attract investment.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to announce the appointment of the National Armaments Director, and when they expect the director to take up the role.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
An announcement on the appointment of the National Armaments Director will be made in due course once the necessary recruitment processes and relevant approvals have been finalised.
The successful candidate will take up the role after the appropriate notice period from their previous employer has been served.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of solar panels imported into the UK last year, and from which countries these solar panels were imported.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department has not estimated the number of solar panels imported into the UK, however HMRC publishes the mass of solar panels imported on its data portal at www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the Nottingham Inquiry.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Terms of Reference of the Nottingham Inquiry were published on 22 May and like all public inquiries it must avoid unnecessary costs to public funds.
The Inquiry is responsible for presenting a preliminary budget within a reasonable timeframe to the sponsor department for approval. As the sponsor department, the Ministry of Justice will ensure that public funds are properly planned and accounted for. The Lord Chancellor will publish the full costs of the Inquiry in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they provided to local authorities for the planning and construction of cycle lanes in the past year.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In the 2024/25 financial year, Active Travel England provided £40.5m of revenue funding through the Capability Fund, and £54.2m of capital funding through the Active Travel Fund 5 to local authorities outside of London. This funding supports a range of activities to boost active travel, including the planning and construction of schemes to improve walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure. Further funding for active travel has been confirmed for 2025/26.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of chemically washed chicken on human health.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No chemicals are approved for the purpose of washing chicken carcasses in the United Kingdom, and therefore, chicken that has been chemically washed cannot be placed on the UK market. Any changes would require ministerial agreement across the nations of the UK and then an amendment to legislation, which would be subject to parliamentary oversight.
While the UK was a member of the European Union, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) completed assessments on behalf of member states, including the UK, relating to the effects of chemical washes applied to chicken. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) periodically reviews the available evidence, including scientific literature, for new information that could address previously identified evidence gaps or trigger reviews of previous risk assessments. Although some new research has been published in this area since the previous assessments and has been reviewed since the UK’s exit from the European Union, this has not significantly changed the conclusions drawn by the EFSA with regard to chemical, microbiological, or antimicrobial risk. The FSA has no active work in this area and no current plans to initiate new assessments.