Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 3 September (HL10232), how many asylum seekers are currently placed in (1) hotels, (2) houses of multiple occupation, and (3) other locations and facilities in England, broken down by local council.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in contingency and dispersed accommodation, including houses of multiple occupation, across England as at 30 June 2025.
The below figures are broken down by region. The data is available on GOV.UK under Immigration statistics and can be further broken down by local authority.
Region | Hotels | Dispersed Accommodation | Other |
East Midlands | 1,755 | 5,142 | 348 |
East of England | 2,757 | 2,527 | 1,556 |
London | 10,081 | 4,350 | 2,730 |
North East | 309 | 6,891 | 96 |
North West | 3,686 | 16,820 | 690 |
South East | 3,402 | 3,122 | 449 |
South West | 2,132 | 2,262 | 126 |
West Midlands | 3,913 | 8,930 | 427 |
Yorkshire and Humber | 2,129 | 6,956 | 601 |
This Government is delivering on its pledge to close asylum hotels; drastically reducing taxpayer costs and giving control back to local communities. This Government is committed to ending the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money was raised by the energy profits levy for each of the last two quarters for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Monthly Energy Profits Levy (EPL) cash receipts are published in ‘HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance Contributions for the UK’ and can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/689ecbc12e8cc8ec5b3572b2/NS_Table.ods
EPL is typically paid in July, October and January alongside companies’ corporation tax instalments. In January 2025 and July 2025, EPL cash receipts were £952m and £778m respectively reported in line with the timing of instalment payments.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which trade unions are recognised by the MyCSP.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
MyCSP operates as a private company, delivering the administration of Civil Service pensions through commercial contract arrangements starting 2013 and ending December 2025.
Any decisions concerning the recognition of trade unions are made independently by them as the employer. They are contractually obliged to comply with UK legislation, which includes worker and employment rights, including those rights associated with trade union recognition.
As far as we are aware, MyCSP does not currently recognise any trade unions either by voluntary or statutory arrangement. They do have staff representation on their Board.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following Baroness Casey of Blackstock's National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published on 16 June, what steps they are taking to reform the arrangements for taxi licensing.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport will legislate to address the important issues raised in the report, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options – including out of area working, national standards and enforcement – seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.
In the interim we will act urgently to make improvements, including consulting on making local transport authorities responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, and determining how existing statutory guidance can be strengthened to further protect the public. We are also reviewing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance and will hold those who do not follow it to account.
Some important protections have already been put in place since earlier inquiries into Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. All licensing authorities in England now undertake extensive driver background checks, and since 2023 they are required to use a single database to prevent a driver refused a licence in one area on safety grounds going elsewhere. Careful consideration of the options is needed as we do not want any change to decrease the availability of highly vetted licensed drivers and vehicles and inadvertently increase the use of those offering illegal services that evade these licensing checks.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the gross income from the Dartford River Crossing in the last year for which figures are available, and how much was paid to the Department for Transport.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
For the financial year 2023/24, gross road user charge income at the Dartford Crossing was £130.1m. The Crossing’s full revenue is higher owing to additional income from enforcement, abnormal load fees, and other rental income (details are available in the annual accounts published online).
All road user charge income is paid to the Department for Transport gross. The total cost of operating and maintaining the Crossing in 2023/24 was £75.5m. After meeting these costs, the remaining revenue from Dart Charge was spent on transport-related schemes and projects.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - 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 carbon footprint of water desalination plants in England.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The carbon footprint of water supply schemes is an integral factor for water companies in considering how future water demand should be met. The water industry has made net zero commitments by 2030, and the Government has ensured that Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP), which outline water company proposals for new supplies and demand reduction measures, describe how all measures contribute to company and Government net zero commitments.
Water demand is growing due to climate change, the need for drought resilience, population growth and to address unsustainable abstraction. Where water companies have planned new desalination plants, they have shown that the scheme is part of a best value plan for society. This includes assessment balancing the costs, carbon footprint, environmental impacts and social benefits of all potential alternatives for increasing water supply and reducing demand. Regulators have scrutinised WRMPs and are satisfied that only best value schemes have been proposed that meet the challenges facing water supplies.
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 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 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.