Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to ensure a Prime Minister of any religious faith can discharge all of his or her responsibilities.
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)
While religious faith does not prevent anyone from becoming Prime Minister, the Government recognises that there are some historical restrictions on duties in statute. In such cases the Government would make alternative arrangements, so that it can discharge its responsibilities in full.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission an impartial and independent review of the impact of the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, including the benefits and disbenefits.
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 Government has no plans to commission an independent review of the impact of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. Our focus is firmly on strengthening the UK’s Strategic Partnership with the EU to make the people across the UK safer, more secure and more prosperous.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which public positions and roles cannot be filled by Roman Catholics, Jews and those not in communion with the Church of England; and what constraints are placed on the authority of a Prime Minister or Lord Chancellor who is a practicing Roman Catholic or Jew.
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 Government recognises that there are historical restrictions in statute on Roman Catholic and Jewish people making and advising the Crown on Church appointments. In practice, this affects those holding the offices of Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor. This does not prevent those professing the Roman Catholic or Jewish faith from holding these roles and in such cases the Government would make alternative arrangements for advising the Crown about Church appointments. The Government keeps this matter under review, but, given other pressing issues, this is not a current priority.
As the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the Sovereign must be in communion with the Anglican Communion. Individuals practising other faiths therefore cannot become Sovereign, Regent or a Counsellor of State.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which public offices in the United Kingdom are barred to individuals practising the Roman Catholic faith.
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 Government recognises that there are historical restrictions in statute on Roman Catholic and Jewish people making and advising the Crown on Church appointments. The Government keeps this matter under review, but, given other pressing issues, this is not a current priority.
As the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the Sovereign must be in communion with the Anglican Communion. Individuals practising the Roman Catholic faith therefore cannot become Sovereign, Regent or a Counsellor of State.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 23 July (HL9313), whether they can identify the reasons as to why London’s economy is 28.5 per cent more productive on average than the rest of the United Kingdom.
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 information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter below from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Lord Birt
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
4 September 2025
Dear Lord Birt,
As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 23 July (HL9313), whether the reasons as to why London’s economy is 28.5 per cent more productive on average than the rest of the United Kingdom can be identified (HL9939).
London is home to a high proportion of knowledge-intensive sectors such as financial services, insurance, and professional, scientific, and technical industries, all of which drive higher levels of productivity. There is evidence that London, like other major cities, benefits from an agglomeration effect, whereby the close proximity of a diverse mix of businesses, highly skilled labour, and major institutions fuels knowledge spillovers, collaboration, and innovation which enhance overall economic output. 1
London-based firms also consistently outperform their regional peers, even within the same industries, with firms benefitting from access to a large highly skilled labour market and a well-developed infrastructure and also from high competition between firms driving business dynamism.
This same pattern is found globally, with the largest cities typically having higher productivity levels compared with other areas due to these agglomeration impacts.
Yours sincerely,
Emma Rourke
1 https://whatworksgrowth.org/insights/understanding-agglomeration/
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of vehicles used to transport ministers on official business are wholly electric.
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 Government Car Service fleet is currently 39% wholly electric and a further 56% hybrid.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of suppliers to Government and to publicly-funded services have their invoices settled on the due date.
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)
Government departments routinely publish the percentage of invoices paid within 5 and 30 days, and there is a requirement under the Procurement Act 2023 for invoices relating to public contracts to be paid within 30 days.
The most recent published data indicates that all departments pay at least 95% of invoices within 30 days and half of departments pay at least 99% within 30 days.
For publicly-funded services, we do not hold this data centrally at present. However, from 1 October, a new Payments Compliance Notice (under the Procurement Act 2023) will commence. This will require all contracting authorities to publish information every six months on the average number of days taken to pay invoices and the percentage of invoices paid within 30 days, 31-60 days, 61+ days.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the productivity of London’s economy compares with the UK’s economy as a whole.
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 information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
Emma Rourke | Acting National Statistician
The Lord Birt
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
16 July 2025
Dear Lord Birt,
As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how the productivity of London’s economy compares with the UK’s economy as a whole (HL9313).
According to our latest regional labour productivity publication for 2023, titled Regional and subregional labour productivity, UK: 2023[1], London remains by far the most productive region in the UK. The headline measure, output per hour worked, shows that London’s productivity was 28.5% higher than the UK average in 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Emma Rourke
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a public inquiry into how the Church of England has responded to allegations of paedophilia.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was established to consider whether important institutions — including the Anglican Church — had taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. The Inquiry published a report, entitled “The Anglican Church - Safeguarding in the Church of England and the Church of Wales”. The report, published in October 2020, is available on the Inquiry’s website, alongside the response to its recommendations from the Church of England and the Church of Wales. The response by the Church of England was considered by the House of Bishops on 19 October 2020 and a unanimous vote supported and accepted all of the Inquiry’s recommendations, particularly the two most significant themes arising from the report; firstly, proper redress for victims and survivors, and secondly, greater independence in safeguarding decision making.
The Chair of the Inquiry, Professor Alexis Jay, subsequently conducted an independent review, on behalf of the Church of England, into the future of Church Safeguarding, which was published in February 2024. The Government does not plan to establish a further inquiry.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission a study on the benefits and disbenefits of the UK’s departure from the EU, and in particular its impact on the UK economy.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government is currently focused on looking forwards and resetting the relationship with our European friends. As such the Prime Minister hosted 45 leaders from across Europe to the European Political Community on Thursday 18 July, to enhance cooperation on European security and other shared challenges the continent faces. Publicly available research on the interactions between the UK-EU relationship and the UK economy is widely accessible.