Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the PwC report UK Higher Education Financial Sustainability Report, published in January.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions responsible for their own financial sustainability. The department’s role and priority is to work with the Office for Students (OfS) and other stakeholders as appropriate to protect students’ best interests.

The OfS is responsible for monitoring the financial sustainability of registered HE providers in England. Its latest report on the financial health of the sector, which was published in May 2023, found that the overall aggregate financial position of universities was sound. However, there continue to be quite significant differences between individual providers, both across the sector and within peer groups.

The department will continue to work closely with the OfS and many parties including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support universities who are facing bankruptcy.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions responsible for their own financial sustainability. The department’s role and priority is to work with the Office for Students (OfS) and other stakeholders as appropriate to protect students’ best interests.

The OfS is responsible for monitoring the financial sustainability of registered HE providers in England. Its latest report on the financial health of the sector, which was published in May 2023, found that the overall aggregate financial position of universities was sound. However, there continue to be quite significant differences between individual providers, both across the sector and within peer groups.

The department will continue to work closely with the OfS and many parties including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of debt in UK universities.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions responsible for their own financial sustainability. The department’s role and priority is to work with the Office for Students (OfS) and other stakeholders as appropriate to protect students’ best interests.

The OfS is responsible for monitoring the financial sustainability of registered HE providers in England. Its latest report on the financial health of the sector, which was published in May 2023, found that the overall aggregate financial position of universities was sound. However, there continue to be quite significant differences between individual providers, both across the sector and within peer groups.

The department will continue to work closely with the OfS and many parties including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish feedback to the Licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures consultation, which ran from 2 September to 28 October 2023.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are currently analysing the feedback received during the consultation, and intend to publish the Government’s response later in the spring.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the National Rural Crime Network's report Rural Crime: Serious, Organised and International, published on 10 March.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We welcome the National Rural Crime Network’s report and will consider its recommendations.

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). In December 2023, we published the 2023 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy that commits to reducing SOC in the UK by disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and networks operating in and against the UK.

Serious and organised crime is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK. It costs lives, blights communities, hampers economic growth, and corrodes the global reputation of the UK and its institutions.

Additionally, the Government recognises that there can be particular challenges in responding to rural crime and welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022.

The Home Office provided £200,000 for the National Rural Crime Unit to tackle rural crime including the theft of farming or construction machinery, livestock theft, rural fly tipping, rural fuel theft and equine crime. We will continue to work closely with the NRCU to help ensure an effective police response to rural crime.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent research reported by The Times which suggests that unconscious bias training is not effective.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This research is a welcome addition to the canon of research on the efficacy of diversity and inclusion (D&I) training.

We removed central unconscious bias training following the 2020 Behavioural Insight Team report which concluded that unconscious bias training was ineffective. This is supported by the recent report on the Inclusion at Work Panel’s recommendations for improving D&I practice in the workplace (published 20 March 2024). We are currently considering these recommendations, including the recommendation to develop a digital tool kit to assess the rigour, efficacy and value for money of a range of D&I practices, including training interventions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the problem of criminal gangs intentionally crossing police force borders to exploit weaknesses in policing methods.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We know serious and organised crime (SOC) does not respect police force borders which is why all police forces in England and Wales collaborate and share resources, funding and specialist capabilities to deliver Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) to lead complex cross-border SOC investigations. There are nine ROCUs in England and Wales with equivalent capability in London.

Alongside approximately £70m in direct funding from the Home Office in 2023/24, Chief Constables, PCCs and Mayors with PCC functions have recently provided significant resource to the ROCU network by allocating 725 extra officers to ROCUs between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023. Those officers are working in partnership now to tackle drugs supply and enablers, including firearms and criminal finances.

County lines is a major cross-cutting issue involving a range of criminality including drugs, violence, criminal gangs and child criminal exploitation, and involves the police, a wide range of Government departments, local government agencies and voluntary and community sector organisations. County lines gangs often export drugs across county borders from one police force area to another.

This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why we are investing up to £145m over three years in our County Lines Programme to tackle the most violent and exploitative drug supply model yet seen. Through the County Lines Programme, we have established dedicated county lines taskforces in the four force areas exporting the majority of lines (MPS, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester Police) as well as the British Transport Police to tackle the national rail network. We are also funding the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The NCLCC has been vital in strengthening the law enforcement response, promoting best practice, and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.

Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,600 line closures, over 16,500 arrests and over 8,800 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,500 line closures since April 2022, surpassing the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 line closures by April 2025. Having met this target in half the time, we have now committed to close a further 1,000 lines by August 2024, bringing the total since the Drugs Strategy was launched in April 2022 to over 3,000.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to producing a rural crime strategy which would be fully integrated into the overall Government Crime Strategy, as called for in the National Rural Crime Network’s recent report, Rural Crime: Serious, Organised and International, published on 10 March.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We welcome the National Rural Crime Network’s report and will consider its recommendations.

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). In December 2023, we published the 2023 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy that commits to reducing SOC in the UK by disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and networks operating in and against the UK.

Serious and organised crime is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK. It costs lives, blights communities, hampers economic growth, and corrodes the global reputation of the UK and its institutions.

The Government welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022, this provides a comprehensive framework through which policing, and partner agencies can work together to tackle rural and wildlife crime, including where it is linked to other forms of serious and organised crime such as the drugs trade.

The National Rural Crime Unit works closely with Interpol to share information about stolen agricultural and construction machinery. As a result of the partnership it has established with INTERPOL, equipment has been recovered from criminal gangs across Europe.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the National Rural Crime Network’s call for the Home Office to undertake a comprehensive economic impact assessment of rural crime in its report Rural Crime: Serious, Organised and International, published on 10 March.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We welcome the National Rural Crime Network’s report and will consider its recommendations.

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). In December 2023, we published the 2023 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy that commits to reducing SOC in the UK by disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and networks operating in and against the UK.

Serious and organised crime is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK. It costs lives, blights communities, hampers economic growth, and corrodes the global reputation of the UK and its institutions.

The Government welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022, this provides a comprehensive framework through which policing, and partner agencies can work together to tackle rural and wildlife crime, including where it is linked to other forms of serious and organised crime such as the drugs trade.

The National Rural Crime Unit works closely with Interpol to share information about stolen agricultural and construction machinery. As a result of the partnership it has established with INTERPOL, equipment has been recovered from criminal gangs across Europe.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK’s decision to leave the EU on the UK’s ability to track down or trace stolen plant and agricultural machinery.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We welcome the National Rural Crime Network’s report and will consider its recommendations.

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). In December 2023, we published the 2023 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy that commits to reducing SOC in the UK by disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and networks operating in and against the UK.

Serious and organised crime is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK. It costs lives, blights communities, hampers economic growth, and corrodes the global reputation of the UK and its institutions.

The Government welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022, this provides a comprehensive framework through which policing, and partner agencies can work together to tackle rural and wildlife crime, including where it is linked to other forms of serious and organised crime such as the drugs trade.

The National Rural Crime Unit works closely with Interpol to share information about stolen agricultural and construction machinery. As a result of the partnership it has established with INTERPOL, equipment has been recovered from criminal gangs across Europe.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the links between wildlife offences and the drugs trade, as highlighted in the report Rural Crime: Serious, Organised and International published by the National Rural Crime Network, published on 10 March.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We welcome the National Rural Crime Network’s report and will consider its recommendations.

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). In December 2023, we published the 2023 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy that commits to reducing SOC in the UK by disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and networks operating in and against the UK.

Serious and organised crime is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK. It costs lives, blights communities, hampers economic growth, and corrodes the global reputation of the UK and its institutions.

The Government welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022, this provides a comprehensive framework through which policing, and partner agencies can work together to tackle rural and wildlife crime, including where it is linked to other forms of serious and organised crime such as the drugs trade.

The National Rural Crime Unit works closely with Interpol to share information about stolen agricultural and construction machinery. As a result of the partnership it has established with INTERPOL, equipment has been recovered from criminal gangs across Europe.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will undertake an assessment of the impact of the agricultural transition on food production and farm business viability.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We very recently published a detailed impact assessment of a long list of actions considered for inclusion in the Environmental Land Management schemes. Actions were rated against a large number of ecosystem services and their impact on food production. An executive summary is attached.

We have provided information on the potential impact of our farming reforms. For example, the farming evidence compendium was most recently updated in September 2022 and the Agriculture in the UK Dashboard was published in November 2023. These set out the contribution of Direct Payments to Farm Business Income, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure.’

We also publish regular statistics on farm profitability, agricultural productivity and food production, including a recent statistical publication (attached) looking at how Farm Business Income has changed since the start of the agricultural transition. This publication also provides an overview of changes to the Basic Payment Scheme and agri-environment payments.

As part of the agricultural transition, we monitor baskets of relevant metrics to maintain insights into general sector trends. The Government has recently committed to producing an annual Food Security Index to capture and present the key data to monitor food security.

We will of course continue to carry out appropriate timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact upon national security of Chinese-made electric vehicles; and whether they plan to further investigate any risks that may arise.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DfT co-chairs the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) group that developed two new international regulations related to connected vehicles – one on cyber security and one on software updates. The cyber security regulation sets out requirements to mitigate potential threats in vehicle construction, to monitor emerging threats and to respond to cyber attacks.

The Government takes national security extremely seriously. The Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with the transport sector and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and other Government departments, including the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT), to understand and respond to cyber vulnerabilities associated with all connected vehicles, including electric vehicles.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ban Chinese-made electric cars from sensitive national infrastructure sites.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK takes the security and resilience of critical infrastructure seriously. Each Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sector has a Lead Government Department responsible for working with owners and operators to identify and mitigate risks to their sites. They are also supported by the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Protective Security Authority who provide expert advice and guidance to both public and private organisations to identify risks and vulnerabilities to the UK’s national infrastructure.

As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, China under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses an epoch-defining challenge and an economic threat to a range of government policy areas, including CNI. The Government actively monitors threats to UK critical national infrastructure, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect sensitive assets where appropriate to protect national security.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network World Happiness Report, published on 20 March; in particular, the finding that the happiness of young people under the age of 30 in the UK has declined.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government is committed to improving the well-being of individuals in every area of the UK as set out in our (attached) update on the Well-being mission in January 2024. We continue to engage with new data and evidence in the delivery of all Levelling Up Missions, including on how we can improve well-being.

This includes considering the work of Professor Lord Richard Layard, one of the authors of the World Happiness Report, and other experts in our ongoing work on this mission.