Lord Black of Brentwood

We continue to engage with stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups to explore both legislative and non-legislative options to take forward changes to low-welfare activities abroad.

The Government has received the Low-Welfare Act Coalition’s open letter dated 19 February and a reply will be shared with representatives of the coalition shortly.

The Government welcomes the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. We are carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations.

The transition to non-cage egg production has been accelerated in recent years by the major supermarkets pledging to stop selling shell eggs from hens kept in colony cages by 2025, and some supermarkets have extended this to products containing liquid or powdered eggs.

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.

We are engaging stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups on the most effective way to deliver the Act and will be setting out next steps in due course.

In addition, we are committed to introducing ambitious plans to improve animal welfare, including bans on trail hunting, puppy smuggling and farming, and snare traps.

Roadside litter is not only unsightly but can be a threat to the environment. Litter-picking also diverts resources away from other essential road maintenance activities. The responsibility for clearing highway litter and sweeping carriageways is governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Each individual highway authority is responsible for clearing litter on the roads for which it is responsible, including local authority A roads.

Funding for local highway authorities to support them in the delivery of their highway maintenance responsibilities is provided by both the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (for revenue-funded operations including litter-picking) and by the Department for Transport (for capital-funded operations such as roads resurfacing). The Government has already announced that the Local Government Finance Settlement for the 2025/26 financial year will grant councils in England access to over £69 billion in funding, a 6.8% cash-terms increase on 2024/25. The Department for Transport has also announced a £500 million funding uplift for local highway authorities for the 2025/26 financial year which will enable them to deliver improvements to the condition of local highways.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population, including for osteoporosis. The Government expects ICBs to take account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and other best practice in designing their local services.

The three shifts outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan will support people with long-term conditions, including those with osteoporosis, to better manage their condition and access services closer to home.

Digital tools like the NHS App will empower patients to manage their conditions, access information, and communicate with healthcare professionals more easily. Digital technologies will also enable remote monitoring of patients, allowing for early intervention and personalised care.

The 10-Year Health Plan envisions a healthcare system that is more proactive, personalised, and digitally enabled, leading to earlier diagnosis, more effective management, and ultimately, better outcomes for individuals with long-term conditions such as osteoporosis.

The latest data for 2023/4 on hospital inpatient admissions with a primary diagnosis of 'Osteoporosis with pathological fracture' shows that patients with this diagnosis accounted for 60,760 ‘bed days’, or approximately 0.1% of the overall total number of bed days that year.

The Government recognises that patients around the country, including those suffering from osteoporosis, are waiting too long for care and treatment. Our Plan for Change will get the health service back on its feet and make it fit for the future.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.

The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.

The 2025/26 NHS Standard Contract, which applies to all contracts between NHS commissioners and providers, stipulates that, where any service involves or may involve the prescribing of medicines, the provider must ensure that its formulary reflects all relevant positive NICE technology appraisals.

The NICE has also published guidance on developing and updating local formularies, which is intended to support commissioners and healthcare providers in developing formularies that reflect local needs, reduce variation in prescribing, and allow for the rapid adoption of new medicines and treatments. Further information is available on the NICE website, in an online only format.

Patients around the country, including those suffering from osteoporosis, are waiting too long for care and treatment. Our Plan for Change will get the health service back on its feet and make it fit for the future.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has confirmed that planning guidance will be published in the new year.

Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are a globally recognised care model for secondary fracture prevention. The Government is committed to expanding access to these important preventative services.

FLS provision is ultimately a matter for integrated care boards, who are best placed to make commissioning decisions according to local need. The Department is continuing to work closely with NHS England to develop plans to ensure better quality and access to these important preventive services.

His Majesty will only extend a State Visit invitation following a formal recommendation from the Prime Minister. The Royal Visits Committee (RVC) provides advice to the Prime Minister, drawing on views from across HM Government.

The disclosure of RVC meeting minutes could potentially impact the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the countries concerned. This would reduce the UK government's ability to protect and promote UK interests internationally.

Officials also need to be free to make and provide advice in an environment which maintains trust and confidence with the RVC membership and the decision-making process itself.

As answered in PQ HL6029, the membership of the Royal Visits Committee is chaired by the Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and consists of senior representatives from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Royal Households, No.10, Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office.

We will not be disclosing individual names because officials need to be free to discuss and provide advice in an environment which maintains trust and confidence in the decision-making process.

The Royal Visits Committee is chaired by the Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and consists of senior representatives from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Royal Households, No.10, Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office.

The Government's recommendations for State Visits are discussed at the Royal Visit Committee. These are then endorsed by the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister before being presented to His Majesty The King for formal approval.

The Government has not made an estimate of the cost of the visit. President Trump received His Majesty's invitation for a State Visit last week and HMG will welcome him in due course. Further information about the State visit will be announced via the usual process.

The Government has carefully considered the impact that changes to the tax treatment of private schools will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny of the Government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government will confirm its approach to these reforms at the Budget on 30 October, and set out its assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes the usual way.

Structural differences in countries’ education systems mean that there are limited meaningful comparisons that can be drawn between the UK and other nations. For example, comparatively high fees in the UK mean that private school participation in the UK is particularly concentrated in the wealthiest families relative to countries such as Germany, France, or the US.

Where parents or families are paying fees for their child to attend a private school, they will pay VAT on those fees following this change.

Whilst developing these policies, the government has carefully considered the impact that they will have on pupils and their families across both the state and private sector, as well as the impact they will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), details of the Government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published at the Budget on 30 October in the usual way.

On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boarding services provided by private schools.

The Government has considered the policy’s interaction with Human Rights law, and is confident that it is compatible with the UK’s obligations under the Human Rights Act.

The Government is confident that the measure to introduce VAT on private school fees is compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.

The shooting of Mr Jean-Charles de Menezes was a truly tragic incident and our thoughts will be with Mr de Menezes’ family and friends on the upcoming anniversary.

For financial year 2025-26, the Home Office provided up to £108,000 to the Metropolitan Police Service through Special Grant funding for Operation Grange, the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Special Grant funding is reviewed annually by the Home Office, and the Department liaises regularly with the Operation Grange investigation team to discuss progress and the use of funds.

Funding from the Police Special Grant is drawn from the wider Police Funding Settlement. As such, budgets and awards are agreed annually. At the start of this financial year, previous Ministers agreed to provide the Metropolitan Police with up to £191,800 in respect of Operation Grange for 2024-25. Funding for 2025-26 will be decided in due course.

Special Grant awards are published on the Home Office website after the end of the financial year to which they relate. Police funding: special grant applications - GOV.UK

Decisions on the investigation and formal requests for funding are an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police.