Lord Black of Brentwood

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.

While the information is not collected in the format requested, the following table shows the most recent HIV Action Plan monitoring and evaluation framework report, where UKHSA presented an estimated number of HIV-related deaths (30% of all-cause mortality in people with HIV) in England. Below is a summary table:

An in-depth analysis of 2022 deaths showed that 25% (103) of the 402 deaths from known causes were HIV related or possibly HIV related and 14% (55 deaths) included an AIDS-related condition as primary cause of death.

HIV is a priority for the government and, as set out in the Labour manifesto, the government have committed to commissioning a new plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. Ministers have commissioned officials for advice including engaging stakeholders from across the system to build upon the work of the previous Plan.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, and will be considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England in due course.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Commonwealth leaders will discuss upholding the human rights and freedoms of all Commonwealth citizens. In Samoa, I will be speaking at multiple events including at the launch of The Commonwealth Equality Network's (TCEN) Shadow CHOGM report, and at a plenary session on intersectional leadership where I will be advocating for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in all Commonwealth countries.

The UK consistently pressed the Government of South Sudan to conduct a thorough and credible investigation into the death of Christopher Allen which resulted in the formation of the South Sudan Investigative Committee in 2023. We continue to press the Government of South Sudan to ensure protection of journalists and humanitarian workers. We champion the importance of media freedom and civil space, including urging the government to hold to account those who abuse or restrict media freedom.

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.

Child sexual abuse is a despicable crime, and this Government will be taking robust action to better safeguard children and ensure that perpetrators face the full force of the law.

In its final report, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty for certain individuals. We thank the Independent Inquiry for all their work on this important matter and pay tribute to all the brave survivors who shared their experience. We will be quickly identifying how we can move forward with delivery of the Inquiry’s recommendations.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime. We are committed to safeguarding rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing, and stronger laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.

Along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes. Future funding will be subject to a forthcoming Spending Review.

The NWCU works on behalf of all police forces to assist in the prevention and detection of wildlife crime and reduce the harm posed by organised crime.

The Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit is a separate MPS unit and as such is a matter for the Mayor of London.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 18875 on 16 December 2024.

As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement on November 21st, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act contains a small number of specific but serious flaws. Given the nature of the flaws, no review into the performance of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is needed.

As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government will implement the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 so that leaseholders can benefit from more rights, power and protections over their homes. A small number of provisions came into force on 24 July, two months after Royal Assent, relating to rentcharge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners. The implementation of many of the reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will require a programme of secondary legislation. Any reforms to leasehold law are highly complex, and the Government will take the time required to get those changes right.

Value for money lies at the heart of all Government decisions, and the Royal Charter sets out that the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) Board must have regard to the need to ensure it achieves value for money. The PRP has an objective of ‘Ensuring our systems and processes are effective and provide value for money’ and reports on this annually in its annual report and accounts, which are published on its website.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides funding for the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) annually. MoJ made a payment to the PRP of £430k for the 2024/25 financial year in April 2024. Whilst the Lord Chancellor is the conduit for the PRP with HM Treasury, they have no responsibility under the Royal Charter that created the PRP, for setting the PRP’s success criteria. Instead, the Royal Charter sets out that the PRP Board must have regard to the need to ensure the PRP achieves value for money. The PRP report against this criteria, and other deliverables, in its annual report and accounts which are publicly available.