Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 11 June (HL Deb col 1424), what process will be used to determine the terms of reference and the membership of the parliamentary working group focused on artificial intelligence and copyright.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has committed to establishing a working group to engage parliamentarians in the development of policy on copyright and AI.
All parliamentarians will be invited to express their interest in joining this group, before the Government, working with relevant Select Committee chairs, finalises its plans for the group and determines the membership. Once arrangements are finalised, the Government will publish information relating to this group on GOV.UK, including any terms of reference and a list of group members.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 11 June (HL Deb col 1424), what process will determine the terms of reference and the membership of the artificial intelligence and copyright working groups.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In line with debates in Parliament on the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport convened the first of three initial meetings of the copyright and AI stakeholder working groups on 16th July.
The Government will agree the groups’ terms of reference with stakeholders and publish this, along with a list of working group members, in due course.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 May (HL6984), whether they will name the schools visited by ministers in the Department for Education since July 2024, including whether each school is state-funded or fee paying.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider Ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools, in both their capacities as ministers and as Members of Parliament. The Ministerial team prioritise visits to state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England. In addition to the visits that Ministers undertake in their official capacity, Ministers undertake a range of visits to education settings in their role as Members of Parliament organised by constituency and Parliamentary offices, therefore any list provided would not provide the full picture of all activity undertaken.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 13 March (HL5345), and in the light of reports that Portuguese and German police are carrying out new searches, what requests they have received and what decisions they have made about the funding of Operation Grange and Metropolitan Police activities in the financial year 2025–26.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to mark the 20th anniversary of the killing of Jean-Charles de Menezes on 22 July.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many independent schools have been visited by Ministers at the Department for Education since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 46839.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when a meeting of the Royal Visits Committee was held to agree that an invitation for a state visit should be offered to President Trump, which members of the Committee were present at that meeting, and whether they will publish the minutes of that meeting.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
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.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 3 April (HL6029), what are the names of the current members of the Royal Visits Committee.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
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.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of osteoporotic fractures on hospital bed occupancy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.