Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to require the Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service to prioritise consideration of the victims of sexual offences and the need to prevent reoffending when imposing sanctions on doctors found to have committed serious sexual offences.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is independent of the Government, directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service is a statutory committee of the GMC. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.
The Department discusses a range of issues with the GMC, including cases of sexual misconduct. We will continue to engage with the GMC on this issue, including to understand how the new guidance may impact the outcomes of tribunal findings in cases of sexual misconduct.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the General Medical Council and the Professional Standards Authority regarding the Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service not revoking the registrations of doctors accused of serious sexual offences.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is independent of the Government, directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service is a statutory committee of the GMC. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.
The Department discusses a range of issues with the GMC, including cases of sexual misconduct. We will continue to engage with the GMC on this issue, including to understand how the new guidance may impact the outcomes of tribunal findings in cases of sexual misconduct.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will have discussions with UK industrial hemp producers regarding removing current restrictions on its production and use in UK constructions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Cannabis is a Class B controlled drug and can only be cultivated under Home Office licence. The Home Office operates two licensing regimes in respect of cannabis cultivation. The standard cannabis cultivation regime permits the use of the controlled parts of the plant (e.g., leaves and flowers) and the cultivation of high-THC varieties indoors. There must be a lawful purpose, such as pharmaceutical production. The industrial hemp regime permits the cultivation of low-THC varieties to use the non-controlled parts of the plant (mature stalk and seeds), but not the controlled parts of the plant (e.g. flowers and leaves). The Government has introduced two reforms to make it easier for farmers to cultivate industrial hemp. In January 2025, the rules on site sensitively were removed. The duration of licences granted from January 2026 has been extended from three years to six years, with no additional fees, to help businesses plan. The Home Office works closely with DEFRA to ensure a balance between proportionate regulation of cannabis cultivation and provision of opportunity for UK businesses around the use of hemp. As part of this work, officials from both departments have met with UK hemp producers.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker, further to the Written Answers by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 30 July 2025 (HL9539) and 18 February 2026 (HL14266), why a safety deck was constructed for the safety of workers but does not enable access for peers and others; and what the justification is for the apparent inconsistency between the assessment of the safety implications in those two scenarios.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The area around the base of Victoria Tower is currently a restricted access construction site with preparatory groundwork, including deep excavations, underway ahead of the full scaffolding build later this year. It is not safe for Member or public access or thoroughfare. The workers who need to access the area do so with numerous safety measures in place. A pedestrian walkway will be reinstated as part of the final full scaffolding build.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information they have on the quantity and value of UK industrial hemp exported to France for house construction.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website at the following link: http://www.uktradeinfo.com/.
Commodity Codes are used to identify the goods being imported and exported and these can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. However, there is not a commodity code specifically covering industrial hemp used in the construction industry.
Hemp is classified to several commodity codes within headings 1404 (vegetable products note elsewhere specified or included), 5302 (true hemp) and 6808 (panels, board, tiles, blocks of vegetable fibre) of the Tariff. Whilst none of these are specific to hemp used in construction, 6808 includes hempcrete used as an insulation material with hemp fibres mixed with lime and water and made into, for example, insulating panels and boards. This may be the most appropriate heading containing the information requested.
The value and net mass in kilograms for the headings that may contain hemp for the years 2023 to 2025 are as follows:
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Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they plan to give to the construction industry to use UK industrial hemp as a carbon neutral insulation material.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The recently published Warm Homes Plan – the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history – unlocked £38 billion in total investment across the Parliament to support the UK supply chain, and with additional funding for skills, innovation and UK manufacturing, the plan will ensure that British workers and businesses reap the benefits. The government does not promote any one individual product over another.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons will train passengers be unable to change their flexible ticket on the day of departure and be refused a refund.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to tackling fraud on the railways. The new rules on ticket refunds from 1 April, will help prevent an estimated £40 million a year in losses caused by passengers fraudulently claiming refunds on tickets that were never scanned, despite having used them for travel.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet representatives from organisations such as Surviving in Scrubs in order to gain a deeper understanding of the sexual violence faced by female healthcare professionals.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Sexual misconduct of any kind in the National Health Service is unacceptable. NHS England has taken forward a number of actions to ensure a zero-tolerance culture to sexual misconduct in the NHS. The Government is clear that it will take any further action necessary to combat this issue.
Ministers met with representatives from Surviving in Scrubs in February 2025, as well as the Royal College of Surgeons in March 2025, to discuss work underway to tackle sexual violence in the medical workforce. We also held a roundtable event in January 2026 to address the issue of sexual safety in medical schools and identified a number of actions to improving reporting processes, enhance student support and foster healthier cultures within institutions and the profession.
There continues to open dialogue on what further work needs to be undertaken to address issues of sexism, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in relation to the medical workforce and medical students.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enhance relations with Taiwan, and in respect of which international organisations they have made representations in support of the inclusion of Taiwan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK Government continues to strengthen its unofficial relationship with Taiwan through trade, education, science and technology cooperation, and ministerial and official engagement. We support Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations where statehood is not required for full membership, and as an observer where it is. Taiwan is a full member of the World Trade Organisation and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and an observer in the Asian Development Bank. Taiwan previously participated as an observer at the World Health Assembly.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations the Prime Minister made in support of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait during his visit to China in January.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
During the Prime Minister's visit to China in January, he underlined the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and made clear that the UK's position on Taiwan has not changed and will not change. The Prime Minister considers the Taiwan issue to be settled by people on both sides of the Strait through constructive dialogue, and not through any unilateral attempts to change the status quo.