Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluation they have undertaken of the Test, Learn and Grow initiative; and whether they plan to publish any such evaluation and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Test Learn and Grow programme has commissioned an independent evaluation by the Government Outcomes Lab. This is due to be published in 2028, the final year of the programme.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what approval process is currently in place for the outsourcing of civil service training to take place prior to the re-establishment of the School of Government in 2028; what alternative delivery mechanisms have been explored; what competitive tendering has been undertaken; what outcomes are expected from such training, including in terms of project management, artificial intelligence capability, and working with devolved civil service hubs; and who has been employed to undertake a detailed evaluation of the delivery of this training.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service values its people, invests in their growth, and is serious about building the capability to meet the challenges of the future. This autumn, the National School of Government and Public Services will formally open its doors to civil servants. The learning the school provides will boost public sector productivity and accelerate the pace of progress towards delivering the excellent, digitally-enabled public services to be expected from a modern state.
The Cabinet Office’s Investment Committee decision to proceed with direct awards instead of competitive tendering was driven by the need to ensure short-term service continuity. The direct awards give short-term contracts to the incumbent suppliers (EY and KPMG) and allow the Civil Service to continue to access quality assured, value for money training services in the period up to April 2028.
The training provided through these contracts is designed to help modernise the Civil Service and to deliver the Government’s policy platform, ensuring equitable access for regional civil service hubs. The strategic priorities for learning currently include digital, data and innovation (including AI) and leadership and management. Better leadership and management skills are essential to improve performance and increase productivity, and to lead the changes that come with digital transformation.
We maintain rigorous oversight of service efficacy through quarterly reviews of performance data, including service level agreements, learner feedback, and operational metrics, collected by the Cabinet Office from our incumbent suppliers and shared across the Civil Service to ensure training consistently meets our requirements.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to allocating greater resources to the Democratic Engagement Fund, and reopening it for applications.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government remains committed to supporting democratic participation and established the Democratic Engagement Fund with a budget of up to £2.5 million to support civil society organisations in delivering democratic engagement activity across England.
The Fund operates as a competitive grant scheme, with applications closing on 31 August 2026. Assessment of applications is currently underway.
Applications are currently being assessed against the published criteria, and funding decisions are expected to be announced in January 2027. There are currently no plans to reopen the Fund for further applications.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total amount of money available in the democratic engagement fund; and how that fund is to be accessed by those willing and able to invest in protecting our democracy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Democratic Engagement Fund will provide grants to civil society organisations to deliver politically neutral, place-based activities that help people understand, engage with and participate in democracy.
Backed by £2.5 million, the Fund will provide grants ranging from £1,000 to £50,000, with most awards expected to be around £25,000. It is targeted at communities that have historically experienced lower levels of democratic participation and voter turnout.
Access to the Fund was through an open application process for eligible civil society organisations. The application window closed on 31 August 2026, with strong interest from across the sector, including many proposals focused on children and young people aged 5 to 25.
Successful organisations are expected to be informed of funding decisions in January 2027, with delivery from April 2027. The Fund will generate evidence on effective approaches to democratic engagement, informing future policy and practice, and helping to lay the foundations for increased participation and civic understanding.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure availability of Creon for those being treated for pancreatic abnormalities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of ongoing intermittent supply issues with Creon capsules, a pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. Supplies of Creon have improved and issues with the lower strength product have resolved, only issues remain for the higher strength Creon product. Specialist importers continue to source unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. We continue to work closely with Viatris, the manufacturer of Creon to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
We have widely disseminated comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues, which provide advice on how to manage patients where there is disruption to supply. This includes serious shortage protocols to limit prescriptions to one month’s supply to ensure Creon remains available for those patients who need it.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of offenders formerly subject to Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences, whose licence conditions were lifted under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, have subsequently reoffended.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 1 September, the Lord Chancellor announced that the Government will bring an end to the IPP sentence for those who continue to serve it and will bring forward legislation to do this by the end of this Parliament.
The Government also remains determined to support the rehabilitation of IPP prisoners, through the IPP Action Plan, which we published on 9 July 2026.
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when a new Commissioner for Countering Extremism will be appointed.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As is usual when public appointments come to an end, Ministers are considering next steps and will update the House in due course.
We continue to welcome external challenge from experts on the Government’s approach to Counter-Extremism and regularly engage with organisations through events such as conferences and symposiums.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many honours above OBE level were awarded to people who were (1) living in, or (2) working or providing service to, the South Yorkshire area at the time of their nomination for an honour in the 2026 Birthday Honours list.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of all 1182 recipients for the 2026 Birthday Honours List can be found below. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point. Data for CBE and higher levels has been aggregated and is also included below. Data reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients.
Data is collected using city/town and county, then aggregated into regional figures at the time that the recipients were sounded for an award, not when they were originally nominated. There were 16 individuals who noted their location as South Yorkshire in the 2026 Birthday Honours List, 3 of which were above OBE level. There were 3 individuals who noted their location as Sheffield.
Information on the number of nominations by mayoral authority in South Yorkshire is not captured, as we are unable to break down the data in that way. However, of those who listed their location as South Yorkshire, 7 individuals received an award above MBE level.
53 recipients of honours in the 2026 Birthday Honours List have received honours in previous lists.
This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.
Transparency data for the list by county, the level of award received and the service for which each recipient has been recognised, as well as information on recipients recognised in previous honours lists, is publicly available on gov.uk.
Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK, including South Yorkshire, in future honours lists.
Region | BEM | BEM% | MBE | MBE% | OBE | OBE% | CBE & Higher | CBE & higher% | Total | % of the total BD26 list living in each region | % of UK population |
East | 23 | 7.5% | 46 | 9.2% | 15 | 6.3% | 12 | 9.3% | 96 | 8.1% | 9.3% |
East Midlands | 10 | 2.8% | 15 | 3.0% | 14 | 5.8% | 6 | 4.7% | 45 | 3.8% | 7.2% |
London | 35 | 11.4% | 76 | 15.2% | 54 | 22.5% | 45 | 34.9% | 210 | 17.7% | 13.4% |
North East | 8 | 2.6% | 10 | 2.0% | 8 | 3.3% | 4 | 3.1% | 30 | 2.5% | 4.0% |
North West | 32 | 10.5% | 35 | 7.0% | 19 | 7.9% | 8 | 6.2% | 94 | 7.9% | 11.0% |
Northern Ireland | 29 | 9.5% | 40 | 8.0% | 9 | 3.8% | 3 | 2.3% | 81 | 6.9% | 2.8% |
Scotland | 29 | 9.5% | 44 | 8.8% | 21 | 8.8% | 8 | 6.2% | 102 | 8.6% | 8.2% |
South East | 39 | 12.7% | 93 | 18.6% | 44 | 18.3% | 27 | 20.9% | 203 | 16.9% | 13.7% |
South West | 29 | 9.5% | 32 | 6.4% | 19 | 7.9% | 6 | 4.7% | 86 | 7.3% | 8.4% |
Wales | 19 | 6.2% | 32 | 6.4% | 10 | 4.2% | 5 | 3.9% | 66 | 5.6% | 4.7% |
West Midlands | 25 | 8.2% | 43 | 8.6% | 11 | 4.6% | 5 | 3.9% | 84 | 7.1% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 28 | 9.2% | 35 | 7.0% | 15 | 6.3% | 5 | 3.9% | 83 | 7% | 8.2% |
Living abroad | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0.8% | 1 | 0.8% | 3 | - | - |
Total | 306 | 100% | 501 | 100% | 240 | 100% | 129 | 100% | 1182 | 100% | - |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many honours, by each award level, were received in each region or nation of the UK in the 2026 Birthday Honours; and what percentage of the population of each such region or nation that number represents.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of all 1182 recipients for the 2026 Birthday Honours List can be found below. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point. Data for CBE and higher levels has been aggregated and is also included below. Data reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients.
Data is collected using city/town and county, then aggregated into regional figures at the time that the recipients were sounded for an award, not when they were originally nominated. There were 16 individuals who noted their location as South Yorkshire in the 2026 Birthday Honours List, 3 of which were above OBE level. There were 3 individuals who noted their location as Sheffield.
Information on the number of nominations by mayoral authority in South Yorkshire is not captured, as we are unable to break down the data in that way. However, of those who listed their location as South Yorkshire, 7 individuals received an award above MBE level.
53 recipients of honours in the 2026 Birthday Honours List have received honours in previous lists.
This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.
Transparency data for the list by county, the level of award received and the service for which each recipient has been recognised, as well as information on recipients recognised in previous honours lists, is publicly available on gov.uk.
Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK, including South Yorkshire, in future honours lists.
Region | BEM | BEM% | MBE | MBE% | OBE | OBE% | CBE & Higher | CBE & higher% | Total | % of the total BD26 list living in each region | % of UK population |
East | 23 | 7.5% | 46 | 9.2% | 15 | 6.3% | 12 | 9.3% | 96 | 8.1% | 9.3% |
East Midlands | 10 | 2.8% | 15 | 3.0% | 14 | 5.8% | 6 | 4.7% | 45 | 3.8% | 7.2% |
London | 35 | 11.4% | 76 | 15.2% | 54 | 22.5% | 45 | 34.9% | 210 | 17.7% | 13.4% |
North East | 8 | 2.6% | 10 | 2.0% | 8 | 3.3% | 4 | 3.1% | 30 | 2.5% | 4.0% |
North West | 32 | 10.5% | 35 | 7.0% | 19 | 7.9% | 8 | 6.2% | 94 | 7.9% | 11.0% |
Northern Ireland | 29 | 9.5% | 40 | 8.0% | 9 | 3.8% | 3 | 2.3% | 81 | 6.9% | 2.8% |
Scotland | 29 | 9.5% | 44 | 8.8% | 21 | 8.8% | 8 | 6.2% | 102 | 8.6% | 8.2% |
South East | 39 | 12.7% | 93 | 18.6% | 44 | 18.3% | 27 | 20.9% | 203 | 16.9% | 13.7% |
South West | 29 | 9.5% | 32 | 6.4% | 19 | 7.9% | 6 | 4.7% | 86 | 7.3% | 8.4% |
Wales | 19 | 6.2% | 32 | 6.4% | 10 | 4.2% | 5 | 3.9% | 66 | 5.6% | 4.7% |
West Midlands | 25 | 8.2% | 43 | 8.6% | 11 | 4.6% | 5 | 3.9% | 84 | 7.1% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 28 | 9.2% | 35 | 7.0% | 15 | 6.3% | 5 | 3.9% | 83 | 7% | 8.2% |
Living abroad | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0.8% | 1 | 0.8% | 3 | - | - |
Total | 306 | 100% | 501 | 100% | 240 | 100% | 129 | 100% | 1182 | 100% | - |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many honours above OBE level were awarded to people who were (1) living in, or (2) working or providing service to, the Sheffield City Region at the time of their nomination for an honour in the 2026 Birthday Honours list.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of all 1182 recipients for the 2026 Birthday Honours List can be found below. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point. Data for CBE and higher levels has been aggregated and is also included below. Data reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients.
Data is collected using city/town and county, then aggregated into regional figures at the time that the recipients were sounded for an award, not when they were originally nominated. There were 16 individuals who noted their location as South Yorkshire in the 2026 Birthday Honours List, 3 of which were above OBE level. There were 3 individuals who noted their location as Sheffield.
Information on the number of nominations by mayoral authority in South Yorkshire is not captured, as we are unable to break down the data in that way. However, of those who listed their location as South Yorkshire, 7 individuals received an award above MBE level.
53 recipients of honours in the 2026 Birthday Honours List have received honours in previous lists.
This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.
Transparency data for the list by county, the level of award received and the service for which each recipient has been recognised, as well as information on recipients recognised in previous honours lists, is publicly available on gov.uk.
Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK, including South Yorkshire, in future honours lists.
Region | BEM | BEM% | MBE | MBE% | OBE | OBE% | CBE & Higher | CBE & higher% | Total | % of the total BD26 list living in each region | % of UK population |
East | 23 | 7.5% | 46 | 9.2% | 15 | 6.3% | 12 | 9.3% | 96 | 8.1% | 9.3% |
East Midlands | 10 | 2.8% | 15 | 3.0% | 14 | 5.8% | 6 | 4.7% | 45 | 3.8% | 7.2% |
London | 35 | 11.4% | 76 | 15.2% | 54 | 22.5% | 45 | 34.9% | 210 | 17.7% | 13.4% |
North East | 8 | 2.6% | 10 | 2.0% | 8 | 3.3% | 4 | 3.1% | 30 | 2.5% | 4.0% |
North West | 32 | 10.5% | 35 | 7.0% | 19 | 7.9% | 8 | 6.2% | 94 | 7.9% | 11.0% |
Northern Ireland | 29 | 9.5% | 40 | 8.0% | 9 | 3.8% | 3 | 2.3% | 81 | 6.9% | 2.8% |
Scotland | 29 | 9.5% | 44 | 8.8% | 21 | 8.8% | 8 | 6.2% | 102 | 8.6% | 8.2% |
South East | 39 | 12.7% | 93 | 18.6% | 44 | 18.3% | 27 | 20.9% | 203 | 16.9% | 13.7% |
South West | 29 | 9.5% | 32 | 6.4% | 19 | 7.9% | 6 | 4.7% | 86 | 7.3% | 8.4% |
Wales | 19 | 6.2% | 32 | 6.4% | 10 | 4.2% | 5 | 3.9% | 66 | 5.6% | 4.7% |
West Midlands | 25 | 8.2% | 43 | 8.6% | 11 | 4.6% | 5 | 3.9% | 84 | 7.1% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 28 | 9.2% | 35 | 7.0% | 15 | 6.3% | 5 | 3.9% | 83 | 7% | 8.2% |
Living abroad | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0.8% | 1 | 0.8% | 3 | - | - |
Total | 306 | 100% | 501 | 100% | 240 | 100% | 129 | 100% | 1182 | 100% | - |