Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to combat vaccine hesitancy.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes research to understand how people experience vaccine services, their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety, and disease severity, and how these may influence vaccine uptake decision-making. This evidence helps to assess public confidence in national vaccination programmes, guide programme management, and support the creation of vaccine information materials in multiple languages and accessible formats.

The Government is committed to having high uptake in all vaccination programmes and has an established independent scientific advisory group, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which is responsible for advising United Kingdom health departments on immunisations for the prevention of infections and/or disease.

The UKHSA has also established a forum bringing together the four UK nations together to review factors impacting uptake, to identify actions and shared learning to improve access to services, and to address other potential barriers.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 11 June (HL7370), what representations they have received from the pharmaceutical industry about tariffs imposed by the United States of America.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and other Ministers, as well as officials from my department and across government have been engaging widely with business organisations and companies from across the economy, including those in the pharmaceuticals sector.

We received a number of responses from the pharmaceuticals sector to DBT's Request for Input launched on 3 April to inform our response to US tariffs.

We will continue our extensive engagement with pharmaceutical businesses from across the UK throughout negotiations, ensuring that their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities are fully understood.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases of (1) measles, (2) whooping cough, (3) mumps, (4) rubella, and (5) polio, were recorded in each of the last three years.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) routinely published data on laboratory confirmed cases of measles, mumps, rubella, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in 2022, 2023, and 2024:

The United Kingdom was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization in 2003. The last case of natural polio infection acquired in the UK was in 1984.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set a target for the reduction or elimination of child poverty.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

This government is committed to tackling child poverty and earlier this month announced an expansion of free school meals eligibility to all pupils in England with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the Parliament, in decisive action as a downpayment ahead of publication of the Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn.

The government will use the leading, internationally recognised measure of poverty, Relative Poverty After Housing Costs. This is the proportion of families with below 60% of the median income, after deducting housing costs.

The government will also measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty, which we are considering how best to measure as we develop the Strategy.

These headline metrics will be supported by a range of other metrics as part of a monitoring framework to ensure the Strategy is on track to meet its aims, which will be set out alongside the publication.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 11 June (HL7370), what discussions they have had with the pharmaceutical industry about tariffs imposed by the United States of America.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and other Ministers, as well as officials from my department and across government have been engaging widely with business organisations and companies from across the economy, including those in the pharmaceuticals sector.

We received a number of responses from the pharmaceuticals sector to DBT's Request for Input launched on 3 April to inform our response to US tariffs.

We will continue our extensive engagement with pharmaceutical businesses from across the UK throughout negotiations, ensuring that their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities are fully understood.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the driest spring in 132 years on water levels, and of the impact that low water levels are likely to have on the economy and on communities.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To manage the drought, the EA and water companies have activated their drought plans. These plans outline actions that are needed to reduce the impact of the drought on the economy and communities. Current actions by the EA include enhanced monitoring, acting to save fish where rivers are at risk of drying up, responding to environmental incidents, and coordinating actions through the National Drought Group. Water companies are following statutory plans, and the Government and the EA are regulating water companies to ensure they follow their plans.

Droughts pose a risk to communities and the economy by impacting public water supply, agriculture, fisheries, energy, transport, tourism and navigation. The EA recently published the National Framework for Water Resources, which identifies the ambitious actions needed to meet these significant national water resources challenges out to 2055.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to paragraph 4.41 of the Spending Review (CP 1337), which new mayoral strategic authorities they are supporting to enable them to access the benefits of strong local leadership.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

At the Spending Review, this government reconfirmed its commitment to the Devolution Priority Programme. The six areas on the DPP are Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Sussex and Brighton, and Norfolk and Suffolk. Following recent consultations in these areas, Government is now carefully considering the evidence collected in order to decide whether statutory tests have been met.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the BBC World Service to help it perform its functions.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

At a time of global challenges and uncertainty, the Government is committed to a successful BBC World Service. This is why it awarded a grant funding uplift of £32.6 million (31 per cent) for the World Service in 2025-26, taking our total contribution this year to £137 million.

That uplift secured the World Service's ability to reach audiences in acute need. Services like the emergency radio service for Gaza, reaching over 700,000 people each week; the lifeline service for Syria established within 5 days of Assad's fall; and most recently, the Myanmar service, providing critical information following the horrific earthquake.

It is also enabling the BBC to continue innovating and modernising - see for example their launch of an AI-supported pilot Polish-language news offer, BBC News Polska.

The World Service's Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years will be decided through Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office allocations process. This will allocate budgets between 2026/27 & 2028/29. The BBC is editorially and operationally independent.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to enable ratification of the BBNJ Agreement. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has worked with the Commonwealth Secretariat to support smaller member countries with their implementation work, and the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs has published research to develop a shortlist of potential Area-Based Management Tools, including Marine Protected Areas that could be proposed once the Agreement is in force.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the British Council to help it perform its functions.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

This financial year (2025/26), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is providing the British Council with £163.1 million in Grant-in-Aid to support its aims of promoting the English language, UK arts and culture, and education.

While the British Council's Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the British Council's financial sustainability, the FCDO is supporting the British Council to deliver a financial turnaround plan to ensure the finances are on a long-term stable footing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial consequences of ending the overseas care worker visa route; and how many vacancies are likely to arise in the care sector as a result.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department considered the potential impact of the Immigration White Paper (IWP) as part of its assessment to inform the Spending Review. The Home Office made an assessment in the technical annex of the IWP that closing the route could by reduce net migration by 7,000 people per year. As a guide to scale, there were nearly one million filled posts for care workers and senior care workers in the sector in 2023/24. Therefore, while the Department does not project the number of vacancies advertised by independent providers in the adult social care (ASC) sector, any direct impact on capacity is likely to be limited. This is partly because there will be a transition period until 2028, to be kept under review, where in-country switching for those already in the United Kingdom will continue to be permitted.

The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding for ASC in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support ASC, and an increase to the National Health Service contribution to ASC via the Better Care Fund compared to 2025/26. The Department continues to monitor ASC workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners. The Department primarily uses filled posts as the most accurate measure of ASC workforce capacity rather than the number of vacancies. As vacancies are the total number of posts advertised by the ASC sector’s independent and competing providers, they don’t reflect the number of workers required to meet ASC needs and are not necessarily a good indicator of capacity pressures.

In England, as per the Care Act (2014), it is the responsibility of local government to develop a market that delivers a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, that will be available to their communities. English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet ASC needs, and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in ASC.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to approve the construction of small modular reactors; and where these projects will be situated.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recently consulted on the proposed National Policy Statement EN-7, which outlines an updated planning framework for new nuclear projects, including Small and Advanced Modular Reactors. We aim to finalise and designate EN-7 later this year.

Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N) recently announced that it has selected Rolls Royce SMR as preferred bidder, subject to final government approvals and contract signature, to partner with to build the country’s first small modular reactors. GBE-N aims to allocate a site for its small modular reactor programme later this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Mastercard publicises the right of Mastercard holders between June 1997 and June 2008 to claim up to £70 each in relation to fees wrongly levied against those cardholders.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes it is important for card fees to be set at an appropriate level for all parties.

In May, the Competition Appeal Tribunal approved a settlement which would allow consumers to claim compensation in relation to historical card fees. It will be for individuals to come forward and claim compensation once further information is made available.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had in 2025 with the higher education sector on visa restrictions placed on international students.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department regularly engages with the higher education (HE) sector to discuss range of topics including the recruitment of international students. This has recently included discussions with various HE institutions and their representative bodies on the measures set out in the Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, and plans for their implementation.

This government will always welcome international students where they meet the requirements to study in this country. Our world class HE sector can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

The Immigration White Paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK HE sector’s globally competitive position and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting the UK’s skills base.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the concerns expressed by the National Fire Chief's Council (NFCC's) regarding the safety of the public and of firefighters; and what assessment they have made of the NFCC's analysis, published on 4 June, showing a 20 per cent increase in the number of incidents attended by the fire and rescue service over the last decade.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I am replying as a minister in the department that now holds policy responsibility for fire and rescue. It is the government’s priority to ensure the safety of both the public and of our firefighters. We are grateful to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) for highlighting the 20 per cent increase in the number of incidents attended by the fire and rescue service over the last decade, which we recognise was drawn from the quarterly statistics published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-and-rescue-incident-statistics-year-ending-december-2024).

We recognise that the data covers callouts relating to fire, non-fire and false alarms. We intend to discuss this in further detail with the NFCC.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what projects they have authorised for driverless vehicle trials; for what periods the trials will run; and subject to what conditions.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Currently there are no automated vehicles on UK roads operating without a safety driver. There are, however, several organisations who have tested, or are at present testing, vehicles with a safety driver under our existing ‘Code of Practice: automated vehicle trialling’. The Code of Practice is available to support those planning to undertake a trial of automated vehicle technology with a safety driver and sets out their legal responsibilities.

Some of these trials have been, and currently are, Government funded including projects operating at the National Exhibition Centre and in Cambridge from park & ride sites to the Biomedical Campus. A recently completed CCAV funded project also saw a shuttle service operating in Sunderland, linking the city to the hospital.

The Government announced on 10 June that it will accelerate the timeline for the introduction of Automated Passenger Services (APS) regulations, as set out in part 5 of the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act 2024, subject to the outcome of a consultation later this summer. These regulations will help facilitate early commercial pilots of automated passenger services, which could include those that are taxi-and private hire-like in England and bus-like in GB from spring 2026. These pilots will drive innovation, attract investment, and help shape the final automated vehicles framework, which we aim to have in place by the second half of 2027.

APS pilots will be subject to the vehicle passing all relevant technical and safety approvals and local licensing authority (including taxi licensing authority for taxi like services) or bus franchising body consent being secured before any deployment can take place. Permits issued to enable deployments will include conditions for the service, which could include, for example: the number of vehicles, the type of vehicles, and the period for which the permit is granted for. If these conditions are not adhered to, the permit may be suspended or withdrawn.

The Secretary of State must also consider whether and to what extent granting a permit for an automated passenger service is likely to help improve understanding of how these services should best be designed for and provided to disabled and older passengers. Accessibility considerations will be set out in non-statutory guidance and related permit conditions can be enforced through the permitting process.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what financial assistance they are providing for the construction of data centres to expand computing capabilities for artificial intelligence.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is encouraging growth in the data centre sector by addressing barriers to building. This includes changes to planning rules, cross-sectoral power reforms to reduce connection timelines and launching AI Growth Zones.

As part of the over £2 billion Spending Review settlement for the AI Action Plan, we have committed over £1 billion to expand the AI Research Resource, positioning the UK as a leader in high-performance AI computing, driving global innovation and scientific discovery. We’ve also announced that Scotland will host the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, backed by up to £750 million in additional investment.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the strength of local print media; and what plans they have, if any, to offer financial or other assistance to that sector.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Sustainability of local journalism, in print as well as online, is an area of particular concern for this Government. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level: reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors to discuss our planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has now been set up to consider the issues in more detail and we will announce more in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Spending Review 2025 (CP1336), what assessment they have made of the impact of reducing the operational budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in real terms on its ability to fund the clean-up of waterways.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Navigation authorities, including the Canal and River Trust and the Environment Agency (EA), are responsible for keeping their waterways clean, clear of obstacles, rubbish, aquatic plant overgrowths, and any other impediments, including responding to pollution incidents, to ensure safety of navigation for users.

EA funding is closely monitored to ensure it can carry out its duties and functions effectively and deliver for the public and the environment. Its total budget for 2025 to 2026 is £2,274 million.

The Canal and River Trust has responsibility for 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales. Its purposes are to maintain the waterway network and conserve its heritage and natural environment in perpetuity for public benefit and enjoyment. Its grant from Defra, agreed for the period 2012 to 2027, is approximately £740 million.

Found: weekends or during holidays. 43 Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill BARONESS WHITAKER LORD BOURNE OF ABERYSTWYTH

Found: BARONESS WHITAKER LORD BOURNE OF ABERYSTWYTH 250_ Clause 31, page 55, line 15, at end insert— “(f)