Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current number of rough sleepers.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Local authorities in England submit monthly management information on the number of people sleeping rough in their area. The Government publishes this information quarterly on Homelessness statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions there have been relating to the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, and how many of those prosecutions led to convictions.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Metropolitan Police Service are still conducting their investigations into the fire at Grenfell Tower. As a result, as of August 2025, there have been no prosecutions for offences directly related to the circumstances surrounding the event.
The Crown Prosecution Service continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police Service on the investigations and to provide advice on applicable charges.
Any charges are not expected to be announced until late 2026, with prosecutions currently due to start in mid-2027.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions for corporate manslaughter there have been in each of the past three years, and how many of those prosecutions led to convictions.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
There have been 13 prosecutions for corporate manslaughter in the years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. 10 of those prosecutions were successful and led to a conviction.
A breakdown of each year is listed below:
2022-23: 6 prosecutions, 6 convictions (1 guilty plea and 5 convictions after trial).
2023-24: 4 prosecutions, 2 convictions (1 guilty plea and 1 conviction after trial), 2 unsuccessful (1 no evidence offered after trial began and 1 left to lie on file).
2024-25: 3 prosecutions, 2 convictions (both convictions after trial), 1 unsuccessful (no evidence offered after trial began).
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of rough sleepers within each of the next three years, and by how much.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has increased funding for homelessness services in England by £233 million this year to a total of £1 billion, which will help prevent homelessness and rough sleeping. The Spending Review protects this record level of investment in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping for the next three years and provides an additional £100 million, including from the Transformation Fund, to fund increased homelessness prevention activity by local authorities.
The Government is currently seeking feedback on the Local Government Outcomes Framework, a new approach to accountability that is outcome-based. We have proposed including a priority outcome to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping.
Our forthcoming homelessness strategy will also set out the actions needed across central, local government and the homelessness sector to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research published by the British Heart Foundation on 21 July that some communities do not have a defibrillator within close proximity; and what steps are they taking to support the installation of defibrillators in these communities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the important work the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has undertaken in identifying communities with limited access to a defibrillator. The BHF undertook this work as part of their 2025 community defibrillator fund programme.
The BHF is urgently encouraging areas eligible to apply to their 2025 scheme to do so.
The Department similarly operated a community defibrillator fund which launched in September 2023. Following the depletion of that fund, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.
Applications to the fund were allocated to where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.
According to the BHF there are now over 110,000 defibrillators in the United Kingdom registered on The Circuit, the independently operated national AED database. This is an increase of 30,000 since September 2023. 58.6% of these over 110,000 defibrillators are accessible on a 24 hour a day, seven day a week basis.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to trace former British troops and their descendants affected by human radiation experiments; and what compensation, if any, has been paid to them.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has reset the relationship with nuclear test veterans and the organisations that support them, and we remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.
As of 30 June 2025, officials have reviewed over 43,000 files, including files from the Merlin Database, as part of the exercise that is looking at concerns raised with me about some Nuclear Test Veterans’ medical records. I will update the House when we are in a position to share the findings of the exercise.
This Government continues to celebrate the stories of our nuclear veterans. Most recently the Universities of South Wales and Liverpool led a government-funded oral history project which was published in early July.
Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote savings, particularly in pensions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Automatic Enrolment has succeeded in transforming pension saving with over 22 million employees participating in saving in 2023, an increase of over 10 million since its roll out in 2012. However, there is more to be done to build on this success as many people are still not saving enough for a financially secure retirement. This is why the government have relaunched the Pensions Commission which will explore how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those at the greatest risk of under saving.
In addition to supporting pension saving, the government is committed to supporting people of all income levels and at all stages of life to save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience. This includes saving via Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), which allow individuals to save up to £20,000 each year, and any savings income and gains within an ISA is tax free. Separately, the Help to Save scheme also aims to promote financial resilience among working households on low incomes. The existing Help to Save scheme has been extended until April 2027 and in April 2025 eligibility was extended to all Universal Credit claimants who are in work.
Through its MoneyHelper service, the Money and Pensions Service also offers practical tools such as savings calculators and budget planners to support people in developing regular saving habits, alongside specialist pensions guidance on how to grow their retirement pot. In addition, the government is working with the Financial Conduct Authority to roll out targeted support for consumers by early next year. This represents the biggest reform of the financial advice and guidance landscape in more than a decade and will represent a step change in the support that consumers receive to invest.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Coaker on 9 May (HL6830) on radiation exposure of veterans, what progress they have made in obtaining the information requested, writing in response, and placing a copy of that letter in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has reset the relationship with nuclear test veterans and the organisations that support them, and we remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.
As of 30 June 2025, officials have reviewed over 43,000 files, including files from the Merlin Database, as part of the exercise that is looking at concerns raised with me about some Nuclear Test Veterans’ medical records. I will update the House when we are in a position to share the findings of the exercise.
This Government continues to celebrate the stories of our nuclear veterans. Most recently the Universities of South Wales and Liverpool led a government-funded oral history project which was published in early July.
Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect communities against measles outbreaks.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Health Protection Teams continue to work with local partners to respond to measles outbreaks. In England, the UKHSA works closely with NHS England, the Department, and wider health system partners at the national, regional, and local level to respond to and prevent further outbreaks and to improve vaccination uptake for the routine childhood immunisation programme, including the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Initiatives include improving access to the immunisation programme, using data to better identify under-served individuals and populations, training for healthcare professionals, and communication with the public, stakeholders, and media. Measles guidance is also available, and a range of leaflets and other promotional materials, in several languages, are available in print form and for download from our Health Publications website.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of theft of plants and shrubs from gardens; and what action they intend to take in response.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the distress and disruption that theft and vandalism can cause to local communities.
That’s why we’re putting 13,000 additional police personnel into neighbourhood policing roles by the end of the Parliament, with the first 3,000 in place this year. This will ensure that everyone has named, contactable officers they can turn to on local issues.
The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of recruitment for the additional neighbourhood policing roles.