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 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the Official Development Assistance budget in the next three years is intended to be spent on (1) development aid, and (2) other items, providing a full breakdown.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) published 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts on 22 July 2025. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
We report all ODA spend in the Statistics on International Development publication. Provisional 2025 ODA spend will be published in spring 2026 and a full breakdown of 2025 ODA spend will be published in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the Official Development Assistance budget is spent on (1) development aid, and (2) other items, providing a full breakdown.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) published 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts on 22 July 2025. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
We report all ODA spend in the Statistics on International Development publication. Provisional 2025 ODA spend will be published in spring 2026 and a full breakdown of 2025 ODA spend will be published in autumn 2026.
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.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) value for money, and (2) environmental impact, of providing grants to householders to install types of air conditioning which are environmentally friendly.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Warm Homes Plan will reduce energy bills and transform homes to be comfortable and low carbon by accelerating the installation of new technologies like heat pumps. The department is also conducting research to ensure homes are resilient to the future climate by identifying the buildings most vulnerable to extreme heat. This research is informing the adaptation solutions in the Warm Homes Plan which will publish in October.
The department recently consulted on expanding the scope of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to allow air-to-air heat pumps to receive grant funding. The Government Response will be published in due course. Advantages of air-to-air heat pumps include the ability to provide cooling, dehumidification, and air filtration in addition to space heating.
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 consideration they have given to redefining the role of physician associate.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 16 July, Professor Gillian Leng published her review into physician associates and anaesthesia associates, now to be renamed physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.
Professor Leng set out 18 recommendations that will give much-needed clarity, certainty, and confidence to staff and patients. The Government is accepting these recommendations in full.
Implementing the recommendations will require organisations to work together and take action. Some actions will be implemented immediately, whilst others will require wider input, with benefits being fully realised over time. We have asked NHS England to move with immediate effect to implement those recommendations which most directly affect patient safety, including moving to the use of physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia titles and ensuring that physician assistants do not see undifferentiated patients, except within clearly defined national clinical protocols.
We will work with key partners, including NHS England, in advance of publishing a fuller response, setting out a clear implementation plan to make the required changes in due course.
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 estimate they have made of the cost of implementing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in each of its first three years of operation should it become law.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the noble Lord to the impact assessment.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that water companies are proactively protecting water supplies.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers.
We have secured £104 billion in private sector investment over the next five years, to boost out water supply and manage demand. This will help drive forward the major water infrastructure projects to protect water supplies.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims relating to infected blood they expect to be settled within the next 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
IBCA has opened the service to those who are living with infection, registered with a support scheme, and are prioritising those who are nearing the end of their lives within this cohort. IBCA is contacting an average of 100 people every week to start their claim. Nearly two-thirds of those who are living with infection and registered with a support scheme have now been asked to start their claim, and IBCA expect to start claims for everyone in this group within the next few months.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect all claims relating to infected blood to be settled in full.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The IBCA Framework Document, published in March, sets out the timelines agreed between IBCA and Cabinet Office; namely for the bulk of infected people to be paid no later than the end of 2027 and the bulk of affected people to be paid no later than the end of 2029.
Due to the nature of the Infected Blood scandal there is uncertainty over the number of people who might be eligible for compensation. The final number of eligible people will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward and there is no limit or target on the amount announced for the scheme. Therefore these timescales have been agreed with IBCA to ensure that the door is kept open for those who have not yet identified themselves as being infected or affected.