Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to attract people with business skills from overseas to settle in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to attracting highly skilled, talented individuals from abroad to live, work and contribute to the UK economy. Which is why we have launched the new Global Talent Taskforce. The Taskforce – working alongside the Global Entrepreneur Programme and our £54 million Global Talent Fund – will support the world’s best researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, top tier managerial and engineering talent and high-calibre creatives, to relocate to the UK. This builds on commitments in the recently published Industrial Strategy and Immigration White Paper to fast-track the relocation of the brightest minds into the UK to supercharge our growth-driving sectors.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to enforce the ban on the sale and use of illegally modified e-bikes, referred to as "fake e-bikes" in the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking, Unregulated and Unsafe: The Threat of Illegal E-Bikes, published on 16 June.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I thank the APPG for their report into this important topic, on which there is cross-Government work to tackle the issues raised and make sure e-bikes are safe to buy and use. Our product safety framework makes clear that consumer products can only be placed on the UK market if they are safe and comply with relevant laws. Businesses, including those modifying or servicing electric bikes, have responsibilities for the safety of those products. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and local authorities enforce the regulations.
E-bikes used illegally on public land is an enforcement matter for the police.
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 attract people with medical skills from overseas to settle in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas, who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience, and expertise.
The Health and Care Worker visa offers a reduced visa fee, faster processing times, and an exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge to eligible overseas health and social care workers who wish to work in the United Kingdom.
National Health Service employers work at a local level to ensure they have the workforce they need, which includes making decisions about recruiting internationally educated healthcare professionals.
However, the Government also remains committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. Following publication of our 10-Year Health Plan, we will produce a refreshed workforce plan, setting out how we will train and provide the staff that the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities and treat them on time again.
The Immigration White Paper sets out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control, and fairness to the system, bring down net migration, and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training, and the labour market, to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 June (HL8161), what precautions they are overseeing or initiating in seeking to minimise future disruption at UK airports.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The resilience of the UK aviation sector is important, and key to its success. It is the responsibility of the industry to manage demand, recruit, and roster staff. The aviation sector has increased resilience, with ground handlers, airlines, airports and air traffic control providers all undertaking significant recruitment campaigns, whilst investing in new infrastructure, equipment and technology.
The Aviation Minister regularly writes to industry to seek assurances from the aviation sector that they have sufficient resilience plans to manage operations effectively over peak periods, and the department continues to work closely with the sector to understand any potential risks and mitigating actions.
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 state of readiness of fire and rescue services and other agencies to cope with outbreaks of wildfires in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that wildfires are an increasing threat to people, properties, infrastructure, and the environment.
Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), and having regard to the views of other key local responders.
Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Across the country there are many examples of effective collaborative working at the local level between land managers, those with local knowledge, first responders, local resilience forums and other stakeholders before, during and after wildfires.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) maintains regular engagement with other government departments including Defra and Cabinet Office, along with National Bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF) to monitor and review sector led improvements and mitigations.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many charging points for electric vehicles (1) are available, and (2) have been confirmed in each the next three years, at service stations on each motorway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There has been strong progress from industry on the rollout of chargepoints on our Strategic Road Network (England’s motorways and major A-roads). There are now over 5,560 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers (excluding Tesla-only superchargers) within one mile of the Strategic Road Network (Zapmap, April 2025), which includes over 1180 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoints specifically at motorway service areas in England, (industry data, April 2025). This means charger numbers on the Strategic Road Network, including at motorway services, have nearly quadrupled in the last three years (Zapmap and industry data, 2022 – 2025).
Government is continuing to work closely with industry to support their ambitious plans to continue rolling out chargepoints at sites to meet demand, and to address barriers to further roll-out.
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, 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.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
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 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.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
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.