Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis they determined that 2.5 per cent of GDP funding is an appropriate target for defence spending.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Spending 2.5% of GDP on defence balances the need to invest in defence capabilities to respond to growing threats and ensure the UK remains secure at home and strong abroad with the wider demands on Government spending. It also represents an ambitious increase on the NATO Defence Investment Pledge, and would be the highest level of Defence spending since 2010 (under the last Labour Government).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of cyclists who cycle on roads in the dark without lights on their bicycles.

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

No assessment has been made of the number of cyclists who cycle on roads in the dark without lights on their bicycles. Rule 60 of The Highway Code states that cycles must be fitted with a red rear reflector and have white front and red rear lights lit at night. Cycling without proper lights at night is an offence, and enforcement of this is entirely a matter for the police.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the remit of the East–West Council; what budget it has been allocated; how many times it has met; and who was invited to and attended these meetings.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is committed to make progress on the commitments made in the Safeguarding the Union command paper. This includes taking steps to convene the second meeting of the East-West Council shortly, which had its inaugural meeting in March 2024.

The East-West Council will focus on trade promotion, connectivity, culture and skills, bringing together key representatives from government, business, education, trade, transport, and culture sectors - encouraging collaboration between ministers and industry experts - and membership will remain flexible.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much compensation they have paid in the past five years in response to claims made by relatives of those shot and killed by soldiers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In the last five years the Ministry of Defence has paid £4,682,122 in compensation to relatives of individuals fatally shot by members of the British Army in Northern Ireland between 1969 to 2007.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to Written Answer from Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 26 November (HL2612), what budget has been allocated to the East–West Council; who was invited to attend its first meeting and who actually attended in March.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The inaugural meeting of the East-West Council took place in Dover House, London in March 2024 and was chaired by the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.

It was attended by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister of State for Northern Ireland and the Cabinet Office, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up. It was also attended by the Northern Ireland First Minister, deputy First Minister, Minister for the Economy and Communities Minister. As with all intergovernmental bodies, the East-West Council will be resourced appropriately.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the degree of accuracy of the data from the Office for National Statistics on economic inactivity.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Recent data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is subject to significant uncertainty. LFS response rates fell from 49.3% in Q3 2013 [1] to 12.7% in Q3 2023 [2], which have led to a number of concerns about the quality of data based on the LFS.

As set out in its November 2024 Labour Market Overview [3], despite coherence challenges between LFS estimates and other data sources, the LFS continues to be the sole source of data for unemployment, economic inactivity and the self-employed. There are also a range of breakdowns that are only possible from LFS data.

The ONS is undertaking work to address these quality issues through improvements to its data collection and methodology [4]. The ONS is also continuing to develop the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) as the long-term solution for collecting labour market data [5].

While planned improvements are underway, LFS estimates remain volatile and will continue to be badged as ‘official statistics in development’ until further review. The ONS advise caution when interpreting changes in headline LFS rates and recommend using them as part of its suite of labour market indicators [6].

[1] Labour Force Survey performance and quality monitoring report: October to December 2023 - Office for National Statistics

[2] Labour Force Survey performance and quality monitoring report: July to September 2024 - Office for National Statistics

[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/november2024

[4] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/methodologies/labourforcesurveyplannedimprovementsanditsreintroduction

[5] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/labourmarkettransformationupdateonprogressandplans/july2024

[6] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/november2024

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether asylum seekers who arrive in the United Kingdom through official channels or illegally are eligible to receive all NHS services; and if so, what is the level of uptake of these services.

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

The National Health Service is a residency-based system, which means that people who do not live here on a lawful, settled basis must contribute to the cost of their care. However, some of the most vulnerable people arriving in the United Kingdom, including refugees and asylum seekers, do not pay for NHS treatment.

There are varying entitlements to secondary healthcare services across England and the devolved administrations. Specific examples can be found in the NHS entitlements: migrant health guide on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. We do not hold information on the level of uptake of these services.

Found: The Chair noted the correspondence received fr om Lord Hain, Lord Lexden, Lord Dodds, Lord Empey and