Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the local elections which have been delayed until next year will definitely take place in May 2026.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The 2026 local elections will include those postponed from May 2025, and those already or to be scheduled for any area in 2026.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when Lord Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador will commence.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister confirmed the appointment of Lord Mandelson to be the next British Ambassador to the United States of America on Friday 20 December. He started the role on 10 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date was the decision to name HMS Achilles agreed by the Government; which Minister had final sign off on the naming process; and on what basis was the name HMS Agincourt ruled out.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Potential ship names are proposed by the Royal Navy's Ships Names and Badges Committee, ahead of approval by Ministry of Defence Ministers and His Majesty The King.
There are no current plans to rename any other Royal Navy ships.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has spoken to Vice President Vance of the United States since the latter took office, and if not, when he plans to do so.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump on 26 January and congratulated him on his inauguration.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have discussed the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the United States with the Trump administration since President Trump took office, and whether the Prime Minister and President Trump have discussed this appointment.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump on 26 January, and the Foreign Secretary spoke to Secretary of State Rubio on 27 January. Lord Mandelson is going through the normal onboarding processes for a new Ambassador, and we expect him to take up his new post in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend an invitation for a state visit to President Trump.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump on 26 January and congratulated him on his inauguration. The Prime Minister and President Trump discussed the importance of the close and warm ties between the UK and US and agreed to meet in-person in the near future. Any travel will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to diverting public funding from animal-based research projects towards those that use human-specific research approaches.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Research and innovation involving animals is funded where no alternatives exist, in line with UK legislation. Research using animals and animal models has had significant impacts for the UK, supporting government’s healthcare missions, Net Zero, and One Health priorities. UKRI invests directly to reduce reliance on the use of animals, including ca.£10m per annum from BBSRC and MRC for the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).
UKRI also supports ‘human-specific’ research, for example ca.£22.5m commitment over two years to the MRC Experimental medicine programme, a £15m call on Novel human in vitro models of complex disease with NC3Rs and Wellcome, and an £18m call for Experimental medicine to define new mechanisms of neurodegeneration. The use of human specific approaches has increased.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to accelerate the phase-out of animal experimentation, and to support scientists to transition to human-specific medical research approaches.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing. We are engaging with the sector in taking this commitment forward.
The Government funds research through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and many programmes, such as using organoids, may lead to the development of human-specific technologies that can replace the need for the use of animals. The Government also funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research through the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs).
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 24 October (HL1546), whether they discussed the marine protected area of the Chagos Islands during their negotiations with the government of Mauritius; and if so, what assurances were given.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The negotiations covered discussions on environmental protections in the Chagos Archipelago, including of the Marine Protected Area. The UK and Mauritius committed to cooperating on combatting environmental threats such as illegal fishing, with a shared objective of protecting one of the world's most important marine environments. This will include the establishment of a new Mauritian Marine Protected Area.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is fully committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 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. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before we can ratify.