Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the use of domestic steel production and fabrication in taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects, and whether the financial support packages agreed for British Steel and Tata Steel UK include any procurement-related requirements, such as obligations on departments or publicly funded projects to consider the use of UK-produced steel.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We want to see more use of UK made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations.
To ensure that our steel producers, including British Steel and Tata Steel UK, are in the best position to bid for and win public contracts in that market, our steel Procurement Policy Note, introduced in June, states that all organisations in scope should consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions.
More broadly, we also welcome industry led local content targets across all industrial strategy sectors, including clean energy.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential costs and practical implications for contractors delivering publicly funded projects of incorporating a requirement to use a proportion of UK-produced steel; and how that assessment informs their consideration of the role of procurement policy in supporting domestic steelmaking capacity.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We want to see more use of UK made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations.
Central government procurers have an excellent record of using UK made steel. In FY 2023/24, where full domestic sourcing was possible, about 97% of the steel (by value) procured was UK made, equivalent to c.£351million. That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the procurement of UK made steel. Our steel Procurement Policy Note, introduced in June, states that all organisations in scope should consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions.
More broadly, we also welcome industry led local content targets across all industrial strategy sectors, including clean energy.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the competitiveness and long-term viability of UK steelmakers of publicly funded projects specifying grades of electric arc furnace steel that cannot be sourced from British producers at scale; and whether they have made an assessment of the risk that those specifications increase reliance on imported steel and excludes domestic steel from use in publicly funded projects.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is working towards a financially sustainable future for steelmaking in the UK, and we will set out our long-term vision for the sector in our upcoming Steel Strategy.
We are designing the Steel Strategy to drive growth in the industry, ensuring the sector is competitive and is in line with our national priorities, including increasing the level of domestic demand met by domestic production, to reduce reliance on imports.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of prison capacity pressures on Parole Board decision-making or sentence progression, particularly in relation to risk assessments and rehabilitation pathways.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the pressures on prison capacity but can give reassurance that it has not materially affected parole outcomes. As set out in the Parole Board Annual Report, in 2024-25 the Board concluded c.17,000 cases at either paper or oral hearing, compared to c.16,000 in 2023-24. The proportion of cases reviewed where the Board has directed the offender’s release has remained broadly similar for the last few years (since 2021): around 1 in 4 cases result in a release direction. This indicates that the release rate by the Parole Board has remained broadly stable, suggesting that recent prison capacity pressures have not significantly affected it.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have identified any legacy pressures arising from the centralised prisoner allocation system in regions with higher concentrations of prisoner places; and what steps they are taking to ensure that those pressures do not hinder local investment in crime prevention and rehabilitation programmes.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
With the prison system routinely operating at 98% occupancy, central management of population movements is the only practical mechanism to ensure every legally committed prisoner is accommodated appropriately. This includes transferring prisoners from regions with deficits of prison places to regions with relative surpluses.
To put prison capacity on a sustainable footing, the Government launched an Independent Review of Sentencing on 22 October 2024, chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke. The review was published on 22 May this year and we are accepting, in principle, the following recommendations which will support effective crime prevention and rehabilitation:
Release will be earned – and the most dangerous offenders excluded.
Ramping up tagging and monitoring, with an up to £700 million uplift in annual probation budgets.
Toughening up punishment outside of prison so offenders pay back their debt to society.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many accidental prisoner releases in that past 12 months were due to (1) human error, (2) incorrect or incomplete paperwork from the courts, (3) communication failures between courts and prisons, and (4) other administrative or operational causes; and what steps they are taking to address those issues.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are bearing down on those errors that do occur, and this includes releases in error from prisons.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps, which includes strengthening release checks across prisons and an independent inquiry, which will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.
The latest data on releases in error from prisons, which we published exceptionally on 11 November, showed that there have been 91 releases in error from prisons from April 2025 to October 2025. Data on releases is based on the information available at the time. It may be the case in some circumstances that information on a case is brought to light that either confirms or disproves a release in error. Future release in error data will be published in the normal way through our regular statistics and Dame Lynne Owens will be looking at data and transparency as part of her independent investigation.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they assess whether a student visa sponsor remains fully compliant, and whether they plan to introduce any additional regulatory tools to address student visa misuse.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are reviewing the quantitative thresholds of the core requirements for student visa sponsor compliance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make the frequency of asylum applications from student visa holders at the same student visa sponsor grounds to suspend or revoke a student visa sponsor licence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum claims have been submitted by visa holders with a licensed student visa sponsor in the most recent 12-month period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on people claiming asylum by route of entry to the UK in table Asy_D01a of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2025. Between July 2024 and June 2025, 14,800 asylum claims were submitted by those holding a study visa. There is no breakdown by sponsored or non-sponsored study available. This breakdown is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.