Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals who are foreign nationals have been removed from the UK upon revocation of their student visas as a result of serious public order or other criminal offences since 7 October 2023.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Foreign nationals who commit a crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.

The information requested is not available from published statistics.

The Government strongly values the vital economic and academic contributions that international students make in the UK.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to safeguard neurodivergent and vulnerable children and young adults from receiving medically unnecessary surgeries as part of gender-affirming care interventions.

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

NHS England commissions gender services for children and young people in line with its interim service specification for children and young people with gender incongruence. These services do not make referrals for surgical interventions.

Children and young people are cared for holistically by specialist multi-disciplinary teams based in specialist children's hospitals. The multi-disciplinary team should include expertise in child and adolescent mental health, including family therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made on data sharing by adult gender clinics to enable the study of long-term outcomes for patients, including young adults and children, who have accessed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

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

Following the publication of the Cass Review Final Report, NHS England assumed responsibility for progressing the data linkage study, which will help us learn from the experiences and outcomes of young adults who accessed previous models of National Health Service gender services care.

This work is being undertaken with oversight from the NHS England National Research Oversight Board and is progressing as intended.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure children are not privately prescribed cross-sex hormones in order to circumnavigate the ban on puberty blockers.

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

The safety of children and young people is an overriding priority for the Government, and that is why we introduced an indefinite ban on the sale and supply of puberty supressing hormones from the European Economic Area and private providers in the United Kingdom.

We will monitor the impact of the ban and will not hesitate to go further if the evidence shows the indefinite ban is being circumnavigated.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Ukraine regarding religious freedom and plurality following the adoption of Law 3894 in September 2024.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK supports the intention behind Law 3894 "about protection of the constitutional system in field of activity of the religious organisations". The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law is not aimed at restricting freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine, but instead responds to clear national security threats. The Ukrainian Government is in ongoing consultation with religious and belief communities in Ukraine on the implementation of the law, including the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of religious freedom in Ukraine following the adoption of Law 3894 in September 2024.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK supports the intention behind Law 3894 "about protection of the constitutional system in field of activity of the religious organisations". The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law is not aimed at restricting freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine, but instead responds to clear national security threats. The Ukrainian Government is in ongoing consultation with religious and belief communities in Ukraine on the implementation of the law, including the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address barriers to marriage faced by lower income couples following the publication of new research by the Marriage Foundation.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law and set out its view that its recommendations would provide greater choice for couples, lowering the cost of weddings and making them more accessible to all.

Marriage will always be one of our most important institutions. That is why we are carefully considering the Law Commission’s report and have a duty to take the time to consider these important issues. We will set out our position on weddings reform in the coming months.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they are making in supporting research on brain cancers.

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

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department of Health and Social Care invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24. Cancer is a major area of NIHR spend, reflecting its high priority.

In the five years between 2018/19 and 2022/23, NIHR directly invested £11.3 million in research projects and programmes focused on brain tumours across 15 awards. In addition, our wider investments in NIHR research infrastructure, namely facilities, services and the research workforce, further allow us to leverage research funding from other donors and organisations. These investments are estimated to be £31.5 million, between 2018/19 and 2022/23, and have enabled 227 brain cancer research studies to take place in the same period. In total NIHR investments have enabled 8,500 people to participate in potentially life-changing research in the National Health Service over this time.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including brain cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition.

In September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients, and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation. In partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, in 2025 NIHR are also funding two brain tumour research fellowships.

The Department of Health and Social Care has also relaunched the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce, which met on 4 March 2025. The taskforce will examine clinical and non-clinical ways to improve outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer, including research. The taskforce will feed into wider Departmental work on the National Cancer Plan.

The Government recognises that a cancer-specific strategy is needed to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. The National Cancer Plan will work to address these challenges for cancer patients across the country, using a system-wide approach to improve cancer services from prevention and research, to access and treatment. The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years and provide an NHS that is there when you need it.

The NIHR works closely with other government funders, including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects. This includes research on the fundamental and mechanistic biology of brain tumours and the development of new technology and medicines to treat brain tumours. Total UKRI spend in 2023/24 on brain tumour specific research was £7.08 million.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 25 February (HL5027), whether the (1) Serious Fraud Office, (2) Independent Office for Police Conduct, and (3) National Crime Agency, are paid members or affiliates of Stonewall.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is a paid member of Stonewall.

The Serious Fraud Office and National Crime Agency are neither members nor affiliates of Stonewall.

Found: Members present: Lord Ricketts (The Chair); Baroness Ashton of Upholland; Lord Frost; Lord Jackson of Peterborough

Found: Disadvantages of alignment with the EU UK would have no say over rules which affect it Lord Jackson of Peterborough

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