Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have provided to NHS bodies and abortion providers since the commencement of section 241 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 on the circumstances in which healthcare professionals should make a safeguarding or police referral where a patient presents following a suspected self-administered abortion outside the provisions of the Abortion Act 1967.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department wrote to independent sector abortion providers in June 2026, following the commencement of section 241 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, explaining that, although the changes alter the position under criminal law for women acting in relation to their pregnancy, they do not change the Abortion Act 1967 and therefore the provision of lawful abortion services. They also do not alter the clinical, professional or legal responsibilities of healthcare professionals in relation to abortion, and existing clinical frameworks, professional standards, and safeguarding duties continue to apply in full.
This letter was also disseminated by NHS England to integrated care board and trust chief executives, medical directors, and chief nursing officers, and copied to NHS England regional directors, medical directors, chief nurses, and directors of commissioning.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on service quality and passenger satisfaction on the East Coast Mainline following (1) timetable changes in 2025 and (2) the reduction of train length from nine to five carriages.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
LNER reduced its InterCity 225 trains from nine carriages to seven carriages to improve acceleration and support faster journey times under the December 2025 timetable. Of the 54 trains LNER use for passenger services each day, only four are InterCity 225s; the rest are new Azuma trains. DfT Operator and Network Rail, as precursors to Great British Railways, are monitoring all aspects of the timetable change, including service quality, passenger experience, and train reliability.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK global market share of compound semiconductor chips.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is backing UK strengths in compound semiconductors through investment in research, innovation, commercialisation and manufacturing. This includes the Compound Semiconductor Centre and research facilities at Cardiff and Swansea universities, including the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials, supporting development and commercialisation of new technologies. The Government is also supporting the Future Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Hub, Vishay’s £250 million investment in Newport, and the Ministry of Defence’s acquisition of the facility now operating as Octric Semiconductor. This sits alongside over £1.1 billion through the UK AI Hardware Plan and £718 million for semiconductor, advanced connectivity technologies and cyber research via UKRI up to 2030.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards supporting companies involved in the Semiconductor Catapult.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is committed to supporting UK semiconductor companies to innovate, commercialise and scale. The Semiconductor Catapult expands the remit of the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult and will provide companies with access to specialist expertise and facilities, supporting semiconductor technologies from development through to commercialisation. Alongside the UK Semiconductor Centre and wider UKRI programmes, it will strengthen routes to market, support scale-up and help build resilient UK semiconductor supply chains.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the development of the United Kingdom’s future AI hardware workforce.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is investing over £80 million through the AI Hardware Plan to build the skilled workforce needed to support the UK’s AI hardware ambitions. This includes a £12 million Doctoral Focal Award for Chip Design, £20 million to expand access to PhD funding through TechFirst, and £48 million for undergraduate bursaries, schools outreach and teaching fellowships. Alongside this investment, we are working with employers and the UK Semiconductor Centre to develop additional routes into semiconductor and AI hardware careers, helping to build the pipeline of scientists, engineers and technicians the sector needs.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Cluny on 26 October (HL4158), and to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 14 July (HL1910), what evidence was referred to as “numerous and well documented” in support of the assertion that X Corp prioritises misinformation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
Online misinformation is a serious issue. In March, the Government published A Safe, Informed Digital Nation aimed at improving media literacy. We refer Lord Jackson of Peterborough to the answer given by the former Attorney (HL1910) on 14 July.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the United Kingdom’s sovereign capability in the development and manufacture of memory chips.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Memory is essential to advanced computing and artificial intelligence (AI), and global production is concentrated in a small number of overseas markets. The Government's approach is to strengthen the United Kingdom's sovereign capability where it has competitive advantages, such as chip design, photonics and advanced materials, and to improve resilience through trusted international partnerships. The UK AI Hardware Plan puts this into practice, with memory and data-storage technologies within its scope. The plan is backed by over £1.1 billion of investment, including £120 million for innovation and £750 million for a new heterogeneous supercomputer, £400 million of which will procure next-generation chips.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the National Security Adviser was vetted; and at what level.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave on 5 March 2026 to Question 115039, copied below:
Individuals appointed as National Security Adviser go through an extensive process which includes National Security Vetting (NSV). National Security Vetting for the current National Security Adviser was conducted to the usual standard set for Developed Vetting.
It is long-standing practice that the government does not comment on individual vetting cases.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government why recruitment to the Connect to Work programme fell short of its target in its first year; and what steps they are taking to address the shortfall.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2025/26 was a mobilisation year for Connect to Work. The programme is delivered by Mayors and local authorities across England and Wales and roll out has been led by their own timetables. Data published in September 2026 (the latest published statistics), show starts accelerating with, for example, 15,000 starts in the four months between March and June 2026.
By end June 2026 around 25,000 people had started on the programme and more than 4,100 had moved into employment. This is specialist, voluntary support for disabled people and those with health conditions or individuals with complex non-health barriers who face significant barriers to work, and we fully expect outcomes to grow as more participants complete their journey into employment.
Our focus is on helping local areas set up and run high quality, well-integrated Connect to Work services that help people get into and stay in employment that is right for them. We regularly review progress with Connect to Work areas and continue to support delivery through specialist support, webinars, communities of practice and performance-related action plans.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether successful negotiation of the youth experience scheme with the European Union is dependent on the successful conclusion of concurrent negotiations on the emissions trading schemes and sanitary and phytosanitary schemes.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK-EU youth experience scheme will give young people the opportunity to broaden their horizons through travel, experiencing other cultures and learning languages, as well as working and studying abroad. As was agreed in 2025, any scheme will be capped, subject to a visa requirement and be time-limited. There will also be no access to benefits or right to bring dependents.
The exact parameters are subject to negotiation but there will not be a return to free movement under the scheme. The Government is working to conclude negotiations on the youth experience scheme, SPS and emissions trading agreements as quickly as possible and will update Parliament in the usual way.