Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many minutes of citizenship teaching per week will be required for a primary school class when that subject becomes compulsory.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The national curriculum does not specify how much time should be dedicated to individual subjects at either primary or secondary school. The department trusts school leaders and teachers to design their curriculum and lessons to meet the requirements in a way that is appropriate for their pupils.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK media plurality of a sale or merger involving US media companies.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Given the legal and commercial sensitivities involved, it would not be appropriate to comment on any potential or live media merger involving US media companies.

As set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government is aware of the evolving nature of the TV and streaming landscape. Should any merger progress, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be responsible for examining implications for competition and consumers, provided that the relevant jurisdiction criteria are met. The Government has committed to asking the CMA, working with Ofcom, to set out how changes in the sector could be taken into account as part of any future assessment of the television and advertising markets.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad will have its firearms capability removed; and if so, what assessment they have made of that decision.

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

Decisions around the deployment of armed officers are operational matters for individual chief constables to determine. It is therefore the responsibility of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service to determine how best to meet the operational requirements and make decisions on deployment of armed officers in London.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 1,000 members of staff allocated to work in immigration enforcement were (1) recruited externally, and (2) reallocated internally.

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

Since July 2024 the Home Office has redeployed 1,000 FTE staff to increase delivery of the government’s returns and enforcement priorities, these staff have been drawn from across the Department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent on external contractors by the New Media Unit since its inception.

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

Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.

The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.

The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the New Media Unit is fully staffed, and if not, whether further recruitment is planned to the unit.

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

Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.

The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.

The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the grades of the employees of the New Media Unit.

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

Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.

The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.

The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, what discussions they have had with devolved administrations about data sharing and reporting arrangements should the Bill receive Royal Assent, and whether they plan to publish any memoranda of understanding.

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

The Government remains neutral on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The Government’s discussions about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill with devolved administrations have focused on the workability of the bill. This has included how the reporting and data sharing requirements on the face of the bill would apply, particularly in relation to Wales. These are technical discussions that are being held at an official level and have not covered what any arrangement would look like should the bill receive Royal Assent. As the Government is neutral on the bill, no decisions have been taken on the need for memoranda of understanding.

Should the bill gain Royal Assent, detailed work on a delivery model would need to be undertaken, which would include more detailed work on data sharing and reporting arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, whether they plan to ringfence additional GP capacity for the assessments to be made by a coordinating and an independent doctor if the Bill were to receive Royal Assent.

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

The Government remains neutral on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Should the bill gain Royal Assent, detailed work on a delivery model would need to be undertaken. This work would include developing workforce regulations and guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on suicide prevention strategies, including by reviewing the effect on suicide rates in countries where similar laws have been introduced.

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

The Government is committed to delivering the cross-sector Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, which identifies priority areas for action to reduce suicides, and we will explore opportunities to go further.

The Government is neutral on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Should Parliament choose to pass this bill it will not affect the Government’s commitment to the suicide prevention strategy.