Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 12 November 2024 (HL2064), whether they intend to publish the (1) annual, and (2) total, amount of funding they have agreed to provide to Mauritius in their agreement to transfer sovereignty of British Indian Ocean Territory to that country.

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

A financial element was crucial to securing the agreement between the UK and Mauritius on 3 October. It is not normal practice to release costs of overseas bases. Further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny, after signature and before ratification, in the usual way.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are putting in place to ensure that every government department is accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence for government business.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The AI opportunities Action Plan has been published and in response, the government has accepted all 50 recommendations. The digital centre within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, has been established to bring together central digital, data, technology and AI teams and act as a catalyst for technology adoption and service transformation across government.

The digital centre is leading the response to public sector AI adoption and working across departments to drive the use of AI within government, and the wider public sector, to improve citizens’ lives and make government more efficient. This includes adopting a ‘scan, pilot, scale’ approach to rolling out AI tools, building on the work of the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate any impact of placing VAT on private schools on swimming lessons run by swim schools using private schools’ premises; and what plans they have to exempt swimming lessons from VAT.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has conducted careful and thorough analysis of the impacts of placing VAT on private schools, and the Government's costings have been scrutinised by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. The Government published a detailed costing note and Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) on 30 October 2024.

To support access to swimming lessons, the Government already exempts them from VAT when they are supplied by an eligible non-profit-making body. This includes lessons provided by eligible bodies using premises owned by private schools.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what steps they are taking to ensure that all signs, notices and other displays of expired COVID-19 restrictions and guidance are removed from public places by the relevant authorities.

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

There are no COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom. Whilst the UK Health Security Agency supports local authorities through the provision of public health guidance, the placement and removal of signs in public places is a matter for individual local authorities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to defend UK interests in the Arctic and High North regions.

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

The Government is actively promoting the UK's interests in the Arctic and High North. in my recent visit to Norway and Iceland, including to the Arctic Circle Assembly, I set out the Government's commitment to a secure, stable, and sustainable region that protects our longstanding and enduring interests, guided by the UK's Arctic Policy Framework. I also met with representatives of Arctic States and Indigenous People to discuss shared challenges and opportunities to deepen collaboration. I have established a cross-Government Ministerial Group on the Polar Regions to help co-ordinate and deliver UK policy. I regularly engage with counterparts from across the Arctic region to discuss our shared commitments on security, defence, science, climate change and nature.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reverse their decision to end funding for the Latin excellence programme; and, if not, whether they will defer the cessation of funding until pupils currently in the programme have completed their qualifications.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

​​The fiscal situation this new government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Given this, the decision to not extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the agreed initial three-year contract remains.

The department will work closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme on 28 February, to ensure pupils’ continuity of learning. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources once the programme ends.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reverse their decision to end funding for the computing hubs programme run by the National Centre for Computing Education.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The fiscal situation this new government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Given this, the decision to end funding for the computing hubs remains.

The government will continue to fund the National Centre for Computing Education to support the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications. Teachers will still be able to access high-quality continuing professional development and teaching resources to support and enrich computing lessons. Funding beyond 2025/26 financial year to support computing education will be considered through the upcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic following the publication by the Government of the United States on 25 January of the CIA’s analysis that the SARS-COV2 virus most likely originated in a laboratory.

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

We recognise that there are questions that need to be answered about the origin and spread of COVID-19 to ensure that we can better prevent and prepare for future pandemics. The United Kingdom continues to support the World Health Organization in its ongoing expert study of the origins of COVID-19 and seeks a robust, transparent, and science-led review. This study remains open to testing all hypotheses that they deem reasonable. The Government has noted the Central Intelligence Agency’s assessment and will continually review our own assessment of the origins of the virus, considering any new intelligence. We will update the House of Commons and the House of Lords as and when there is anything new to say.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional asylum decision makers they (1) have recruited since July 2024, and (2) plan to recruit in 2025.

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

As of September 2024, there were 2,172 FTE decision makers. This information is routinely published online: Immigration and protection data: Q3 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reallocate any unspent funding previously allocated to the Community Ownership Fund.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 23353 on 21 January 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace the Community Ownership Fund and support communities to take ownership of public assets at risk of closure.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government remains committed to the communities’ sector and to community empowerment.  The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment.

As part of the English Devolution Bill, we will legislate to introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets, such as empty shops, pubs and community spaces. This will empower local people to bring community spaces back into community ownership and end the blight of empty premises on our high streets.

Community Right to Buy will help local people acquire valued community spaces if they come up for sale, keeping these assets in the hands of the community.

There will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.

Found: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Baroness Harris of Richmond Lord Russell of Liverpool Lord Kempsell