Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending Sunday trading hours.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government is not currently planning to make changes to Sunday trading rules.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which officials of the government of China Jonathan Powell has met during his term as National Security Adviser; and whether they will publish a summary of the content of those meetings.

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

The government has a clear and consistent policy not to comment on any of the National Security Adviser’s meetings with external parties, for obvious reasons to protect sensitive information pertaining to this country’s national security. This has been the case under successive governments.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what moving costs they incurred as a result of the former Deputy Prime Minister vacating the residence in Admiralty House, including a breakdown of those costs.

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

No moving costs have been incurred by the Government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government who the current and previous occupants of grace-and-favour accommodation under the present government have been, including the dates they moved in and out.

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

Since 5 July 2024, official residences have been allocated as follows:

• Chequers - the Prime Minister (ongoing).

• 11 Downing Street - the Prime Minister (ongoing).

• 10 Downing Street - the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ongoing).

• Dorneywood - the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ongoing).

• Chevening - the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon David Lammy MP was allocated Chevening following the General Election. Following the appointment of a new Foreign Secretary in September 2025, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP has been allocated Chevening.

• 1 Carlton Gardens - the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon David Lammy MP was allocated 1 Carlton Gardens following the General Election and this remains allocated to him as Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor.

• Hillsborough Castle - available for ministers in the Northern Ireland Office while on duty in Northern Ireland (ongoing).

• Admiralty House, Flat 2. This was allocated to the Defence Secretary on a short-term basis between 9 September 2024 and 4 November 2024. Following this, it was allocated to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP.

The former Deputy Prime Minister’s move in process commenced on 12 December 2024 and the flat is now vacant following the resignation of the former occupant.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of extreme left-wing terrorism in the UK, including Antifa and related groups.

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

The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.

As outlined in the publication of the most recent iteration of CONTEST, in July 2023, Left Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT) currently represents a significantly smaller terrorist threat to the UK than Islamist terrorism or ERWT and is not currently present in the UK at any significant scale.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what financial support they will provide to Hillingdon Council to help it to support homeless Chagossians.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Bolton

The Government is committed to supporting Chagossian British citizens as they settle in the UK. While individuals are expected to arrange accommodation before arrival, we recognise that in some circumstances, exceptional pressures may arise locally.

Hillingdon Council has received additional funding to assist in such cases, and we continue to keep support for all councils under review.

Our 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement made available £266.3m in Core Spending Power for Hillingdon Council, which represented a 6.2% increase from 2024-25.

The Government has published guidance on GOV.UK for Chagossian British Citizens moving to the United Kingdom and to encourage individuals to arrive with savings and plans for accommodation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with state school representatives before removing funding for the International Baccalaureate from 2026.

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

​​Whilst the department will be reprioritising the large programme uplift funding element, which is part of the 16 to 19 funding formula from the year 2026/27 academic year, the International Baccalaureate (IB) remains a fundable qualification.

​Department funded providers offering the IB will continue to receive 16 to 19 education funding, it remains the choice of the institution to decide if they wish to offer larger programmes including the IB.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many state school students studied for an International Baccalaureate Diploma in the last academic year.

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

In 2023/24, there were 1,366 entries for the International Baccalaureate Diploma by students at the end of 16 to 18 study in state funded schools and colleges. This represents 0.1% of all pupils at the end of 16 to 18 study.

This data can be derived from the ‘16 to 18 qualification and subject data’ dataset on the Compare schools and college performance service here: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make an assessment of the ability of police and courts to detect and prosecute offences relating to coercion as set out in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

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

As is standard when introducing a new offence, the Ministry of Justice will engage with criminal justice agencies, including the police, CPS, and judiciary, before commencement. These bodies will develop guidance and training through their respective organisations, such as the College of Policing and the Judicial College, to ensure officers and practitioners have the necessary powers, knowledge, and skills to detect and prosecute offences under the Bill.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that researchers in UK universities do not have their academic freedoms threatened by foreign states.

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

From the 1 August 2025, provisions strengthening universities duties in relation to securing freedom of speech and promoting academic freedom came into force, along with a requirement for the Office for Students (OfS) to provide advice and guidance on those matters.

​The new OfS guidance, published in June 2025, makes it explicitly clear that universities must resist external state threats to academic freedom, and that suppression of research because of the disapproval of a foreign government is unacceptable under any circumstances.

​If the OfS identifies a breach of a specific or general ongoing condition of registration as part of its enquiries, then it will consider the use of formal sanctions, which may include monetary penalties, suspension from the register or deregistration.

​The department believes more should be done to support higher education providers to maximise international opportunities whilst mitigating risk, which is why we set out in June 2025 that we will work with the regulator to set clearer expectations around international risk management, raise awareness of risks and develop advice on good practice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Taser 10 devices will be deployed to police forces over the next 12 months.

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

Tasers provide specially trained officers with an important tactical option when facing situations with the potential for violence. The number of Tasers purchased by forces are operational decisions for Chief Officers to determine in line with their assessments of threats and risks.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to complete the quango review.

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

The Arms Length Body (ALB) Review, formally launched on 7th April 2025, is ongoing and its outcomes will be communicated in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take steps to allow police forces to increase the use of stop and search without suspicion.

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

Stop and search is a vital tool which enables police to tackle crime and keep the public safe. The Government supports the lawful and appropriate use of these powers.

Where serious violence has occurred or is anticipated, senior officers may authorise the use of stop and search of any individual or vehicle for weapons, with or without reasonable suspicion. These authorisations are limited to a particular area for a specific period of time, usually no longer than 24 hours.

In the year to March 2025, there was a 5% increase in the use of these powers (under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994), compared to the previous year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 29 September (HL10483), what is the total cost to date of employing officials working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

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

This information is not held centrally or in the format requested.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement the Chancellor has had with representatives from the pub industry ahead of the upcoming Budget.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Government Ministers and Senior Officials regularly meet with businesses and business representation organisations from a range of sectors, including the pub sector. These meetings provide an opportunity for the Government to hear the views of the business community to aid in the formation of policy, including fiscal policy. These engagements are ongoing and will continue to be so.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current level of total teacher vacancies.

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

Data on the number of teacher vacancies is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication. Figures for November 2024, which are the latest available, have been available since 5 June 2025.

Teacher vacancies (full and part-time) decreased to 2,200 in November 2024, having more than doubled in the previous three years, from 1,100 in November 2020 to a peak of 2,800 in November 2023. The vacancy rate, which takes into account changes in the teaching population, also decreased to 5 per 1,000 teachers in service, from 6 per 1,000 teachers in 2023.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of plans for Mauritius to join China's belt and road initiative.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answers provided on 16 June to Question HL7997, and on 3 July to Question HL8281.