Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the current and future responsibilities of the Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory in light of the UK-Mauritius treaty on the Chagos Archipelago.

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

The responsibilities of the Commissioner are set out in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Constitution Order (2004). Clause 2 of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill will revoke this Order and the role will cease to exist on entry into force of the Diego Garcia treaty. Future governance arrangements for Diego Garcia, including any necessary Orders or Ordinances, will be made using the relevant powers in the Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is capability in the Prison and Probation Service incident reporting system to categorise a prison incident as faith or ideology related; and if not, how the Prison and Probation Service collects data on prison incidents that are motivated by faith or ideology at a local and national level.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service does not hold a central record of whether prison incidents are motivated by faith or ideology. If a prison identifies that an incident was motivated by such a factor, this will be managed locally. Terrorist offenders are managed through a specialist, multi-agency process, which assesses offenders in terms of their individual risk.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of overpaid benefits they have recouped in each of the past 10 financial years.

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

The recovery of overpayments cannot be attributed to the year in which the benefit was overpaid, as many of those overpayments will have occurred over more than one year.

Furthermore, many of the overpayments that occurred in previous years are still undergoing recovery or are likely to be identified and recovered some time in the future.

The annual National Statistics publication Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK compares the amount of money recovered in each financial year from overpayment debts with its estimate of the money that was overpaid in that financial year – with the understanding that much of that recovered money each year would have been from benefits that were overpaid in past years. Figures from the National Statistics publications are provided in the annex.

The overall amount that can be recovered by deduction from benefit is set by regulations, and priority is given to a number of other deductions above those for recovery of an overpayment of benefit.

We encourage anyone who is finding recovery difficult to get in touch with DWP Debt Management, who can consider a lower rate of recovery or temporary suspension.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of mistakes, errors and potential miscarriages of justice through the use of the single justice procedure.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Single Justice Procedure (SJP) was designed to deal with straightforward, uncontested, non-imprisonable offences in a proportionate and efficient way. Cases are decided by a single magistrate with the support of a legal adviser, in private rather than in open court.

Whilst safeguards are in place, this Government acknowledges that errors have occurred within the SJP. In 2024, it became apparent that certain train operators had been incorrectly using the procedure to prosecute for offences under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which are ineligible for prosecution through the SJP. Such instances highlight the importance of robust safeguards to protect fairness.

That is why we launched a consultation on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors, which included a dedicated chapter on the SJP. The consultation explored measures to strengthen prosecutor accountability and ensure consistent standards in addition to how defendant submissions are handled in the SJP. The consultation closed on 8 May, and our proposals will be outlined in the Government’s response which we will publish in due course.

We are continuing to monitor risks and remain committed to enhancing safeguards in the SJP to maintain public confidence and fairness in the justice system. This includes ongoing engagement with stakeholders, reviewing operational practices and exploring further improvements to transparency.

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, and following the published impact assessment and equality impact assessment, what estimate they have made of the proportion of people who would be eligible for assistance to end their own life who have a history of depression, self-harm or other mental health conditions.

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

The published Impact Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment provides illustrative figures for aspects of the service where sufficient information and evidence is available and where the level of detail contained in the bill permits.

The Government does not have an estimate of the proportion of people who would be eligible for assistance to end their own life who have a history of mental health conditions.

Further considerations for information regarding Cohort Estimates and Impacts on individuals and specific groups of individuals can be found in section 7 and section 8 of the bill’s impact assessment, a copy of which is attached.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether relief for pensioners will be considered as part of the consultation on the high value council tax surcharge.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government will consult on options for support for those who may struggle to pay the High Value Council Tax Surcharge early in 2026. This will consider a range of options, to make sure any scheme is targeted and easy to access.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of any job losses in the hospitality sector as a result of above-inflation minimum wage increases announced in the Budget 2025.

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

The minimum wage rates are set based on independent advice from the Low Pay Commission (LPC), which consider the cost of living, and the impact on businesses, competitiveness, and the economy.

The Department will publish a comprehensive impact assessment in the New Year. This assessment will provide detailed analysis for each minimum wage rate, the projected number of workers who will benefit and the estimated costs to businesses.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, for the purposes of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, what assessment they have made of the adequacy of current adult safeguarding and mental capacity training among GPs, hospital consultants and community nurses.

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 has not made an assessment of the current adult safeguarding and mental capacity training among general practitioners, hospital consultations, and/or community nurses in the context of that bill.

The Government’s consideration of the provision and training of a voluntary assisted dying service can be found in section 10 of the bill’s impact assessment, a copy of which is attached.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many prison-based staff are (1) trained, and (2) equipped, to use tasers.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

On 21 September, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that 500 prison-based staff would be trained and equipped to use Taser devices, as part of a wider effort to enhance safety across the prison estate, and currently we have 20 trained national specialist officers.

Delivering this capability is a significant undertaking: work to train and equip these officers is in progress.

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.