Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken under part 6 of the UK–EU Summit – Common Understanding to strengthen cooperation with European partners in addressing irregular migration.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Common Understanding signed on 19 May was a significant further step in our efforts to increase international cooperation to tackle the global challenge of organised immigration crime; a comprehensive partnership that will address all elements of the global challenge of irregular migration.
The first meeting with the Commission on Irregular Migration took place on 16 July. We discussed delivery options for each commitment and officials will use this information to work up delivery plans over the summer, anticipating further work with the EU from the Autumn.
We now have a formal structure in place to work jointly on this with the EU; to realise our ambition to coordinate actions in source countries, enhance cooperation with EU agencies, support information sharing and returns, and develop innovative approaches to stop small boat crossings and other forms of people trafficking across Europe.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 53 of the UK–EU Summit – Common Understanding, published on 19 May, what discussions they have had with the European Union about improving the reciprocal exchange of biometric and criminal records data, including fingerprints, DNA and vehicle registration data.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is continuing to work at pace alongside our European counterparts to implement the agreement reached at the UK-EU Summit, including enhancing data exchange with the EU to respond to shared threats and support police investigations.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a UK–EU agreement on the return of asylum seekers, and whether they have had discussions with the EU on that topic in the light of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out in the Common Understanding from 19 May, our priority is to work with the EU to strengthen our cooperation to tackle people smuggling gangs, coordinate in our approach to upstream migration, explore innovative solutions, and enhance information sharing between our respective border agencies.
This Government is already getting on with the work of returning people who have no legal right to be here. Nearly 30,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other immigration offenders were returned from the UK between 5 July 2024 and 18 May 2025. Of these total returns, 7,893 were enforced returns of people with no legal right to remain in the UK. This compares with 6,414 enforced returns over the same period 12 months prior, an increase of 23%.
A key part of reducing irregular arrivals is deterring those from making dangerous journeys in the first place.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to The UK's trade strategy (CP1339), published on 26 June, what progress they have made on delivering a single trade window.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Trade Strategy sets out a range of cross-Government measures to minimise administrative burdens and frictions experienced by businesses trading internationally. We will remain focused on working across Government to implement the various measures outlined in the strategy that will help businesses across the country to export and import the goods and services that will support growth and jobs.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to require that solar farm and battery energy storage system developments are backed by sufficient performance or decommissioning bonds to guarantee the removal of infrastructure and the full reversion of land to its former use in the event of insolvency or project failure.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We do not currently have plans to require solar and battery projects to be covered by decommissioning bonds.
Solar farms are normally temporary structures and planning conditions can be used to ensure that the installations are removed when no longer in use and the land is restored to its previous use. Solar panels can be decommissioned relatively easily and cheaply. It is a legal requirement for any company that imports, manufactures or rebrands solar products to join a ‘Producer Compliance Scheme’, which then ensures their legal obligations are met, most significantly for the collection and recycling of old PV panels.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate on 20 March (HL5840), what annual returns they have received regarding conservation covenant agreements made under section 117(3)(b) and (c) of the Environment Act 2021 to conserve land for reasons of archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic interest.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under section 136 of the Environment Act 2021, a designated responsible body must make an annual return to the Secretary of State. This return must include the number of conservation covenants under which an obligation was owed to the responsible body during the reporting period, along with the area of land to which each covenant relates.
As part of the first annual return to Defra by 31st of March 2025, where responsible bodies were able to provide additional information regarding the type of covenant, they reported 43 covenants that conserve the natural environment. No covenants were reported that conserve land, or the setting of the land, as a place of archaeological, architectural, artistic, cultural or historic interest.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many conservation covenant agreements under section 117(3)(b) and (c) of the Environment Act 2021 have been made since that Act came into force.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Conservation covenants are private, voluntary agreements between a landowner and a designated responsible body. Under section 136 of the Environment Act 2021, a designated responsible body must make an annual return to the Secretary of State. This return must include the number of conservation covenants under which an obligation was owed to the responsible body during the reporting period, along with the area of land to which each covenant relates. The deadline for responsible bodies to submit their first annual return to Defra is 31 March 2025.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made regarding the United Kingdom's access to the European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database; and how that access will enhance the United Kingdom's ability to manage immigration and asylum processes.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to resetting the relationship with our European partners, including the EU, which will support us in tackling organised immigration crime and small boat crossings.
We have already enhanced our work with EU agencies, having delivered an immediate 50% uplift in NCA officers to be based in Europol. Wherever the UK and European partners can better jointly tackle shared challenges, including through enhanced information sharing, the Government will consider options to facilitate that cooperation further.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to seek a returns agreement with the European Union to tackle small boat crossings.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to resetting the relationship with our European partners, including the EU, which will support us in tackling organised immigration crime and small boat crossings.
We have already enhanced our work with EU agencies, having delivered an immediate 50% uplift in NCA officers to be based in Europol. Wherever the UK and European partners can better jointly tackle shared challenges, including through enhanced information sharing, the Government will consider options to facilitate that cooperation further.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they plan to make to the BBC to ensure the continuation of regional TV programmes, and in particular political and current affairs programmes.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The BBC’s Royal Charter requires the BBC to represent, reflect and serve audiences, taking into account the needs of diverse communities of all the UK nations and regions.
The BBC’s proposed cuts to English regional television were debated in the chamber on 22 June 2020 with unanimous support for regional broadcasting. However, the BBC is editorially and operationally independent of government, and regional programming is a matter for the BBC.
Under the new regulatory system introduced by the government in 2017, the BBC Board must ensure the BBC complies with its Charter duties, and the government established Ofcom as the BBC regulator to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account.