Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of patients removed from NHS waiting lists in the past year were removed as a result of (1) resolution by medical intervention, (2) withdrawing from treatment, (3) the patient's death, and (4) administrative revisions.

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

Patients can be removed from the waiting list for various reasons. These include where a patient receives their first definitive treatment, begins a period of active monitoring, or declines treatment, or where a decision is made that no treatment is required. It can also include where a patient does not attend their first appointment, instances where the provider cannot accept the referral because it does not carry out the relevant procedure, and where patients are removed from the waiting list through validation because they no longer need to be treated.

A breakdown of reasons for coming off the waiting list is not available in the monthly official statistics. However, some such information is collected in the weekly management information from the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS). The WLMDS is unverified management information, subject to less validation than the monthly official statistics and totals do not match between the two sources.

The WLMDS can be used to estimate proportions for the reasons patients have been removed from the waiting list. Of the reasons requested in this question, the WLMDS does not record centrally the proportion of patients removed due to administrative reasons.

The following table lists the estimated proportion of total completed pathways in the 2025 calendar year for reasons where data is held, with these proportions having been stable since WLMDS data was first collected:

Source: Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS), NHS England

Notes:

1. Those starting first treatment or where a clinical decision has been made not to treat ("resolution by medical intervention") make up approximately 80% of all removals. This does not include anyone where a decision is made to begin a period of active monitoring.
2. Those declining treatment ("withdrawing from treatment") make up approximately 5% of all removals.
3. Those sadly dying before treatment make up less than 1% of all removals.

Question

To ask The Leader of the House when she expects a Written Answer to be given to the question asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 21 May (HL381).

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The question was answered by the Department for Health and Social Care on the 30th June 2026. I apologise for the delay and have reminded the department of the need to meet the response target of 10 working days.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of reduced waiting times for conclusive grounds decisions in the National Referral Mechanism on modern slavery victims' recovery and access to support services.

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

This government is proud of our record to reduce the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) backlog and ensure victims of modern slavery receive certainty in a timely fashion. There has been a decrease to the backlog of 84% since the peak in 2022.

Adult victims receive support through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) and through wider state services. Victims supported by the MSVCC will currently continue to receive support following a positive Conclusive Grounds decision where needs are identified through the Recovery Needs Assessment process. There is no overall limit on time in support.

The new Support for Victims of Modern Slavery contract (due to come into force in 2027) will further improve the needs-based support for adults.

Victims who receive a negative Conclusive Grounds decision will continue to be provided with up to 14 working days of move-on support from the date of receipt of the decision.

Child victims are supported through a range of systems, including statutory local authority support and the Government-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service. ICTGs are currently available in two-thirds of Local Authorities, but from Spring 2027 they will be nationally available across England and Wales. There is no time limit on support provided to children and ICTG support will cease once the child has met one of the exit criteria set out within ICTG Interim Guidance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to prevent domestic violence associated with drugs and alcohol use in homes with children.

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

We know that there is a correlation between domestic abuse and substance misuse, but domestic abuse is not caused by substance misuse.

This government is determined to safeguard victims by disrupting the behaviour of perpetrators through perpetrator interventions. The Home Office is investing £74.5 million (until March 2029) for the Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund.

Perpetrators’ misuse of drugs and alcohol must be addressed to ensure domestic abuse interventions are efficient. This government continues to invest in local treatment and recovery systems with over £3.4 billion ringfenced through the Public Health Grant to help ensure that those with drugs and alcohol problem can access support. Through this investment and partnership working across health, criminal justice, safeguarding, and domestic abuse services, we are supporting individuals and families to reduce harm, support recovery, and improve outcomes for children and families.

In England, the Families First Partnership programme is rolling out reforms to family help, child protection and family group decision making to keep children safe. The programme is backed by £2.4 billion over three years. These reforms will help rebalance the system of support away from crisis intervention and towards earlier help, ensuring children and families, including those experiencing domestic abuse and/or substance misuse, are able to access the right support at the right time.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker how members of House of Lords Select Committees are selected.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede

Membership of Lords Select Committees is proposed by the Committee of Selection and agreed by the House. In making its recommendations, the Committee of Selection considers nominations put forward through the Usual Channels.

Members who are not affiliated to one of the main parties or groups may apply directly to the Senior Deputy Speaker if they wish to serve on a committee. The Senior Deputy Speaker brings such applications to the attention of the Committee of Selection, which considers them when making its recommendations to the House.