Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrants have been brought into the United Kingdom under the "one in, one out" agreement with France since the scheme began.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As of 27 January 2026, 350 individuals have been brought to the UK via the new safe and legal route.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they plan to take to help young people struggling to find work out of welfare dependency.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee.
We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee, launching eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announcing funding to almost double our Youth Hubs, and launching an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.
At the Budget we announced the expansion of the Youth Guarantee, backed by an £820 million investment over the next three years, to reach almost 900,000 young people. This includes expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit and looking for work. This investment will also create around 300,000 additional opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee.
The application window for Phase One of the Jobs Guarantee opened on 29 January 2026. Through the application process, the government will identify delivery organisations to run the Jobs Guarantee scheme in the six Phase One areas of Birmingham & Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire & Essex, Central & East Scotland and Southwest & Southeast Wales.
In Phase One of the Jobs Guarantee, the Scheme will provide over 1,000 fully funded six-month paid jobs to eligible 18–21-year-olds, who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. The DWP will fund 100% of eligible employment costs for 25 hours a week at the relevant minimum wage. The DWP will also fund wraparound support to help participants succeed on the scheme and transition into sustained employment.
Phase One will be followed by national roll-out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain later in 2026.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to support high streets.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Our Plan for Small Businesses, published in July, includes measures to support high street businesses, redevelop commercial space and trigger private investment.
Later this year, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to reinvigorate our communities. Government will work with businesses and representative bodies to inform the development of the strategy.
MHCLG has also announced £5 billion funding for up to 350 places over the next decade through its Pride in Place programme and Impact Fund.
The Home Office’s High Streets Illegality Taskforce is being established with DBT representation. This will ensure a cross-government approach to tackling crime on Britian’s high streets.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in improving access to work for people with disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to reducing the Access to Work waiting times. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims by 27% and applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
We also have recently concluded the Access to Work Collaboration Committees, in which we engaged with a range of stakeholders, including disabled people’s organisation representatives and those with lived experience, to provide discussion, experience, and challenge to the design of the future Access to Work Scheme.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they propose to take to support women with long-term health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health of women with long-term conditions is a priority for the Government.
Our 10-Year Health Plan is centred around driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. More tests and scans are delivered in the community, better-joint up working between services, and greater use of technology will support women in the management of long-term conditions. This will build on the work led by the pioneering women’s health hubs.
The Government is encouraging integrated care boards (ICBs) to expand the coverage of women’s health hubs and is supporting them to use what we learned from the hub pilot programme to improve local delivery of services to women and girls. The Government is backing ICBs to do this through record funding.
We are renewing the Women’s Health Strategy, to tackle enduring challenges and build on vital progress in women’s health.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to prevent any increase in the number of women performing dangerous late-term abortions at home.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Parliament decided in 2022 to amend the Abortion Act 1967 to make home use of medical abortion pills a permanent option in England and Wales where the pregnancy has not exceeded 10 weeks gestation. Before pills are prescribed for an early medical abortion at home, the woman requesting the abortion will have had a consultation with a clinician either in person, by telephone, or by electronic means. If the clinician has any concerns about the gestation of the pregnancy during a telephone or electronic consultation, the woman will be asked to attend a clinic.
In June 2025, the House of Commons voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which would decriminalise abortion for a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy. The bill will now progress through Parliament in the usual way and is currently being debated in the House of Lords. Should abortion be decriminalised for a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy these offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated cost of strikes within the NHS in the past six months; and what new proposals are being considered to protect patient services during any further strikes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The five-day resident doctor strike in July 2025 had an estimated cost to the National Health Service of approximately £240 million, and this is a starting estimate for the planned November strike. The costs were lower than in July 2024 as a result of lower turnout. We continue to update estimates as new data becomes available, in line with receiving business as usual financial data from NHS systems.
The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and will work with partners to ensure that safe care for patients continues to be available and emergency services continue to operate. Data published on 23 November shows that the NHS met its ambitious goal to maintain 95% of planned care during the November round of strike action, surpassing the 93% protected during action in July, while still maintaining critical services, including maternity services and urgent cancer care.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the re-entry of Russia into the G8; and what assessment they have made of whether Russia should pay compensation for the damage caused since its invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement the Prime Minister made in the House of Commons on 25 November 2025 [Columns 219] and to the answers provided by The Lord Privy Seal to the House of Lords on Ukraine on 26 November [Columns 1390 & 1392].
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the West Midlands Police relied on false intelligence when banning Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from an Aston Villa match.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
To ensure full independent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events. HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December.
Additionally, the Home Affairs Select Committee held an evidence session on 1 December to examine the decision-making process and intelligence assessments. The government awaits the Committee’s findings.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the protective measures for veterans proposed in the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill to distinguish between veterans and those responsible for terrorist violence.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All of the protections that the Government has announced are being introduced in order to protect and ensure fair treatment of any veteran who is asked to engage with legacy mechanisms.
Measures set out in the legislation, including the right to give evidence remotely and having regard to the welfare of witnesses, will necessarily apply to others. This will ensure, for example, that former police officers are able to avail of these measures.
Some other non-legislative measures will apply only to veterans, including the protection from cold calling and the safeguard that ensures veterans do not have to give unnecessary evidence on historical context and general operational details.