Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of animal population decline in other countries on the UK, following the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 which showed that worldwide animal populations have declined by 69 per cent since 1970.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is susceptible to impacts from animal population decline worldwide through global impacts on food supply and the increasing emergence and transmission of diseases. For example, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Pollinators Assessment showed that 35% of global crop production volume depends on animal pollination, while the IPBES Workshop report on Biodiversity and Pandemics showed that over 30% of emerging disease events are caused by land-use change and its impacts on wildlife. Healthy ecosystems are also vital for mitigating and adapting to climate change, thus animal population declines may also exacerbate the climate impacts felt by the UK, as set out in the UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment. The UK Government with others continues to support the work of the IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to further understand these global impacts.

A recently published report from the Green Finance Institute, entitled ‘Assessing the Materiality of Nature-Related Financial Risks for the UK’, with direction from Defra and others, showed that about half of all UK nature-related risk comes from overseas, through supply chains and financial exposures. It showed that the combination of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation could lead to major economic shocks leading to UK Gross Domestic Product being up to 12% lower that it may otherwise have been by the 2030s (even lower when combined with climate impacts).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of interest rate charges on Government student loan financing, following research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which showed that higher interest rates will add more than £10 billion per year to the cost of England’s student loan system.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Student loans are valued in the department’s annual accounts in line with the International Financial Reporting Standard 9 and set out in The Government Financial Reporting Manual which is attached.

Under which where future cash flows are discounted to measure the fair value of a financial asset, this should be done using the higher of the rate intrinsic to the financial instrument or the HMT discount rate. HMT set the discount rate annually based on a 10 year rolling average of gilt yields. For student loans the intrinsic rate would be the discount rate that gave a Resource Accounting Budget (RAB) or stock charge of 0%, so the HMT discount rate is used provided the RAB charge is greater than 0%. Should the HMT discount rate result in a RAB charge calculation giving a negative value then the intrinsic rate is used instead, meaning that that RAB charge will take a value of 0%.

The most recent forecasts for the student finance system can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.

The net present value of future repayments was calculated by discounting all future repayments at a rate of RPI -1.3% per year until the end of financial year 2029/30, and -0.2% per year from financial year 2030/31, to the same point in time as the loan outlay or loan balance. This is the discount rate for financial instruments set by HMT in 2022 and is intended to reflect of the cost of government borrowing. The most recent student loan forecasts using the 2023 discount rate set by HMT will be published at the end of June 2024.

The department has carefully assessed the impact of changes and published a full and comprehensive analysis in the Higher Education Reform and Consultation Document Equality Impact Assessment, which is attached.

The student loan repayment system under Plan 5 is progressive, with repayments being positively correlated with lifetime earnings. The highest earners make the largest individual contributions to the system overall, and the lowest earners are required to contribute the least.

Lower earners, whether male or female, are protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold, they will not be required to make any repayments at all. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be written off at no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.

The department will continue to keep the student finance system, including repayment terms, under review to ensure that it remains sustainable and delivers value for money for students and the taxpayer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to the student loan repayment system, introduced in August 2023, on female students.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Student loans are valued in the department’s annual accounts in line with the International Financial Reporting Standard 9 and set out in The Government Financial Reporting Manual which is attached.

Under which where future cash flows are discounted to measure the fair value of a financial asset, this should be done using the higher of the rate intrinsic to the financial instrument or the HMT discount rate. HMT set the discount rate annually based on a 10 year rolling average of gilt yields. For student loans the intrinsic rate would be the discount rate that gave a Resource Accounting Budget (RAB) or stock charge of 0%, so the HMT discount rate is used provided the RAB charge is greater than 0%. Should the HMT discount rate result in a RAB charge calculation giving a negative value then the intrinsic rate is used instead, meaning that that RAB charge will take a value of 0%.

The most recent forecasts for the student finance system can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.

The net present value of future repayments was calculated by discounting all future repayments at a rate of RPI -1.3% per year until the end of financial year 2029/30, and -0.2% per year from financial year 2030/31, to the same point in time as the loan outlay or loan balance. This is the discount rate for financial instruments set by HMT in 2022 and is intended to reflect of the cost of government borrowing. The most recent student loan forecasts using the 2023 discount rate set by HMT will be published at the end of June 2024.

The department has carefully assessed the impact of changes and published a full and comprehensive analysis in the Higher Education Reform and Consultation Document Equality Impact Assessment, which is attached.

The student loan repayment system under Plan 5 is progressive, with repayments being positively correlated with lifetime earnings. The highest earners make the largest individual contributions to the system overall, and the lowest earners are required to contribute the least.

Lower earners, whether male or female, are protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold, they will not be required to make any repayments at all. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be written off at no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.

The department will continue to keep the student finance system, including repayment terms, under review to ensure that it remains sustainable and delivers value for money for students and the taxpayer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether teachers and administrators are clear about the support their schools should provide to children with allergies, and what monitoring and evaluation processes they have in place to ensure this support is provided.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions, including allergies, and published the ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ statutory guidance for schools and others.

Schools also have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures, and policies to ensure that they are not putting those with certain long-term health problems at a substantial disadvantage.

The department recently reminded all schools of their legal duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to plan for supporting pupils with medical conditions, including allergies. This reminder also included a link to the statutory guidance governing bodies must have regard to when carrying out their duty under Section 100.

Ofsted’s role is to make sure that schools provide a high standard of education through its inspection and reporting process. As part of that process, inspectors gather a wide range of evidence to make their judgements, including the evaluation of the experience of particular individuals and groups. This includes the experiences of pupils with medical needs.

As part of the inspection, inspectors will assess the effectiveness of safeguarding at the school. This includes the extent to which pupils with specific needs and vulnerabilities are kept safe. The safeguarding culture is also explored through speaking to leaders and staff about their work, including the messages that pupils receive through the curriculum.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish (1) their original investment case, including financial projections, for the purchase of a $500 million stake in US satellite technology company OneWeb in 2020; and (2) an updated business case and financial projections for their investment in the company.

Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As was the case under previous governments, any investment case informing Government's decision to invest in OneWeb, including financial projections, remains commercially sensitive. As a publicly traded company, Eutelsat Group regularly publishes its financial results, including market guidance on their outlook and financial objectives, and the latest were published on 16 February 2024.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, according to their business plan justifying their investment in US satellite technology company OneWeb in 2020, what projection they made of the value of the company at the end of 2024.

Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As was the case under previous governments, any investment case informing Government's decision to invest in OneWeb, including financial projections, remains commercially sensitive. As a publicly traded company, Eutelsat Group regularly publishes its financial results, including market guidance on their outlook and financial objectives, and the latest were published on 16 February 2024.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their (1) current, and (2) expected future, equity stake in US satellite technology company Eutelsat OneWeb (formerly OneWeb).

Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Eutelsat OneWeb is a UK-based subsidiary of Eutelsat Group. The Government has no plans to change its 10.89% shareholding in Eutelsat Group at this time.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current value of the Government's stake in Eutelsat OneWeb.

Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Eutelsat OneWeb is a UK-based subsidiary of Eutelsat Group. At close of trading on 26 April 2024, the market value of the UK Government’s shareholding in Eutelsat Group was approximately €201 million or £171 million.

The Government’s investment into OneWeb has already created or protected around 400 UK jobs and Eutelsat OneWeb continues to ramp up commercial operations, with an order book of approximately €700m according to the company’s public filings.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether any additional equity or debt has been earmarked for further investment in Eutelsat OneWeb, following the Government's $500 million investment in 2020.

Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Eutelsat OneWeb is a UK-based subsidiary of Eutelsat Group. The Government has not earmarked any additional equity or debt for investment into Eutelsat Group.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the Attorney General last received a briefing concerning suspected Rwandan war criminals living in England by the Crown Prosecution Service or the police.

Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton - Advocate General for Scotland

The Attorney General was last briefed on this matter by the Crown Prosecution Service on 30 April 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total allocation of funds to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command in (1) the current, and (2) previous, financial year; and what proportion of those funds in each period was allocated to the War Crimes Unit.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Budget allocations are set by Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters, who work with the Home Office and police forces to advise on funding for the counter-terrorism police network, including for specific units. Breakdowns of allocations to police forces or specific units are not provided publicly for national security reasons.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding (1) they have given so far, and (2) they have pledged to give, to support the government of Ukraine's investigations into war crimes, and how much they have given and pledged to give to the International Criminal Court or any other international bodies supporting victims and witnesses of war crimes.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine. We have provided £6.2 million of capacity-building support to Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. Since February 2022, we have provided £2.3 million in additional contributions to the International Criminal Court to increase its capacity to collect evidence and support survivors. This is on top of our annual budget contribution to the ICC, a total of £36.2 million for 2022, 2023 and 2024.