Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of oil and gas imports for the financial year 2024–25.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The value for crude oil imports into the UK in 2024 was £22,745 million, and the value for natural gas imports in 2024 was £13,615 million. These are on a calendar year basis and financial years are not available. These data are sourced from Table 1.2 of the Department's Digest of UK Energy Statistics which are published annually and available via the internet.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are reviewing the policy of not allowing companies to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has committed to not issue new licences to explore new fields while managing existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.

Our ‘Building the North Sea’s energy future’ consultation, which closed earlier this year, sought views on how we should implement these commitments. We are analysing responses to the consultation and will issue a response in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to encourage the setting up of combined cadet force units in state schools.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Department for Education (DfE) recognise the vital work of Cadet Forces in schools, membership of which is proven to help develop self-confidence, teamwork, leadership and resilience in young people. Since 2012 the two Departments have been working together on the joint Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP) in schools. This has seen a significant increase in the number of Cadet Units in schools – the vast majority being Combined Cadet Force contingents – with the focus on improving provision in the state sector. Prior to the CEP, 75% of School Cadet Units were in independent schools; now around 60% are in the state sector.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommended an expansion of in-school and community-based Cadet Forces across the UK of 30% by 2030, an increase of some 40,000 new Cadets, backed by an investment of £70 million. The CEP will form a key component of this initiative. Expanding the Cadet Forces, which provide skills and qualifications to young people from diverse backgrounds, and support economic growth, will benefit all areas of the UK, and work is already underway to establish where the 30% increase will be realised. The SDR is clear on the need for a whole of society approach to defence and the ongoing relationship between the MOD and the DfE is an important element of that plan.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proposals they have to encourage combined cadet force units in state schools.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave him on 27 October 2024, to Question HL10931.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the report by the North Sea Transition Authority Reserves and Resources as at end 2024 published 17 October, whether they plan to review their policy not to issue any new drilling licences.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has committed not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields. In the ‘Building the North Sea’s Energy Future’ consultation, it sought views on how to implement that commitment.

The Government is considering evidence from a wide range of sources as part of that process, including the latest evidence from the North Sea Transition Authority.

The Government will issue a response to the consultation in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to restricting the supply of Motability vehicles to good-quality second-hand vehicles only.

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

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.

The department does however work closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. We will continue to work with Motability Foundation to ensure the scheme provides value for money and meets the needs of disabled people.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of subsidies for the installation of heat pumps in the UK in the financial year 2024–25.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Between April 2024 – March 2025, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paid out 25,144 vouchers for heat pumps (air source and ground source), to the cost of ~£189 million.

Other schemes delivered by the department such as the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, do not provide a breakdown of funding costs specific to heat pump subsidies alone, as these schemes support a range of retrofit energy efficiency measures. The Government does publish data showing the average contribution costs for measures under these schemes, including for heat pumps.

This data is available at: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2025, Home Upgrade Grant statistics: August 2025 and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund statistics: September 2025

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was their total expenditure on police and crime commissioners for financial year 2024–25 and for each of the preceding 10 financial years.

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

The Home Office has published accredited official statistics on police funding for England and Wales, which includes funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) for the period 2015-2026. The total funding for PCCs up to the financial year 2025-26 (including government funding and police precept) can be found below:

Footnotes

*In 2020-21 the Home Office reimbursed all additional personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased between 27 February 2020 and 27 July 2020 and launched an Income Loss Recovery Scheme for forces to recover relevant lost income on expected sales, fees and charges against their 2020-21 budgets as a result of the pandemic. This support was provided in-year, in addition to the police funding settlement for 2020-21.

** Total funding in the table above includes in year funding for pay awards which would be different to what was announced at the time of the police funding settlements.

Due to changes in the structure of police funding and policing, it is difficult to make direct comparisons between current police funding figures prior to the financial year 2015-16. However, each year the Home Office produces a police grant report which is published and voted on by Parliament and contains grant funding allocations for the following year to be paid out under the Police Act 1996. A copy of the police grant report for the year 2014-15 is available online and in the House.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what incentives are available for UK businesses to produce net-zero air fuel.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one of the key measures required to achieve net zero emissions from aviation by 2050. SAF reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its lifecycle production and use when compared to conventional kerosene.

We are encouraging the production, development, and use of SAF in the UK in three main ways:

1) We are building demand through the SAF Mandate, which came into place in January this year and sets targets for the supply of an increasing amount of SAF in the overall UK aviation fuel mix. Under the SAF Mandate, eligible SAF is required to meet a reduction of 40% GHG savings and fuels are rewarded in proportion to their GHG savings.

2) The Advanced Fuels Fund aims to grow the UK supply of SAF by supporting first-of-a-kind SAF production plants through the project pipeline to reach investment ready stage and achieve commercial scale. £63m has been allocated across 17 UK projects for this financial year. The Spending Review 2025 will continue support for the production of SAF in the UK to 2029/30. DfT will provide details on the parameters of this support in due course.

3) We are helping to derisk SAF projects and support investment by legislating to introduce a revenue certainty mechanism. The SAF Bill was introduced at the House of Commons on 14 May 2025 and passed Report Stage and Third Reading on 15 October.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to place an order for UK companies to supply first-person view drones.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

It is vital we invest our defence spending in the UK wherever possible to grow our economy and industrial base. Noting the role drones play in modern warfighting, the Strategic Defence Review announced a total of £2 billion investment in autonomy in this Parliament, taking our total investment in Defence autonomy to £4 billion. How we will spend this autonomy fund, including drones of all forms, will be decided as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether speech and language therapy is consistently available from NHS hospitals to pupils attending independent schools, and what steps they are taking to ensure that it is.

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

The National Health Service is free at the point of use and provides care to anyone who needs it based on clinical need. A parent or carer can speak to their general practitioner who can refer a child to local NHS children’s occupational therapy services if there is a clinical need, for instance if there are difficulties with motor skills, sensory issues, handwriting, etc. The fact that a child attends private school does not disqualify them from NHS healthcare services, as NHS services are based on clinical need, not type of school. In some cases, there have been errors in a local service offer that have led to this being corrected before.

In circumstances where the difficulty would be considered a disability, then equality duties would apply, and reasonable adjustments would be expected.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of the National Wealth Fund to finance (1) new manufacturing facilities, and (2) the hydrogen and fuel cell technology manufacturing sector.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The NWF is the government’s principal investor and policy bank, with £27.8 billion of capital to mobilise investment in the growth and clean energy missions

The NWF prioritises clean energy, digital and technologies, advanced manufacturing, and transport sectors. The NWF will commit at least £5.8 billion over this Parliament to green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories and green steel sub-sectors.