Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with European countries in which large inflatable dinghies used to transport illegal immigrants to the UK are manufactured or marketed.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to working closely with European partners to disrupt the people-smuggling networks that facilitate illegal migration to the UK.
This includes working with partners to target and intercept vessels and equipment used to enable crossings, promoting the use of product safety regulations to seize and destroy unsafe equipment, and supporting additional legislative and enforcement measures where necessary.
This cooperation is delivering tangible results, including the recent seizure of 25 inflatable boats in Bulgaria and over 30 in Germany.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work they have done to assess the feasibility of introducing some form of military service for young UK citizens.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence already provides a range of opportunities for young people to experience military service. In response to the Strategic Defence Review 2025, Defence introduced the Armed Forces Foundation Scheme (“Gap Year”) to provide a new route into Service, through a shorter commitment that may appeal to more of society. This is an attractive voluntary employment scheme aimed at young people aged 18 to 25, including those who may never previously have considered a career in the Armed Forces, as well as those who are interested but unsure about committing to a longer period of service. Participants undertake a shorter period of paid military training and service, that promotes teamwork and problem solving, while gaining experience and insight into Service life. On completion, they may choose to continue into Regular or Reserve service through a streamlined transition route, or they may leave to pursue a civilian career with skills that set them up for life.
Alongside this, the Armed Forces undertake extensive engagement with schools, colleges, universities and community organisations across the United Kingdom. This includes careers engagement, leadership and skills development activities, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach programmes. Through this combination of military experience, engagement, education, skills development and voluntary service opportunities, Defence is already helping more young people understand the role of the Armed Forces, experience Service life, develop valuable skills, and explore opportunities to contribute to national security and public service.
This Government has no current plans for compulsory military service. Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces which are manned by volunteers.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK citizens of the closure of bank branches.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is aware of the public’s concerns around access to banking services, which are currently not protected in legislation. Whilst there is evidence on a local level of individuals being affected by the closure of bank branches, the Government needs robust evidence from across the UK.
That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who and where it affects.
Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to develop a new incentive for first time buyers to save for their first home.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced its intention to introduce a new First Time Buyer ISA(FTB ISA) to support people saving for their first home. On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the FTB ISA, seeking views from industry and other stakeholders on its design and delivery. The consultation closed on 18 August 2026 and the Government is carefully considering the responses received.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to reintroducing dog licences.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has no plans at this time to reintroduce a dog licensing scheme, as mandatory microchipping already provides a national registration framework for linking dogs to their keepers.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific help has been offered to Nepal following the recent floods.
Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is providing up to £5 million to support the most urgent humanitarian needs in Nepal, announced on 27 August by the Prime Minister. The funding will support the Government of Nepal's response efforts through a combination of UN, Red Cross and NGO interventions, alongside local and international responders providing emergency assistance. This includes £750,000 through the Red Cross movement for emergency assistance such as clean water, shelter and medical support; £1 million through Start Fund Nepal to help local organisations deliver lifesaving aid; £3 million through the UN to meet urgent humanitarian needs including shelter, WASH and Protection; and up to £250,000 to deploy UK humanitarian experts to strengthen coordination and the effective delivery of assistance. The UK has also deployed specialist humanitarian experts to Nepal to support and coordinate the response efforts. Following the floods, I visited Nepal to meet with the Nepalese government, UN and other agencies.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what, if any, provision is being made to allow independent schools which have a Combined Cadet Forces Unit to offset the associated costs against their VAT commitments.
Answered by Lord Livermore
VAT registered schools, like all VAT registered businesses, are entitled to recover VAT incurred on the goods and services they purchase and use in making taxable supplies. Costs relating to non-business activities cannot be recovered as input tax. There is no special provision to allow recovery of VAT incurred for non-business activities.
Where Combined Cadet Forces related costs also support the broader educational provision, schools may be able to deduct a portion of the VAT incurred on the associated costs.
HMRC has published guidance specifically for private schools, including how they can recover VAT on costs.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government why interest rates on student loans are set using the Retail Prices Index rather than the Consumer Prices Index.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Interest rates on student loans have been consistently linked to a widely recognised and adopted measure of inflation. Interest rates are set in legislation in reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March and are applied annually on 1 September until 31 August.
The Office for National Statistics has undertaken a substantial programme of work over the past two years to enhance how inflation is measured and this will be carried over into student loans. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that from 2030 at the earliest, movements in RPI will be aligned with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Further details are available at:
https://obr.uk/box/the-long-run-difference-between-rpi-and-cpi-inflation/.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is preventing the implementation of the recommendation set out in the Independent panel report to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, published on 30 May 2019, that no student should repay more than 1.2 times their initial loan in real terms.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following the review on post-18 education and funding, Plan 5 terms and conditions were introduced for new students in England who started their studies from the academic year 2023/24.
Interest on Plan 5 student loans is charged at the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation only (currently 3.2%), meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. As an additional borrower protection, interest rates are automatically capped by the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans, ensuring borrowers are protected if market conditions change.
It is reasonable to ask those graduates who do benefit financially from higher education to contribute towards the cost of their studies. Borrowers earning below the repayment threshold of £25,000 per year are not required to repay anything. Any outstanding loan including interest built up is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from the introduction of self-driving cars in the United States, particularly in relation to safety.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (AV Act) sets out a comprehensive legal framework with safety at its core. The ongoing Call for Evidence, “Developing the Automated Vehicles Regulatory Framework”, aims to gather information from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that future development of this work is thoroughly grounded in expertise from across the sector.
Throughout this work we will continue to utilise the experience and best practice of international partners. In particular, ongoing deployments of automated vehicles in the United States will enable practical lessons to be learned from interactions with a wide range of road users and the general public.