Lord Oates

The Government recognises that when implemented well and managed effectively, shared cycle schemes can have real benefits in terms of sustainable, efficient, and greener transport.

However, too often dockless cycles are parked obstructively on the pavement causing a serious safety hazard to disabled people.

Safety is the Department for Transport’s top priority, and we are carefully considering next steps to tackle these issues while reaping the benefits these schemes can bring.

In England, the Government is providing £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. The HSF is a scheme providing discretionary support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water.

We recognise that certainty helps Local Authorities to design and deliver sustainable plans for local welfare assistance. Committing to funding the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2026 will allow them to plan their approach with greater confidence.

No decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other Government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

The Department for Work and Pensions conducted an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund, that ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, to understand the benefits of the awards made across England during this period. This has been published and can be found here: Evaluation of the Household Support Fund 4 - GOV.UK.

The evaluation followed a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach to assess the effectiveness of the HSF4 delivery by Local Authorities and its benefits for recipients, to inform the design of potential future funding schemes. When setting the Household Support Fund guidance, the Department considers evaluation activities alongside feedback from stakeholder engagement sessions.

The Household Support Fund scheme guidance and individual Local Authority funding allocations for the forthcoming extension will be announced as soon as possible ahead of the scheme beginning on 1 April 2025.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the report. However, the Government welcomes the announcement of the new venture between Manchester Metropolitan University and Nuffield Health and will be keen to learn from this work as it delivers physical activity support to people living with chronic conditions.

The National Health Service, together with local authorities, provides a range of services such as exercise on referral and social prescribing, including exercise classes, falls prevention through strength and balance classes for older adults, walking groups and promotion of digital support like the NHS Active 10 walking app.

Interventions like the one in Manchester demonstrate the valuable work across local areas to embed movement into people’s care. There are other established examples of local NHS and local government approaches across the country that integrate physical activity into clinical care including perioperative care and cancer and cardiac rehabilitation.

NHS England is working closely with partners nationally and locally to explore how the NHS might galvanise support to make physical activity a core part of NHS care, to benefit patients, NHS staff and the wider public. By empowering clinicians and healthcare professionals with the skills and confidence to discuss and promote physical activity, by integrating it into key clinical pathways and by aligning it with Core20PLUS5 for adults, children and young people, the NHS could help to transform patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities.

Whilst the Government and NHS recognise the value of integrating physical activity into clinical care, prevention will always be better, and cheaper, than cure. The Health Mission, on which the Department leads, is focused on shifting towards a more preventative approach to healthcare.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the report. However, the Government welcomes the announcement of the new venture between Manchester Metropolitan University and Nuffield Health and will be keen to learn from this work as it delivers physical activity support to people living with chronic conditions.

The National Health Service, together with local authorities, provides a range of services such as exercise on referral and social prescribing, including exercise classes, falls prevention through strength and balance classes for older adults, walking groups and promotion of digital support like the NHS Active 10 walking app.

Interventions like the one in Manchester demonstrate the valuable work across local areas to embed movement into people’s care. There are other established examples of local NHS and local government approaches across the country that integrate physical activity into clinical care including perioperative care and cancer and cardiac rehabilitation.

NHS England is working closely with partners nationally and locally to explore how the NHS might galvanise support to make physical activity a core part of NHS care, to benefit patients, NHS staff and the wider public. By empowering clinicians and healthcare professionals with the skills and confidence to discuss and promote physical activity, by integrating it into key clinical pathways and by aligning it with Core20PLUS5 for adults, children and young people, the NHS could help to transform patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities.

Whilst the Government and NHS recognise the value of integrating physical activity into clinical care, prevention will always be better, and cheaper, than cure. The Health Mission, on which the Department leads, is focused on shifting towards a more preventative approach to healthcare.

There has been no estimate made of the financial savings to the United Kingdom when a fully trained healthcare worker is recruited from overseas to work in the National Health Service.

The UK has built long-term partnerships with African governments to promote market-based solutions to address food, energy and water security needs whilst adapting to climate change. In January, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office partnered with the Africa Union (AU) on the Kampala Summit, where African Member States endorsed the third ten-year Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP). The Kampala Declaration outcomes are mutually aligned with G7-Africa commitments, and most importantly are African-led. Through the Africa Food Trade and Resilience programme and our participation in the Development Partners Coordination Group we will continue to provide expertise to support the new Kampala Declaration.

Last financial year, the UK provided over £245 million to Sudan and its neighbouring countries, supporting over 1 million people affected by the conflict. On 15 April, the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £120 million of life-saving aid for the current financial year. This includes 650,000 people to be reached with food assistance for 3 months, 205,000 people to benefit from financial assistance and 600,000 people who will receive nutrition, water and sanitation support.

Alongside those states that attended the Sudan London Conference, the UK is taking coordinated action to strengthen the protection of civilians and to improve aid delivery. We continue to advocate for the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 2736 (2024) on El Fasher, Darfur. Additionally, the UK and its partners are advocating for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.

The UK is monitoring the arrest and detention of Zimbabwean journalist Blessed Mhlanga.

An official from our Embassy in Harare attended Mhlanga's bail application hearing on 28 February. We continue to call for freedom of expression, as well as the rule of law and due process, to be respected in line with Zimbabwe's constitution.

Ministers will consider Official Development Assistance allocations for 2025/26 over the coming months, and we will publish them in the Annual Report & Accounts in summer 2025. The next phase of the Spending Review will set departmental budgets from 2026/27 to 2029/30.

In November 2024, the UK announced a further £113 million of aid. With this announcement, the UK has doubled our aid to £226.5 million.

Exploitation of migrant care workers is completely unacceptable. Where exploitation does occur, we will take robust action.

Home Office and Department for Health and Social Care officials are working closely together, and with the Directors of Adult Social Services to support care workers who have been displaced as a result of sponsor licence revocations. An important part of this work includes finding the workers a suitable sponsor who can offer them long term secure employment. Care providers acting as sponsors for migrants in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

The Government will continue to keep under review what further action may be necessary to tackle exploitation, including removing non-compliant employers’ ability to bring overseas workers to the UK.

The Immigration Rules for Visitors set out that visitors must have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to their visit without working or accessing public funds. In assessing whether an applicant has sufficient funds, decision makers will consider the individual’s personal circumstances, including any evidence provided. There is also provision in the rules for an applicant’s travel, maintenance and accommodation to be provided by a third party.

The Visit Caseworker Guidance provides guidance to decision makers when assessing Visitor applications. Additional guidance for applicants is also available in the Supporting Documents guidance, which sets out suggested evidence required for the different types of visits including what types of financial documents applicants can present. These guidance documents are published on gov.uk

UK Visas and Immigration regularly reviews visit visa decisions as part of their overall decision quality approach. UKVI regularly undertakes decision maker training and refresher training courses, and uses lessons learned reviews to enhance and improve decision quality.

I can assure the noble Lord that the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent is completely operationally independent. Only the Prime Minister can authorise the firing of our nuclear weapons, even if they are to be employed as part of a NATO response.

The UK has a longstanding, close relationship with the US on all defence nuclear issues, which has endured through many changes of Government in our two nations. Our extant long-term arrangements under the 1958 Mutual Defense Agreement and the 1963 Polaris Sales Agreement (as amended in 1982 for Trident) provide for co-operation and collaboration which has been, and continues to be, of considerable mutual benefit to both nations.