Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether self-identification as neurodivergent leads cheating in university examinations.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department does not have evidence to suggest that university students are using self-declaration of neurodiversity to cheat or gain unneeded leniency in exams or assessments.

Universities provide support for neurodiverse students to ensure they have equal opportunities to succeed. This includes reasonable adjustments such as extra time in exams or alternative assessment methods.

To receive this type of support, students typically need to provide evidence of their neurodivergence and how it would impair their ability to complete certain activities. This process helps ensure that only those who genuinely need support receive it.

Universities are increasingly aware of the need to support neurodiverse students appropriately. This includes training staff to recognise and support students with neurodiverse conditions. The focus is on providing fair and necessary support to students who need it.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the use of artificial intelligence leads to cheating in university examinations.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Cheating of any kind is unacceptable. It threatens to undermine the reputation of our world-class higher education (HE) sector and devalues the hard work of those who succeed on their own merit.

Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, diversity of provision, course content, teaching and assessment. As such, they are responsible for designing and implementing their own policies and approaches to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and for taking steps to detect and prevent any form of academic misconduct by students, including the misuse of AI, as set out in the Office for Students’ (OfS) regulatory framework.

The experience and expertise of the sector is contributing to the department’s evidence base for how generative AI is used in education. In January 2024, the department published research entitled ‘Generative AI in education: Educator and expert views’ containing insights from interviews with teachers and experts in HE and the education technology industry. The full research paper is attached and also available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65b8cd41b5cb6e000d8bb74e/DfE_GenAI_in_education_-_Educator_and_expert_views_report.pdf.

The OfS set out its approach to the use of AI in HE in a recent blog post entitled ‘Embracing innovation in higher education: our approach to artificial intelligence’. The full blog post is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/blog/embracing-innovation-in-higher-education-our-approach-to-artificial-intelligence/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of care leavers between the ages of 18 to 21 (1) die, (2) die by suicide, (3) have a mental health disorder, (4) have been sexually abused, and (5) are out of education, training or employment.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Information on the number of care leavers is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is published in our statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.

The department publishes figures on the number of care leavers who have died in this age range in the methodology document accompanying this statistical release in the section ‘Data Quality and Uses’ (‘Care leavers aged 17, 18, 19, 20 or 21 years’). Information for 2022 to 2024 can be found in the attached table 1.

The department does not hold information centrally on the cause of death, the mental health of the care leaver or any details of past history of sexual abuse.

The total number of 18 to 21-year-old care leavers and the number and proportion of care leavers who are not in education, training and employment is shown in table 2.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 25 June (HL8364), whether they will now answer the question put; namely what period of time is meant by the phrase “in a generation” in their Plan for Change published on 5 December 2024.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the noble Lord to the answer of HL8364 given on 25 June 2025:

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what period of time is meant by the phrase “in a generation” in their Plan for Change published on 5 December 2024.

Baroness Anderson answered: The use of the term “in a generation” in the Plan for Change is consistent with language used in other government documents to indicate ambitious reform. Milestones for this Parliament have been clearly set out.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the delays in the compensation payments which are due to sub-postmasters following the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry; and who is responsible for them.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

When we came into government we inherited a compensation system that was widely seen as too slow, too legalistic and too adversarial. In addition, significant numbers of victims were not covered by the redress schemes then in existence.

As of 30 June 2025, approximately £1,098 million has been paid in total redress to over 7,900 claimants. This represents a fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 5,000 victims receiving compensation for the first time.

However, there is still more to do, and the recent publication of the first volume of the Horizon IT Inquiry report gives clear recommendations on how we can improve this further.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 July (HL8602), what plans they have, if any, to conduct a survey on the integrity of university examinations, including the use of examination adjustments arising from claims of self-assessed neurodivergence.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Universities have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students where necessary. Reasonable adjustments are offered at the discretion of the university based on an assessment of a student's individual needs.

In England, the management of university exams is guided by a combination of national regulatory bodies, university-specific policies and sector-wide frameworks.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for higher education in England. While it does not set specific exam rules, its conditions of registration ensure that universities maintain high academic standards and fair assessment practices. It requires institutions to uphold principles of fairness, transparency and accessibility in assessments.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education provides the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, outlining expectations for academic standards and quality. This includes guidance on assessment design, marking and academic integrity.

Each university is autonomous and sets its own assessment regulations, including:

• Exam formats.
• Marking and grading criteria.
• Procedures for mitigating circumstances.
• Reasonable adjustments which a student might require.

The department does not have evidence which suggests that reasonable adjustments are impacting the integrity of exams or assessments and have no current plans to conduct a survey on the integrity of university examinations.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of building sites in England with planning consent on which construction work was started in the second quarter of 2025; and what percentage this represented of all sites in England with planning permission.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Department does not hold the requested information.

On 25 May, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out (which can be found on gov.uk here) inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built.

On the same day, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential development, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the government intends bring forward the regulations to implement these measures at the earliest practical opportunity with the new build out reporting framework coming into force from 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the delays in the compensation payments which are due to those affected by infected blood following the Infected Blood Inquiry; and who is responsible for them.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA).

IBCA has opened the service to those who are living with infection, registered with a support scheme, and prioritising those who are nearing the end of their lives within this cohort. IBCA is contacting an average of 100 people every week so start their claim. At that rate, they expect to have contacted all those who are living with infection and registered with a support scheme this calendar year.

IBCA is taking a ‘test and learn’ approach to the delivery of compensation. By starting small, they are able to improve the service they deliver, which means that compensation can be paid to everyone faster.

As of 15th July, IBCA has contacted 2, 215 people to start their compensation claim, and 1,934 people have started the claim process. 808 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £602 million, and so far 587 people have accepted their offers with more than £411 million paid in compensation.