Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the right of Lords Spiritual to vote in general elections.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

While the Lords Temporal are unable to vote at general elections to the House of Commons, this legal exclusion does not apply to the Lords Spiritual. In practice, however, it has long been the tradition that the Lords Spiritual do not vote at general elections.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of future use for the disused military barracks and drill hall at 76D Rochester Row, London SW1.

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

Rochester Row was identified for disposal under plans to achieve a more efficient, modern and capability focussed Defence estate. Army Reserve Estate Optimisation are engaging with the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (RFCA) to discuss the future plans for the site.

Where sites are disposed of on the Volunteer Estate, receipts are reinvested to enable betterment at other Reserve locations across the country, supporting Homeland Resilience, National Defence and Mobilisation.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the flood defences on the Somerset Levels.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Somerset Levels and Moors is a man-made managed drainage system created over many centuries. The area has always been prone to flooding due to its low-lying nature, much of the land sitting below the highest tide levels, and having riverbanks raised above ground level.

Following one of the wettest winters on record, flood risk assets in the Somerset Levels and Moors have, once again, been significantly tested. The Environment Agency (EA) routinely inspects its flood risk assets and undertakes additional post-incident inspections. It reports that 91% of those assets, in this area of interest, are at or above their specified condition.

As with most winters, there are repairs required after high river levels and the associated overflow. The EA is delivering a programme of repairs to reinstate these damaged flood risk assets, bringing them back to target condition.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, in England and Wales are currently in paid employment at the age of (a) 75, and (b) 80 years.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 03/09/24 is attached.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of there being only one railway line between Salisbury and Yeovil on (1) the travelling public and (2) the carriage of goods.

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

We are aware of the issues between Salisbury and Yeovil and the lack of resilience due to the nature of this single line. Department officials continue to work with the South Western Railway and Network Rail in providing as much resilience as possible, including by increasing the Operator management resource tasked specifically to look at West of England line issues.

The Government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and is fully committed to supporting its growth. Under our plans to deliver the biggest overhaul of the railways in a generation, Great British Railways will have a duty and targets to grow the use of rail freight. Currently freight only operates between Salisbury and Worting Junction (Basingstoke).

There is no freight operation between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction. Network Rail is working with stakeholders and industry partners to understand the capacity and performance issues on the West of England Line and identify how these can be mitigated.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of reported crime on the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway.

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

The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing the rail network across England, Wales and Scotland. They recorded the following number of incidents at stations on the Salisbury and Yeovil railway line: 2020/21 58, 2021/22 55, 2022/23 87 and 2023/24 83. The increase from 2021/22 is in line with increasing passenger numbers on the rail network following the easing of travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Along with data from the rest of the railway, the BTP will continually review crime trends and patterns from the Salisbury and Yeovil line, and gather intelligence to inform their daily operational deployments, including both uniform and plain clothes officers.

If passengers see or experience crime on the rail network, they should report this to BTP using the 61016 text service, via the Railway Guardian app or online. In an emergency, they should always call 999.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of working from home on efficiency and outcomes in the Civil Service.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There are a wide range of studies available on the clear benefits of hybrid working, which have been used to inform the expectation for 60% office attendance for Civil Servants. The government renewed their commitment to the 60% office attendance mandate on the 24th October, and has resumed quarterly publication of office occupancy data to support this.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's ability to supply electricity generators to the Ukraine before the winter.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, the UK has committed almost £370 million in grant, in-kind support and loan guarantees to help Ukraine respond to and recover from Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. This includes £20 million for emergency energy needs, announced by the Foreign Secretary during his visit to Ukraine in September.

The UK has donated £64 million to the Energy Community Secretariat's Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which coordinates donations of energy equipment, including electricity generators, in response to Government of Ukraine requests. All donations reflect verified, prioritised needs reported by the Government of Ukraine and draw on international supply chains.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the needs of the energy sector in Ukraine as a result of damage to energy infrastructure by conflict.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since March 2024 alone, Ukraine has lost over 50 percent of its power generation due to a string of Russian attacks on energy generation facilities. Over the upcoming heating season, Russian attacks and low temperatures risk making access to power, water and heating intermittent, aggravating the humanitarian situation on the ground.

The UK has been working closely with Ukrainian officials and international donors to fund repairs and provide back-up power generation during the colder months, while also supporting humanitarian efforts to ensure that civilians have access to warming points and collective centres are equipped with generators.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a formal analysis of the impact of working from home on (1) productivity, and (2) the economy.

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

We do not have any plans to conduct an analysis of the impact of home working in isolation. However, we will monitor the impact of the flexible working reforms which came into force in April 2024, and further changes planned though the Employment Rights Bill.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work of the UK Infrastructure Bank.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

On 14 October the Chancellor announced the creation of the National Wealth Fund (NWF). Building on the UK Infrastructure Bank’s leadership and expertise, the NWF will go further to catalyse more private investment.

To mobilise private investment at pace, the Government has turbocharged the NWF to be more catalytic by equipping it with the financial products, mandate and risk capital to catalyse private capital most effectively. It will have a total capitalisation of £27.8bn, inheriting UKIB’s existing capitalisation with an additional £5.8bn which will be committed over this Parliament.

Going forward, the NWF will have a broader mandate, extending beyond infrastructure to support delivery of the wider Industrial Strategy in areas where there is an undersupply in private finance, working alongside the British Business Bank.

It will take a proactive approach, with increased resources and focus to conduct more outreach, identifying expanded project pipelines and structure innovative transactions. It will also have a strong regional mandate to unleash the full potential of our cities and regions. These changes will ensure that the NWF can catalyse additional investment, delivering impactful projects and unlocking growth opportunities across the UK.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government which councils in England are in special measures as of 8 October, and what is the level of overspending in each such council.

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

Given the noble Lord’s question on overspending, I have interpreted the use of the term ‘special measures’ to refer to the statutory intervention framework relating to councils’ Best Value Duty and to the operation of the previous Government’s Exceptional Financial Support framework.

As of 8 October 2024, six councils are currently subject to statutory interventions for best value failure, details of which councils can be found on the gov.uk website. Under the previous Government’s Exceptional Financial Support framework, additional support was most recently agreed for nineteen councils in February 2024. Details of the amounts agreed, including for previous years, can be found on the gov.uk website.

Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the Department does not monitor their day-to-day business. For those councils subject to statutory intervention, Commissioners or Improvement Panels appointed by the Government will have a role overseeing delivery of council improvement plans, including in relation to financial management.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the private funding received by think tanks operating in the (1) political, and (2) economic, policy areas in England and Wales; and whether they have any plans to reform the (a) funding regime, or (b) declarations of sources of funding, for such think tanks.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

It is for each individual think tank to publicise and declare their sources of funding. The Government believes that think tanks can play a legitimate part in public policy development, so long as their activity is conducted transparently and ethically in order to maintain the highest standards in public life.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Baroness Blake of Leeds on 9 October (HL Deb col 2091), whether it remains the Government’s position that civil servants are expected to work in the workplace for a minimum of three days a week; and what plans, if any, they have to change this.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

Current Civil Service guidance requires Civil Servants to attend the office or work face-to-face with colleagues at least 60% of the time. There are no plans to change those requirements.

Found: commissioners: • Lord Tugendhat (Conservative) • Lord Kinnock (Labour)35 HOUSE OF LORDS LIAISON COMMITTEE • Lord

Found: Lord Patten told the Inquiry “unequivocally ” that ministers should have been informed about it – and