Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether those seeking to teach constitutional and citizenship studies in schools may apply for initial teacher training bursaries.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the 2026/27 academic year, initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are available in eight secondary subjects. Whilst citizenship is not included as an eligible subject for ITT bursaries currently, teachers awarded qualified teacher status following completion of ITT can teach any secondary subject their school deems them suitable to teach. Therefore, teachers who train and receive bursaries in another subject can teach citizenship.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what mechanisms exist for holding Lords Spiritual to account for their parliamentary activities.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Written and oral questions are addressed to His Majesty’s Government, or in certain cases to the Leader of the House or the Senior Deputy Speaker. Questions on matters for which the Church of England is responsible are generally regarded as inadmissible, as set out in paragraph 6.18 of the Companion to the Standing Orders.
The House of Lords Code of Conduct applies to all members’ parliamentary activities, including those of the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual are also subject to the same rules as other members regarding behaviour on the Parliamentary Estate and the use of facilities.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what opportunities are available to members of the House to question Lords Spiritual regarding their parliamentary activities.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Written and oral questions are addressed to His Majesty’s Government, or in certain cases to the Leader of the House or the Senior Deputy Speaker. Questions on matters for which the Church of England is responsible are generally regarded as inadmissible, as set out in paragraph 6.18 of the Companion to the Standing Orders.
The House of Lords Code of Conduct applies to all members’ parliamentary activities, including those of the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual are also subject to the same rules as other members regarding behaviour on the Parliamentary Estate and the use of facilities.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government on how many occasions provisions of electoral law have been applied retrospectively; and what assessment they have made of this.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government does not maintain a central record of instances where provisions of electoral law have been applied retrospectively and has therefore made no assessment of the total number of such occasions. Any proposal to legislate retrospectively is considered on its own merits.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 16 September (HL3026), when they last reviewed their decision to ask the Infected Blood Delivery Authority to decide the rate of compensation payments.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As recommended by the Infected Blood Inquiry, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) has operational independence from the Government. IBCA’s Board takes decisions on the organisation’s progress and performance, and publishes recordings and minutes of its meetings.
Whilst the roll out of the Scheme is an operational decision for IBCA as an independent body, I fully support its commitment to moving forward as swiftly as possible. As the Minister, I will assist in any way I can to speed up the payments.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the number of hate crimes related to antisemitism has increased or decreased since 2016.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that antisemitic hate crime is completely unacceptable and remains committed to tackling antisemitism in all its forms.
The Home Office began collecting data on hate crimes motivated by religious hatred on a mandatory basis in 2017/18. Data was not provided by two forces for this first year, so records are available for all forces back to 2018/19 as set out below.
Police Recorded Antisemitic Hate Crimes.
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 2024/25 |
Jewish | 1,326 | 1,205 | 1,288 | 1,919 | 1,543 | 3,282 2,873 |
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The total number of antisemitic hate crimes increased from 1,326 in 2018/19 to 2,873 in 2024/25, a rise of 116.7%. These figures show an overall upward trend in the number of police recorded antisemitic hate crimes with the highest number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded in 2023/23. However, due to a change in the Metropolitan Police Service’s crime recording system, their data was excluded from the Home Office statistical release for the year 2024/25 so the data for that year does not present the full picture and direct comparisons between 2018/19 and 2024/25 should be treated with caution.
Given this wholly unacceptable scale of antisemitic hate crimes, the Government is supporting the police and wider criminal justice system to respond robustly, including through the provision of £251 million for policing over the next three years . The funding will support the deployment of over 500 additional police officers to increase police visibility in Jewish communities; fund antisemitism training for every officer in England and Wales; strengthen efforts to tackle hate crime; and enhance counterterrorism, intelligence, investigatory and coordination capabilities.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the date of the most recent official visit by a government minister to Israel.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials maintain regular engagement with Israeli counterparts. The former Minister for Development visited Israel and Palestine in May 2026.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the working relationships between HM Constabulary and community organisations that provide security to Jewish places of worship, schools, and social centres.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the value of close cooperation between police forces and community organisations in helping to protect Jewish places of worship, schools and community locations.
Operational relationships between police forces and community organisations are matters for individual forces and chief constables, who are operationally independent.
Nonetheless, the Government remains committed to supporting the safety and security of Jewish communities and continues to engage with policing, security and other partners, including community representatives, on matters relating to community safety, protective security and the response to antisemitism.
This includes significant investment in policing and protective security measures to support Jewish communities. The Government has committed over £250 million over the next three years to support the police’s response to antisemitism, alongside record funding of £32.4 million in 2026/27 for Jewish community protective security through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their intention to pay off all, or part of, outstanding student loans to those recruited to the armed services.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Whilst this concept may have merits, the Armed Forces already provide significant opportunities for individuals to join and develop personally and professionally without the need to pay off student loans on entry. Many entry routes do not require degree-level qualifications, and existing schemes and pathways support personnel in gaining valuable qualifications and skills before and throughout their careers, benefiting both the individual and operational capability. Introducing a policy to repay student loans on entry would require extensive analysis to assess the financial implications, including the number of personnel with student loans, the overall cost of implementation, the administrative resources required, and any impact on existing support schemes that reflect the Armed Forces' long-standing commitment to investing in their people.
The Armed Forces already operate a range of bursary schemes for individuals undertaking degree-level study who commit to joining after completing their studies. These schemes differ across the single Services to reflect Service requirements, with support ranging from the payment of tuition fees to contributions towards living costs. The majority are focused on the Officer cadre, with the Army Musicians and Royal Navy Submarine Undergraduate Apprenticeship schemes being notable exceptions.
The Armed Forces also provide a comprehensive range of educational and professional development opportunities to invest in upskilling our people, through schemes such as Enhanced Learning Credits, the Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education Scheme, Apprenticeships and funded postgraduate study opportunities. In addition, personnel can gain qualifications and accreditation for the skills they acquire throughout their careers, demonstrating Defence's commitment to investing in its people and supporting their professional development at every stage of service.
Furthermore, Defence has introduced novel entry pathways to widen opportunities to join the Armed Forces, including Zig Zag Careers, the Defence Direct-Entry Cyber pathway and the Armed Forces Foundation Year Scheme. These initiatives provide alternative routes into Service, helping Defence attract the skills it requires while offering young people opportunities to develop their potential, gain valuable skills and contribute to the nation's security.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their strategy is for the (1) retrofitting, and (2) fitting of air conditioning in homes.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Events in the Middle East have highlighted the importance of improving the energy efficiency of homes and reducing households' exposure to fossil fuel markets. That is why the Government's £15 billion Warm Homes Plan sets out the strategy for upgrading up to five million homes by 2030. It will support measures including insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries. Support includes direct grants for low-income and fuel-poor households, low-interest finance and higher minimum energy efficiency standards for rented homes.
Although passive measures are being prioritised, the Government recognises that, in some cases, active cooling will be needed to protect those most vulnerable to overheating. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme therefore provides £2,500 grants towards eligible air-to-air heat pumps, sometimes referred to as air conditioning units, which can provide active cooling.