Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any funding provided to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has contributed £15.3 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance since November 2022. This year, this Government announced an additional £2.2 million. All contributions are made in the form of grants.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given on 28 July 2026 to Question HL2766.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding provided through British International Investment to Frontier Energy II Delta K/S in Sierra Leone will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, how much funding is affected, and what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through its British Climate Partners (BCP) Initiative British International Investment (BII) will principally provide equity and mezzanine finance. BII does not anticipate providing funding through BCP in the form of grants. BII plans to invest over £1 billion through BCP over the next five years, with this in turn expected to unlock an additional £3.5 billion in private capital. The financial return BII targets on its investments depends on a range of factors - particularly the risk profile of the investment. The terms of BII's individual investments are commercially confidential.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding provided through British International Investment to Fourth Partner Energy will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, how much funding is affected, and what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through its British Climate Partners (BCP) Initiative British International Investment (BII) will principally provide equity and mezzanine finance. BII does not anticipate providing funding through BCP in the form of grants. BII plans to invest over £1 billion through BCP over the next five years, with this in turn expected to unlock an additional £3.5 billion in private capital. The financial return BII targets on its investments depends on a range of factors - particularly the risk profile of the investment. The terms of BII's individual investments are commercially confidential.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding provided through British International Investment to Skye Renewables will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, how much funding is affected, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through its British Climate Partners (BCP) Initiative British International Investment (BII) will principally provide equity and mezzanine finance. BII does not anticipate providing funding through BCP in the form of grants. BII plans to invest over £1 billion through BCP over the next five years, with this in turn expected to unlock an additional £3.5 billion in private capital. The financial return BII targets on its investments depends on a range of factors - particularly the risk profile of the investment. The terms of BII's individual investments are commercially confidential.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which International Climate Finance programmes or projects' funding are expected to change from grant finance to loan finance; and what is the value of each change.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through its British Climate Partners (BCP) Initiative British International Investment (BII) will principally provide equity and mezzanine finance. BII does not anticipate providing funding through BCP in the form of grants. BII plans to invest over £1 billion through BCP over the next five years, with this in turn expected to unlock an additional £3.5 billion in private capital. The financial return BII targets on its investments depends on a range of factors - particularly the risk profile of the investment. The terms of BII's individual investments are commercially confidential.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the US National Toxicology Program’s Monograph on the State of the Science Concerning Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopment and Cognition: A Systematic Review, published in August 2024, and of its implications for the fluoridation of drinking water in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The US National Toxicology Program conducted a systematic review of the published scientific literature on the association between fluoride exposure and neurodevelopment and cognition. It concluded that there is “moderate confidence” that levels of fluoride intake, such as those approximated to be from drinking water concentrations greater than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) drinking water Guideline Value of 1.5 milligrams per litre, were associated with lower IQ in children. The target dose for fluoridated drinking water in England is below this value, at one milligram per litre.
There is no convincing evidence for adverse health effects from exposure to fluoride in drinking water below the WHO Guideline Value or the United Kingdom’s drinking water regulatory limit of 1.5 milligrams per litre. This value is intended to be protective of health for the whole population for a lifetime of exposure. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has a legal responsibility to monitor health impacts of fluoridated drinking water, and the next report will be published in 2026.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Collins of Highbury on 4 November 2024 (HL1875) and on 12 February 2025 (HL4654), whether (1) the Cabinet Office, (2) the Government People Group, (3) Cabinet Office-supported diversity networks, or (4) the Office for Equality and Opportunity, recognise species dysphoria.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Cabinet Office diversity and inclusion policies focus on legally protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, such as age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation as part of the Public Sector Equality Duty. Species dysphoria is not covered by the Equality Act.
The Government People Group does not have any relevant model policies on species dysphoria.
There is no Cabinet Office diversity network or Cabinet Office supported network that formally recognises species dysphoria.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for external government policy on equality and does not have a policy approach that recognises species dysphoria.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Northern Ireland Office pays subscription fees to Stonewall.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Northern Ireland Office does not pay subscription fees to Stonewall.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 March (HL5505), what discussions they have had with the Independent Office for Police Conduct regarding its paid membership of Stonewall.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In order to answer Lord Jackson's question (HL5505) the Home Office asked the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) if they were paid members or affiliates of Stonewall. This is the only discussion there has been with the IOPC on this matter.