Lord Rennard Portrait

Lord Rennard

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 21st July 1999


Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
4th Jun 2020 - 13th Jun 2020
Political Polling and Digital Media Committee
29th Jun 2017 - 20th Mar 2018
Information Committee (Lords)
25th Nov 2009 - 14th May 2014
Constitution Committee
19th Jan 2011 - 1st May 2012


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Rennard has voted in 59 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
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Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Baroness Merron (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
(11 debate interactions)
Lord Khan of Burnley (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
(8 debate interactions)
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Labour)
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
(8 debate interactions)
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Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(15 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(4 debate contributions)
Ministry of Justice
(2 debate contributions)
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View all Lord Rennard's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Rennard, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord Rennard has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord Rennard has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
7th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to scrutinise claims for Public Duty Costs Allowance.

The Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA) was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers still active in public life. Payments are made only to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfil public duties. The PDCA was exceptionally extended to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg from 2015-2019. No other former Deputy Prime Ministers claim the allowance.

The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary administrative costs arising from their special position in public life for example managing an office (staffing and administration costs); handling correspondence as a former Prime Minister; and support with visits and similar activities. The level of the limit is reviewed by the Prime Minister at the start of a Parliament and annually. Invoices are submitted to the Cabinet Office to cover relevant office and salary costs. PDCA claims are also subject to an annual audit by the National Audit Office.

The Cabinet Office does not hold a comprehensive record of claims made against the PDCA going back to 1991 when the allowance was established. However, I would refer the noble Lord to a written answer provided to him on 6 December 2022 by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, then Minister of State, (reference HL3763) which provides details of historical claims of PDCA.

Details of PDCA claims have been published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) since 2013-14. The written answer referred to above includes details of claims up to the financial year 2021-22. Details of claims for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 are set out in Table 1 below, and can also be found in the relevant ARAs.

Table 1

2022-23

2023-24

The Rt Hon. Sir John Major

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Sir Tony Blair

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Gordon Brown

114,627

114,788

The Rt Hon. Lord David Cameron

108,312

68,546

The Rt Hon. Lady Theresa May

113,422

113,475

The Rt Hon. Liz Truss

23,310

101,332

The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson

-

182,083

Total PDCA

617,667

836,345

In relation to the data provided in Table 1, it should be noted that The Rt Hon Lord David Cameron stopped receiving the allowance when he was appointed the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 13 November 2023. The Rt Hon Boris Johnson was eligible to claim the Public Duty Cost Allowance, however no claims were received in 2022 to 2023. Due to 2022 to 2023 being the first year of set up, the Cabinet Office has agreed to reimburse these costs in 2023 to 2024. All future office costs are to be claimed in-year with claims received by 31 March. 2022 to 2023 office costs amounted to £67,083.

Details of the financial year 2024/25 will be published in the next Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
7th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that claims by former Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Minister through the Public Duty Costs Allowance are not used to fund income-generating projects.

The Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA) was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers still active in public life. Payments are made only to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfil public duties. The PDCA was exceptionally extended to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg from 2015-2019. No other former Deputy Prime Ministers claim the allowance.

The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary administrative costs arising from their special position in public life for example managing an office (staffing and administration costs); handling correspondence as a former Prime Minister; and support with visits and similar activities. The level of the limit is reviewed by the Prime Minister at the start of a Parliament and annually. Invoices are submitted to the Cabinet Office to cover relevant office and salary costs. PDCA claims are also subject to an annual audit by the National Audit Office.

The Cabinet Office does not hold a comprehensive record of claims made against the PDCA going back to 1991 when the allowance was established. However, I would refer the noble Lord to a written answer provided to him on 6 December 2022 by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, then Minister of State, (reference HL3763) which provides details of historical claims of PDCA.

Details of PDCA claims have been published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) since 2013-14. The written answer referred to above includes details of claims up to the financial year 2021-22. Details of claims for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 are set out in Table 1 below, and can also be found in the relevant ARAs.

Table 1

2022-23

2023-24

The Rt Hon. Sir John Major

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Sir Tony Blair

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Gordon Brown

114,627

114,788

The Rt Hon. Lord David Cameron

108,312

68,546

The Rt Hon. Lady Theresa May

113,422

113,475

The Rt Hon. Liz Truss

23,310

101,332

The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson

-

182,083

Total PDCA

617,667

836,345

In relation to the data provided in Table 1, it should be noted that The Rt Hon Lord David Cameron stopped receiving the allowance when he was appointed the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 13 November 2023. The Rt Hon Boris Johnson was eligible to claim the Public Duty Cost Allowance, however no claims were received in 2022 to 2023. Due to 2022 to 2023 being the first year of set up, the Cabinet Office has agreed to reimburse these costs in 2023 to 2024. All future office costs are to be claimed in-year with claims received by 31 March. 2022 to 2023 office costs amounted to £67,083.

Details of the financial year 2024/25 will be published in the next Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
7th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been paid through the Public Duty Costs Allowance since its inception to (1) each former Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and (2) in total.

The Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA) was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers still active in public life. Payments are made only to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfil public duties. The PDCA was exceptionally extended to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg from 2015-2019. No other former Deputy Prime Ministers claim the allowance.

The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary administrative costs arising from their special position in public life for example managing an office (staffing and administration costs); handling correspondence as a former Prime Minister; and support with visits and similar activities. The level of the limit is reviewed by the Prime Minister at the start of a Parliament and annually. Invoices are submitted to the Cabinet Office to cover relevant office and salary costs. PDCA claims are also subject to an annual audit by the National Audit Office.

The Cabinet Office does not hold a comprehensive record of claims made against the PDCA going back to 1991 when the allowance was established. However, I would refer the noble Lord to a written answer provided to him on 6 December 2022 by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, then Minister of State, (reference HL3763) which provides details of historical claims of PDCA.

Details of PDCA claims have been published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) since 2013-14. The written answer referred to above includes details of claims up to the financial year 2021-22. Details of claims for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 are set out in Table 1 below, and can also be found in the relevant ARAs.

Table 1

2022-23

2023-24

The Rt Hon. Sir John Major

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Sir Tony Blair

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Gordon Brown

114,627

114,788

The Rt Hon. Lord David Cameron

108,312

68,546

The Rt Hon. Lady Theresa May

113,422

113,475

The Rt Hon. Liz Truss

23,310

101,332

The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson

-

182,083

Total PDCA

617,667

836,345

In relation to the data provided in Table 1, it should be noted that The Rt Hon Lord David Cameron stopped receiving the allowance when he was appointed the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 13 November 2023. The Rt Hon Boris Johnson was eligible to claim the Public Duty Cost Allowance, however no claims were received in 2022 to 2023. Due to 2022 to 2023 being the first year of set up, the Cabinet Office has agreed to reimburse these costs in 2023 to 2024. All future office costs are to be claimed in-year with claims received by 31 March. 2022 to 2023 office costs amounted to £67,083.

Details of the financial year 2024/25 will be published in the next Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
7th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what they consider the public duties of former Prime Ministers to be in relation to the Public Duty Cost Allowance; and what plans they have to review the Public Duty Cost Allowance to increase transparency.

The Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA) was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers still active in public life. Payments are made only to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfil public duties. The PDCA was exceptionally extended to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg from 2015-2019. No other former Deputy Prime Ministers claim the allowance.

The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary administrative costs arising from their special position in public life for example managing an office (staffing and administration costs); handling correspondence as a former Prime Minister; and support with visits and similar activities. The level of the limit is reviewed by the Prime Minister at the start of a Parliament and annually. Invoices are submitted to the Cabinet Office to cover relevant office and salary costs. PDCA claims are also subject to an annual audit by the National Audit Office.

The Cabinet Office does not hold a comprehensive record of claims made against the PDCA going back to 1991 when the allowance was established. However, I would refer the noble Lord to a written answer provided to him on 6 December 2022 by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, then Minister of State, (reference HL3763) which provides details of historical claims of PDCA.

Details of PDCA claims have been published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) since 2013-14. The written answer referred to above includes details of claims up to the financial year 2021-22. Details of claims for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 are set out in Table 1 below, and can also be found in the relevant ARAs.

Table 1

2022-23

2023-24

The Rt Hon. Sir John Major

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Sir Tony Blair

115,000

115,000

The Rt Hon. Gordon Brown

114,627

114,788

The Rt Hon. Lord David Cameron

108,312

68,546

The Rt Hon. Lady Theresa May

113,422

113,475

The Rt Hon. Liz Truss

23,310

101,332

The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson

-

182,083

Total PDCA

617,667

836,345

In relation to the data provided in Table 1, it should be noted that The Rt Hon Lord David Cameron stopped receiving the allowance when he was appointed the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 13 November 2023. The Rt Hon Boris Johnson was eligible to claim the Public Duty Cost Allowance, however no claims were received in 2022 to 2023. Due to 2022 to 2023 being the first year of set up, the Cabinet Office has agreed to reimburse these costs in 2023 to 2024. All future office costs are to be claimed in-year with claims received by 31 March. 2022 to 2023 office costs amounted to £67,083.

Details of the financial year 2024/25 will be published in the next Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
19th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 23 October 2023 (HL10740), how the National Audit Office, in assessing the use of the Public Costs Duty Allowance (PCDA) for audit purposes, distinguishes between the costs of paying staff, travel, and accommodation expenses, incurred (1) as a result of political and commercial projects, including political activity overseas, and (2) costs which arise wholly and exclusively as a result of being an ex-Prime Minister, excluding commercial or political activities; and what consideration they have given to publishing a summary of PCDA claims showing different categories of expenditure on a regular basis.

The National Audit Office is independent of the government.

Former Prime Ministers submit invoices to the Cabinet Office setting out their claims. This information is used by the Cabinet Office for auditing and assurance purposes and is made available to NAO.

Most of the claims are used to cover the salaries of the staff that work in the offices of the former Prime Ministers. These staff are not civil servants, and it would therefore not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to publish any further detail.

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
18th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether visits to the Republican Convention by former Prime Ministers could qualify for expenditure under the Public Duty Costs Allowance; and what further information they can provide on claims made under the scheme.

The Public Duty Cost Allowance (PDCA) is not paid to support private duties, nor is it used for security purposes.

Further details about the PDCA are on gov.uk at the following web link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-duty-cost-allowance.

Annual payments are published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent report is available on gov.uk at the following web link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-23.

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
21st May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for (1) the economies of England and Wales and (2) local economies resulting from the 6-percent levy on foreign students' tuition fees, proposed in Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May.

The immigration white paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK’s globally competitive offer to international students and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting our skills base.

This includes the commitment to explore the introduction of a levy on higher education (HE) provider income from international students, with proceeds to be reinvested in the domestic HE and skills system. The department will set out more details around the levy in the Autumn Budget.

Analysis of the potential impacts is based on the levy applying to English HE providers only. The department will fully consult all the devolved governments on the implementation of the international student levy.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
21st May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult higher education institutions on the 6 per cent levy on foreign students' tuition fees, proposed in Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May.

The immigration white paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK’s globally competitive offer to international students and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting our skills base.

This includes the commitment to explore the introduction of a levy on higher education (HE) provider income from international students, with proceeds to be reinvested in the domestic HE and skills system. The department will set out more details around the levy in the Autumn Budget.

Analysis of the potential impacts is based on the levy applying to English HE providers only. The department will fully consult all the devolved governments on the implementation of the international student levy.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
21st May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences to higher education institutions of the applying the 6 per cent levy on foreign students' tuition fees, proposed in Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May, to courses of less than six months.

The immigration white paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK’s globally competitive offer to international students and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting our skills base.

This includes the commitment to explore the introduction of a levy on higher education (HE) provider income from international students, with proceeds to be reinvested in the domestic HE and skills system. The department will set out more details around the levy in the Autumn Budget.

Analysis of the potential impacts is based on the levy applying to English HE providers only. The department will fully consult all the devolved governments on the implementation of the international student levy.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
21st May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications to higher education institutions of the 6 per cent levy on foreign students' tuition fees, proposed in Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May.

The immigration white paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK’s globally competitive offer to international students and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting our skills base.

This includes the commitment to explore the introduction of a levy on higher education (HE) provider income from international students, with proceeds to be reinvested in the domestic HE and skills system. The department will set out more details around the levy in the Autumn Budget.

Analysis of the potential impacts is based on the levy applying to English HE providers only. The department will fully consult all the devolved governments on the implementation of the international student levy.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
24th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of adopting reimbursed access at the point of marking authorisation for medicines; and what assessment they have made of the impact of cost-effectiveness appraisals after real world use on the consideration of potential long-term clinical and patient benefits.

The Government wants National Health Service patients in England to be able to benefit from rapid access to effective new medicines. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new licensed medicines and makes recommendations for the NHS on whether they should be routinely funded based on the evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue its recommendations close to the time of marketing authorisation to ensure that there is no gap between licensing and patient access to NICE recommended medicines. The 10-Year Health Plan and Life Science Sector Plan outline our commitments to speeding up access for NHS patients to new medicines through the introduction of a parallel marketing authorisation and NICE process.

NHS patients are able to benefit from access to promising new medicines through the Cancer Drugs Fund and Innovative Medicines Fund while further real-world evidence is collected on their use to inform a final NICE decision on whether they can be recommended for routine NHS funding.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government whether long-term clinical benefits and broader impacts, such as economic activity and emotional wellbeing, of medical innovations are routinely considered by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; and what assessment they have made of incorporating consideration of those impacts into evolving cost-effectiveness technologies.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) develops its guidance independently and on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence, taking into account all health-related costs and benefits for patients and caregivers, including health outcomes, in line with its established methods and processes.

NICE does not take account of economic productivity in its assessments. It would involve valuing interventions differently based on the working status of the recipient population, which would be methodologically and ethically challenging and could systematically disadvantage certain groups including children, long-term sick and unemployed people, and could result in fewer treatments being recommended for these populations.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) evaluation processes at reflecting the pace of innovation in medical technologies, in particular for chronic conditions such as type 1 and 2 diabetes; and what assessment they have made of increasing NICE's cost-effectiveness threshold in line with the voluntary scheme growth rates since 2014.

With the pace of innovation increasing, it is crucial now more than ever that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is focused on the highest impact technologies.

The Rules-Based Pathway (RBP), recently announced in the 10-Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan, will, for the first time, create a national pathway that guarantees funding for several rigorously selected transformative technologies each year, streamlining the route to adoption in the National Health Service for selected devices, diagnostics, and digital tools. This will give NICE a powerful lever to drive healthcare transformation and help to position the United Kingdom as a first-to-market location for cutting-edge technology.

NICE assessments have been carried out on diabetes technologies, including: insulin pumps; continuous glucose monitors; and most recently, hybrid closed loop systems. Diabetes technologies listed on Part IX of the NHS Drug Tariff are also subject to more frequent review.

The 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth, which is an agreement between the Department, NHS England, and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, states that the standard NICE cost-effectiveness threshold will not change for the duration of the scheme, which ends in December 2028.

Under the current arrangements, NICE is able to recommend the majority of medicines it appraises for use on the NHS, with an approval rate of 84%.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence towards their priorities for 2025–26, including diabetes, and the impact of those priorities on patient access to novel technologies and treatments.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will shortly be publishing its business plan, which will set out its priorities for 2025/26, following approval by the NICE Board. NICE’s priorities will include delivery of commitments outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan. These include:

- the adoption of a dynamic approach to appraisals that identifies where existing innovation should be retired and where technologies should be sequenced within the clinical pathway, to improve value and health outcomes;

- expanding NICE’s technology appraisal process to cover devices, diagnostics, and digital products, supported by the introduction of a rules-based pathway for HealthTech, to reduce variation in access to high-impact medical technologies; and

- alignment of NICE and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency processes, supported by information sharing and joint scientific advice, to speed up decision making and reduce the administrative burden for the system and industry, allowing new and innovative technologies to get to patients faster.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are working with NHS England to ensure equitable access to diabetes innovations, particularly for patients from disadvantaged and ethnic minority backgrounds.

NHS England is working at a national level on behalf of the Department as part of a wider equality monitoring review programme. This review is exploring how best to update equality monitoring arrangements, including ethnicity categories, by reference to the protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010.

The National Diabetes Audit (NDA) is a major national clinical audit, which measures the effectiveness of diabetes healthcare against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines and NICE quality standards, in England and Wales. This includes NICE’s guidance on diabetes innovations like continuous glucose monitors and hybrid closed loop systems. The NDA is delivered by NHS England, in partnership with Diabetes UK.

The NDA consistently reveals inequalities in diabetes care and outcomes across different socioeconomic and demographic groups. People living in more deprived areas, younger individuals, and some ethnic minorities experience poorer access to care processes and treatment targets compared to their counterparts in less deprived areas and among older individuals.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of people diagnosed with cancer in an emergency care setting in (1) Yorkshire, and (2) other regions of the country.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer as early and quickly as possible and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. This will help cancer patients across England, including in Yorkshire.

We are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practices (GPs) to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

Alongside improving cancer waiting time performance, the NHS has implemented non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. To support the use of rapid diagnostic centres, non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways have been rolled out across England for patients who present with vague symptoms which could indicate multiple different types of cancer, for example unexplained weight-loss and fatigue.

The Government has announced that the National Cancer Plan will be published later this year, following the recent publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. The National Cancer Plan will ensure that cancer patients in England, including in Yorkshire, will have access to the best cancer care and treatments. It will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the national cancer plan will include steps to integrate exercise, nutrition and well-being support into prehabilitation and rehabilitation programmes for all cancer patients, as recommended in The White Rose Cancer Report, published by Yorkshire Cancer Research on 18 June; and what plans they have to adopt the ROSE model to ensure equity in research funding and implementation across the country.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise the importance of physical activity for the prevention and management of long-term health conditions, including cancer.

The National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will set out how experiences and outcomes can be improved for people at every stage of the cancer pathway, including prehabilitation and rehabilitation. The Department acknowledges that more can be done to support people living with and beyond cancer.

The NHS Cancer Programme, through local Cancer Alliances, is working to ensure physical activity is fully integrated across the whole cancer pathway, which includes opportunities within rehabilitation for people who have undergone treatment.

NHS England has highlighted the positive impact of efficient prehabilitation and rehabilitation on cancer outcomes and the potential to lead to cost savings. The ‘PRosPer’ Cancer Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation learning programme, launched in partnership between NHS England and Macmillan Cancer support, aims to support allied health professionals and the wider healthcare workforce in developing their skills in providing personalised care, prehabilitation, and rehabilitation in the cancer pathway.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, and to supporting equity of research funding and implementation cross the country.

The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) supports the principles outlined in the ROSE model, by funding research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research.

The NIHR has made research inclusion a condition of its funding. Applicants to domestic research programmes are required to demonstrate how inclusion is being built into all stages of the research lifecycle and are also required to provide details of how their research contributes towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities.

The NIHR’s Applied Research Collaborations are regional partnerships which generate high-quality research and evaluation, and work with the system to support the scaling and adoption of effective interventions and models of care nationally, particularly in areas of high disease burden and service demand.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential cost savings to the NHS and social care system of implementing automatic stop smoking support at NHS touchpoints; and how will that inform future funding decisions.

Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the potential cost savings from stop smoking support in all National Health Services, we know that supporting more people to stop smoking reduces preventable illness and therefore pressure on health and social care services.

An evaluation of a pilot opt-out model in Manchester showed the gross financial return was £2.12, and the public value return was £30.49, per £1 invested. NHS England has also made a tool that estimates the potential cost savings associated with the reduced demand on front line services available for maternity services.

As of the end of 2024/25, 93% of NHS in-patient services and 97% of maternity services had a tobacco dependence treatment offer.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we remain committed to ensuring that all hospitals integrate smoking cessation interventions into routine care. As part of their allocations for 2025/26, integrated care boards have access to funding to support the provision of tobacco dependency treatment for smokers. Funding for future years is subject to final decisions following the recent Spending Review.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
5th Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Advertising Standards Authority in its role as the frontline regulator of the measures in the Health and Care Act 2022 about the advertising of unhealthy food and drink on TV and online.

The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online.

The Government appointed Ofcom as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Ofcom appointed the Advertising Standards Authority as the frontline regulator of the advertising restrictions, using powers in the Communications Act 2003. It consulted on this appointment and published the statement, Regulation of advertising for less healthy food and drink: Implementation of new statutory restrictions, following the consultation in July 2023.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
3rd Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), whether they consulted or informed any public health organisations of the decision to delay the legislation to regulate unhealthy food and drink advertisements on TV and online before publishing that statement.

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
3rd Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), on what date the food and media companies that signed the letter published on the Advertising Association's website were informed of the decision to delay regulations on TV and online advertising of unhealthy food.

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
3rd Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), whether they considered alternatives to delaying the regulation of the advertising of unhealthy food on TV and online.

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
3rd Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what representations they received from (1) the food and drink industry, and (2) the advertising industry, about the regulations to restrict the advertising of unhealthy food; and whether those representations were a factor in the decision to delay those regulations.

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
3rd Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statements by Baroness Merron on 22 April (HLWS587) and 22 May (HLWS662), what were the developments that led to the decision to delay the regulation of unhealthy food advertising in the time between those statements.

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
23rd Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) calls, and (2) online submissions, have been made to HMRC fraud hotline services in relation to illicit tobacco in each of the past ten years.

The table below shows the number of contacts received by HMRC’s Fraud Reporting Gateway in relation to illicit tobacco. The data is only available for the last 7 years due to HMRC’s retention policies.

Year

Online Submission

Telephone Submission

Total

24/25

7,605

2,094

9,699

23/24

5,416

1,873

7,289

22/23

5,625

2,060

7,685

21/22

1,558

2,424

3,982

20/21

1,988

1,535

3,523

19/20

2,012

6,323

8,335

18/19

2,182

8,285

10,467

Lord Livermore
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
16th Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the current price elasticities used to make forecasts of the tobacco and vaping markets.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 4 June 2025 to question HL7693 reproduced below.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publish details of their tobacco tax receipt forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) publication and forecast methodology page [1]. The OBR will provide further information on their analysis on request.

[1] https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/tobacco-duties/

Lord Livermore
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
20th May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which tobacco industry pricing strategies undermine the objectives of the minimum excise tax and tobacco excise tax to reduce smoking prevalence.

Like most businesses across the economy, tobacco producers and retailers are free to set prices for their products. Evidence suggests that close to 100% of tax increases, and in many cases more, is passed through to consumers through prices. How this is distributed across products is a matter for the individual firms.

The UK has some of the highest tobacco taxes in the world which have helped reduce smoking prevalence to 11.9%.

In order to protect the public health objectives of tobacco taxation the Minimum Excise Tax sets a minimum amount of duty collected on a pack of cigarettes. This discourages manufacturers from selling cheap cigarettes as it reduces the profitability of cigarettes sold at or below the trigger price of £13.59 for a pack of 20 cigarettes.

Lord Livermore
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
20th May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, whether they will publish the model used to calculate (1) price elasticities, and (2) income elasticities, for tobacco, as referenced in Tobacco duties: forecast methodology, published by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility on 7 March.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publishes details of their tobacco tax receipt forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) publication and forecast methodology page. [1] The OBR provides further information on their analysis on request.


[1] https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/tobacco-duties/

Lord Livermore
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
25th Apr 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to combat the pricing strategies of (1) under-shifting, and (2) over-shifting, by the tobacco industry to protect the public health aims of tobacco taxation.

Like most businesses across the economy, tobacco producers and retailers are free to set prices for their products. Evidence suggests that close to 100% of tax increases, and in many cases more, is passed through to consumers through prices. How this is distributed across products is a matter for the individual firms.

The UK has some of the highest tobacco taxes in the world which have helped reduce smoking prevalence to 11.9%.

In order to protect the public health objectives of tobacco taxation the Minimum Excise Tax sets a minimum amount of duty collected on a pack of cigarettes. This discourages manufacturers from selling cheap cigarettes as it reduces the profitability of cigarettes sold at or below the trigger price of £13.59 for a pack of 20 cigarettes.

Lord Livermore
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th May 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent study by the University of Manchester, reported in The Guardian, which found that, of 28 liberal democracies, the UK, Ireland and Barbados are the three countries where it is most difficult to register to vote.

The Government is committed to improving electoral registration. We are exploring a wide range of options to deliver on our manifesto commitment, including making greater use of public data and online Government services. Any changes will be based on robust evidence and user research.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
27th Jan 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reporting by The Sunday Times on 26 January regarding the robustness and transparency of police investigations into allegations of illegal election campaign activities, and in particular, of investigations into election materials produced in the Leicester South constituency in the 2024 general election.

Any individual or organisation wishing to influence the electorate should be prepared to be transparent about their activity. Campaigners are required to include an imprint with their name and address on a wide range of printed and digital election campaigning material in scope of the rules.

It is an offence to distribute printed or digital election campaign material without a correct imprint. There are also strict local campaign spending rules for political parties, candidates and third-party campaigners.

Any offences are a matter for the Electoral Commission or the police to enforce depending on the facts of the case. Police forces and the Electoral Commission are operationally independent of government.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
19th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of banning unincorporated associations from donating to political parties in order to increase the level of transparency concerning their funding.

Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems and combatting the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will provide details to Parliament in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
19th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to use their powers under section 109 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 to require donors to political parties to certify the original sources of donated funds, and whether they consider that this may help to address concerns about potential foreign funding influencing elections in the UK.

Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems and combatting the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will provide details to Parliament in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
9th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of providing Royal Mail deliveries for candidates in the general elections in (1) 2024, and (2) 2019.

The total cost incurred for the delivery of candidate mailings at the 2019 General Election was £41,161,302. Detailed information on the costs of the 2019 general election is available on Gov.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costs-of-the-2019-uk-parliamentary-general-election/costs-of-the-2019-uk-parliamentary-general-election).

The total cost incurred for the delivery of candidate mailing at the 2024 General Election was £60,422,724.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences of the replacement of the supplementary vote system by first-past-the-post in the most recent mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections; and what is their estimate of the cost differential between those two systems.

The government published details of its legislative programme alongside the King's Speech. We are committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections, and our first step will be to ensure every legitimate voter is able to exercise their right to vote. We will consider the Electoral Commission report on the 2024 General Election when it is published in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
30th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to revert to a preferential voting system for mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections.

The government published details of its legislative programme alongside the King's Speech. We are committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections, and our first step will be to ensure every legitimate voter is able to exercise their right to vote. We will consider the Electoral Commission report on the 2024 General Election when it is published in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number and proportion of UK overseas electors with postal votes who were able to return their ballots by polling day in this year’s general election.

This Government recognises problems facing overseas voters at elections. The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, which will cover postal voting at the poll, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of postal ballots for this year’s general election that had not been delivered to voters by July 3rd, and how many returned postal ballots were received on or after 5 July.

This Government recognises problems facing overseas voters at elections. The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, which will cover postal voting at the poll, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of (1) 18–25 year-olds and (2) those over the age of 65, who were both eligible and registered to vote on the date of this year’s general election.

This Government believes that more can and should be done to improve voter registration and is currently exploring the best ways of achieving this. We were clear in our manifesto that we will encourage participation in our democracy and improve voter registration.

The Electoral Commission and the Office for National Statistics review and publish statistics on electoral registration and participation in elections. The Government will examine and reflect on this data when it is available following the 2024 general election.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that more young people receiving the official notification of their National Insurance Number are included on the electoral register, either by automatic inclusion on the register at the same time, or by changing the form of wording on the notification to encourage greater enrolment.

This Government believes that more can and should be done to improve voter registration and is currently exploring the best ways of achieving this. We were clear in our manifesto that we will encourage participation in our democracy and improve voter registration.

The Electoral Commission and the Office for National Statistics review and publish statistics on electoral registration and participation in elections. The Government will examine and reflect on this data when it is available following the 2024 general election.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential cost savings over the next decade from (1) scrapping compulsory photo ID at polling stations, and (2) including forms of ID acceptable for the purposes of collecting a parcel at a Post Office and official polling cards in the list of forms of ID that may be used to confirm eligibility to vote.

As our manifesto made clear, the government will address the inconsistencies in voter identification that prevent legitimate electors from voting, specifically including veterans of HM Armed Forces. We are considering what changes we wish to make in order to achieve this and will bring forward proposals in due course.

The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May local elections and the recent General Election. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID in September, with their full election report expected later in the year. We are keen to see their findings and recommendations.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
29th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reverse recent changes to the oversight of the Electoral Commission so as to guarantee its independence.

An independent regulator for elections is a cornerstone of a healthy functioning democracy. The Electoral Commission plays an important part in the UK’s democratic system, promoting public confidence in the democratic process and ensuring its integrity.

The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections and will continue to review what interventions are necessary as part of this commitment.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
17th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many women are currently being held in prison for non-violent offences; and what proportion of female prisoners have children who have been taken into care as a result of their custody.

Please find below a breakdown of the sentenced female prison population by main offence group, as of the latest published population snapshot.

Table 1: Sentenced female prison population by main offence group, as at 31 March 2024

All offences

2,773

Violence against the person

1,019

Sexual offences

133

Robbery

240

Theft offences

393

Criminal damage and arson

67

Drug offences

394

Possession of weapons

61

Public order offences

55

Miscellaneous crimes against society

114

Fraud offences

102

Summary non-motoring

138

Summary motoring

5

Offence not recorded

52

We have provided a table for the sentenced female population, but information on the female remand population [split by 'untried' and 'convicted unsentenced'] by offence group this can be found here: Prison-population-31-Mar-2024.ods (live.com).

We do not hold information on the number of children taken into care as a result of maternal imprisonment, however we are working to improve our understanding of the impact of maternal imprisonment on children. For example, on 18 July 2024 we published analysis looking into the number of parents in prison with children and the number of children with parents in prison. This analysis indicated that 55% of women in prison have children under 18 but did not show how many of these women had their children living with them before going to prison. We are also piloting prison-based children’s social workers in women’s prisons that support women with family court proceedings, parental rights and maintaining or strengthening family ties.

Lord Timpson
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
17th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the adult population were held in prison on 1 January;  whether they have carried out any comparison with other European countries; and, if so, what European countries they have benchmarked those figures against.

The adult prison population in England and Wales as of 31 December 2023 was 87,227. It is not possible to robustly estimate the proportion of the adult population of England and Wales this represented at that time, because population estimates beyond mid-2023 have not yet been published by the Office for National Statistics.

The Department and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service routinely monitor, and seek to learn from prison systems in other jurisdictions. This can include, among other areas, monitoring prison population data. We do not specifically benchmark our population data against any other jurisdictions.

Lord Timpson
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
17th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the proportion of people held in prisons with significant difficulties with literacy.

The literacy and numeracy skills of all prisoners are assessed on entry to custody. Data on education participation in prison are published annually as official statistics in the Prison Education Statistics and Accredited Programmes in Custody publication. In 2022-23, prisoners took a total of 58,907 English initial assessments. 65 per cent of those prisoners in 2022-23 were at Entry Levels 1-3 in English (i.e., below the lowest GCSE grade).

All prisons now have a reading strategy, and we have published a national Reading Framework to support prisons in maintaining their strategy. HMPPS has introduced a Literacy Innovation Fund, to pilot two specialist reading and literacy projects across fifteen prisons, to offer education to prisoners at the lowest reading level. Literacy provision is a significant element of the core education offer, with all prisons offering functional skills qualifications in Literacy from Entry Level to Level 2.

Lord Timpson
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
17th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK citizens are currently held in prison; and how many were held on 1 January in each of the past ten years up to 1 January 2024.

As of 31 March 2024, the latest date for which we have figures, 76,869 British nationals were held in prison in England and Wales. The Ministry of Justice does not disaggregate data for Northern Ireland citizens. Data for 1 January in each of the past ten years up to 1 January 2024 are included in the attached table.

Lord Timpson
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)