Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost of all forms of welfare benefit fraud over the last 12 months.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain are published annually. Information for the financial year 2025 to 2026 will be published later this year.

Information on the financial year 2024 to 2025 can be found here: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK – see section 4. Total estimates of fraud and error across all benefit expenditure: overpayments due to Fraud were 2.2% (£6.5bn) in FYE 2025, compared with 2.7% (£7.3bn) in FYE 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider Syria a 'safe' country for immigration purposes.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

All asylum and human rights claims from Syrian nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits. Each individual assessment is made by considering any relevant extant caselaw and the latest available country information. Country Policy and Information Notes (Syria: country policy and information notes - GOV.UK) outline conditions in Syria and provide guidance to asylum decision-makers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the health impacts of 'forever chemicals' in British food and drink.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) aims to keep levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food as low as reasonably achievable.

The Committee on Toxicity (COT), an advisory body which provides independent scientific advice to the FSA, is currently undertaking an assessment of PFAS. This assessment will include an independent review of the available toxicological and epidemiological data, focusing on a number of biological and health effects. The COT’s assessment will also consider toxicokinetics (how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolises and excretes) of PFAS. Derivation of updated health-based guidance values where possible will also be considered.

The outcome of this assessment is expected to support human health risk assessment of PFAS by United Kingdom Government Departments and Agencies in the context of existing and legacy exposure through food, drinking water and the environment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Budget 2025 on the returns of private landlords.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility does not expect that the reform to property income tax will have a significant impact on rental prices.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to send military personnel to Greenland.

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

As noted by the Defence Secretary last week, one UK military officer joined a reconnaissance visit to Greenland, in an observational capacity, at the request of the Danish Government. This was not a deployment of forces to Greenland, but a military recce ahead of future Danish-led exercise activity. These sorts of visits are a routine part of military planning ahead of exercises and operations, and we regularly join allies on their recces. Discussions are ongoing between Allies on how NATO can step up to bolster security in the High North to rapidly address the increasing threat from Russia.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker whether there are plans to redesign or rebuild the metal fence in front of the House of Lords.

Answered by Baroness Garden of Frognal

The Abingdon Street Fence has been designed to improve the security of the Parliamentary Estate and everyone who works here. The planning permission granted by Westminster City Council for the ‘siting of a boundary fence’ is temporary and was granted for ten years. A longer-term solution will be taken forward via the Restoration and Renewal programme.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker how much has been spent to date on Parliament’s Renewal and Restoration project since April 2020.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The total cost of the R&R Programme, from 2020-21 until the end of 2024-25, is £470m. This includes the costs of the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body and Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority which were established in April and May 2020 respectively (including £5m of costs in April 2020 before the Delivery Authority was formally incorporated). It also includes the costs of Restoration and Renewal Client Team, which took over the sponsor function for the programme from the Sponsor Body in January 2023, and Strategic Estates’ costs of developing the enhanced maintenance and improvement option (one of the three R&R delivery options being developed). These costs cover all planning, procurement, design and preparatory survey works for the Programme in this period.

The total agreed budget for the current financial year (2025-26) is £74m, which includes the costs of the Delivery Authority, the R&R Client Team, the House of Lords R&R team and Strategic Estates’ costs of developing the enhanced maintenance and improvement option.

The Delivery Authority’s Main Estimate for 2026-27 is currently subject to parliamentary scrutiny and approval. As well as parliamentary approval being required for the initial budget provision, the Delivery Authority’s expenditure is subject to regular scrutiny and challenge throughout the financial year including by the R&R Client Team and House finance teams, Delivery Authority Board, R&R Programme Board, R&R Client Board and Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission.

The Delivery Authority’s funding is based on what is required to deliver the key activities tasked to it by the R&R Client Team. The Delivery Authority seeks to ensure that its expenditure remains taut and proportionate for the activities required to deliver the Programme and constantly re-assesses its resources, scaling up or down as appropriate. Under legislation which set up the framework of the R&R Programme, HM Treasury is required to be consulted on the Delivery Authority’s Estimates; to date, HM Treasury has concluded that the Estimates have been “taut and realistic”. The R&R Programme routinely publishes information on costs, for instance in quarterly reports, annual reports, and memoranda provided to the Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission.