Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to reduce the backlog of people waiting to take a driving test.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. The agency is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests that will break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
On the 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times. In the coming months, DVSA will:
Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests
Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.
Make use of MOD driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce a cap on ground rents.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill published on 27 January 2026, the government is proposing to cap ground rent at £250 per year, before changing to a peppercorn in 40 years.
For further information, I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement HLWS1278 on 27 January 2026.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of shareholder capital in English water companies.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat is the economic regulator for the water industry. It is its responsibility to ensure that water companies are able to secure the financing required to conduct their operations, including through equity capital. Since December 2024 water companies have raised over £2 billion in new equity.
As part of this function, Ofwat publishes an annual Monitoring and Financial Resilience Report. This contains an up-to-date calculation of the Regulated Capital Value (RCV) of all water companies. RCV is a measure of a company’s capital base.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering bringing South East Water into public ownership.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
South East Water is one of the worst performers on water supply interruptions, and it’s important that its customers receive the compensation they deserve.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate is investigating the recent supply outages and will take appropriate enforcement action where required. South East Water was already under Ofwat investigation into their supply resilience. On 15 January, Ofwat announced a new investigation into South East Water’s compliance with the licence condition regarding customer service. The customer licence condition gives Ofwat powers to act against a water company which fails to provide appropriate support to its customers. This is the first investigation Ofwat has launched on the customer-focused licence condition.
Unravelling the current ownership model would cost the taxpayer around £100 billion and take years. Instead, we are focusing on tackling the real problems with the water industry with our root and branch reforms that will clean up the nation’s polluted waterways, turn around the sector’s performance and restore trust and accountability.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.