Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to lift any other elements of the benefit cap beyond scrapping the two-child limit.

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

The benefit cap limits the total amount of benefits a working age household can receive and is applied through Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. The benefit cap aims to incentivise work as, where possible, it is in the best interest of children to be in working households. The Department provides a range of support for people to prepare for, move into and progress in work. We are delivering a step-change in employment and skills support for parents, enabling parents to balance work and caring responsibilities through high quality, flexible jobs, and improving access to childcare so parents are better able to work. There are no plans to change the benefit cap policy.

Alongside employment support, the Department supports families in work through an exemption from the benefit cap for households earning at least £846 each month. There is also protection for the most vulnerable as those who are caring or are severely disabled are exempt from the benefit cap.

Removing the two child limit is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty over this Parliament and estimated to alone lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament. It builds on major action we’ve already taken including expanding Free School Meals for over half a million children, investing £39 billion in social and affordable housing, £13.2 billion in the Warm Homes Plan, and rolling out Best Start Family Hubs backed by £500 million.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the BBC about introducing pro-rata refunds when a TV licence is cancelled part way through the year, as is currently the case with road tax.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The BBC is responsible for administering the Television licence, and as the BBC is independent from Government, refunds are an operational issue for the BBC. The Television Licensing website sets out that households can apply for a refund if they won’t need their licence again before it expires, and they have at least one complete month left on it. Households eligible for an over 75 or blind concession can apply for a refund at any time and for any length of time left on their licence.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any measures in the Budget 2025 specifically designed to support families in small family farms.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has taken significant steps to support farmers. The Government allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this Parliament at the Spending Review 2025.

The Government also announced at the Budget in November 2025 that any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners. This means a surviving spouse or civil partner can benefit from an allowance of up to £2 million for combined agricultural and business assets depending on their circumstances. It also reduces the complexity and planning for spouses and civil partners seeking to make best use of the allowance between them.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the additional £370 million allocated to Northern Ireland is an annual uplift in the block grant or a cumulative figure spread over a number of financial years.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive an additional £240 million RDEL excluding depreciation and £130 million CDEL over the Spending Review 2025 period (2025-26 to 2029-30) through the operation of the Barnett formula.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the child poverty strategy is subject to robust external scrutiny after publication.

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

The Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December, sets out how we will hold ourselves to account on delivering the impact we have promised through this Parliament and beyond. The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Strategy, sets out our plans to track progress against the metrics of relative low income and deep material poverty as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and continued learning.

This includes a comprehensive programme of analysis focusing on the drivers of child poverty and the impact of specific interventions to learn what works and continue to make the best case for further intervention. We will publish a baseline report next summer which will set out the latest statistics and evidence, with annual reporting thereafter to monitor and evaluate progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the child poverty strategy.

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

The Child Poverty Strategy was published on Friday 5 December.

It sets out the steps we are taking to reduce child poverty in the short term, as well as putting in place the building blocks we need to change the course we’re on and create long-term change.

The action we are taking includes removing the two child limit on Universal Credit, support for working families to stop children growing up in B&Bs, expanding childcare for families on UC and helping parents save up to £500 on baby formula

The Strategy will lift around 550,000 children out of poverty and will see the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have held with the government of India regarding the judgment of the Supreme Court of India in the case of Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 17 November to Question HL10967.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the child poverty strategy will cover provision for all children in the UK, including those in families with no recourse to public funds.

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

In developing the Child Poverty Strategy, the Taskforce has considered all children across the United Kingdom. To develop the strategy the Taskforce has engaged extensively with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform our plans. We have engaged with organisations who have made representations on behalf of children subject to no recourse to public funds and will continue to do so.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why those entitled to a free TV licence have to apply for it, rather than receiving it automatically, and whether they will ask the BBC to remove the need to apply for such licences.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The BBC is responsible for administering the Television Licence, and as the BBC is independent from the Government, this is an operational issue for the BBC. The BBC does not hold the necessary information to automatically determine which households are eligible to receive free TV Licences. However, the BBC is able to verify automatically whether a person applying for a free TV Licence is on Pension Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions, meaning in most cases eligible applicants can apply online or over the phone without any need to supply additional paperwork.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recognition of four religious groups by the government of Eritrea; and what recent discussions they have had with that government about that issue.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 6 August 2025 in response to Question 68341, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:

We consistently raise human rights with the Eritrean government, including religious freedoms. We advocate for the end of discriminatory detentions based on religion or belief, as we have stated at the UN Human Rights Council. We call for all those unjustly incarcerated to be released. The UK's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea raised human rights during her most recent visit to Eritrea in April 2025 and the UK supports the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the hours and remit of the National Clinical Director for Dementia.

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

The national clinical directors and national specialty advisers are practising clinicians from across England who work part-time at NHS England, providing clinical leadership, advice, input, and support across distinct areas of National Health Service conditions and services.

There are currently no plans within the Department to expand the hours and remit of the National Clinical Director for Dementia and Older People’s Mental Health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they removed the dementia diagnosis rate target from the NHS operational planning guidance for 2025-26.

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

The Darzi investigation found that there were too many targets set for the National Health Service which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or to be held properly to account. 2025/26 planning guidance reduced the number of national targets from 32 the year before down to 18. This was an important step in moving decision making closer to local leaders, letting them decide how to use local funding to best meet the needs of their local population.

NHS planning guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the NHS does, and the absence of a target does not necessarily mean it isn’t an area of focus. We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. The estimated Dementia Diagnosis Rate for patients aged 65 years old and over at the end of October 2025 was 66.5%. The rate is an increase of 0.2% compared to 66.3% in September 2025. This is an overall increase from March 2020 due to sustained recovery efforts.

We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to bring about rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, which is expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, set national standards for dementia care, and will redirect NHS priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce additional new targets for prevention and treatment of dementia.

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

We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

In developing the modern service framework for frailty and dementia, we are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with dementia. As part of this exercise, we will consider what interventions should be supported to improve diagnosis waiting times, which we know are too long in many areas. We are considering all options to help with the prevention and treatment of dementia, including reviewing metrics and targets.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking with the devolved administrations to facilitate the sharing of best practice and models of reform of special educational needs provision throughout the UK.

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

​​Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

​As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities system and restore the trust of parents by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate. We’re continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. 

The department engages the devolved governments at ministerial and official level on a range of areas, which allows a sharing of collective knowledge and experience as well as collaborative working on shared interests and challenges to deliver better outcomes for people across the UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional cost of special educational needs provision in England in each of the next three years.

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

To support specialist provision, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places.

The department will publish its plans for reform to the special educational needs system in the new year.