Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the British Council's budget increases or is maintained in line with inflation.

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

The British Council plays a leading role in promoting UK values and interests through its work in arts and culture, education, and promotion of the English language. The British Council's 2023 Global Perceptions report survey demonstrates that cultural relations initiatives are connected to higher levels of trust in the UK Government. The average score for trust in the UK Government given by young people surveyed across the G20 was 54 per cent. However, for those who had participated in a UK cultural initiative, the score was 62 per cent, and where this initiative was produced by the British Council, it was 69 per cent.

The Government is committed to working with the British Council to ensure its financial sustainability. Issues related to funding are being considered in the round as part of the Spending Review process, which will allocate departmental budgets between 2026-27 and 2028-29.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the British Council's contribution to UK soft power and influence globally.

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

The British Council plays a leading role in promoting UK values and interests through its work in arts and culture, education, and promotion of the English language. The British Council's 2023 Global Perceptions report survey demonstrates that cultural relations initiatives are connected to higher levels of trust in the UK Government. The average score for trust in the UK Government given by young people surveyed across the G20 was 54 per cent. However, for those who had participated in a UK cultural initiative, the score was 62 per cent, and where this initiative was produced by the British Council, it was 69 per cent.

The Government is committed to working with the British Council to ensure its financial sustainability. Issues related to funding are being considered in the round as part of the Spending Review process, which will allocate departmental budgets between 2026-27 and 2028-29.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the total number of EU students enrolled at UK universities (1) 2014–15 and (2) 2024–25.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

In the 2014/15 academic year, across all levels and modes of study, 127,135 higher education (HE) student enrolments had an EU permanent address immediately prior to study in a UK HE provider.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency has not yet published data on the UK HE sector relating to the 2024/25 academic year, therefore information relating to enrolments in 2024/25 is not currently held by the department.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average annual fees paid by EU students for university education in 2024–25.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. These data are shared with the department and include a wide range of information on students in UK HE providers.

HESA has not yet published data on the UK HE sector relating to the 2024/25 academic year, therefore information relating to tuition fees in 2024/25 is not currently held by the department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prioritise timely referral, accurate biomarker-led diagnoses and access to post diagnostic support and treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

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

We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis and remain committed to increasing diagnosis rates and ensuring that people can access any licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatment, as well as any support, they need. Alongside Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, and the People’s Postcode Lottery, the National Institute for Health and Care Research is funding the Blood Biomarker Challenge, which seeks to produce the clinical and economic data that could make the case for the use of a blood test in the National Health Service to support the diagnosis of dementia.

Additionally, the Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme has already invested £13 million into a range of biomarker innovation projects, which include biomarker technologies, ranging from an artificial intelligence tool designed to improve the accuracy of blood tests for dementia, to using retinal scans to detect early-onset dementia decades before symptoms. Some of these innovations could support improved diagnosis in the future, if validated for clinical use.

With regards to access to post diagnostic support, the provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. The Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have recently published the Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include in the NHS 10-year plan the scaling up of infrastructure and workplace capacity to better support Alzheimer's disease patients.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs, including those with Alzheimer’s disease. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide that joined-up care.

In February 2025, the Minister of State for Care (Stephen Kinnock MP) hosted a roundtable discussion where partners shared how dementia, ageing well, and digital inclusion could be reflected in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to develop best practice guidance to improve the early identification and diagnosis of patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

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

The Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Dementia Care Pathway: Full Implementation Guidance, commissioned by NHS England, outlines the dementia care pathway and the associated benchmarks to support improvements in the delivery and quality of care and support. It showcases good-practice examples of services that have successfully reduced their waiting times.

We have recently published and launched the Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool, which is available in an online-only format. This brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. Designed to reflect best practice and assess the effectiveness of dementia services, this will help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications and impact of the UK-EU agreement on the movement of pets (1) between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in both directions, and (2) between the United Kingdom and the EU in both directions.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We do not expect the arrangements for pet travel to change for movement of pets between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of this deal.

We have agreed to establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Zone, which will mean travelling with pets into the EU and back will be easier and cheaper once the full agreement is finalised and implemented.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure full access in Northern Ireland to veterinary medicines from Great Britain as a result of the UK-EU agreement.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

After the summit with the EU on 19 May, the UK and the EU committed to negotiating an SPS Agreement, which will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, protecting the UK’s internal market, reducing costs for businesses, and improving consumer choice.

While we do not expect this Agreement to cover veterinary medicinal products, this remains a priority for Government, and we are committed to safeguarding supply to protect animal health and welfare in Northern Ireland. The Government will be setting out its approach on the supply of veterinary medicines beyond the end of the grace period.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK-EU agreement on the movement of plant and horticultural products between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and whether all plant and horticultural products from Great Britain will be available in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The new UK-EU Common Understanding agrees to remove a broad and wide-ranging set of requirements for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods and plants moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Once implemented, there will be no need for SPS paperwork such as health certificates to move agrifood or plant products to Northern Ireland, no mandatory identity or physical checks on those goods, no need for Plant Health Labels when moving plants for planting, seed potatoes, and used agricultural machinery, and no bans on ‘high risk’ plants.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of investment required to extend capacity and capability for cerebrospinal fluid and blood-based biomarker testing within this Parliament.

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

NHS England has established a dedicated programme team to prepare the National Health Service for the potential arrival of new Alzheimer’s treatments that are approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and determined to be clinically and cost-effective by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, including use of biomarker testing.

As part of national preparations for the potential future roll out of Alzheimer’s disease modifying treatments, NHS England has commissioned horizon scanning which has helped the NHS and other national partner agencies to better understand the current pipeline and maturity of digital and biomarker-based innovations in development in the academic and commercial sectors.

NHS England is also working with partner agencies to support and inform further research into other diagnostic modalities, including blood-based biomarker and digital tests.

Public and charitable partner funding has been invested in new research which will help us to understand whether or not blood based biomarker tests improve the speed and accuracy of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or change treatment decisions in clinical practice, and research findings will influence whether these tests become a future standard of care in the NHS.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, as a part of the changes announced in the white paper Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May, whether they will review the salary threshold to qualify for a regulated qualifications framework level 6 for graduate route jobs, and whether that threshold will have flexibility to take account of regional variations in graduate starter salaries.

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

Following the proposes set out in the Immigration White paper, the Home Office will ask the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake a thorough review of salary requirements (including discounts) to ensure that employers are no longer incentivised to recruit from abroad rather than train at home.

The Government will set out further details in the near future.

Further details can be found in the technical annex of the White Paper published here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what additional funding they are providing to ensure that funding for the provision of free school meals rises in line with the cost of living and food prices.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

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

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets. This decisive action will support parents and improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets.

Making all children in households claiming Universal Credit eligible for FSM makes it straightforward for parents to know whether they are eligible. We are supporting this by taking forward a programme of work including improvements to our own systems that will make applying for FSM easier than it’s ever been.

This includes improvements to the Eligibility Checking System to allow parents and schools to check their own eligibility for FSM independently from their local authorities. We are also working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore legal gateways that could enable data sharing to improve local authorities’ ability to undertake local action to improve the targeting and delivery of FSM.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage eligible families to apply for free school meals.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

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

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets. This decisive action will support parents and improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets.

Making all children in households claiming Universal Credit eligible for FSM makes it straightforward for parents to know whether they are eligible. We are supporting this by taking forward a programme of work including improvements to our own systems that will make applying for FSM easier than it’s ever been.

This includes improvements to the Eligibility Checking System to allow parents and schools to check their own eligibility for FSM independently from their local authorities. We are also working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore legal gateways that could enable data sharing to improve local authorities’ ability to undertake local action to improve the targeting and delivery of FSM.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to simplify the process of applying for free school meals.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

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

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets. This decisive action will support parents and improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets.

Making all children in households claiming Universal Credit eligible for FSM makes it straightforward for parents to know whether they are eligible. We are supporting this by taking forward a programme of work including improvements to our own systems that will make applying for FSM easier than it’s ever been.

This includes improvements to the Eligibility Checking System to allow parents and schools to check their own eligibility for FSM independently from their local authorities. We are also working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore legal gateways that could enable data sharing to improve local authorities’ ability to undertake local action to improve the targeting and delivery of FSM.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the Barnett consequentials are for Northern Ireland arising from the expansion of the provision of entitlement to winter fuel payments for pensioners in England and Wales.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

From 2025-26, all individuals over the State Pension age in England and Wales with an income below £35,000 will be eligible to benefit from the Winter Fuel Payment. Pensioners in England and Wales above this threshold can either opt out or will be liable to have the payment reclaimed automatically through the personal tax system.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will incorporate the final costings into its forecast at the Budget later this year. As the Winter Fuel Payment is devolved in Northern Ireland, there will be an increase in Northern Ireland Executive funding through the AME forecast processes. This increased funding will be confirmed at the Budget.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the nutritional quality of free school meals.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

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

To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what additional resources they will provide to combat hunger during school holiday periods.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

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

Through the Spending Review, the department has announced funding to ensure the poorest children do not go hungry outside of term time, supporting our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a scheme for local authorities to provide discretionary support to vulnerable households in the most need. The department is providing £742 million in England to extend the HSF by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will enable local authorities to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.

The government also remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food programme to ensure children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. More than £200 million has been allocated to the programme from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

University APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Universities: EU Nationals The Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party): To ask His Majesty's

University APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: British Council: Soft Power The Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party): To ask His Majesty's