Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia are diagnosed early enough to benefit from novel treatments if approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the future.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance.
A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. The latest dementia diagnosis rate reported by NHS England for the end of September 2025 was 66.3%.
To support commissioners and providers with appropriate data and to enable targeted support where needed, we have developed a memory service dashboard for management information purposes.
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
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.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed digital ID scheme will be rolled out on the same basis for all parts of the UK.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
From the end of this Parliament, UK employers will be required to conduct digital right to work checks when people move jobs.
The Government will work closely with the Devolved Governments throughout all stages of the programme’s development.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking with the EU to remove the requirement for those selling poppies in Northern Ireland to have an EU sticker on every poppy tray to confirm compliance with EU rules, or to make Northern Ireland poppy sellers exempt from this requirement.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are pleased that the Royal British Legion continues their charitable fundraising activities in Northern Ireland as they have always done. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has written to the Royal British Legion to assure them that the updated General Product Safety Regulation in Northern Ireland does not apply in respect of the Poppy Appeal.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking with the EU to ensure that the sale of poppies in Northern Ireland is removed or made exempt from the requirement to have an EU representative nominated with associated paperwork.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are pleased that the Royal British Legion continues their charitable fundraising activities in Northern Ireland as they have always done. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has written to the Royal British Legion to assure them that the updated General Product Safety Regulation in Northern Ireland does not apply in respect of the Poppy Appeal.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with the devolved administrations of the UK to share knowledge and experience gained from trials that ban or restrict the use of smartphones in schools.
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.
The department continues to be interested in the approaches taken in the devolved nations with regards to behaviour in schools. Officials have met with representatives from the devolved administrations to share knowledge and discuss policy development, including around mobile phone use in schools, to inform a broader understanding of the policies across different education systems.
Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.
The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether workers from the Republic of Ireland will require digital identification cards to work in the United Kingdom when those cards are introduced.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We will ensure our commitments in the Good Friday Agreement, the Windsor Framework and the Common Travel Area are respected and maintained.
We will design this system to help ensure everyone who has a right to live and work in any part of the UK can do so easily and securely.
We are working with our counterparts in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and will continue to engage to ensure the system works for people on both sides of the border.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the Common Travel Area is maintained for people travelling for work when digital identification cards are introduced.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We will ensure our commitments in the Good Friday Agreement, the Windsor Framework and the Common Travel Area are respected and maintained.
We will design this system to help ensure everyone who has a right to live and work in any part of the UK can do so easily and securely.
We are working with our counterparts in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and will continue to engage to ensure the system works for people on both sides of the border.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ireland about the introduction of digital identification cards.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We will ensure our commitments in the Good Friday Agreement, the Windsor Framework and the Common Travel Area are respected and maintained.
We will design this system to help ensure everyone who has a right to live and work in any part of the UK can do so easily and securely.
We are working with our counterparts in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and will continue to engage to ensure the system works for people on both sides of the border.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they have taken to reverse the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from their game with Aston Villa.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave during the debate on the Urgent Question relating to this issue, held in the House on Wednesday 22 October 2025.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to issue guidance to schools, colleges and universities about the provision of single sex-spaces.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.
The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the final report of the Cass Review which was published post-consultation, before setting out next steps.