Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel over the past four weeks to press them on the need to reconsider the effect of their policies on the health, welfare and survival of the residents of Gaza.

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

We have made repeated representations to the Government of Israel over the past month on humanitarian access, protection of healthcare, and protection of civilians, including in the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary's meetings on 10th September with President Herzog.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what further resources they intend to make available to eliminate pollution of the River Wye from sewage discharges and chicken manure.

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

Cleaning up our rivers, seas, and lakes, including iconic sites such as the River Wye, is a top Government priority. In a joint initiative worth up to £1 million, Defra and Welsh Government will fund comprehensive cross-border research to understand pollution and other pressures and develop plans to tackle these issues in the Wye catchment.

This funding will ensure farmers, environmental campaigners, citizen scientists and other local experts, can help us gather essential evidence about what is causing this iconic river to be so polluted, and chart a course towards improving water quality and restoring nature across the catchment.

We are working with farmers, local stakeholders and experts in the Wye to research what is causing pollution in the catchment. This focus on gathering data and evidence, using a ‘living labs’ approach, will help us understand and address problems to ensure a diverse range of perspectives are heard and the evidence which is gathered is comprehensive and actionable

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards increasing the level of exports from the UK to countries in the European Union.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

Exports (goods and services) to the EU in the 12 months to June 2025 totalled £377 billion, up 6% in current prices and up 5% when adjusted for inflation, compared to the previous 12 months, with exports of services reaching a record £198 billion.

DBT continues to offer a range of support for SME’s, with our Small Business Plan setting out the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation. This includes Unlock Europe, a programme from UK Export Academy designed to help businesses build relationships with European customers and increase exporting potential to the EU.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about the construction of a third road bridge across the Menai Strait.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

There have been no recent discussions between His Majesty's Government (HMG) and Welsh Government regarding a possible third road bridge across the Menai strait. HMG, through the Union Connectivity Development Fund, provided some financial support to Transport for Wales to undertake a study of the resilience of the existing Menai crossings.

The maintenance and improvement of the road network in Wales is a matter devolved to the Welsh Government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent estimate they have made of the impact of Brexit on the economy.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the Government’s official forecaster.

In 2020, the OBR estimated that the additional trade barriers associated with leaving the EU will reduce trade intensity by 15 per cent and as a result GDP will be 4 per cent lower than it otherwise would have been. The OBR estimated that around two-fifths of the 4 per cent impact had already occurred by the time the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force, that GDP would be 2.7 per cent lower by 2025, with the remaining reduction occurring by 2031.

In the OBR’s March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, they reaffirmed these assumptions were on track, and as of Spring 2025 these forecasts were unchanged.

Other independent studies are also consistent with this analysis, for example the National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimates that GDP will be 5 to 6 per cent lower as a result of Brexit.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following proposals by the European Commission to double the tariff on steel and to limit tariff-free import volume, what steps they intend to take to safeguard the future of the steel industry in (1) Port Talbot, and (2) Llanwern.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are engaging with the EU on how their proposed trade measure will apply to the UK, while honouring our existing agreements and minimising disruption. We reserve the right to take any action in response to changes to our trading relationships.

The government is working with UK industry, including Tata Steel, which operates the Port Talbot and Llanwern sites, to understand potential impacts and solutions. Minister McDonald held a roundtable with industry and unions on 9 October.

Our steel strategy will set a clear vision for a competitive industry and we are developing proposals for future steel trade measures.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many incidents there have been of drone sightings in the vicinity of high security military establishments in the UK this year; and what steps they have taken to identify and capture those drones.

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

Since 1 January 2025 there have been a total of 187 drone sightings in the vicinity of military establishments in the UK. We will not comment on the sensitivity of establishments or our specific security arrangements in relation to identifying and capturing drones, however we can assure you that we take the safety and security of our personnel, assets and operations extremely seriously. We maintain multi-layered security measures, including counter-drone capabilities which can identify and facilitate the capture of drones.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what amount of interest was paid on the UK national debt for each financial year since, and including, 2015–16.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The requested information is in the table below and publicly available in the Office for National Statistics’ Public Sector Finances bulletin for September 2025. [1]

The government is committed to its non-negotiable fiscal rules, to reduce debt and borrowing. This is the responsible choice – to live within our means, reduce our levels of borrowing in the years ahead and support the Bank of England to get inflation down, so we can deliver on the promises of working people, spend less on servicing debt and reduce the burden on future generations.

[1] Please see Appendix A, table PSA6B part 2, second column (Series NMFX). This series denotes Central Government debt interest payable. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/datasets/publicsectorfinancesappendixatables110

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Equality and Social Justice Committee of Senedd Cymru Co-operation over Conflict: Wales must act published in October, and whether they will take steps in response to its finding that there is a "tinderbox of division and discontent".

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

It is clear that there are feelings of division and frustration in this country, with people feeling the strain of economic insecurity. By recognising and addressing these concerns through some of the interventions included in the Pride in Place Strategy, we seek to improve the lives of people in this country, in the places that they live.

The Strategy announced the Government’s flagship Pride in Place programme, supporting 244 neighbourhoods with up to £20 million each over the next decade. Nine local authorities in Wales will benefit from the new programme. These areas will join five communities where work is already underway, taking the total to fourteen local authorities across Wales sharing £280 million. Local authorities will be invited to propose the communities within their areas to participate in the Pride in Place Programme for UK Government approval with capacity and capital funding to all places from Spring 2026. This funding can be used to support community cohesion interventions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many hotels in Wales they have used to accommodate asylum seekers (1) previously, and (2) currently.

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

For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.

As of the latest published statistics on 30 June 2025, the number of asylum seekers staying in contingency hotels in Wales was 76, compared to 53 in June 2024 and 110 in June 2023.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the annual number of insects killed in the UK by wind turbines, and what impact this may have on the sustainability of insect populations.

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

The Government has not made an assessment of the annual number of insects killed in England by wind turbines, nor on the sustainability of insect populations accordingly.

International research estimates that individual turbines in temperate regions may kill millions of insects per year. However, to understand the impacts of wind turbines on the sustainability of insect populations, it is necessary to evaluate them in the context of other pressures. Factors operating at larger scales likely have a greater overall impact, e.g. land management and pesticide use.

The Natural Environment Research Council is funding the DRUID project to understand the drivers and repercussions of UK insect declines.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they taken to make a quantitative assessment of the impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on the economies of Wales and Scotland.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government considered the impact of all measures announced at the Budget in October 2024 on the economies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These considerations also form part of the process for the Budget that the Chancellor is due to deliver on 26 November.

The Government provides information to the Office for Budget Responsibility to enable it to deliver its forecast for those elements of taxation which are devolved.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) graduate recruitments, and (2) apprentice recruitments, there have been in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, and (d) Northern Ireland, in each year since 2020.

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

The exact data requested is not held by the department, but we publish data on the number and proportion of first degree graduates and apprenticeship achievers that are in sustained employment at around one year after graduation, for UK-domiciled graduates graduating from English higher education providers only and apprentices achieving their qualification in England. The latest available data is for learners qualifying in 2020/21 who were in sustained employment in the 2022/23 tax year. More recent data is unavailable due to lags in data availability.

These statistics are available in the following publications:

• ‘Further Education Outcomes’, last released in November 2024: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-outcomes/2021-22.
• ‘LEO Graduate and Postgraduate Outcomes’, last released in June 2025: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/leo-graduate-and-postgraduate-outcomes/2022-23.

The data is also available at the following linked tables derived from those publications:

• Apprenticeship graduates: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/310f48b3-fa52-4fd3-7a4a-08de11c58191.
• First Degree graduates: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c46f37fc-5cf2-487c-95b0-08de11382822.