Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest figure for the total number of people employed in the Civil Service, and how many of those people are employed in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) overseas.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Headline information on the number of civil servants are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the accredited official statistics release ‘Public Sector Employment Statistics’. Latest data as at June 2025 shows that there are 550,730 civil servants on a headcount basis and 516,950 on a FTE basis.

More detailed information on employment numbers by region including overseas are published annually by the Cabinet Office as part of the accredited official statistics release ‘Civil Service Statistics’. Latest information as at 31 March 2025 can be found at table 1 below:

Table 1: Regional distribution of Civil Service employment, as at 31 March 2025

Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES), Cabinet Office

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 27 October (HL Deb col 1192), whether the aim to "sort out Hillside" referred to the consequences of the decision of the Supreme Court in Hillside Parks Ltd v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30 or the planning status of the hillside location in Aberdyfi; and when they expect the Hillside issue to be resolved.

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

My remarks to the House set out the Government’s proposed approach to handling the broader implications of the Supreme Court judgement on the use of drop in permissions for the development sector in England, not the specific case in Wales subject to the judgement.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the likely cost to the public purse of the settlement of the compensation claims against the Post Office for wrongful action against sub-postmasters.

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

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government set aside £1.8 billion of funding for redress payments from 2024-25 in addition to around £200 million that had already been distributed. This £1.8 billion is not a target or a limit. Details of the latest redress estimates have already been disclosed in the Departments Annual Accounts. The final amount will depend on how many victims come forward and their specific circumstances.

As of 31 October 2025, approximately £1.273 billion has been paid to over 9,500 claimants.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's finding that 26 percent of the 1,720 native plants it studied are threatened with extinction; and what plans they have to protect such species.

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

In England, we have four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; to reverse declines by at least 10% by 2042, when compared with 2030; to reduce the risk of national species extinction by 2042; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042.

To meet these targets and deliver positive outcomes for species, including threatened plants, we are taking actions to: create and restore, wildlife-rich habitats; reduce pressures on biodiversity; and deliver targeted action for threatened species. For example, Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme provides funding for targeted action for threatened species, including a range of plant species such as the Fen orchid and the Lady Slipper orchid.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate on infringement of copyright arising from the use of artificial intelligence.

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

The Government consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI) This included seeking views on the use of copyright material in AI model development.

The Government is considering all responses to the consultation. Alongside this we launched expert working groups in July, bringing together representatives of the creative, media and AI sectors, and convened a parliamentary working group. Together this will inform next steps.

The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue, and set out its proposals in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following allegations of pressure to shut down human rights research  at Sheffield Hallam University, what plans they have to investigate foreign interference in and attempts to influence the nature and purpose of academic research projects.

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

The department is clear that foreign interference is unacceptable, and higher education providers are already required to ensure that decisions are taken without direction, coercion or covert influence. Wherever it is identified, the government and the Office for Students (OfS) can and will act, using a range of existing and upcoming requirements.

The government conducted an internal review informed by engagement with the regulator, the sector and academics impacted by foreign interference. It concluded that whilst there were a range of existing requirements on universities that protected against foreign interference, more should be done to support providers to proportionately mitigate risk. We set out our considerations in the “Future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act” policy paper published in June 2025, and are taking steps to share good practice, raise awareness and develop new responses where necessary.

This work, along with the implementation and evaluation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, bolsters the existing layers of protection offered by the OfS and the National Security Act. We take this very seriously and will continue to keep our response under review, including considering these recent allegations, to ensure it remains effective and proportionate.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the law around class actions to establish a maximum on damages awarded and legal costs claimable.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

As a general rule, the appropriate damages to be awarded in individual cases are independently determined by the courts on the basis of the relevant law and evidence, once liability has been established. In England and Wales, costs follow the event.

The Government has no plans to establish a cap on damages or costs in collective actions generally.

The Department for Business and Trade recently issued a Call for Evidence on the opt-out collective actions regime in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The Civil Justice Council recently concluded a review of litigation funding which is a common form of funding in collective action claims. The Government is reviewing the Council’s report and will make an announcement in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated annual tax revenue arising from the gambling industry.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Total Betting & Gaming Duty receipts for 2024-25 were £3.6 billion [1].

HMRC does not collate separate data for gambling operators for other tax heads.

[1]See https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-betting-and-gaming-statistics for further detail

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases for compensation arising from the Post Office Horizon scandal are outstanding, and how much has been allocated to pay those outstanding claims.

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

As of 31 October 2025, approximately £1.27 billion has been paid to over 9,500 claimants. The table below illustrates the progress to date and is available on GOV.UK. The Department only reports on claims received, as there is not a fixed cohort of claims across these schemes.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government set aside £1.8 billion of funding for redress payments from 2024-25 in addition to around £200 million that had already been distributed. This is not a target or limit.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Russian drones have been identified as being within 50 miles of the UK coast in each quarter of the past year.

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

The Royal Navy continuously monitors UK waters and stands ready to respond to the presence of Russian drones. For reasons of national security, we cannot disclose the specific number of incidents of Russian military activity recorded during any given period.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of applying a Danish model of border control and asylum policy.

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

Plans to Restore Order and Control to the UK asylum and returns system draw inspiration from the Danish model but are not a simple copy. Assessment of the costs and benefits of the model will be made through Impact Assessments where legislation is required to enact the changes presented in the policy statement to the House on 17th November.

Found: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell Lord Scriven Baroness Goudie Lord Wigley