Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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
Country | Headcount | FTE |
England | 440,845 | 413,970 |
Northern Ireland | 4,880 | 4,640 |
Scotland | 56,675 | 53,275 |
Wales | 41,155 | 38,220 |
Overseas | 3,760 | 3,740 |
Unknown | 2,345 | 2,300 |
Total | 549,660 | 516,150 |
Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES), Cabinet Office
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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]
Time period | Current expenditure, of which Interest (£ million) |
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016 | 46,360 |
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017 | 49,922 |
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018 | 56,162 |
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019 | 50,134 |
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020 | 50,266 |
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021 | 41,012 |
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 | 70,892 |
Apr 2022 to Mar 2023 | 108,063 |
Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 | 83,213 |
Apr 2024 to Mar 2025 | 85,402 |
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
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
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.