Lord Harper

The newly installed fence along Abingdon Street, on the western side of the Palace of Westminster, and the works to Peers' Entrance together form part of a single security driven construction project. The House of Lords Commission received an update on the case for enhancing security in January 2023. In November 2023, the Commission considered the options and in May 2024 considered more detailed papers relating to each of the two phases of works to both Peers' Entrance and the Abingdon Street fence. The two phases taken in sequence provide a layered security model for Parliament, to improve the safety of all those who work on and visit the Parliamentary Estate. The priority now is to ensure the door functions correctly and that this element is operating fully.

Alongside the Spending Review 2025 publication, Departmental Efficiency Delivery Plans were published on GOV.UK. The Department for Transport section at paragraphs 2.83 - 2.92 provides further information on these efficiencies and table 2.10 (copied below) shows the breakdown for how the department will deliver £663million of technical efficiencies by 2028/29.

Rail passenger services subsidy is expected to reduce by over 50 per cent from £2.4 billion in 2024-25.

The Spending Review settlement assumes that passenger revenue increases by an average of 6 per cent per annum over the period.

Public ownership will result in a reduction in the fees paid to private sector operators and enable efficiencies to be delivered through horizontal integration of operators. Costs are assumed to increase by less than revenue each year, resulting in the net subsidy reduction.

To access the grant, manufacturers must hold a validated science-based target, which means they are committed to sustainable practices. These are assessed by the independent Science Based Target Initiative.

If a manufacturer holds a science-based target, whether and how much grant funding a vehicle could receive is based on the carbon emissions from the generation of energy used to assemble the vehicle and produce its battery. These criteria are assessed by the Department for Transport.

The price cap ensures the Electric Car Grant targets the more affordable end of the zero emission car market. We expect this grant will support a range of models, including several under £20,000 or leased at under £200 per month.

The Department estimates that tens of thousands of vehicles will be supported by the Electric Car Grant. The exact number of vehicles supported by the grant will depend on consumer uptake and the number of cars eligible for the grant.

The grant design will remain under review throughout its operation to ensure maximum value for money, and the scheme will be subject to amendment or early closure with no notice should funds become exhausted.

I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement (HLWS875) which was made to the House on 22 July 2025, which stated:

“It has been brought to my attention that a written answer given to Lord Scriven contained inaccurate information related to the work of the Department for Health and Social Care.

The reply to written Parliamentary Question HL8983, tabled by Lord Scriven on 30 June 2025, stated that “the Department’s staff numbers have needed to increase to ensure the right skills and capability to deliver several of the Government’s major priorities.” The answer then went on to list a number of areas which have required additional staff resource within the Department. The Assisted Dying Bill has required additional resource but should not have been referred to as a Government priority given the Government’s neutrality on the issue.

For clarity, the answer should read:

“The Department’s total paybill and staffing costs have not risen by £20 million since July 2024; rather, they have risen, but by £2.5 million in that time.

Since the General Election, the Department’s staff numbers have needed to increase to ensure the right skills and capability to deliver several of the Government’s major priorities. During this period, payroll costs have also increased because of annual pay increases.

Given the scale of the challenges facing the health and social care system, as part of the Spending Review, the Department is working on reducing its headcount down to pre-election levels during 2025/26. This is a key step towards a streamlined centre, to support continued prioritisation towards front-line services.”

I would like to apologise for any confusion.”

The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. This requires a range of policies, which is why we have set out decisive action in the 10-Year Health Plan. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online.  These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and deliver approximately £2 billion in health benefits. The restrictions are expected to reduce childhood obesity by 20,000 cases. The restrictions specifically target categories of products that have been identified as of most concern in relation to childhood obesity. However, we also recognise that the restrictions will have an impact on businesses, and we have therefore made sure that the restrictions are proportionate and strike the right balance between health benefits and impact on businesses, for example ensuring that brand advertising which does not identify less healthy food or drink products is not in the scope of the policy.

The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. This requires a range of policies, which is why we have set out decisive action in the 10-Year Health Plan. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online.  These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and deliver approximately £2 billion in health benefits. The restrictions are expected to reduce childhood obesity by 20,000 cases. The restrictions specifically target categories of products that have been identified as of most concern in relation to childhood obesity. However, we also recognise that the restrictions will have an impact on businesses, and we have therefore made sure that the restrictions are proportionate and strike the right balance between health benefits and impact on businesses, for example ensuring that brand advertising which does not identify less healthy food or drink products is not in the scope of the policy.

The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. This requires a range of policies, which is why we have set out decisive action in the 10-Year Health Plan. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online.  These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and deliver approximately £2 billion in health benefits. The restrictions are expected to reduce childhood obesity by 20,000 cases. The restrictions specifically target categories of products that have been identified as of most concern in relation to childhood obesity. However, we also recognise that the restrictions will have an impact on businesses, and we have therefore made sure that the restrictions are proportionate and strike the right balance between health benefits and impact on businesses, for example ensuring that brand advertising which does not identify less healthy food or drink products is not in the scope of the policy.

Individuals will be removed to France using our existing legislation. Our inadmissibility, certification and removal processes are well established in published guidance and enable us to declare asylum and humanitarian protection claims inadmissible, not substantively consider them in the UK and quickly remove relevant individuals to a safe third country.

An Immigration Rule change will be made to operationalise the new legal route into the UK. The full legal basis will be presented to Parliament in due course and the operational arrangements – which have been discussed with European partners – will also be set out to Parliament in due course.

Individuals will be removed to France using our existing legislation. Our inadmissibility, certification and removal processes are well established in published guidance and enable us to declare asylum and humanitarian protection claims inadmissible, not substantively consider them in the UK and quickly remove relevant individuals to a safe third country.

An Immigration Rule change will be made to operationalise the new legal route into the UK. The full legal basis will be presented to Parliament in due course and the operational arrangements – which have been discussed with European partners – will also be set out to Parliament in due course.

Individuals will be removed to France using our existing legislation. Our inadmissibility, certification and removal processes are well established in published guidance and enable us to declare asylum and humanitarian protection claims inadmissible, not substantively consider them in the UK and quickly remove relevant individuals to a safe third country.

An Immigration Rule change will be made to operationalise the new legal route into the UK. The full legal basis will be presented to Parliament in due course and the operational arrangements – which have been discussed with European partners – will also be set out to Parliament in due course.

As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the Government recognises the importance of taking a particularly careful approach to the handling of data of under 18s who are on the electoral register and our plans reflect this. We are working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure appropriate safeguards are put in place to protect young peoples’ data. We will ensure UK GDPR conditions are complied with, including a Data Protection Impact Assessment and providing a policy document setting out compliance and retention policies and we will ensure that any privacy notices are suitable for this age group.

We will also remove the presumption that citizens will be added to the open register unless they opt out. Citizens will need to opt in if they wish to appear on the open register. In line with guidance from Information Commissioner’s Office, we consider that an opt in arrangement is a more effective form of consent than the existing opt out process. This will mean those aged between 16 and 17, alongside those aged 18 and over, will be able to make an informed decision and their data will only appear on the open register if they actively decide that they want to allow it.

This government is committed to ensuring that everyone who is entitled to register to vote is able to. The primary purposes of the annual canvass are to ensure our electoral registers are kept up to date and to ensure those entitled to register are identified and invited to do so. 16- and 17-year-olds are already canvassed in the same way as other electors due to their inclusion on the electoral register as attainers. In extending the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, it is vital they are given the same opportunities to be accurately registered as any other elector.

Our approach balances the need for adequate safeguards within our electoral system, without disadvantaging young voters from being able to participate in it. This mirrors the approaches taken in Scotland and Wales, where the right to vote has already been extended to those aged 16 and 17.

The prohibition on dual registration has historically affected organisations which operated under formal electoral agreements and stood joint candidates with other parties. Despite their longstanding and legitimate arrangements, these restrictions meant legitimate smaller parties were excluded from participating fully, effectively barring these parties from our democracy.

These reforms now plan to correct this issue in limited circumstances, which will allow legitimate campaigning, while still preventing parties from gaming the system.

These measures support the broader democratic objective of enabling a diverse range of campaigners to participate in political debate. It is vital that voters are able to hear a variety of voices and perspectives, and third-party campaigners play a critical role in fostering healthy democratic engagement.

Electoral registers are the foundation of our democratic processes, showing who is eligible to vote in which elections. The Government is committed to improving electoral registration. We are exploring a wide range of approaches to enable improvements in both completeness and accuracy of electoral registers, including making greater use of public sector data and digital services. Any changes will be based on robust evidence and user research.

The statutory responsibility for maintaining the completeness and accuracy of their local electoral registers lies with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and the Government supports EROs in this.