Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have updated the charter for the Defence Safety Authority regarding reporting lines to account for there not being a Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence; and, if so, how.

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

The Defence Safety Authority (DSA) Charter, signed 15 May 2023, remains extant. As described in the Charter document itself, it is scheduled for review at least every five years and the Secretary of State also retains the ability to amend the Charter at any time.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid to (1) BPAS, (2) MSI Reproductive Choices, and (3) NUPAS, for abortion services and medication in each of the last 5 years.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The latest position on these statistics has been set out on the relevant webpage on the GOV.UK website, and is reproduced below for ease of reference:

“The Abortion statistics for England and Wales 2024 publication is delayed due to several operational issues. These include several technical challenges that have significantly reduced our ability to process paper HSA4 notifications efficiently. This coincided with an increase in the overall number of abortion notifications the Department receives each year.

Together, these factors have created a backlog of data that still requires processing and quality assurance. The data is being validated but the resulting delays to the publication timetable have impacted the timeliness of the now published 2023 statistics and continue to delay publication of 2024 and 2025 statistics.

The Department of Health and Social Care is currently working to deliver an improved service for collecting abortion notifications, designed to support more efficient processing of abortion data and enable more timely publications.

The statistics will be published once the required processing and quality assurance checks have been completed. We will announce the date for publication of the 2024 statistics in due course.”

The information requested on payments is not collected centrally. Although integrated care boards publish monthly transparency data on payments, including payments to BPAS, MSI Reproductive Choices, and NUPAS, this only relates to payments exceeding £25,000.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the abortion statistics for England and Wales 2024 will be published.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The latest position on these statistics has been set out on the relevant webpage on the GOV.UK website, and is reproduced below for ease of reference:

“The Abortion statistics for England and Wales 2024 publication is delayed due to several operational issues. These include several technical challenges that have significantly reduced our ability to process paper HSA4 notifications efficiently. This coincided with an increase in the overall number of abortion notifications the Department receives each year.

Together, these factors have created a backlog of data that still requires processing and quality assurance. The data is being validated but the resulting delays to the publication timetable have impacted the timeliness of the now published 2023 statistics and continue to delay publication of 2024 and 2025 statistics.

The Department of Health and Social Care is currently working to deliver an improved service for collecting abortion notifications, designed to support more efficient processing of abortion data and enable more timely publications.

The statistics will be published once the required processing and quality assurance checks have been completed. We will announce the date for publication of the 2024 statistics in due course.”

The information requested on payments is not collected centrally. Although integrated care boards publish monthly transparency data on payments, including payments to BPAS, MSI Reproductive Choices, and NUPAS, this only relates to payments exceeding £25,000.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of pensioners receive (1) the basic state pension, and (2) the new state pension, as of today.

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

In the quarter ending March 2026, around 5.4 million people (41%) who were receiving State Pension were receiving the New State Pension, while around 7.9 million people (59%) were receiving the Basic State Pension. The total State Pension caseload was approximately 13.3 million people.

Source: DWP Stat‑Xplore.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when will they answer question HL2660, which was due for answer by 6 August.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given on 18 September to question HL2660, copied below for ease:

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) has not used any powers under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act (PAFER) 2025 to conduct any searches of bank accounts.

The PSFA is obliged to hold information on the use of the powers under the PAFER Act and once the Act is fully implemented PSFA will report its use of the powers to Parliament annually.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what is the occupancy rate of parliamentary officials in the hired offices at 64 Victoria Street, London.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede

64 Victoria Steet is leased by the House of Commons as part of its estate to provide office accommodation to a total of 1,091 staff from Commons, shared and joint services. It provides 410 workstations and 34 meeting rooms over 6 floors. While the services of shared and joint teams are relevant to the House of Lords, the management of the Commons' estate is a matter for the House of Commons.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to ratify the Council of Europe framework convention on artificial intelligence and human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The UK was proud to be among the first countries to sign the Council of Europe’s AI Convention, the world’s first legally binding agreement on AI grounded in human rights, democracy and the rule of law. We will implement the Convention in a way that safeguards rights while supporting growth. We are working through our options for ratification that best give effect to this, including taking stock of existing legislative and administrative measures that meet the Convention's provisions.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many childminders there are active (1) today, and (2) in July 2024; and what assessment they have made for the change in number.

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

Ofsted's published statistics show there were 26,500 childminders on 31 March 2024 and 24,700 on 31 March 2026.

In the department’s 2025 provider survey, childminders reported leaving the profession for a range of reasons, including pay, concerns about entitlement funding, challenges associated with business administration and changes in personal circumstances, such as retirement.

The department has already taken steps to support childminders, including making it easier for them to work from a wider range of locations, such as schools and community centres.

We will also work with local authorities and the sector to ensure that childminders and other early years providers have the option to be paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of pensioners they forecast will receive the new state pension in (1) 2030, (2) 2035, and (3) 2040.

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

In 2030, 57% of people in Great Britain over State Pension Age are forecasted to be in receipt of the new State Pension. This rises to 74% in 2035 and 85% in 2040.

This is based off DWP’s internal modelling consistent with Spring Statement 2026 forecasts and the ONS’ 2024-based population projections.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government which paragraphs of the Explanatory Notes to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, as presented by Lauren Edwards this year, were prepared by or involved the assistance of civil servants.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of civil servants working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has varied over time. As of 11 September 2026, there were seven full-time equivalent (FTE) officials working on the bill in the Department of Health and Social Care, 1.3 FTE officials from the Ministry of Justice, and two FTE officials from the Government Legal Department. The bill team has subsequently been disbanded.

The final wording of the Explanatory Notes was a matter entirely for the bill sponsor, but as part of the Government’s duty to the statute book, civil servants did suggest minor factual amendments for the sponsor to consider.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many officials (FTE) worked on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, including any supported documents, as presented by Lauren Edwards this year.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of civil servants working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has varied over time. As of 11 September 2026, there were seven full-time equivalent (FTE) officials working on the bill in the Department of Health and Social Care, 1.3 FTE officials from the Ministry of Justice, and two FTE officials from the Government Legal Department. The bill team has subsequently been disbanded.

The final wording of the Explanatory Notes was a matter entirely for the bill sponsor, but as part of the Government’s duty to the statute book, civil servants did suggest minor factual amendments for the sponsor to consider.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to ratify the Council of Europe Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Subject to domestic implementation and parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG), we expect ratification in Spring 2027.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following their ad hoc analysis on State Pension uprating, published on 29 September, and in relation to their proposed changes to the state pension from 2030, whether they will publish the assumed figures used for the decade 2030-2040 by year for (1) average earnings growth, (2) inflation/CPI, and (3) the number of pensioners receiving the (a) basic state pension, and (b) new state pension.

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

The Department has published analysis of the move to using an adjusted triple lock to uprate the State Pension from April 2030. This analysis did not use single year assumptions for earnings or prices growth. Further detail of the methodology used is contained in the release published on the 28th September.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of child benefit that has been paid to parents who have left the UK permanently or for prolonged periods of time.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not produce statistics on the amount of Child Benefit paid to individuals outside of the UK.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of median earnings will be the target for pensioners to receive when considering further changes to pension upratings post 2030, if an uplift in line with inflation or 2.5 per cent is deemed not sufficient in a given year.

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

From April 2030, the basic State Pension and the full rate of the new State Pension will rise each year by the highest of inflation (the rise in the consumer price index), 2.5% or the amount required to return or maintain the value of the State Pension relative to earnings in 2029/30.

Found: Committee Minutes of the 10th Meeting, held at 09.45am on Wednesday 16 September 2026 Present: Baroness Coffey

Found: Wednesday 16 September 2026 10 am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Sheehan (The Chair); Baroness Coffey

Found: Letter dated 18/09/2026 from Baroness Taylor of Stevenage to Baroness Coffey, Baroness Parminter of Godalming