Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many households with children have an income of £35,000 or more and receive Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2024, 220,000 out of 2.9m Universal Credit households with children that were paid an amount of Universal Credit had earnings that, according to publicly available tax and salary calculations, were equivalent to an annual salary of £35,000 a year or more.
Universal Credit is a means-tested in- and out-of-work benefit which reduces as household earnings increase. The level at which entitlement to Universal Credit ends will be different for different claimants/households depending on their circumstances and other unearned income.
Households with a higher entitlement to Universal Credit due to, for example, high housing costs and childcare costs, can earn more before their UC is tapered away compared to those with a lower entitlement.
It is right that the amount of Universal Credit a household is entitled to increases with the needs of a household and that it reduces as a household earns more.
Notes:
This analysis uses internal management information therefore UC households with children figures do not precisely match published statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of the case for establishing a Select Committee, in line with section 9 of the Planning Act 2008, to consider the national policy statements for (1) energy, (2) renewable energy infrastructure, and (3) electricity networks infrastructure, for which the scrutiny periods expire on 22 July.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Liaison Committee is responsible for the establishment of select committees and it keeps the number of committees under regular review. No select committees have been established specifically for the purpose of considering National Policy Statements since the Act was passed in 2008. Existing committees can examine National Policy Statements within the scope of their orders of reference set by the House. For example, the Industry and Regulators Committee’s recent report Power struggle: Delivering Great Britain’s electricity grid infrastructure included recommendations on the National Policy Statements for Energy.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government through what mechanism and form of communication are recipients of honours informed of the awarding of their style, dignity or title; what correspondence is sent from (1) His Majesty's Government, (2) the Prime Minister, or (3) the Royal Household; and whether Members of Parliament are (a) asked, or (b) permitted, to handle such correspondence and provide it to recipients.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Honours lists are published twice a year at New Year and on the Sovereign’s Official Birthday. There are ten independent committees which assess nominations for the Prime Minister’s List.
Once the final honours list is agreed and The King’s informal approval obtained, sounding letters are sent to all those on the list asking if they are content for the Prime Minister to submit their name to The King for formal approval. Letters are sent in strict confidence from the Honours and Memorialisation Secretariat within the Cabinet Office. On occasion, phonecalls may be made to recipients prior to the letters being sent notifying them of the honour, however honours can only be accepted by recipients in writing following receipt of the official letter from the Secretariat. For the Birthday 2025 List, the sounding process began in early May.
On occasion, and following sounding and acceptance of an honour, letters of congratulation may be sent by the relevant Minister.
Following publication of the List, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood writes to the recipient to invite them to receive their honours at an Investiture.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the mechanism and form of communication used to inform recipients of honours of the awarding of their style, dignity and title; what correspondence is sent from (1) the Government, (2) the Prime Minister, or (3) the Royal Household; and whether Members of Parliament are asked, or permitted, to handle and provide such correspondence to recipients.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Honours lists are published twice a year at New Year and on the Sovereign’s Official Birthday. There are ten independent committees which assess nominations for the Prime Minister’s List.
Once the final honours list is agreed and The King’s informal approval obtained, sounding letters are sent to all those on the list asking if they are content for the Prime Minister to submit their name to The King for formal approval. Letters are sent in strict confidence from the Honours and Memorialisation Secretariat within the Cabinet Office. On occasion, phonecalls may be made to recipients prior to the letters being sent notifying them of the honour, however honours can only be accepted by recipients in writing following receipt of the official letter from the Secretariat. For the Birthday 2025 List, the sounding process began in early May.
On occasion, and following sounding and acceptance of an honour, letters of congratulation may be sent by the relevant Minister.
Following publication of the List, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood writes to the recipient to invite them to receive their honours at an Investiture.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 29 October 2024 (HC8963), how many local nature recovery strategies they expect to publish before the end of June, and what incentives have been given to local authorities to meet their expected timetable for publication.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Four Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) have already been published with many more expected in the coming months. The current ones are West of England, North Northamptonshire, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly and Isle of Wight.
Defra and Natural England are closely monitoring all remaining LNRS publication timescales. The Minister for Nature has written to all responsible authorities setting out her expectations around timely publication of their LNRS and transition to delivery. Officials are working closely with those few that are expecting to publish after December 2025 to seek assurance that their LNRSs will be published as soon as possible.
LNRSs will support responsible authorities, Defra group and local partners to make more strategic, informed decisions about nature recovery and planning for their area. Defra is in the process of confirming funding for this financial year to support the transition to leading and coordinating delivery of the LNRS for their area.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 4 June (HL7640), what additional steps they are taking to safeguard victim-survivors of domestic abuse on 'direct pay' ahead of their response to their consultation on "Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments".
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The CMS takes the issue of domestic abuse very seriously and is committed to ensuring victims and survivors of abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely.
The CMS has substantially strengthened its procedures and processes to support customers who are experiencing domestic abuse. They will not be complacent and will always look at ways to go even further.
The CMS has refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how abuse affects all genders.
The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse Plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan is regularly reviewed.
As well as the Domestic Abuse Plan, the CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced.
The CMS has a specialist team in place who deliver targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging and complex domestic abuse.
The CMS have also substantially reduced the time it takes to move a case from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay when a receiving parent reports missed payments
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 10 September 2024 (HL567), and with reference to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) article Economic statistics classifications and developments in public sector finances: April 2025 published on 22 May, why they do not consider Malvern Hills Trust to be a public body, and how they reconcile their Answer with the decision by the ONS to classify the Malvern Hills Trust to the local government subsector.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is Defra’s understanding that the Malvern Hills Trust is not a public body. This is based on the Cabinet Office’s guide to the classification of public bodies, which includes a helpful but brief definition in these terms: ‘A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to deliver a public or government service, though not as a ministerial department. The term refers to a wide range of public sector entities.’
The 1884 Private Bill that established Malvern Hills Trust also does not suggest that it would be classified as a public body.
More information on what constitutes a public body can be accessed in the Cabinet Office guide, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform (copy attached).
Defra does not hold information on the Office for National Statistics’ classification of the Malvern Hills Trust.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether internal drainage boards are subject to a biodiversity duty, as set out in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 and amended by section 102 of the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is Defra's position that Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) are subject to the biodiversity duty, as set out in section 40(1) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006 (as amended by section 102 of the Environment Act 2021). Defra’s view is that under the 2006 Act, IDBs are captured under section 40(4)(c) as public bodies and under 40(4)(d)(ii) as they are created or continued in existence by a public general Act (the Land Drainage Act 1991) which empowers the Secretary of State to establish them by Order.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Conservators of Ashdown Forest are considered to be a public authority.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whether the Conservators of Ashdown Forest are considered a public authority depends on the specific legal context. There is no general or universal definition of a public authority in UK law. It may include any individual or organisation that carries out functions on behalf of the public or a particular section of the public. Where an organisation needs to understand if it is defined as a public authority in a particular context, it will need to seek its own independent legal advice.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many sites of special scientific interest in England were assessed in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, (3) 2023, and (4) 2024.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 1 April 2023 Natural England changed from a unit (or area)-based assessment and corresponding reporting process to one based on the features within each site, called Whole Feature Assessment. A feature is a habitat, species or geological characteristic for which the site is important.
More information is available here TIN216 Edition 2 Environment Act Interim Target for protected sites - TIN216 and a copy is attached.
As of March 2025, the proportion of SSSI features that had an up-to-date condition assessment in England is 31.6%
The breakdown of the number of assessments in England in each of those years was as follows:
2021- 939 assessments
2022- 781 assessments
2023- 591 assessments
2024- 921 assessments
The number of assessments in a year refers to either an assessment of a unit (pre-2023), or a feature (from 2023) on a site and not to a whole site. More than one unit or feature may be assessed on a site in a year, and the same site may have been visited in more than 1 year to monitor different units or features.