Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Ministry of Justice have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Once the current parliamentary session ends, civil servants will cease to work on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Any remaining activity is limited to the management of parliamentary business and correspondence. This may include tasks such as responding to Parliamentary Questions and maintaining appropriate records, in line with normal procedures.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants in the Ministry of Justice are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of civil servants working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has varied over time. As of 21 April 2026, there were 2.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) officials in the Ministry of Justice.
Where necessary, specialist input has also been provided by officials from other teams and Departments on specific issues. This input is drawn from existing resources and cannot be reliably quantified as a separate FTE figure.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants in the Cabinet Office are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No Cabinet Office officials are currently working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill beyond minor administrative tasks such as preparing responses to Parliamentary Questions. The Cabinet Office has previously provided some drafting support to ensure that, should Parliament pass the Bill, it will operate as intended.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Cabinet Office have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As it is no longer possible for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to pass, Cabinet Office civil servants will not continue working on it, beyond minor administrative tasks such as preparing responses to Parliamentary Questions.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
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 27 April 2026, following the bill falling at the end of the parliamentary session on 24 April 2026, there are no dedicated civil servants working on the bill. In line with usual practice, the Government does not normally maintain dedicated teams working on a Private Member’s Bill once Parliament has ceased consideration of that bill.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.
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 27 April 2026, following the bill falling at the end of the parliamentary session on 24 April 2026, there are no dedicated civil servants working on the bill. In line with usual practice, the Government does not normally maintain dedicated teams working on a Private Member’s Bill once Parliament has ceased consideration of that bill.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the locations and specialisms of the 19 new technical excellence colleges announced on 14 April.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
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 27 March (HL15802), whether they plan to close the national investigation into water and sewerage service companies launched in November 2021 after the consideration of the three pending charges for the second defendant water company.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The three pending charges all relate to Environment Act 1995 Section 110 charges for failing to provide records required within the national investigation into water and sewerage service companies launched in November 2021. They are not the main focus of the investigation which deals with discharges to the environment when not meeting flow to full treatment and insufficient rainfall.
There are no plans to close the investigation after the three charges pending against the second defendant have been settled.
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 26 March (HL15523), whether they monitor the percentage of new style Employment and Support Allowance applications that are made for the primary condition of poor mental health.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department monitors the primary conditions recorded for new style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) applications. While primary conditions at application are not routinely published, these can be proxied through analysis of the claimants who are in the assessment phase of ESA, which is the first three months of the claim. The percentage of claimants in this phase with the main disabling condition ‘mental and behavioural’ is available on Stat-Xplore and reproduced in the table below:
Percentage of ESA Assessment Phase caseloads by main disabling condition:
| August 2024 | August 2025 |
ESA Assessment Phase with main disabling condition 'mental and behavioural disorders' | 24% | 24% |
ESA Assessment Phase with main disabling condition other than 'mental and behavioural disorders' | 76% | 76% |
* The latest available data is for August 2025.
* All new applications made to new style ESA are placed into “Assessment Phase”. This lasts for the first 13 weeks of an ESA claim.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Department of Health and Social Care will update the direct ministerial appointments portal with their appointments in 2026.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department publishes information on Direct Ministerial Appointments on the GOV.UK website and expects to move publication to the portal from April 2026.