Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to secure and protect communications cables in the Atlantic Ocean which either (1) go directly from the UK, or (2) go from the UK through the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government works closely with international partners and industry to ensure the security and resilience of trans-Atlantic subsea telecoms cables. At the UK-Ireland Summit in March 2025, both countries committed to collaborating on maritime security with an emphasis on safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure. For example, the Government is already working with Irish counterparts to improve our emergency response procedures. The Government also recently unveiled Atlantic Bastion, the Royal Navy's plan to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO. It will exploit advances in autonomy and artificial intelligence to deter the growing underwater threat in light of a modernising Russian submarine force.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received a request from the government of the Republic of Ireland to provide security support for any events to take place in the Republic of Ireland during its tenure of the upcoming EU Presidency.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
His Majesty's Government has received no such request.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what direction they gave to police, if any, about the decision to ban tractors from entering Whitehall on 26 November.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.
The management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police. It is not for Government to direct the police in how they should manage protest activity. The police must enforce the law without fear nor favour and assess each protest and the potential disruption it may cause on its own merits.
The Home Office does not hold confirmed data on the number of arrests made or vehicles seized.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) people were arrested, and (2) vehicles were seized, in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square on 26 November.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.
The management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police. It is not for Government to direct the police in how they should manage protest activity. The police must enforce the law without fear nor favour and assess each protest and the potential disruption it may cause on its own merits.
The Home Office does not hold confirmed data on the number of arrests made or vehicles seized.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timescale for the development of the Sizewell C nuclear plant.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Sizewell C Ltd plan to begin operating the power plant in the mid- to late-2030s.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the value of goods imported from China to the UK each year for the past 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
27 October 2025
Dear Lord Elliott,
As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the value of goods imported from China to the UK each year for the past 10 years (HL11221).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes UK trade in goods data at country level in our trade in goods: country by commodity imports dataset as part of our monthly UK trade release[1]. This data is available up to August 2025.
Data on UK imports of goods from China can be found in Table 1. Please note that all data are in current prices and, as such, include the effect of inflation.
Table 1: UK imports of goods from China, 2015 – 2024
£ billion, current prices, including precious metals
Year | Import value (£bn) |
2015 | 36.947 |
2016 | 40.827 |
2017 | 43.706 |
2018 | 44.231 |
2019 | 49.973 |
2020 | 55.198 |
2021 | 65.970 |
2022 | 71.481 |
2023 | 68.109 |
2024 | 67.264 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
Yours sincerely,
Emma Rourke
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to remove the 5 percent VAT rate currently applied to domestic fuel.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many dwellings have been completed but cannot be occupied due to delay in inspection by the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As of 15 October 2025, there are currently five Gateway 3 New Build applications covering 1,336 residential units awaiting approval, and 12 Gateway 3 New Build applications approved covering 1,187 units.
Currently, no Gateway 3 New Build applications have been withdrawn, invalidated or rejected.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many dwellings have received gateway three approval from the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As of 15 October 2025, there are currently five Gateway 3 New Build applications covering 1,336 residential units awaiting approval, and 12 Gateway 3 New Build applications approved covering 1,187 units.
Currently, no Gateway 3 New Build applications have been withdrawn, invalidated or rejected.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many dwellings are awaiting gateway three approval from the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As of 15 October 2025, there are currently five Gateway 3 New Build applications covering 1,336 residential units awaiting approval, and 12 Gateway 3 New Build applications approved covering 1,187 units.
Currently, no Gateway 3 New Build applications have been withdrawn, invalidated or rejected.