Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 23 October (HL Deb col 945), whether the potential security threat posed by the proposed location of the Chinese Embassy is a material planning consideration; and whether the information used to assess that security threat will be published in full when the planning decision is made.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The full reasons for the decision will be set out in the final decision letter. All inquiry documents for this case are publicly available on Tower Hamlets website here . Post-inquiry representations will be listed in the decision letter and will be available on request.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Merron on 20 October (HL Deb col 480), in what way is the Mental Health Act "very significant" in supporting people with learning disabilities to access NHS services.

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

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out to tackle health inequalities and people with disabilities are a priority for care from a neighbourhood team with more holistic, on-going support. Ahead of this, action is underway to improve access and support through staff training, proactive health checks and plans, and the Mental Health Act reforms.

The Government knows that people with a learning disability and autistic people have poorer health outcomes than the general population, including, on average, dying younger. They continue to experience disparities in the quality of care they receive, which may include barriers to accessing the right support.

The Government is rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to the health and adult social care workforce to ensure staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe, informed care. Oliver’s Training is the Government’s preferred package for providers registered with the Care Quality Commission to meet the statutory training requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022. Over three million people have completed the e-learning package, the first part of this training, and more than 2,700 people have been trained to deliver the interactive second part nationwide.

Annual health checks for people with a learning disability are a crucial way to identify undetected conditions early and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments. NHS England is working with people with lived experience, clinical professionals, and commissioners to produce a quality framework to ensure that these vital checks are high-quality. NHS England is also taking forward a range of work to improve the quality of the services accessed by people with a learning disability, including rollout of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag across health and care services which enables health and publicly funded care professionals to record, share, and view details of the reasonable adjustments which individuals need to support their care and treatment.

The number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals is unacceptable, and there are still too many people being detained who could be supported to live well in their communities. The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament limits the scope of the ability to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people so that they can only be detained under Part 2, section 3 if they have a co-occurring mental disorder that requires hospital treatment. It also introduces measures to improve community support, including putting Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Registers on a statutory footing, and placing certain duties on integrated care boards and local authorities when exercising existing commissioning duties.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the issues faced by people with learning disabilities in accessing NHS services; and what plans they have to address those issues.

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

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out to tackle health inequalities and people with disabilities are a priority for care from a neighbourhood team with more holistic, on-going support. Ahead of this, action is underway to improve access and support through staff training, proactive health checks and plans, and the Mental Health Act reforms.

The Government knows that people with a learning disability and autistic people have poorer health outcomes than the general population, including, on average, dying younger. They continue to experience disparities in the quality of care they receive, which may include barriers to accessing the right support.

The Government is rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to the health and adult social care workforce to ensure staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe, informed care. Oliver’s Training is the Government’s preferred package for providers registered with the Care Quality Commission to meet the statutory training requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022. Over three million people have completed the e-learning package, the first part of this training, and more than 2,700 people have been trained to deliver the interactive second part nationwide.

Annual health checks for people with a learning disability are a crucial way to identify undetected conditions early and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments. NHS England is working with people with lived experience, clinical professionals, and commissioners to produce a quality framework to ensure that these vital checks are high-quality. NHS England is also taking forward a range of work to improve the quality of the services accessed by people with a learning disability, including rollout of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag across health and care services which enables health and publicly funded care professionals to record, share, and view details of the reasonable adjustments which individuals need to support their care and treatment.

The number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals is unacceptable, and there are still too many people being detained who could be supported to live well in their communities. The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament limits the scope of the ability to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people so that they can only be detained under Part 2, section 3 if they have a co-occurring mental disorder that requires hospital treatment. It also introduces measures to improve community support, including putting Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Registers on a statutory footing, and placing certain duties on integrated care boards and local authorities when exercising existing commissioning duties.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to adopt a policy to achieve equality of access to NHS services for people with learning disabilities and those without such disabilities.

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

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out to tackle health inequalities and people with disabilities are a priority for care from a neighbourhood team with more holistic, on-going support. Ahead of this, action is underway to improve access and support through staff training, proactive health checks and plans, and the Mental Health Act reforms.

The Government knows that people with a learning disability and autistic people have poorer health outcomes than the general population, including, on average, dying younger. They continue to experience disparities in the quality of care they receive, which may include barriers to accessing the right support.

The Government is rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to the health and adult social care workforce to ensure staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe, informed care. Oliver’s Training is the Government’s preferred package for providers registered with the Care Quality Commission to meet the statutory training requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022. Over three million people have completed the e-learning package, the first part of this training, and more than 2,700 people have been trained to deliver the interactive second part nationwide.

Annual health checks for people with a learning disability are a crucial way to identify undetected conditions early and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments. NHS England is working with people with lived experience, clinical professionals, and commissioners to produce a quality framework to ensure that these vital checks are high-quality. NHS England is also taking forward a range of work to improve the quality of the services accessed by people with a learning disability, including rollout of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag across health and care services which enables health and publicly funded care professionals to record, share, and view details of the reasonable adjustments which individuals need to support their care and treatment.

The number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals is unacceptable, and there are still too many people being detained who could be supported to live well in their communities. The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament limits the scope of the ability to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people so that they can only be detained under Part 2, section 3 if they have a co-occurring mental disorder that requires hospital treatment. It also introduces measures to improve community support, including putting Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Registers on a statutory footing, and placing certain duties on integrated care boards and local authorities when exercising existing commissioning duties.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure a level playing field for UK airlines and aviation businesses under current and future air services arrangements with EU member states.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Following the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU), air services arrangements between the United Kingdom (UK) and EU Member States have been governed by the Air Transport chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Corporation Agreement (the TCA). The TCA was negotiated in 2020 and provisions within the Air Transport chapter ensure fair and equal opportunities to access the market for both UK and EU carriers. The Department for Transport engages regularly with the UK aviation industry to understand any market access issues and provide support where necessary.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of how the absence of reciprocal recognition between the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency affects the ability of UK-registered aircraft to access maintenance, repair and overhaul services in EU member states, and what steps they are taking to address those constraints.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government has been clear that it will work to reset the relationship with Europe, to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to trade. Agreements on UK-EU licensing and maintenance organisation recognition must be established through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and agreed by the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The agenda is being agreed with the EU Commission and will be published in advance of the Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The Government is aware of the economic and employment impacts following EU exit, including on personnel licensing and maintenance organisation approvals, and will continue to seek expansions to the Aviation Safety Chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken an assessment of the economic and employment impact on the UK aviation sector arising from the absence of mutual recognition arrangements with the European Union.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government has been clear that it will work to reset the relationship with Europe, to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to trade. Agreements on UK-EU licensing and maintenance organisation recognition must be established through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and agreed by the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The agenda is being agreed with the EU Commission and will be published in advance of the Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The Government is aware of the economic and employment impacts following EU exit, including on personnel licensing and maintenance organisation approvals, and will continue to seek expansions to the Aviation Safety Chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to raise the issue of mutual recognition of professional aviation qualifications, including pilot and engineer licences, at the next meeting of the Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government has been clear that it will work to reset the relationship with Europe, to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to trade. Agreements on UK-EU licensing and maintenance organisation recognition must be established through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and agreed by the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The agenda is being agreed with the EU Commission and will be published in advance of the Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The Government is aware of the economic and employment impacts following EU exit, including on personnel licensing and maintenance organisation approvals, and will continue to seek expansions to the Aviation Safety Chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement where appropriate.

Found: Letter dated 24/10/2025 from Lord Katz to Lord Harper regarding the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration