Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 8 July (HL1794), what is the source of the data provided, including a direct link to where it is published; and what is the quarterly breakdown of the annualised data provided from Q1 2016 to Q1 2026.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Real household disposable income (RHDI) is reported by the ONS as part of the UK Economic Accounts, available here: UK Economic Accounts - Office for National Statistics. Due to quarterly volatility, RHDI per capita is best suited to annual comparisons. The previous response noted that RHDI per capita was £26,159 in 2019 (Q1 2019 to Q4 2019), compared to £26,187 in the year to Q1 2026 (Q2 2025 to Q1 2026).
The quarterly data is provided in the table below:
Quarter | RHDI per capita |
Q1 2016 | 6,336 |
Q2 2016 | 6,340 |
Q3 2016 | 6,286 |
Q4 2016 | 6,235 |
Q1 2017 | 6,208 |
Q2 2017 | 6,347 |
Q3 2017 | 6,359 |
Q4 2017 | 6,381 |
Q1 2018 | 6,424 |
Q2 2018 | 6,374 |
Q3 2018 | 6,389 |
Q4 2018 | 6,475 |
Q1 2019 | 6,459 |
Q2 2019 | 6,542 |
Q3 2019 | 6,554 |
Q4 2019 | 6,604 |
Q1 2020 | 6,488 |
Q2 2020 | 6,368 |
Q3 2020 | 6,540 |
Q4 2020 | 6,562 |
Q1 2021 | 6,618 |
Q2 2021 | 6,634 |
Q3 2021 | 6,577 |
Q4 2021 | 6,449 |
Q1 2022 | 6,465 |
Q2 2022 | 6,311 |
Q3 2022 | 6,299 |
Q4 2022 | 6,386 |
Q1 2023 | 6,305 |
Q2 2023 | 6,363 |
Q3 2023 | 6,338 |
Q4 2023 | 6,356 |
Q1 2024 | 6,448 |
Q2 2024 | 6,455 |
Q3 2024 | 6,559 |
Q4 2024 | 6,649 |
Q1 2025 | 6,610 |
Q2 2025 | 6,562 |
Q3 2025 | 6,513 |
Q4 2025 | 6,584 |
Q1 2026 | 6,529 |
Notes on the data: RHDI per capita is calculated by dividing real household disposable income (ONS variable NRJR) by total population (ONS variable EBAQ).
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of computing capacity located in the UK that could not be remotely disabled, restricted, or otherwise rendered unavailable by a supplier, government, or other entity based outside the UK.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government works closely with industry partners to strengthen the resilience of critical digital infrastructure and to reduce vulnerabilities that could arise from supply chain dependencies, cyber risks or single points of failure. This includes promoting robust cybersecurity practices, business continuity planning and risk management measures across critical sectors.
Through the National Cyber Security Centre and other relevant authorities, the Government continues to assess risks to the UK's digital infrastructure and, where necessary, takes action to protect national security and the continuity of essential services.
Asked by: Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will extend non-payment of inheritance tax on personal estates from six to 12 months because of severe delays to the obtaining of probate.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Inheritance tax is due at the end of the sixth month after the date of death. After this point, late payment interest will begin to accrue on the outstanding tax. The Government has no plans to change the existing, longstanding deadlines.
The most recent Family Court Statistics Bulletin published by the Ministry of Justice shows that probate grants took approximately 5 weeks to be issued after the application was submitted during January to March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the expansion of artificial intelligence companies on demand for commercial office space in London.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the significant contribution that AI companies make to economic growth and innovation.
Demand for commercial office space in London is influenced by a range of factors, including wider economic conditions, business investment and workplace trends. The expansion of AI companies may contribute to demand for office space, particularly in innovation and technology clusters, but the Government does not routinely assess the impact of individual sectors on the commercial property market.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology office at 22–26 Whitehall.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
22-26 Whitehall has 825 desk work settings. The site is used by multiple Government departments, and official figures have not yet been updated following the creation of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
On 30 June 2026, 22-26 Whitehall had 998 active DSIT civil servants as their contracted office location.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Oxton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet the efficiency savings outlined in the funding package for the Defence Investment Plan.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Defence will deliver £10.7 billion of efficiencies and savings over the Parliament, including through a reshaped civilian workforce, accelerated use of AI, £1 billion of savings from reduced reliance on consultancies, and rationalisation of the MOD estate. This will be underpinned by a £500m Transformation Fund to deliver productivity improving investments in AI and workforce transformation
The plan will be subject to an annual update to Parliament before summer recess, audited by the NAO, with the first update due by July 2027.
A further breakdown of the Defence Reform and Efficiency Plan can be found on page 73 of the Defence Investment Plan, available on the government website.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Oxton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to allocate further funding to the Defence Investment Plan.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Defence Investment Plan allocates a further £15 billion to defence spending over the next four years, funded by reprioritising public spending, with £10.3 billion already identified and a further £4.7 billion to be confirmed at Budget 2026 in a fair and balanced way. This brings total defence spending to almost £300 billion over the next four years and by 2027-28, the UK will spend 2.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on core NATO defence spending.
The Government has committed to increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament, with funding and plans to be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Oxton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the £4.7 billion of uncommitted funding in the Defence Investment Plan will be met at the next Budget.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Defence Investment Plan allocates a further £15 billion to defence spending over the next four years, funded by reprioritising public spending, with £10.3 billion already identified and a further £4.7 billion to be confirmed at Budget 2026 in a fair and balanced way.
A Defence Investment Plan Funding Explainer can be found on the government website.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support unpaid carers over the next 12 months in the light of increases to the cost of living.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the vital contribution made by unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they receive the support they need.
The cross-government Unpaid Carers Action Plan, published on 14 July, sets out our work to improve how unpaid carers are recognised, how support is offered, and how they can be helped to reach their full potential and live fulfilling lives.
Financial support is available from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and – in England and Wales – Carer’s Allowance. The Universal Credit Act 2025 introduced, for the first time ever, a sustained above-inflation increase to the Standard Allowance to rebalance support for those on low incomes. This increased by 6.1% in April 2026. The Universal Credit carer element, which is payable in addition to the Standard Allowance for those providing unpaid care of 35 hours a week or more for a severely disabled person, was increased in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) by 3.8%.
The Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit was increased in line with average earnings growth by 4.8%. The Pension Credit carer addition, which is payable in addition to the Standard Minimum Guarantee, was increased in line with the increase in the CPI by 3.8%, as was Carer's Allowance.
The weekly earnings limit in Carer's Allowance was increased to £204 per week, aligned with 16 hours at the National Living Wage. This continues the policy we introduced last year, which saw the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since Carer's Allowance was introduced, and means over 60,000 additional people are expected to receive Carer's Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many FTE equivalent staff in (a) their Department and (b) each Arm's Length Body it sponsors are dedicated to fulfilment of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED); what the (i) annual employment and (ii) total annual cost incurred is as a result of PSED and compliance with PSED for each of those bodies; what the outputs are from the work of PSED teams and personnel dedicated to PSED; and if they will publish an assessment of their Department's compliance with PSED.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.
Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate.