Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of companies registered in the British Virgin Islands which are held via a trust or complex legal arrangement; and whether legitimate interest registers will allow for the identification of the ultimate beneficiaries of corporate structures in the British Virgin Islands.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Financial Services, including in relation to information on beneficial ownership, are a devolved matter for the Government of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Whilst it is not unusual to hold companies through legal arrangements, including Trusts, this Government expects Overseas Territories, including the BVI, to implement accessible registers of beneficial ownership as a way of mitigating the risk that these structures are abused by those seeking to hide illicit gains. The Minister of State, Stephen Doughty wrote to Premier Wheatly on 26 January to reiterate that this Government expects that the BVI's proposals for legitimate interest access registers will uphold the highest possible standards of transparency and demonstrate a clear commitment to openness and robust oversight. This Government's ultimate expectation is that the OTs launch fully public registers of beneficial ownership.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what assessment they have made of the two incidents in which live animals were found to have been accidentally put into waste bags; whether they have considered the adequacy of 'letters of reprimand' being issued as a sanction in response; and what actions they will be taking to prevent such incidents from taking place in future.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All licensed establishments must fully uphold the required standards for animal welfare as set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) conducts audits to assure establishments’ compliance and takes matters of non-compliance very seriously.
Regarding the incidents referenced, ASRU investigated the incidents and acted according to the published compliance framework (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) which explains how ASRU identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures and remedies where non-compliance has been found to occur. Through delivery of the compliance policy the Regulator aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.
All cases of non-compliance are thoroughly investigated, and the outcomes are published in ASRU’s annual report.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) resident trusts (including trusts categorised as ‘Type A'), and (2) non-UK resident trusts (including trusts categorised as ‘Type B’ or ‘Type C’), have acquired a direct interest in land or property in Scotland since the Trust Registration Service was expanded in May 2021.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Although the Trust Registration Service does record information on trusts that have acquired a direct interest in land or property in the UK, in most cases the register only records limited information on where within the UK these lands or properties are located. As such, I cannot provide a complete answer to this question with respect to Scotland.
I can however answer this question with respect to the UK overall. From May 2021 (when the Trust Registration Service was expanded to accept registrations from non-taxable trusts) to 5 April 2025 (the end of the last tax year), c.77,000 trusts notified the Trust Registration Service that the trustees had acquired a direct interest in UK land or property on or after 6 October 2020. Of this figure, c.76,000 are UK resident trusts (including trusts categorised as ‘Type A') and c.1000 are non-UK resident trusts (including trusts categorised as ‘Type B’ or ‘Type C’).
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the cost was of developing in-house army training as an alternative to the contract that was secured by Raytheon; and what assessment they have made of the security and resilience considerations of outsourcing army training to a company with US ownership.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No final decision has yet been made to award the Army Collective Training Service contract to become the Army’s Strategic Training Partner to Raytheon Systems UK. This decision will be made in due course following consideration of the programme’s Full Business Case. As The Full Business Case has not yet been finalised it would be inappropriate to release cost information at this stage.
The Army Collective Training Service contract is not an outsourcing of Army training. Many contractors already support Army training, including Raytheon Systems UK. If awarded, the Army Collective Training Service contract will consolidate many of these existing contracts. The Army, in partnership with the Strategic Training Partner, will transform the support and delivery of collective training while maintaining responsibility for delivery. All tenderers underwent security assessments during prequalification and as part of the tender evaluation, in line with Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations 2011.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to uphold their previous commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies; and whether they plan to introduce further legislation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter.
The department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban.
Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what assessment they have made of the incident in which 26 mice were found to have drowned when their cage flooded overnight due to a leaking water valve; whether they have considered the adequacy of a 'letter of reprimand' being issued as a sanction in response; and what actions they will be taking to prevent animals who are being kept for the purpose of scientific experiments from drowning in future.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All licensed establishments must fully uphold the required standards for animal welfare as set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) conducts audits to assure establishments’ compliance and takes matters of non-compliance very seriously.
Regarding the incidents referenced, ASRU investigated the incidents and acted according to the published compliance framework (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) which explains how ASRU identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures and remedies where non-compliance has been found to occur. Through delivery of the compliance policy the Regulator aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.
All cases of non-compliance are thoroughly investigated, and the outcomes are published in ASRU’s annual report.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 8 December (HL11969), what plans they have to restrict the import of animal products produced using antibiotic growth promoters, regardless of country of origin.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the UK’s own domestic position on the use of antibiotic growth promoters, and considering our international obligations as a trading partner, the Government is engaging with all trading partners. This is to secure assurances that they have measures in place ensuring that antimicrobials used for growth promotion or yield enhancement have not been used in food-producing animals or animal products exported to Great Britain for human consumption.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the independent report Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2025: infections, published on 4 December 2025, what action they plan to take in response to the specific additional recommendation about the link between agricultural use of novel fungicides and the spread of resistant strains of fungi with the capacity to cause serious disease.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government recognises the importance of carefully managing pesticide use, including fungicides, to protect the environment and human health and address the risks of resistance.
During the plant protection product approvals process, the Health and Safety Executive considers the potential for resistance development in the target pest organism. Where resistance is known or anticipated, limitations are placed on product use to mitigate resistance developing. Defra is also funding work by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board which provides farmers best practice to minimise the risk of resistance emerging.
Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department of Health and Social Care has provided over £12 million in funding over the last five years for research into fungal infections and tackling antifungal resistance. Defra has also co-funded a research programme for UK Research and Innovation on ‘Transdisciplinary research to tackle antimicrobial resistance’.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is routinely monitoring threats from antifungal resistance. The National Mycology Reference Laboratory performs antifungal susceptibility testing of fungi from human infections from across the UK. UKHSA also monitors antifungal susceptibility testing data for fungal yeast pathogens isolated from blood samples from local microbiology laboratories in England. Trends are published annually.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the use of Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories as safe havens for ultra-high net worth individuals with significant political exposure; and how they are enforcing any preventative efforts.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Corruption and illicit finance undermine effective governance in the UK and penalise legitimate UK businesses overseas.
While the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are distinct, largely self-governing jurisdictions with elected governments responsible for their own domestic affairs, the UK Government is committed to working with these international financial centres to tackle corruption and prevent money laundering.
The Home Office and the Foreign Office work with the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories to help strengthen their approaches to beneficial ownership transparency. The Government’s ultimate expectation remains the introduction of publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership registers; however, the steps they are taking to implement legitimate interest access to their registers are welcome. Minister Doughty recently met with the Overseas Territories at the Joint Ministerial Council; the communique, which was published on November 28 2025, outlines the Overseas Territories’ progress.
This remains a priority for the UK government, reflected in a commitment within the recently published 2025 Anti-Corruption Strategy to strengthen beneficial ownership transparency across the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
The UK also supports the Crown Dependencies and all Overseas Territories with financial centres commitment to uphold international tax standards, including the tax transparency framework and the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Framework.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce explicit requirements in the pesticide approval process to assess evidence on antifungal cross-resistance in non-target fungi; and what timetable they have set for any such changes.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Currently HSE considers the potential for resistance development in the target pest organism during the plant protection product approvals process. Where resistance is known or anticipated, HSE place specific limitations on the use of the product to help mitigate the likelihood and speed of resistance development. There are currently no plans to make changes to the process for regulating plant protection products.
Nevertheless, this Government recognises the dangers of anti-microbial resistance, including cross-resistance from fungicides. Defra is taking action to address the risks of resistance building by empowering farmers to make informed decisions as they manage pests, weeds and diseases. We have funded a roadshow, led by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), that is delivering practical advice to help farmers and agronomists to minimise the risk of resistance developing. This will run until March 2026.