Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of productivity losses as a result of business travellers being unable to maintain a fast and reliable internet connection on trains.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As part of the Spending Review planning, the Department considered the productivity improvements for all travellers, including business travellers, that will arise from providing faster more reliable internet connectivity on trains. This was undertaken in in accordance with our transport appraisal guidance. And as a result, the Department was successful in securing funding to deploy low earth orbit satellite (LEO) technology for onboard Wi-Fi on mainline trains.
Trials using LEO have proven this technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the specifications for the new rolling stock of Great British Railways in terms of vehicle penetration loss and other criteria that can affect the reception of mobile phone and WiFi signals within carriages.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Southeastern, Northern Trains Limited and Transpennine Trains are responsible for the specification of the new trains which are being procured and we would expect them to include the needs of passengers including the use of mobile phones on trains. The Department is currently developing a Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy that will set out the approach to rolling stock for GBR in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs and benefits of different methods of achieving reliable on-board WiFi on trains, including satellite technologies and technologies requiring trackside equipment.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As part of the Spending Review planning, the Department produced analysis of the costs and benefits of both Low Earth Orbit satellite technology and trackside infrastructure working with industry partners to validate costs.
These were shared with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data on the distribution of non-aquatic species will be used for the development of environmental delivery plans, and what steps they will take to ensure those data are robust and complete.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), developed under the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF), will be based on the best available scientific evidence to ensure that the overall improvement test is met.
Natural England must also undertake sufficient monitoring once an EDP is in place to assure the effectiveness of conservation measures. Amendments tabled in the name of my Rt Hon friend Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE will require that each EDP must include the anticipated sequencing of conservation actions in relation to development, and back-up measures must be deployed if monitoring shows the plan is underperforming.
The Government recognises that EDPs will not be appropriate or necessary for every protected species, and EDPs will be introduced over time as the evidence permits. We expect it to be faster to develop EDPs in areas with well-established and tested strategic solutions, such as District Level Licensing for Great Crested Newts.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the modelling of species distributions and the impact of changes to habitats and conditions will be validated in the development of environmental delivery plans; and how long they expect the validation of those models for each species to take.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), developed under the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF), will be based on the best available scientific evidence to ensure that the overall improvement test is met.
Natural England must also undertake sufficient monitoring once an EDP is in place to assure the effectiveness of conservation measures. Amendments tabled in the name of my Rt Hon friend Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE will require that each EDP must include the anticipated sequencing of conservation actions in relation to development, and back-up measures must be deployed if monitoring shows the plan is underperforming.
The Government recognises that EDPs will not be appropriate or necessary for every protected species, and EDPs will be introduced over time as the evidence permits. We expect it to be faster to develop EDPs in areas with well-established and tested strategic solutions, such as District Level Licensing for Great Crested Newts.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to appoint an expert in biodiversity and nature conservation to the Food Strategy Advisory Board to support the priority of reducing the impact of farming and food production on nature, biodiversity and climate.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board was published on GOV.UK on 21 March 2025. A range of representatives from the food sector and NGOs were invited to sit on the Food Strategy Advisory Board. We kept it deliberately small, whilst reflecting the scope of the food supply chain.
While the membership of the FSAB has been announced, we are developing a plan for much wider stakeholder engagement over the coming months. That needs to include representatives from the length and breadth of food chain sectors as well as environmental NGOs, civil society organisations, academics and citizen engagement. We’ll be able to say more on this soon.
The food strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives and support the Farming Roadmap to reduce the impact of farming on nature and biodiversity.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to prevent companies from wrongly listing a foreign company as a person of significant control in the Companies House register, and (2) to ensure that those identified as having done so either correct their entry or are prosecuted for not doing so.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
In limited cases, a foreign company can be a relevant legal entity (RLE) and can be legitimately recorded as a UK company's person with significant control ("PSC"). The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 will introduce new requirements which will allow Companies House to collect and display more information about RLEs. If the RLE is a listed company, the UK company must say which market the RLE is listed on. This will give assurance that the RLE meets the conditions as claimed. Where the Registrar identifies or receives complaints about gaps or inaccuracies in a company’s PSC register, she will take the action required to achieve compliance.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use heat recovery systems in artificial intelligence growth zones, such as Culham, to combine the cooling of data infrastructure with the heating of local homes and amenities.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data centres produce significant heat, most of which is currently wasted into the environment. The technology exists to capture this heat and reuse it in district heating networks, or for heat intensive industries. We welcome the inclusion of heat recovery systems within applications for AI Growth Zones alongside other sustainable solutions.
We are engaging with developers and operators to determine whether further interventions are necessary and appropriate to encourage adoption of heat recovery. The Greater London Authority is currently developing a pilot to test heating up to 10,000 homes and at least one hospital from London-based data centres.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization, what plans they have to ensure sufficient long-term resources for the National Biosurveillance Network to enhance the UK’s early warning systems and improve the biosurveillance evidence available for policy decisions.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Enhancing the UK’s early warning capabilities, including through scoping a National Biosurveillance Network (NBN), was a commitment in the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy - adopted by this Government in October 2024. The Government will work to ensure that it has the capabilities it needs to protect the public from a spectrum of biological threats. Decisions on funding for future years will be made as part of the ongoing comprehensive Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the risks to animal health posed by the H5N1 influenza virus, what resources they have committed to teams responsible for delivering the UK Biological Security Strategy, and how they plan to ensure that there is adequate staffing and funding to meet the strategy's objectives.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy (BSS) sets out that biological threats are more likely, diverse and interconnected. The current avian influenza outbreak is an example of the risks we face from zoonotic diseases. The BSS takes a One Health and National Security approach. There are robust structures in place across government to ensure its implementation - including a lead Minister, a central team in the Cabinet Office to drive delivery, and clear departmental accountabilities. DEFRA is the lead government department for avian Influenza.