Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safeguards in place to prevent the immigration detention of unaccompanied children for over 24 hours.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes its safeguarding responsibilities towards children extremely seriously.
Unaccompanied children may only be detained in very limited and exceptional circumstances, and the law places strict constraints on that detention. They may not be held in an Immigration Removal Centre under any circumstances. They must be transferred into appropriate local authority care arrangements wherever possible. An unaccompanied child may only be held in a short-term holding facility for a maximum of 24 hours for the purpose of removal.
A range of safeguards are in place to minimise detention and protect child welfare. These include the requirement to prioritise cases involving children, early referral to and engagement with local authority children’s services, a statutory duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote children’s welfare, and a requirement that detention is for the shortest time necessary. Decisions involving children are subject to oversight and operational guidance that is subject to ongoing review and updates to ensure the welfare and best interests of children remain a primary consideration.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the training available to asylum application caseworkers; and whether they plan to revise the guidance for them.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is a comprehensive training programme and mentoring framework in place to support asylum decision makers. This is delivered by a dedicated team of senior grade trainers and technical experts.
The initial training for asylum decision makers is a 9-week programme designed to give an understanding of relevant legislation, policy, and the Refugee Convention. Alongside the initial training, a range of other technical training is available to decision makers to consolidate their learning, this includes a specialised course which focuses on assessing all medical evidence, training to help detect potentially fraudulent documents, training on identifying and making appropriate intelligence referrals, as well as training on how to respond to and consider any underlying factors, such as trauma, which may be evident in a claimant’s account. The wellbeing of decision makers is also addressed in training and covers issues such as vicarious trauma and resilience.
Training materials are subject to continuous review, informed by insights from policy, operational teams as well as independent expert stakeholders. When training has not been delivered for a period of time, it undergoes a formal and rigorous review process and is updated as necessary to ensure it remains accurate, relevant, and fully compliant before being delivered.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
The most appropriate way to mark this anniversary will be for the UK to continue providing essential services and life-saving support to thousands of refugees in desperate need across the world, from Cox's Bazar to the camps in Adré.
We will also use the occasion to recall the UK's consistent efforts over the past 75 years - alongside like-minded international partners, - to help millions of innocent civilians forced to flee their homes because of conflict and disaster.
Ahead of the upcoming anniversary, the Foreign Secretary met Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on 16 June, where they discussed the importance of maintaining an effective international protection system, while also addressing abuse of asylum systems and maintaining public confidence.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of community consultation in the development of water management solutions; and what steps they are taking to ensure best practice is pursued in the ongoing reforms to the water regulation sector.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the value of consulting the public on water management solutions. Defra officials consult reflecting these principles and set out monitoring and evaluation plans in the published policy Impact Assessments. The department is reviewing the recent consultation on Water Efficiency Standards in Building Regulations ahead of Autumn.
Defra also recognises the importance of engaging local communities through collaborative delivery and pilots. For example, in Greater Cambridge, the Government is working with local partners and farmers to trial innovative approaches to water management, including water efficiency measures, water reuse and nature-based solutions. This will help build evidence on what works to inform ongoing policy and wider water reforms.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum application caseworkers are currently employed by the Home Office; and what plans they have to hire more staff to address the appeals backlog.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The number of full time equivalent (FTE) asylum caseworkers employed at the Home Office per month until December 2025 is published in the ASY_05(M) tab of the published migration transparency statistics, located on the Immigration and Protection data; September to December 2025. At the end of December 2025, there were 2,028 FTE asylum caseworkers.
We are continuing to onboard staff to maintain staffing at the required levels to allow us to manage asylum intake, reduce the overall time to make initial asylum decisions and deal with appeals.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 16 September 2025 (UIN HL10060), what plans they have to amend the International Education Strategy; and what the anticipated timeline for the publication of a revised strategy is.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government’s International Education Strategy (IES) was launched on 20 January 2026.
The strategy backs UK providers at all levels to expand overseas, strengthening global partnerships and giving millions more students access to a world-class UK education on their doorstep, all whilst boosting growth at home. It sets a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030.
We want to increase the UK’s international standing through education and make the UK the global partner of choice at every stage of learning. The IES is now co-owned between the Department for Education, the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consultations are underway with North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and local community members regarding the possible closure of Goole and District Hospital.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The planning and commissioning of local healthcare services is a matter for local integrated care boards (ICBs). The Humber and North Yorkshire NHS ICB has no plans to close the Goole and District Hospital. The ICB is committed to developing sustainable services for the future that meet the healthcare needs of people living in and around Goole.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability and accessibility of high-quality healthcare services at Goole and District Hospital.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The planning and commissioning of local healthcare services is a matter for local integrated care boards (ICBs). The Humber and North Yorkshire NHS ICB has no plans to close the Goole and District Hospital. The ICB is committed to developing sustainable services for the future that meet the healthcare needs of people living in and around Goole.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 16 September 2025 (UIN HL10064), which higher education providers have been or will be consulted about the introduction of a levy on income from international students.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is engaging with the higher education sector to shape the design of the International Student Levy to make delivery of the levy as easy as possible for providers. The technical consultation document builds on the details which were set out at the Autumn Budget 2025, initially announced in the Immigration White Paper, and can be found here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/international-student-levy-unit/international-student-levy/supporting_documents/isl-technical-consultationpdf.
As part of this, the government will be consulting a wide range of stakeholders, including those affected by the proposals and representative bodies from across the sector.
The technical consultation is due to close on 18 February 2026.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety, security, and resilience of national and regional transport infrastructure, with particular reference to South Yorkshire.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport works closely with transport operators to assess the risks to transport infrastructure arising from, for example, severe weather, security threats or accidents. These risk assessments are used by national and local government and the transport industry to inform planning at all levels. This includes the South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum.
Following the publication of the UK Government’s Resilience Action Plan in July 2025, the Department for Transport is working with cross-government and transport sector stakeholders to identify transport-specific opportunities and interventions to address gaps identified in capabilities.
South Yorkshire will also receive £570 million in City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) funding by March 2027. Following this, the region will benefit from a £1.5 billion share of the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlement. This will fund a number of active travel improvement schemes—including segregated cycleways, improved footpaths, and highways upgrades—that will improve safety for both active travel and road users. The Magna Tinsley scheme, for example, incorporates safety by design. It has already delivered a new toucan crossing at the Sheffield Road/Raby Street junction to provide a safe crossing point from Tinsley Village across Sheffield Road. Further improvements are planned, including segregated cycleways and improved footways.