Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many contracts (1) have been let, and (2) are in the process of being agreed, between the Department of Health and Social Care and Palantir.

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

The Government had two contracts with Palantir Technologies UK which have expired. The first, worth £908,333.33, was for Foundry Software and implementation, between 12 June 2020 and 30 September 2020. The second, worth £750,000, was for the Adult Social Care Data Analytics Project, an extension of Palantir Foundry, between 12 October 2021 and 11 January 2022. There are no contracts in the process of being agreed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Act 2025 – Report on exercise of the Secretary of State’s functions, published on 27 November, what the role of Ofqual will be in the development of V levels, and what transitional arrangements they have made to maintain level 3 options for 16 to 19 year olds prior to the introduction of the new qualifications.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Ofqual will set the design rules for V Level structure, assessment and grading which each V Level must meet. In addition to the General Conditions of Recognition, these V Level specific conditions will be used to regulate awarding organisations’ design and delivery of every V Level, in the same way that each A level is regulated.

Ofqual will consider the regulatory approach that best meets the policy intent for V Levels and will consult on their plans in due course.

The department will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations on the approach to development and roll-out to ensure providers have as much time as possible to prepare for the delivery of V Levels.

In our consultation, we outlined plans to transition to V Levels while maintaining Level 3 options for 16 to19-year-olds. The government response will confirm the route order, implementation timetable, and priority subjects for first teaching in 2027.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many contracts across government departments have been let to Palantir in the past two years.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Palantir is not a strategic supplier and therefore details of contracts are not collated centrally.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder and for procurements commenced after 24 February 2025 are published on Find a Tender Service

Found: initiative commissioned by the College and supported by the Home Office is jointly chaired by Lord Blunkett

Found: Lord Blunkett told us: I think hybrid works well.

Found: Lord Blunkett told us: I think hybrid works well.

Found: It was under David Blunkett, who was the Minister then; he is Lord Blunkett now.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made regarding on the manifesto commitment to roll out a direct entry scheme for detectives to boost investigation skills.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

It is essential that police forces recruit the best and most able people to meet the evolving demands of policing and deliver the best possible service to the public.

There are existing opportunities to join policing directly into detective roles, including through the Police Now programme, which enables graduates who may not have previously considered a career in policing to join in specialist roles.

We are committed to ensuring a wide choice of entry routes available into policing to help to attract a diverse range of people, skills, experience and are considering this as part of wider police reform. In addition, we are funding a Leadership Commission, set up by the College of Policing and led by Lord Blunkett and Lord Herbert, which is examining the current entry routes into policing and potential alternative models to attract and develop talent.