Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 18 June (HL8163), what steps they are taking to ensure that Mastercard provides details of the compensation scheme in an effective and timely way.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

In May, the Competition Appeal Tribunal approved a settlement which would allow consumers to claim compensation in relation to historical card fees. This is a settlement between those claimants that brought the case and Mastercard, in which government is not involved.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to attract people with skills in artificial intelligence from overseas to settle in the UK.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Government is committed to making the UK a global hub for AI talent.

We recently announced over £115 million of investment to attract world-leading research talent to the UK, strengthening our position as an AI superpower. This includes the £54 million Global Talent Fund, the proposed expansion of ARIA and Pillar VC’s Encode fellowship, and the launch of a Global Talent Taskforce to identify and support top international researchers to work and settle in the UK.

These initiatives complement Turing AI ‘Global’ Fellowships and Spärck AI scholarships announced earlier this month, which will attract world-leading academics and students to the UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to attract academics from overseas to settle in the UK.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Immigration White Paper reaffirms the government’s commitment to attracting top talent by simplifying the Global Talent visa and increasing the number of people arriving on high talent routes. The government has launched a new £54 million Global Talent Fund to bring around 10 leading researchers and their teams to the UK and invested £25 million in new Turing AI ‘Global’ fellowships. In addition, £150 million and £250 million endowment funding was allocated respectively in 2023/24 for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Green Future Fellowships and the Royal Society’s Faraday Discovery Fellowships.

A new Global Talent Taskforce has been announced to attract exceptional talent into our Industrial Strategy sectors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of made of any increase in measles infections, and what is their response to such an increase.

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

In 2024, England recorded 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases, the highest annual total since 2012. Approximately 60% of these cases were in children under 10 years old, highlighting a long-term decline in routine childhood vaccination rates.

To address this, a national measles, mumps, and rubella catch-up campaign was launched, delivering an extra 180,000 vaccine doses between September 2023 and April 2024.

Measles cases began to decline from mid-July 2024, although small outbreaks continued in some areas. Since 1 January 2025, 420 laboratory confirmed cases have been reported, with a noticeable rise in activity since April, especially in London.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to work with local and national partners, including NHS England and the Department, to manage outbreaks, improve vaccination coverage, and tailor services to under-vaccinated communities.

You can view the latest data on the Measles Dashboard, which is available in an online only format.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the continuing need for COVID-19 vaccinations.

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

The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.

The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19.

On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that for autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.

The Government will respond in due course to the JCVI’s COVID-19 vaccination advice for spring 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many public charging points for electric vehicles there are in each local authority area, and how many there will be in each of the next three years.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

As of 1 June 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 80,552 publicly available charging devices across the UK (including 16,231 devices rated 50kW or above).

The latest data available regarding the number of public charging devices, for electric vehicles in each local authority area, in the UK, as at 1 April 2025, can be found in table 1a of the attached document.

The £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has been allocated to all highest tier local authorities in England and will support the installation over 100,000 local chargers, ensuring the rollout continues at pace to support drivers across the country.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how, if at all, they publicise the specific location and availability of charging points for electric vehicles.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to making it easy for consumers to find public chargepoints. To support this, the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 came into effect in November 2023. These regulations require operators to share open data freely – including chargepoint location and availability information. This data is then made available to consumers via commercial platforms such as mapping services and roaming providers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the uptake of electric vehicles.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government is reducing the initial costs of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by providing plug-in vehicle grants for vans, trucks, motorcycles, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles. Drivers of ZEVs also benefit from favourable tax rates, such as generous company car tax incentives. ZEVs will continue to have preferential first year rates of vehicle excise duty in comparison to the most polluting vehicles.

Government is also committed to increasing awareness of the benefits of ZEVs. We have been working with industry to create a more coordinated, focused cross-industry and Government approach to promoting ZEVs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 June (HL8243), what specific actions they are taking in response to the rise in whooping cough infections.

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

Significant efforts have been made to raise awareness of the importance of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, vaccination. These include targeted campaigns using social media, digital screen graphics, and community outreach. The National Health Service actively promotes vaccination for pregnant women to protect their newborns. NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency have launched a joint maternal vaccination campaign, supported by a comprehensive communications toolkit. This includes a maternal vaccine postcard translated into seven languages, which has been distributed to 200 general practices in areas with lower vaccine uptake.

To improve accessibility, community pharmacies in areas of high deprivation and low uptake are now commissioned to offer vaccinations, making it more convenient for individuals to get vaccinated.

Within the NHS, efforts are underway to enhance the recording and monitoring of vaccinations, ensuring accurate data collection to assess the programme’s effectiveness.

The NHS Public Health and Equalities team regularly produces articles that are shared through community and faith-based channels, including radio, podcasts, and local publications. Additionally, NHS England’s resources are disseminated through pregnancy and parenting forums such as Tommy’s and the National Childbirth Trust, as well as other community and faith organisations. These materials are used across websites, email newsletters, and social media platforms.

Recent data shows a consistent seven-month upward trend in maternal pertussis vaccination rates, rising from 59% in May 2024 to nearly 73% by March 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of social media to promote vaccinations.

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

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) regularly assesses both the social media landscape and its own digital content, to ensure we are identifying the right opportunities to promote vaccine uptake and are responding to mis and disinformation where possible and appropriate.

The UKHSA regularly delivers vaccine communications through social media and other channels to support national immunisation programmes. In collaboration with NHS England and the Department, the UKHSA delivers vaccine campaigns that combine paid marketing, public relations, stakeholder engagement, and operational communications to patients and health care professionals. Social media activity has been instrumental in directing users to key resources, including the National Booking System for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

The UKHSA produces a range of static and video content for use during cultural events, seasonal holidays, and vaccination campaigns. These assets are shared with stakeholders for use on their own platforms, while the UKHSA’s blog provides regularly updated vaccine information.

Content is tailored to reach diverse audiences, including parents, pregnant women, and individuals with long-term health conditions. Social media channels are used to share the latest news, research, and statistics on United Kingdom vaccination efforts. They also play a vital role in disseminating public health advice during infectious disease outbreaks, with the UKHSA developing targeted vaccination content for both its own platforms and for the platforms of its partners.

As more people turn to social media for news, the UKHSA’s posts continue to generate significant engagement across platforms. Daily social listening enables the agency to identify misinformation and respond to public concerns, helping to shape accurate, timely, and audience-informed vaccine messaging.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people who are obese; what estimate they have made of the costs of obesity to the economy and society; and what action they are taking to combat obesity and reduce the number of obese people.

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

Using the latest Health Survey for England estimates from 2022, and the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) population estimates for England, we estimate that in 2022, approximately 13.5 million adults, or 28.9% of England’s population, were living with obesity. In addition, using the latest National Child Measurement Program estimates from 2023/24, and the latest ONS population estimates for England, we estimate that in the 2023/24 school year, there were approximately 1.4 million children living with obesity.

In 2023, Frontier Economics estimated that the total cost to society of obesity was approximately £74.3 billion per year in the United Kingdom. This estimate encompasses reduced quality of life, sickness absence, and National Health Service and social care costs, due to a higher probability of hospitalisation and/or death.

In relation to the NHS, in 2023 Frontier Economics found that the annual cost to the NHS of obesity related ill-health is £11.4 billion, which is the equivalent to approximately 7% of the NHS’ 2023/24 budget. Frontier Economics also found that higher body mass index increases the likelihood of requiring social care for long-term illness, with a total social care cost of £5.9 billion. The total social care cost is composed of informal social care, at approximately £5.5 billion, and formal social care, at approximately £400 million.

Finally, estimates from Frontier Economics in 2023 found that increased sickness absence and early death reduces workforce productivity, with a total economic cost of £8.9 billion per year. Individuals living with obesity take more sick days, reducing productivity across the workforce.

Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out the decisive action we will take on the obesity crisis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of schools in promoting and administering vaccinations for children.

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

School-based vaccination delivery is a key component of the National Immunisation Programme. Currently, vaccines offered in schools include: human papillomavirus; meningococcal A, C, W, Y; tetanus, diphtheria, and polio; measles, mumps, and rubella; and the seasonal influenza vaccine.

Educational settings play a vital role in supporting the routine immunisation programme by sharing accurate and timely information with parents and caregivers. To assist with this, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides a wide range of educational resources designed to raise awareness of vaccine-preventable diseases, the importance of immunisation, and how vaccines protect individuals and communities. These resources include:

• the e-Bug online programme, with further information available on the e-bug.eu website;
• back-to-school immunisation resources for nurseries, primary, and secondary schools, with further information available on the GOV.UK website; and
• the Immunisations for Young People leaflet, which is available on the GOV.UK website.

School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) providers are commissioned by NHS England to deliver the school-based immunisation programmes. Children who are home-schooled or not in mainstream education are also included. The success of school-based immunisation programmes depends on close working relationships between the schools, school nurses, and SAIS providers. Therefore, schools also play a vital role in facilitating SAIS providers to deliver vaccinations within school settings and in supporting the delivery of routine and seasonal immunisation programmes through the sharing of information with parents and caregivers at key points. Schools support the immunisation process by:

• providing appropriate space and time in the school timetable for vaccination sessions;
• reminding staff, pupils, and parents or carers about upcoming sessions;
• distributing information leaflets and consent forms; and
• sharing lists of eligible pupils and contact details with the SAIS team.

The UKHSA publishes regularly updated guidance for schools on how to support immunisation activities effectively, with further information available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

Recognising the need to improve the vaccine uptake of our school-aged programme, the Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with NHS England, the UKHSA, and the Department for Education to better understand the barriers and facilitators to effective delivery of school-based immunisation programmes, and approaches to supporting increased vaccination uptake among school-aged children. This work is to ensure a more comprehensive and focused support offer is made available to schools to deliver their role effectively and support improvements in vaccine uptake.

Alongside this work, NHS England also continues to work with all key stakeholders at a regional level, and is involved in the delivery of school-aged vaccinations to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models of vaccination delivery.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions there have been in each police authority area for drunken or drug influenced driving in each of the past three years; and how many of these prosecutions led to convictions.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

A number of driving offences created by the Road Traffic Act 1988 relate to driving when under the influence of drink or drugs. These are as follows:

• Section 3A(a) causing death by driving without due care and attention / reasonable consideration while unfit through drink or drugs.

• Section 3A(b) causing death by due care while over prescribed limit.

• Section 3A(ba) causing death by driving without due care / consideration while over specified limit - specified controlled drug.

• Section 3A(c) causing death by due care and fail to provide specimen.

• Section 3A(d) fail to give permission for a laboratory test on a blood specimen having caused a death.

• Section 4(1) driving a motor vehicle when under the influence of drink or drugs.

• Section 5(1)(a) driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit.

• Section 5A(1)(a) and (2) driving a motor vehicle with a concentration of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted of the above offences and to establish whether defendants charged with these offences were convicted would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.

The figures in the table below relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

Management information is available which shows the number of offences of charged by way of the above list of Road Traffic Act 1988 offences in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences in each police force area from 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2024.

Offences of attempt, in charge, aid and abet have been excluded but failure to provide specimen following drunken or drug influenced driving have been included to produce a list of offences that meet the criteria of ‘drunken or drug influenced driving’ prosecutions.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the increasing demand for water provision because of climate change into the 2030s and beyond.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

By 2050, England will need an additional 5,000 million litres of water per day due to the need to leave more water in the environment, climate change, population growth and to increase our resilience to drought. Combined with the challenges of ageing water infrastructure across England and new supply options taking years to come online, many areas may face a supply-demand deficit in years to come.

Approximately half of the shortfall between supply and demand needs to be met through reduction in water demand, the other half from new water resources. The Government have secured £104 billion in private sector investment over the next 5 years, to boost out water supply and manage demand. This will also drive major infrastructure projects – including nine new reservoirs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of shortages of medicines on patients.

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

While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.

Medicine supply chains are complex, global and highly regulated and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes, or distribution issues and regulatory issues. We have drawn on up-to-date intelligence and data on the root causes of medicine supply issues, with manufacturing problems being the most dominant root cause.

The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and to strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. We have plans underway to increase the awareness of our work.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of drugs and alcohol as a contributory factor in road accidents in each of the past three years, and what actions they are proposing to take as a consequence.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport publishes statistics that show the number of personal injury road collisions, in Great Britain, reported to police using the STATS19 system which were assigned the “affected by alcohol” or “affected by drugs” road safety factors (RSFs). The number of collisions assigned these factors is shown in the table below.

Driving under the influence of drink and drugs is unacceptable and illegal. We are determined to combat this behaviour and ensure that all such drivers are caught and punished.

My Department is considering these offences as part of the Road Safety Strategy, and we are considering policy options to pursue change in this area.