Lord De Mauley

The National Fund was created in 1928 with the purpose of paying off the entire national debt. At present the fund cannot be used unless it completely clears the national debt, due to the terms of the fund’s charitable trust.

On 22 May 2018 my predecessor made an application to the High Court to vary the terms of the charitable trust so that the National Fund can be used to help pay down the national debt.

It is now for the High Court to decide whether the terms of the charitable trust should be varied. If the application is successful the money in the fund will be paid over to the National Debt Commissioners towards the reduction of the national debt.

A hearing of the claim is due to take place in October.

This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to my noble Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

As an endangered species, the international trade in European eel is regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Any exports are subject to rigorous scrutiny, including through assessments of legal acquisition and non-detriment.

The UK’s approach to these exports is being reviewed by the new Government to ensure legality, sustainability, and alignment with global conservation efforts.

The export of European eel to Russia is not currently sanctioned.

Our new environmental land management schemes will support the delivery of our ambitious national targets and commitments for the environment, including the Government's commitment to protect 30% of the UK's land by 2030. We are exploring the potential contribution that the three schemes could make to the achievement of this commitment. This contribution could include: management of farmland in an environmentally sustainable way; supporting local nature recovery and delivering local environmental priorities; management of designated sites; and encouraging collaboration between farmers, including through landscape-scale habitat creation and restoration, or securing long-term management and protection for wildlife-rich habitats.

We are currently aiming to lay the updated statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids before Parliament before the end of the year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Equine Sector Council for their assistance and expertise in updating the code.

We were pleased to hear of China’s announcement to end its domestic commercial ivory trade in 2017.

We look forward to seeing further detail on China’s measures, including understanding the nature of provisions for auctioning certified ivory ‘relics’ and how China plans to implement the new measures.

We particularly commend the announcement of enhancements to enforcement and education, both of which are an important part of tackling the illegal trade in ivory and stopping poaching.

Services exports are of great importance to the UK economy - the UK ran an £89.9bn surplus on services exports in 2015. The UK is a strong advocate for services trade liberalisation, and leaving the European Union presents an opportunity for the UK to become a world leader in the free trade of services. The Government will consider all options in the design of future bilateral trade agreements.

We are now analysing the feedback received during the draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy eight week consultation period, which closed on Monday 23 May. We expect to publish the final Strategy this summer along with a Government response to the consultation.

The Government’s new Ukraine Family Scheme and ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme will help thousands of Ukrainian families and individuals to enter the country. DWP is working closely with the Home Office to understand potential demand.

Under these schemes Ukrainian evacuees will have the right to work here from day one, as well as immediate access to the benefit system and our existing employment offer, including our £30 billion Plan for Jobs. Ukrainian evacuees who claim benefits like Universal Credit will have access to direct, personalised employment support from experienced Jobcentre Plus work coaches, who will help them to find and move into employment, with extra support available through DWP’s Flexible Support Fund. Translation services are available to help new arrivals with phone applications, with Work Coaches in DWP Jobcentres on hand to support people making claims online. DWP staff are also delivering additional face-to-face assistance to those who need it – including tailored support to find work and advice on benefit eligibility – and will continue to do so.

DWP’s National Employer Partnerships Team (NEPT) has received a number of approaches from employers relating to Ukrainian evacuees.

Timeframes are still being finalised and there is regular discussion with Other Government Departments. Refugee Employment Network are also linked into activity and will be involved in sharing opportunities.

All contacts of a positive case who are fully vaccinated, under 18 years and 6 months, participating in an approved vaccine trial, or unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate. Instead of needing to self-isolate, these contacts are advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days to help identify asymptomatic cases quickly to break chains of transmission.

It is only unvaccinated contacts of a positive case that are now legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme they do not need to take LFD tests. If they choose to take a LFD test and it is negative, they must continue to self-isolate, because they could still become infectious.

Anyone notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer that they have tested positive is legally required to self-isolate. People who have symptoms should self-isolate while they get a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. If the PCR test is negative, they no longer need to self-isolate

Contacts who are fully vaccinated or between the ages of 5 and 18.5 years old do not need to self-isolate. They are instead advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days. If they receive a positive result on the LFD test, they should self-isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test. If the PCR is positive, they need to self-isolate for 10 days from the test date. If the PCR is negative, they can leave self-isolation but should complete the remaining LFD testing routine.

Unvaccinated contacts of a positive case are legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme and they choose to get a test, they must continue to self-isolate, even if the result is negative. This is because they could still become infectious.

The Veterans' Strategy applies to all those who have previously served in HM Forces, Regular and Reserve. The Strategy is an important milestone in this government's work to renew the UK's contract with those who serve and have served.

It resets the narrative around the remarkable men and women who have served in our Armed Forces, ensuring all veterans' service is celebrated, their potential to make further contributions is realised and, for those that need it, that the right support is available to them.

The strategy is aligned with key Ministry of Defence priorities, the Strategic Defence Review and the extension of the Armed Forces Covenant, together with the government's wider Plan for Change.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns) in the House of Commons on 13 June 2025 to Question 57778 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty).

I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Veterans and People (Alistair Carns), in the House of Commons on 27 November 2024 to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Luke Evans) in response to Question 15010.

I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The below table shows the number of Voluntary Outflow applications submitted by fast-jet Pilots in the Regular Royal Navy and Regular Royal Air Force in the last ten financial years:

Notes:

1. For the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, Voluntary Outflow (VO) is defined as all exits from Trained personnel which are voluntarily generated by the individual before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in a “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent the systematic bias caused by always rounding numbers upwards, 5 or fewer is represented by '~', 0 is represented by '-'.