Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect to meet their target of building 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament; and, if so, what proportion of these homes will be delivered through the New Towns Programme.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation into the draft New Towns Programme closed earlier this year. The government continues to make progress with the programme and plans to publish our consultation response, and confirm the New Town locations, later this year.
The government remains committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. Each new town will deliver at least 10,000 homes, with many expected to exceed that figure. The Taskforce recommended that new towns should aim for at least 40% affordable housing, with half for social rent.
The government is considering the Taskforce's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of greenfield new towns compared to urban extensions when implementing the New Towns Programme.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation into the draft New Towns Programme closed earlier this year. The government continues to make progress with the programme and plans to publish our consultation response, and confirm the New Town locations, later this year.
The government remains committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. Each new town will deliver at least 10,000 homes, with many expected to exceed that figure. The Taskforce recommended that new towns should aim for at least 40% affordable housing, with half for social rent.
The government is considering the Taskforce's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of houses in new towns delivered through the New Towns Programme will be council-owned social houses.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation into the draft New Towns Programme closed earlier this year. The government continues to make progress with the programme and plans to publish our consultation response, and confirm the New Town locations, later this year.
The government remains committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. Each new town will deliver at least 10,000 homes, with many expected to exceed that figure. The Taskforce recommended that new towns should aim for at least 40% affordable housing, with half for social rent.
The government is considering the Taskforce's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations of the New Towns Taskforce; and by when they expect to do so.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation into the draft New Towns Programme closed earlier this year. The government continues to make progress with the programme and plans to publish our consultation response, and confirm the New Town locations, later this year.
The government remains committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. Each new town will deliver at least 10,000 homes, with many expected to exceed that figure. The Taskforce recommended that new towns should aim for at least 40% affordable housing, with half for social rent.
The government is considering the Taskforce's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their response to the consultation on the New Towns Draft Programme.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation into the draft New Towns Programme closed earlier this year. The government continues to make progress with the programme and plans to publish our consultation response, and confirm the New Town locations, later this year.
The government remains committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. Each new town will deliver at least 10,000 homes, with many expected to exceed that figure. The Taskforce recommended that new towns should aim for at least 40% affordable housing, with half for social rent.
The government is considering the Taskforce's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the project titled 'cortical and subcortical control of movement' in Non-technical summaries for project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act between January to March 2025 that require a retrospective assessment, published on 11 June, what assessment they have made of the expectation that over 95 per cent of non-human primates will experience some infection as a result of long-term implants used for purposes such as head fixation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Each application to use animals in science is subject to a harm benefit assessment by a trained Home Office Inspector whom is a member of either the veterinary or medical profession. This ensures that any harm that may be caused to the animals is justified by the expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment.
All applications must conform with all legal requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This includes, applying the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement); the replacement of animals with alternatives, the reduction of the number of animals used to the minimum possible and the refinement of any techniques to reduce the harm suffered by the animals to the minimum. The Home Office only allows the use of animals if it can be demonstrated that the benefits outweigh the harms and the 3Rs have been fully applied. All licence holders have a responsibility to fully implement the 3Rs and demonstrate this requirement at audit.
Licence holders are also required to complete retrospective assessments for licences if the protocols in the studies are severe. Retrospective assessments must consider whether any lessons can be learnt from the programme of work which may contribute to the further implementation of the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement.
The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is engaging with stakeholders to finalise a strategy to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing which is scheduled for publication later this year.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to Non-technical summaries for project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act between January to March 2025 that require a retrospective assessment, published on 11 June, what assessment they have made of the practice of implanting electrodes in the reward centres of brains of non-human primates to motivate them to perform behavioural tasks.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Each application to use animals in science is subject to a harm benefit assessment by a trained Home Office Inspector whom is a member of either the veterinary or medical profession. This ensures that any harm that may be caused to the animals is justified by the expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment.
All applications must conform with all legal requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This includes, applying the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement); the replacement of animals with alternatives, the reduction of the number of animals used to the minimum possible and the refinement of any techniques to reduce the harm suffered by the animals to the minimum. The Home Office only allows the use of animals if it can be demonstrated that the benefits outweigh the harms and the 3Rs have been fully applied. All licence holders have a responsibility to fully implement the 3Rs and demonstrate this requirement at audit.
Licence holders are also required to complete retrospective assessments for licences if the protocols in the studies are severe. Retrospective assessments must consider whether any lessons can be learnt from the programme of work which may contribute to the further implementation of the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement.
The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is engaging with stakeholders to finalise a strategy to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing which is scheduled for publication later this year.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to protect the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm and during transport. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, including fish, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of a protected animal, for which that person is responsible. Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing also requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.
The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was finalised in 2023. A copy is attached to this answer. As a result of this a GB-wide joint government and industry working group on farmed trout has been examining the issues raised in the report to explore potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. This co-design work is making good progress. The Scottish Government is also working closely with the salmon industry regarding more detailed welfare at killing requirements. We are awaiting the completion of this group’s work and we will then explore all the potential next steps, including options for creating detailed guidance and new legislation.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Prime Minister's comments in the MoneySavingExpert leaders' debate during the 2024 general election, what steps they are taking to work with local leaders to publicise council tax discounts for those entitled to them.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has continued the previous government’s policy of making information on council tax support freely available through the Plain English Guide to Council Tax. We expect councils to work with residents to ensure they are receiving the support they are entitled to. We have committed to consult on ways in which we can improve the transparency of council tax bills, as a part of this we will seek views on how councils can better publicise support.
Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of their discussions on a proposed new security and defence pact with the EU, whether they intend to make a financial contribution to the EU as part of any such arrangements; and whether it is their position that there should be a link between those discussions and other aspects of their negotiations to "reset" the UK’s relationship with the EU.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are ready to negotiate a Security and Defence Partnership agreement with the EU which builds on the EU’s existing partnership agreements with other third countries, while recognising the unique nature of our security relationship. We are ready to look at strengthening our wider cooperation with the EU on defence and security matters, given the shared challenges facing us both, but as we’ve consistently said, we won’t be giving a running commentary on our discussions with the EU.