Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a national system for monitoring vacancies on the boards of trustees of schools and colleges.

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

There are no immediate plans for a national vacancy monitoring system, but colleges supply unfilled vacancy data for further education (FE) governors, which helps us to understand vacancy rates in FE colleges. The department closely monitors the statistics produced annually by the National Governance Association. We fund the Governor Recruitment Service to help with FE governor recruitment. The department also works with partners to support recruitment to boards, including sharing resources for recruitment through the effective governance resources produced in partnership with governance organisations. This information is available to view on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to continue the FE Governor Recruitment Service contract due to expire in March 2027; and what assessment they have made of the impact of uncertainty around the future of the contract on colleges and other further education stakeholders.

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

This government is committed to strong leadership and governance in further education colleges, and the department provides existing support for colleges, including via the further education governor recruitment service (GRS) and from the Further Education Commissioner and her team. The existing GRS contract has potential to run until March 2028, and the department will make decisions on future requirements in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the division of funding is between the Light Mobility Vehicle programme and the Heavy Protected Mobility programme; what is the procurement timeline for the Light Mobility Vehicle programme; and what is the planned maximum number of vehicles to be procured as part of the Light Mobility Vehicle programme.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Land Mobility Programme is a 20-year, circa £4 billion pan-Defence programme to deliver over 13,000 digitally enabled, adaptable utility and protected mobility vehicles to the Joint Force. It comprises three sub-programmes: Heavy Protected Mobility (PM), Light PM, and Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV).

The LMV programme is in its assessment phase, with competition due to start late summer 2026. The Heavy PM programme remains in its concept phase, and as a result it has not yet been assigned a funding profile. Therefore, I am unable to provide a break down in funding between the two sub-programmes until the concept phase for Heavy PM concludes.

I can, however, confirm that on current plans, LMV is due to deliver by 2030. The total number of vehicles being procured is still subject to the ongoing assessment phase.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote governance volunteering more explicitly as a social value activity within public procurement and commissioning processes; and what steps they are taking to encourage organisations bidding for public contracts to support employees who undertake those roles.

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)

The government recently announced its intention to make changes to social value that will put communities at the heart of social value practices. We are working with the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, alongside others, on this.

Contracting authorities must ensure that any requirement included in public contracting is relevant to the subject matter of the contract, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Governance volunteering may not be suited to all public procurements, but central government contracting authorities select relevant outcomes from the social value model, which is focused on priority outcomes including good jobs, skills and opportunities for those that face barriers to employment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that female personnel are injured as a result of wearing body armour designed for male bodies; and when they expect to mitigate this risk with body armour that is designed for women's bodies.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Department’s priority is to ensure all Service personnel receive appropriate and equitable levels of protection.

While there is currently no evidence demonstrating a causal link between the in-service body armour system and an increased incidence of injury among female personnel, we will continue the procurement of Tactical Ballistic Plates, which will replace the in-service OSPREY and Enhanced Combat Body Armour plates. These will be available in four sizes to provide an improved fit for a wider range of personnel and reduced weight for most users. Additionally, we have initiated a Complex Geometry Body Armour project with potential delivery from 2029, subject to trials and validation. This is likely to include the development of an appropriate testing regime and Human Factors Integration work to ensure this capability delivers improved fit and operational effectiveness for Servicewomen.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure the manufacture of body armour remains in the UK in order to safeguard resilience, jobs, and investment, in times of conflict.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence will procure body armour in accordance with the UK Procurement Act 2023. This allows for the encouragement of manufacturing in the UK while ensuring Service personnel have the protection they require and providing value for money for taxpayers.

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Found: Letter dated 19/08/2026 from Baroness Smith of Malvern to Lord Hampton regarding the publication of the