Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their plans to lower the voting age to 16, whether they have plans to amend the definition of a child to those under the age of 16 in the (1) Children and Families Act 2014, (2) Children Act 1989, and (c) Children Act 2004.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

None of the measures in the Representation of the People Bill which extend the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds will change the definition of a child in those three acts.

There is no single definition of the age at which someone becomes an ‘adult’ in the UK. Different age limits are applied in different circumstances.

This government is clear that 16 is the right age to be able to exercise your democratic right. Extending the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds will allow them to have a say in the government that shapes their future and set them up for lifelong engagement in democracy.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their plans to lower the voting age to 16, whether they plan to amend the definition of children in section 20 of the Licensing Act 2003 on the exhibition of films from a person aged under 18 to a person aged under 16.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Lowering the voting age will have no impact on the definition of children in the Licensing Act 2003. There is no single definition of the age at which someone becomes an ‘adult’ in the UK; the idea of 18 being the ’standard’ age of adulthood is a misconception. People can work part time from 14, donate blood at 17, and adopt at 21.

Decisions about classifying films are made by the British Board of Film Classification at arm's length from the government to ensure impartiality. The BBFC’s age ratings are continually updated to respond to changing social attitudes towards media content through public consultation and research.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 18 June (HL680), what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of Arts Council England funding Decolonise Fest.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As stated in my response to HL680, Arts Council England funding decisions are made independently of the government. DCMS ensures that the Arts Council operates within the policy framework and controls set by Government. This reflects the arm's-length principle, under which Arts Council England is established as a non-departmental public body that makes funding decisions independently, and as such, DCMS does not routinely scrutinise individual funding decisions by Arts Council.

The Arts Council aims to fund a diverse range of cultural activity that represents the broad spectrum of views and interests of citizens and communities across the country. Where individuals have concerns about specific organisations supported by Arts Council or the conduct of individual funding recipients, these can be addressed by using Arts Council’s Raising a Concern process online.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by the Secretary of State for Education on 29 April (HC Deb col 887), whether they define criticism of religion as racist.

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

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. People are expected to express their views concerning religion and beliefs respectfully, acting within the confines of the law when providing criticism. This does not affect the unchanging right of British citizens to exercise freedom of speech and expression; including the criticism, debate or even ridicule of religious ideas, as long as it is lawful.

Any form of racial or religious hatred is unacceptable, and is different to free speech. We are committed to tackling all forms of hate and division, including violence and intimidation. Britain has a proud tradition of religious tolerance, and the different faiths and beliefs in the UK foster diversity and community cohesion for everyone’s benefit.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason they do not keep a central register of training undertaken by civil servants across all government departments; and whether they will review this practice and policy.

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 Skills Group, within the Cabinet Office, leads the civil service skills agenda and maintains data on learning and development activity delivered through its centrally managed contracts and systems.

There is no single central register for all training undertaken across all government departments. This is because of the technological barriers to aggregating learning and development data across departmental systems. Responsibility for maintaining records of local learning and development activity rests with individual government departments.

The Government Skills Group is committed to integrating learning and development data across the civil service in the future.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Women in Finance Charter, published on 30 June, what is the definition of a woman used in the gender diversity targets that must be reported to HM Treasury, and whether biological men who self-identify as a woman can be counted as a woman for the purposes of the data reporting.

Answered by Lord Livermore

The Women in Finance Charter is a voluntary, Government-backed initiative established by HM Treasury in 2016 to improve the representation of women in senior positions in UK financial services.

The Charter seeks to support the productivity, competitiveness, innovation and growth of the sector by improving the gender balance of senior leadership in signatory firms. Around 400 financial services firms have signed up to the Charter, covering more than 1.1 million employees. On 30 June 2026, HM Treasury published a 10 Year Review of the Charter to mark its tenth anniversary.

Charter signatories are responsible for setting their own targets for gender diversity in senior management and for defining the senior management population covered by those targets.

Individual signatory firms are responsible for determining how they measure, monitor and report progress against their commitments under the Charter.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 8 July (HL1265), what is the evidential basis for his assertion that X prioritises misinformation.

Answered by Lord Hermer

The criticisms of misinformation on X are numerous and well-documented.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 16 June (UIN 7457), whether any of the four named organisations subject to the policy of non-engagement submitted written evidence to the working group's call for evidence.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Working Group launched a Call for Evidence which closed on Sunday 20 July 2025. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence. The government does not routinely publish the details of individual respondents to calls for evidence.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 25 June (HC10289) and with reference to paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code, what is the public interest reason for not disclosing the new Gender Reassignment Guidance to Parliament.

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 Cabinet Office believes disclosure of the model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees would contravene Section 36(2)(b)(i), (ii), and (c) of the Freedom of Information Act.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 13 July (HL1811), what topics relating to health and social care Alan Milburn is recused from.

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

There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of Non-Executive Director’s interests. Mr Milburn’s declarations of interest are published on the GOV.UK website and are as referenced in the previously given answer of 16 June 2026 to Question HL106, which is in line with the Cabinet Office guidance.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support local housing providers in their efforts to evict tenants who are responsible for persistent anti-social behaviour.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Social landlords already have a wide range of tools to tackle anti-social behaviour, and the Regulator of Social Housing’s neighbour and community standard already requires registered providers to work with relevant partners to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents.

Recent legislation has strengthened these powers even further. The Crime and Policing Act, which received Royal Assent in April, has strengthened the powers available to the police and other agencies, including stronger measures to deal with the most persistent offenders. The Renters’ Rights Act also shortened the notice period for the mandatory anti-social behaviour eviction ground and once implemented in the social rented sector, landlords will, in cases of anti-social behaviour, be able to make a claim to the court faster.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the incidence of fraudulent subletting of social housing properties.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN HL1437 (and attached) on 13 July 2026.

On the 8 July 2026, the government announced a new, innovative data-sharing partnership between the Public Sector Fraud Authority and Airbnb, which can be found on gov.uk here (and attached). Through this agreement, people illegally subletting social housing will be identified and may be removed from the property, ensuring that social housing properties remain there for the families who need them, and not in the hands of those using them illegally for personal gain.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the deportation of Albanian foreign national offenders since May 2025.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.

The latest published information shows that in the year ending March 2026, 1,557 Albanian foreign national offenders (FNOs) were returned. This was the largest single nationality cohort of FNOs returned during this period, and an increase of 1% on the number of Albanian FNO returns over the same period 12 months prior.

This information can be found in table ‘Ret_02b’ of the ‘Returns Summary Tables, Year Ending March 2023 which can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Lemos on 14 July (HL1546), whether they will now answer the question put, namely as to whether any of the four named organisations subject to the policy of non-engagement submitted written evidence to the working group's call for evidence.

Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question HL1546 (attached) on 14 July 2026.

The Government does not routinely publish the details of individual respondents to calls for evidence.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reintroduce the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill; and whether they plan to negotiate a new Memorandum of Understanding on this subject with the government of the United States of America.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, which has protected our shared security for nearly 60 years. Maintaining long-term operational control and security of Diego Garcia is the entire basis for the UK-Mauritius Agreement. We will continue to work with the US and Mauritius to find a way forward that is in the UK's best interests and protects our national security.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 22 June (HC9337), what specific policies or announcements that were trailed or announced to the media prior to the ministerial statement on the Budget 2025 that were not otherwise accompanied by a formal statement to Parliament when they were made to the media.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are occasions where the Government will trail and/or announce policy ahead of a Budget to provide context and help the public understand major fiscal events.

Consistent with the Macpherson Principles, the Civil Service Code, The Ministerial Code and the Special Advisers’ Code, any such communications are tightly controlled, respect Parliament, and protect market sensitive information.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 21 May, on Right to Strike Under ILO Convention No 87, paragraph 15, for what reason they withdrew on 3 October 2024 their written statement to the court; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the written statement previously filed on 16 May 2024.

Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The statement was withdrawn because it had been submitted under a previous administration in 2023. In 2024, the new administration wished to consider its position on these issues.

The ICJ has now held that the right to strike is protected under International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise).

Given that the written statement was withdrawn, superseded by oral arguments and the ICJ has rendered its advisory opinion, the government has no current plans to publish the withdrawn statement.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current estimate of legal costs associated with litigation by the Ministry of Justice against the Office of the Information Commissioner regarding the publication of data on offences committed by foreign nationals.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice is in the process of appealing the Information Commissioner Officer’s decision to the First-tier Tribunal. It would be prejudicial to live proceedings to release any of the requested information.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Coaker on 28 May (HL194), what guidance the Army has given on this issue; and what approvals have been (a) accepted, and (b) rejected since July 2024.

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

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff has directed Corps and Regimental Colonels to conduct a full review of all Army associations with private members’ clubs, to ensure their rules, policies and culture align with Army values, including equality and respect. Given the breadth of the Army’s regimental structure and the potentially extensive range of historic affiliations, this work is substantial and remains ongoing.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of foreign nationals that might be identified because of the potential publication of data on foreign national offending between 2018 and 2024; and what assessment they have made of the potential impact of that publication on any foreign nationals identified.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice is in the process of appealing the Information Commissioner Officer’s decision to the First-tier Tribunal. It would be prejudicial to live proceedings to release any of the requested information.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the costs associated with complying with the ruling by the Office of the Information Commissioner instructing the Ministry of Justice to  publish data on foreign nationals’ offending between 2018 and 2024.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice is in the process of appealing the Information Commissioner Officer’s decision to the First-tier Tribunal. It would be prejudicial to live proceedings to release any of the requested information.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of taxation on working people.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has made fair and necessary choices on tax so it can deliver on the public’s priorities. Everyone is being asked to contribute to support these goals, but the Government is keeping the contribution from working people as low as possible by ensuring the wealthiest contribute more.

Found: Lord Brennan of Canton (Remote) Lord Elliot of Mickle Fell Lord Grantchester Lord Jackson of Peterborough