Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Jopling, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Jopling has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Jopling has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
As Leader of the House, I take my duty to represent the House to His Majesty’s Government with the utmost seriousness. Central to this is ensuring that Peers have their questions answered in a timely fashion by all departments. Over the recent months, I have reminded all Front Bench Ministers of their duty to respond to Written Questions within the 10 day target.
In addition to this, my Office routinely contacts departments who have breached this target to ascertain the reasons why their deadlines have been missed. As an indication of how seriously I have taken this issue, I have also written to the Permanent Secretaries of departments and met individually with Front Bench Ministers who repeatedly miss the target.
I believe an apology is appropriate in such circumstances, but that it is a matter for each individual department to determine.
As Leader of the House I see it as essential that Noble Lords receive accurate and timely responses to all written questions tabled to His Majesty's Government. For that reason, I have spoken to all Front Bench Ministers regarding the importance of adhering to the 10 working day window for response to questions for written answer. I have also written to the Permanent Secretary of DHSC to reiterate the importance of his department responding to peers within this timeframe, as well as urging them to clear the backlog as soon as possible.
My office has contacted DHSC regarding their repeated failure to meet the 10 day target for response. After the significant disruption caused to the delivery of parliamentary support to the House of Lords by the COVID-19 pandemic, the DHSC parliamentary team has implemented a Written Parliamentary Question Recovery Plan to deal with the backlog of written questions. This recovery plan has led to significant improvements in their performance. However, your question clearly highlights that there is more work to do to ensure that all questions are answered within the 10 day target. Parliament rightly expects that more work will be done on this matter.
As Leader of the House, I have stressed that I take my responsibility to ensure all Ministers provide full, timely and accurate responses to Questions for Written Answers (QWAs) very seriously.
Of the three QWAs mentioned in your question, all have now been answered. HL2182 was answered on the date you submitted this question, 8 November.
HL2307 and HL2308 were delayed due to the death of Her Majesty The Queen on 8 September and were subsequently answered within the 10 working day target on 28 September.
For more information on what we are doing to address late QWAs please see my previous response to you on 11 October (HL2274) and my answer to Lord Scriven (HL2615) on 27 October.
As Leader of the House, I shall take my responsibility to ensure all Ministers provide full, timely and accurate responses to Questions for Written Answers (QWAs) very seriously.
On 7 September 2022 there were four overdue QWAs directed to the Home Office (HO), and one directed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). As of 28 September 2022, the number of outstanding QWAs from June and July had reduced: the Home Office had two late answers and the FCDO had none.
My office contacted the FCDO who explained that a technical error prevented their response from being uploaded to the website by the deadline. They have confirmed that a response was issued on 20 July 2022 and a copy was sent via email to the Peer.
Similarly, the HO has confirmed their two outstanding QWAs were cleared on 11 July but due to a separate technical error, were not uploaded to the website. This issue is being investigated by the HO to prevent it reoccurring. The tabling Peer has been contacted.
As Leader, I will undertake to remind colleagues of the importance of answering QWAs within the 10 day target, as well as their obligation to the House and Parliament’s important role in scrutinising the Government. My office will continue to work closely with all Departments across Government, and, upon the House’s return, I will write to colleagues to ensure all Ministers in the House of Lords are aware of their duties and what is expected of them in fulfilling their duty to be accountable to your Lordships’ House.
As Leader of the House, I take my responsibility to ensure all Ministers provide full, timely and accurate responses to Questions for Written Answers (QWAs) very seriously.
I regularly remind Front Bench colleagues of their obligation to the House as stipulated in the Companion and of the importance of answering QWAs within the 10 day target. This has been raised regularly at Front Bench meetings and I have previously written to colleagues on the issue.
My office works closely with all departments across Government to ensure prompt responses to all QWAs. This is a process that has been followed with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Privy Counsellors who applied to enter the ballot to attend the meeting of the Accession Council and were unsuccessful were advised individually of the outcome by the Privy Council Office shortly after the ballot was conducted.
St. James’s Palace is the senior Royal Palace in the United Kingdom and the Court of St. James is the Royal Court to which all Realm High Commissioners are accredited. St. James’s Palace has therefore long been agreed to be the most appropriate setting for the Accession Council.
A total of 158 Privy Counsellors were eligible on an ex-officio basis to be summonsed to attend the Accession Council on 10th September 2022.
The criteria for ex-officio eligibility was based primarily on whether individuals were serving in a senior parliamentary, judicial or Church post at the time of Demise. Privy Counsellors selected using this criteria included the Great Offices and Great Officers of State; Cabinet ministers; the Leader of the Opposition; shadow Cabinet Ministers who are Privy Counsellors; the Archbishops of Canterbury and York; leaders of the political parties in the House of Commons; the First Ministers of the Devolved Governments; the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker; and representatives of the senior judiciary.
Former Prime Ministers, former Lord Presidents, former Archbishops, and Privy Counsellors who were formerly leaders of political parties in the House of Commons were also summonsed to attend on an ex-officio basis.
All Privy Counsellors who were not eligible to attend the Accession Council on an ex officio basis were invited to apply by ballot for a summons to attend the Accession Council. The ballot was conducted on an annual basis and took place in April 2022. A total of 236 Privy Counsellors chose to apply this year; all of those who applied were entered into the ballot. Thirty summonses were available in this year’s ballot.
All Ministers are subject to the Ministerial Code, which provides guidance to Ministers on how they should act and arrange their affairs in order to uphold the standards set out in the Code.
Under the terms of the Code, Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise.
Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in the light of the Code and for justifying their actions and conduct to Parliament and the public.
The information requested is not centrally held or collated, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
10 Downing Street is a constituent part of the Cabinet Office; information on its staffing is provided within the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
To assist the noble peer:
the 2020-21 accounts are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-2021,
The 2015-16 accounts are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016 and
the 2005 accounts are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-resource-accounts-2005-to-2006.
The Cabinet Office accounts for 1995 were presented to Parliament; the House of Lords Library can assist members in retrieving reference copies from 1995.
The Ministerial and other Salaries Act (1975) sets limits on the numbers of salaries that can be paid and for individual offices. Within those statutory limits the organisation of the Executive is a matter for the Prime Minister and at his discretion.
There are currently fourteen unsalaried Ministers, of which eleven are Members of the House of Lords, and three are members of the House of Commons.
The recommendation of Ministerial appointments to the Sovereign is a matter for the Prime Minister, taking into account such factors as the Prime Minister sees fit. The main determinant will be whether or not there are salaries available within the limits set out in the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975.
The Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the organisation of the Executive. It is for the Prime Minister alone to advise the Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative powers in relation to government, such as the appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignation of other Ministers.
The Ministerial and other Salaries Act (1975) sets limits on the numbers of salaries that can be paid, and for individual offices. As per the act, there are:
Up to 21 salaries payable to the Cabinet, excluding the Lord Chancellor, available under Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the act
1 salary payable to the Lord Chancellor as per Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the act,
Up to 29 salaries payable under Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the act (non-Cabinet) at Minister of State level, assuming all 21 salaries in the Cabinet are used,
3 salaries payable under Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the act for the Law Officers,
Up to 33 salaries payable to Parliamentary Secretaries (other than the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act, assuming all 50 Cabinet and Minister of State salaries are used,
and 22 salaries payable to office holders other than Parliamentary Secretaries under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act
Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not members of the Government and, therefore, are not paid as such.
There are currently thirteen Ministers who do not receive a ministerial salary. Of these, three sit in the House of Commons and ten sit in the House of Lords.
The Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the organisation of the Executive. It is for the Prime Minister alone to advise the Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative powers in relation to government, such as the appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignation of other Ministers.
The Ministerial and other Salaries Act (1975) sets limits on the numbers of salaries that can be paid, and for individual offices. As per the act, there are:
Up to 21 salaries payable to the Cabinet, excluding the Lord Chancellor, available under Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the act
1 salary payable to the Lord Chancellor as per Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the act,
Up to 29 salaries payable under Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the act (non-Cabinet) at Minister of State level, assuming all 21 salaries in the Cabinet are used,
3 salaries payable under Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the act for the Law Officers,
Up to 33 salaries payable to Parliamentary Secretaries (other than the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act, assuming all 50 Cabinet and Minister of State salaries are used,
and 22 salaries payable to office holders other than Parliamentary Secretaries under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act
Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not members of the Government and, therefore, are not paid as such.
There are currently thirteen Ministers who do not receive a ministerial salary. Of these, three sit in the House of Commons and ten sit in the House of Lords.
The Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the organisation of the Executive. It is for the Prime Minister alone to advise the Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative powers in relation to government, such as the appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignation of other Ministers.
The Ministerial and other Salaries Act (1975) sets limits on the numbers of salaries that can be paid, and for individual offices. As per the act, there are:
Up to 21 salaries payable to the Cabinet, excluding the Lord Chancellor, available under Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the act
1 salary payable to the Lord Chancellor as per Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the act,
Up to 29 salaries payable under Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the act (non-Cabinet) at Minister of State level, assuming all 21 salaries in the Cabinet are used,
3 salaries payable under Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the act for the Law Officers,
Up to 33 salaries payable to Parliamentary Secretaries (other than the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act, assuming all 50 Cabinet and Minister of State salaries are used,
and 22 salaries payable to office holders other than Parliamentary Secretaries under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act
Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not members of the Government and, therefore, are not paid as such.
There are currently thirteen Ministers who do not receive a ministerial salary. Of these, three sit in the House of Commons and ten sit in the House of Lords.
The Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the organisation of the Executive. It is for the Prime Minister alone to advise the Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative powers in relation to government, such as the appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignation of other Ministers.
The Ministerial and other Salaries Act (1975) sets limits on the numbers of salaries that can be paid, and for individual offices. As per the act, there are:
Up to 21 salaries payable to the Cabinet, excluding the Lord Chancellor, available under Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the act
1 salary payable to the Lord Chancellor as per Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the act,
Up to 29 salaries payable under Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the act (non-Cabinet) at Minister of State level, assuming all 21 salaries in the Cabinet are used,
3 salaries payable under Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the act for the Law Officers,
Up to 33 salaries payable to Parliamentary Secretaries (other than the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act, assuming all 50 Cabinet and Minister of State salaries are used,
and 22 salaries payable to office holders other than Parliamentary Secretaries under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the act
Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not members of the Government and, therefore, are not paid as such.
There are currently thirteen Ministers who do not receive a ministerial salary. Of these, three sit in the House of Commons and ten sit in the House of Lords.
We do not collate information across government regarding the sums spent on supporting the steel industry in Wales.
We have provided £730mn in energy costs relief to the UK steel sector since 2013. However, we are unable to publish a breakdown of the value of energy intensive industry cost relief schemes to the steel sector in Wales. Doing so would be disclosive, enabling some companies or third parties to calculate how much support other companies have received. Steel companies in Wales will also benefit from the British Industry Supercharger measures to reduce energy costs for energy intensive industries.
As previously set out, industrial sectors, including the steel sector in Wales, have also been able to bid into Government funds worth hundreds of millions of pounds to support energy efficiency and de-carbonisation. For example, Cardiff-based Celsa Steel UK has been awarded grants totalling £5,295,451 from Phase 1 of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund. Celsa has also successfully repaid a £30mn Government loan, which supported 1800 jobs.
The high standard Financial Services chapter in CPTPP opens financial service markets between members, expanding opportunities for UK financial services and easing frictions to cross-border trade and investment. Joining will open up new markets to UK firms, including improved commitments which reduce red tape and cut costs. At the same time, CPTPP members retain the ability to regulate financial markets and institutions for legitimate public policy purposes.
The Financial Services chapter was one of the core market access areas considered during the UK’s negotiations to accede to CPTPP. The full treaty text will be laid before Parliament following legal review.
The Met Office measures the accuracy of its rainfall forecasts by comparing forecast rainfall accumulation against rainfall estimates from radar and actual rainfall measurements from gauges. The Met Office reports on the accuracy of rainfall forecasts to the Public Weather Service Customer Group (PWSCG). Since 2017, the PWSCG has included verification of the forecast weather symbol as part of this formal forecast accuracy target. This measures how accurate the forecast was in terms of whether it was sunny, cloudy or raining. Since its introduction, this metric has shown that the accuracy of the forecast weather symbol has improved at all forecast time scales.
The core task of the Met Office is to deliver the Public Weather Service (PWS). The PWS Customer Group (PWSCG), which has an independent chair responsible to the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, monitors the delivery of the PWS against agreed performance indicators and targets, including the accuracy of public facing forecasts.
Over the last 5 years, the PWSCG has set targets each year for the accuracy of forecasts for maximum and minimum temperature, 3 hourly temperature, wind speed and wind direction at days 1, 3, and 5 ahead. During this period the accuracy of all these forecasts has increased.
In addition, the Met Office has a performance indicator that compares the accuracy of its global forecast model against other global modelling centres to demonstrate that it is maintaining its position in global forecast accuracy. Over the last 5 years the Met Office has maintained its position as the leading national meteorological service.
As set out in our previous response, the UK has a robust process in place to ensure that prohibited medicinal products are not used during the production of meat imported into the UK. This includes the use of hormone implants.
All UK imports for products of animal origin from outside the EU currently require health certificates, including bovine meat products. The GB health certificates contain information on animal health status and human health risk. These health attestations confirms that the farmer has not used any prohibited medicinal products during production and that maximum residue levels for veterinary medicines have been respected. This information is confirmed, and the health certificate signed by, an official veterinarian in the exporting country.
The UK Government’s election manifesto guaranteed the current annual budget in every year of the new Parliament, giving significant certainty on funding for the coming years. In England this will enable the Government to provide financial support for the purposes set out in the Agriculture Bill. Funding for future years, including delivering the government’s manifesto commitment to guarantee the current annual budget to farmers in every year of the new Parliament, will be announced in due course.
As a Member State, the UK fulfilled its obligations of EU membership and implemented EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into domestic law. UK policy was always to implement EU law as required.
Although the UK expressed some concerns with the robustness of the scientific evidence underpinning the EU ban at the time, it has always been fully implemented in the UK and this will continue, now we have left the EU.
As a Member State, the UK transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into domestic law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland.
The law reflects UK Government policy on the use of growth hormones in food production and remains in force now we have left the EU.
The UK is committed to maintaining our current high food safety and animal welfare standards and these protections will continue now we have left the EU.
No new evidence in relation to the use of hormones as growth promotors has been reviewed by the UK Government’s independent Veterinary Products Committee since 2007.
The UK has transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into national law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland. This legislation prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported products as well as provides for the monitoring of residues of substances. This protection will continue now we have left the EU.
The UK’s quota is currently allocated on the basis of Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units which are attached to UK vessel licences. These can only be allocated to vessels registered and licensed in the UK.
A decision by a British fisher to sell a licence to, or buy a licence from, another fisher or company is a commercial one, and one for fishers alone to make.
An economic link condition was introduced to UK licences in 1999 to make sure a genuine economic benefit is accrued to the UK from the fishing of UK quota. The Government is considering reform of the economic link condition after the transition period as part of the development of our future fisheries management arrangements.
The FQA Register is a list of fishing vessel licences, the FQA units linked to them and the owners. The FQA Register can be found online at: www.fqaregister.service.gov.uk
The Department has made no assessment of the role played, if any, by the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the spread of COVID-19.
There was a technical issue on the answering system WQA – HL4258 was renumbered as HL5062 because Table Office are unable to resolve this technical issue.
HL5062 was answered on 3 February 2023.
NATO allies' defence spending data, including as a percentage of GDP, is published on the NATO website. The latest figures are from July 2023 and are due to be updated in February 2024.
His Majesty's Government can confirm that Saudi Arabia have not made any military assets available to any NATO members in any operations against the Houthis.
The International Board of Auditors (IBAN) produces an annual report for the North Atlantic Council. Their reports on the 2021 Financial Statement Audit of the Reporting Entities and main findings of these audits are publicly available and can be found at:
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_111782.htm
As confirmed by the Secretary of State on 16 January 2023, the UK will send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, together with armoured recovery and repair vehicles. The gifting of these tanks is part of a significant new package of combat power to increase Ukraine's capabilities and accelerate Ukrainian success on the battlefield.
The UK will provide Ukraine with thousands of rounds of tank ammunition.
The UK is the only NATO nation which holds the required ammunition for Challenger 2.
Please see the table below for levels of defence spending by % of GDP currently spent by members of NATO, and spent by each member of NATO at the time of the 2014 Wales NATO summit.
This information is according to the NATO press release (COMMUNIQUE PR/CP(2019)123) ‘Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2013-2019)’ published on 29 November 2019.
https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2019_11/20191129_pr-2019-123-en.pdf
Defence expenditures as per cent of GDP - Based on 2015 prices and exchange rates
Nation | Defence expenditure as a % of GDP 2014 | Defence expenditure as a % of GDP 2019e (current) |
Albania | 1.35 | 1.26 |
Belgium | 0.98 | 0.93 |
Bulgaria* | 1.32 | 3.25 |
Canada | 1.01 | 1.31 |
Croatia | 1.84 | 1.68 |
Czech Republic | 0.95 | 1.19 |
Denmark | 1.15 | 1.32 |
Estonia | 1.93 | 2.14 |
France | 1.82 | 1.84 |
Germany | 1.18 | 1.38 |
Greece | 2.21 | 2.28 |
Hungary | 0.86 | 1.21 |
Italy | 1.14 | 1.22 |
Latvia | 0.94 | 2.01 |
Lithuania | 0.88 | 2.03 |
Luxembourg | 0.38 | 0.56 |
Montenegro | 1.50 | 1.66 |
Netherlands | 1.15 | 1.36 |
Norway | 1.55 | 1.80 |
Poland | 1.85 | 2.00 |
Portugal | 1.31 | 1.52 |
Romania | 1.35 | 2.04 |
Slovak Republic | 0.99 | 1.74 |
Slovenia | 0.97 | 1.04 |
Spain | 0.92 | 0.92 |
Turkey | 1.45 | 1.89 |
United Kingdom | 2.16 | 2.14 |
United States | 3.73 | 3.42 |
* Defence Expenditure does not include pensions.
e - Figures for 2019 are estimates
According to NATO’s latest spending figures, the UK’s Defence spending has increased year-on-year since 2017.
When looking at Defence spending, it is not appropriate to compare ‘like for like’ because the nature of Defence spending changes over time.
Defence spending is about assessing the threats we face and ensuring that we have the capabilities necessary to deal with them.
We became the first country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism in 2016. The IHRA definition is an invaluable tool for public bodies and the wider public to understand how antisemitism manifests itself in the 21st century. The IHRA definition is already used in guidance for the Police and Crown Prosecution Service, providing examples of the kinds of behaviours which, depending on the circumstances, could constitute antisemitism.