Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make an assessment of the ability of police and courts to detect and prosecute offences relating to coercion as set out in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As is standard when introducing a new offence, the Ministry of Justice will engage with criminal justice agencies, including the police, CPS, and judiciary, before commencement. These bodies will develop guidance and training through their respective organisations, such as the College of Policing and the Judicial College, to ensure officers and practitioners have the necessary powers, knowledge, and skills to detect and prosecute offences under the Bill.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with state school representatives before removing funding for the International Baccalaureate from 2026.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Whilst the department will be reprioritising the large programme uplift funding element, which is part of the 16 to 19 funding formula from the year 2026/27 academic year, the International Baccalaureate (IB) remains a fundable qualification.
Department funded providers offering the IB will continue to receive 16 to 19 education funding, it remains the choice of the institution to decide if they wish to offer larger programmes including the IB.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many state school students studied for an International Baccalaureate Diploma in the last academic year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2023/24, there were 1,366 entries for the International Baccalaureate Diploma by students at the end of 16 to 18 study in state funded schools and colleges. This represents 0.1% of all pupils at the end of 16 to 18 study.
This data can be derived from the ‘16 to 18 qualification and subject data’ dataset on the Compare schools and college performance service here: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial support they will provide to Hillingdon Council to help it to support homeless Chagossians.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Bolton
The Government is committed to supporting Chagossian British citizens as they settle in the UK. While individuals are expected to arrange accommodation before arrival, we recognise that in some circumstances, exceptional pressures may arise locally.
Hillingdon Council has received additional funding to assist in such cases, and we continue to keep support for all councils under review.
Our 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement made available £266.3m in Core Spending Power for Hillingdon Council, which represented a 6.2% increase from 2024-25.
The Government has published guidance on GOV.UK for Chagossian British Citizens moving to the United Kingdom and to encourage individuals to arrive with savings and plans for accommodation.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of extreme left-wing terrorism in the UK, including Antifa and related groups.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.
As outlined in the publication of the most recent iteration of CONTEST, in July 2023, Left Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT) currently represents a significantly smaller terrorist threat to the UK than Islamist terrorism or ERWT and is not currently present in the UK at any significant scale.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending Sunday trading hours.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is not currently planning to make changes to Sunday trading rules.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which officials of the government of China Jonathan Powell has met during his term as National Security Adviser; and whether they will publish a summary of the content of those meetings.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government has a clear and consistent policy not to comment on any of the National Security Adviser’s meetings with external parties, for obvious reasons to protect sensitive information pertaining to this country’s national security. This has been the case under successive governments.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government who the current and previous occupants of grace-and-favour accommodation under the present government have been, including the dates they moved in and out.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since 5 July 2024, official residences have been allocated as follows:
Chequers - the Prime Minister (ongoing).
11 Downing Street - the Prime Minister (ongoing).
10 Downing Street - the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ongoing).
Dorneywood - the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ongoing).
Chevening - the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon David Lammy MP was allocated Chevening following the General Election. Following the appointment of a new Foreign Secretary in September 2025, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP has been allocated Chevening.
1 Carlton Gardens - the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon David Lammy MP was allocated 1 Carlton Gardens following the General Election and this remains allocated to him as Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor.
Hillsborough Castle - available for ministers in the Northern Ireland Office while on duty in Northern Ireland (ongoing).
Admiralty House, Flat 2. This was allocated to the Defence Secretary on a short-term basis between 9 September 2024 and 4 November 2024. Following this, it was allocated to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP.
The former Deputy Prime Minister’s move in process commenced on 12 December 2024 and the flat is now vacant following the resignation of the former occupant.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what moving costs they incurred as a result of the former Deputy Prime Minister vacating the residence in Admiralty House, including a breakdown of those costs.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No moving costs have been incurred by the Government.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government which meetings the Secretary of State for Business and Trade attended during his trip to China in September.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
In September, the Secretary of State met with China’s economic Vice Premier He Lifeng, co-chaired the Joint Economic and Trade Commission with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and co-chaired the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue with Industrial Minister Li Lecheng. He also held meetings and briefings with UK officials, UK businesses and Chinese automotive and retail investors Geely, Chery, and JD.Com. He discussed challenges in the bilateral relationship with counterparts, including level playing-field issues that undermine fair competition for UK business. He raised concerns on national and economic security issues. The visit pushed forward market access outcomes worth over £1 billion over 5 years.
Further information published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-for-business-and-trade-visit-to-china-factsheet/secretary-of-state-for-business-and-trade-visit-to-china-factsheet