Lord Naseby

Both the UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their arrangements for Third Country Nationals. The Schengen Borders Code allows for third country nationals to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling to the EU. While we recognise that extending the 90-180 day period is a matter for Member States and the EU, the Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals. In November 2023, officials raised the challenges the 90 days in 180-day limit presents for UK national hauliers and coach drivers through the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Road Transport; the EU Co-Chair noted that there are no plans to change the rules on the conditions of entry of third country nationals to the EU, including for visa-free travel for short-term visits.

From 2015 through to FY2025/26 the UK Government, through the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, a joint DBT and DfT unit, has provided £22m of matched, grant funding to UK motor manufacturers for the development of self-driving vehicles.

Between April 2024 – March 2025, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paid out 25,144 vouchers for heat pumps (air source and ground source), to the cost of ~£189 million.

Other schemes delivered by the department such as the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, do not provide a breakdown of funding costs specific to heat pump subsidies alone, as these schemes support a range of retrofit energy efficiency measures. The Government does publish data showing the average contribution costs for measures under these schemes, including for heat pumps.

This data is available at: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2025, Home Upgrade Grant statistics: August 2025 and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund statistics: September 2025

The Government has committed not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields. In the ‘Building the North Sea’s Energy Future’ consultation, it sought views on how to implement that commitment.

The Government is considering evidence from a wide range of sources as part of that process, including the latest evidence from the North Sea Transition Authority.

The Government will issue a response to the consultation in due course.

The Government has committed to not issue new licences to explore new fields while managing existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.

Our ‘Building the North Sea’s energy future’ consultation, which closed earlier this year, sought views on how we should implement these commitments. We are analysing responses to the consultation and will issue a response in due course.

The value for crude oil imports into the UK in 2024 was £22,745 million, and the value for natural gas imports in 2024 was £13,615 million. These are on a calendar year basis and financial years are not available. These data are sourced from Table 1.2 of the Department's Digest of UK Energy Statistics which are published annually and available via the internet.

The Government took the decision to immobilise the UK’s civil separated plutonium inventory based on strategic, economic, technical and safety and security considerations. Immobilisation will put the material into a form which both reduces the long-term safety and security burden during storage and ensures it is suitable for disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). Implementing a long-term solution for plutonium is essential to dealing with the UK’s nuclear legacy and leaving the environment safer for future generations. Furthermore, all current and planned UK reactors use uranium-based fuels.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one of the key measures required to achieve net zero emissions from aviation by 2050. SAF reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its lifecycle production and use when compared to conventional kerosene.

We are encouraging the production, development, and use of SAF in the UK in three main ways:

1) We are building demand through the SAF Mandate, which came into place in January this year and sets targets for the supply of an increasing amount of SAF in the overall UK aviation fuel mix. Under the SAF Mandate, eligible SAF is required to meet a reduction of 40% GHG savings and fuels are rewarded in proportion to their GHG savings.

2) The Advanced Fuels Fund aims to grow the UK supply of SAF by supporting first-of-a-kind SAF production plants through the project pipeline to reach investment ready stage and achieve commercial scale. £63m has been allocated across 17 UK projects for this financial year. The Spending Review 2025 will continue support for the production of SAF in the UK to 2029/30. DfT will provide details on the parameters of this support in due course.

3) We are helping to derisk SAF projects and support investment by legislating to introduce a revenue certainty mechanism. The SAF Bill was introduced at the House of Commons on 14 May 2025 and passed Report Stage and Third Reading on 15 October.

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.

The department does however work closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. We will continue to work with Motability Foundation to ensure the scheme provides value for money and meets the needs of disabled people.

The National Health Service is free at the point of use and provides care to anyone who needs it based on clinical need. A parent or carer can speak to their general practitioner who can refer a child to local NHS children’s occupational therapy services if there is a clinical need, for instance if there are difficulties with motor skills, sensory issues, handwriting, etc. The fact that a child attends private school does not disqualify them from NHS healthcare services, as NHS services are based on clinical need, not type of school. In some cases, there have been errors in a local service offer that have led to this being corrected before.

In circumstances where the difficulty would be considered a disability, then equality duties would apply, and reasonable adjustments would be expected.

Overseas visitors’ healthcare costs are recovered through three routes: direct charging; the Immigration Health Surcharge; or reciprocal healthcare arrangements.

The Department works closely with a dedicated team in NHS England to ensure that charging is applied fairly and consistently to overseas visitors. The Department and NHS England actively support the National Health Service to improve cost recovery through the monitoring of data and activity, the sharing of best practice and guidance, targeted follow-ups with trusts where issues are identified, and by working closely with the Home Office to improve data quality and reporting consistency.

In England, the charging of overseas visitors for National Health Service healthcare already exists. Overseas visitors who use the NHS in England are charged upfront 150% of the cost of treatment. Only people who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, or otherwise exempt from charges under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, are eligible for NHS healthcare without charge in England.

Individuals coming to the UK for six months or more are expected to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge as part of their visa application. Once their application is granted, they are entitled to receive treatment on broadly the same basis as someone who is ordinarily resident in the UK.

People coming to the UK for six months or less are expected to have adequate funds or insurance to cover any healthcare needs whilst in England.

The UK is also party to several reciprocal healthcare agreements. Patients who are from countries covered by a reciprocal healthcare agreement may be entitled to some NHS services without charge.

To ensure that the Junior Individual Savings Accounts (JISA) regime remains simple and sustainable, HMRC restrict who can open and manage an account to prevent more than one JISA of each type (cash or stocks and shares) being opened in error. It also ensures that there is a single point of contact for the giving of instructions. Given the nature of the role, the ISA rules require this to be someone with parental responsibility for the child. A grandparent who does not have parental responsibility is therefore unable to open or manage a Junior ISA on behalf of their grandchild but can add funds to the account, up to the value of £9,000 a year.

The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.

This is a complicated issue and the government is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The government is pleased that the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from 1-3 April and hopes that its judgment will provide clarity for firms and consumers

The Home Office has published accredited official statistics on police funding for England and Wales, which includes funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) for the period 2015-2026. The total funding for PCCs up to the financial year 2025-26 (including government funding and police precept) can be found below:

Footnotes

*In 2020-21 the Home Office reimbursed all additional personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased between 27 February 2020 and 27 July 2020 and launched an Income Loss Recovery Scheme for forces to recover relevant lost income on expected sales, fees and charges against their 2020-21 budgets as a result of the pandemic. This support was provided in-year, in addition to the police funding settlement for 2020-21.

** Total funding in the table above includes in year funding for pay awards which would be different to what was announced at the time of the police funding settlements.

Due to changes in the structure of police funding and policing, it is difficult to make direct comparisons between current police funding figures prior to the financial year 2015-16. However, each year the Home Office produces a police grant report which is published and voted on by Parliament and contains grant funding allocations for the following year to be paid out under the Police Act 1996. A copy of the police grant report for the year 2014-15 is available online and in the House.

As the directly elected representative for policing in their area, it is for Police and Crime Commissioners to set their budget and balance it in line with their priorities, including expenditure on their offices.

The overall funding available to Police and Crime Commissioners in 2024/25 was £16.4 billion. This includes Government Grants and Council tax precept.

As the directly elected representative for policing in their area, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have an important local role acting as the voice of the public and victims in policing, holding Chief Constables to account and leading local partnerships to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

In her Written Ministerial Statement of 19 November 2024 (HCWS232), the Home Secretary announced her intention to present a White Paper to Parliament this year on reforms to deliver more effective and efficient policing, to rebuild public confidence and to deliver the Government's Safer Streets mission.

It is vital we invest our defence spending in the UK wherever possible to grow our economy and industrial base. Noting the role drones play in modern warfighting, the Strategic Defence Review announced a total of £2 billion investment in autonomy in this Parliament, taking our total investment in Defence autonomy to £4 billion. How we will spend this autonomy fund, including drones of all forms, will be decided as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

I refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave him on 27 October 2024, to Question HL10931.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Department for Education (DfE) recognise the vital work of Cadet Forces in schools, membership of which is proven to help develop self-confidence, teamwork, leadership and resilience in young people. Since 2012 the two Departments have been working together on the joint Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP) in schools. This has seen a significant increase in the number of Cadet Units in schools – the vast majority being Combined Cadet Force contingents – with the focus on improving provision in the state sector. Prior to the CEP, 75% of School Cadet Units were in independent schools; now around 60% are in the state sector.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommended an expansion of in-school and community-based Cadet Forces across the UK of 30% by 2030, an increase of some 40,000 new Cadets, backed by an investment of £70 million. The CEP will form a key component of this initiative. Expanding the Cadet Forces, which provide skills and qualifications to young people from diverse backgrounds, and support economic growth, will benefit all areas of the UK, and work is already underway to establish where the 30% increase will be realised. The SDR is clear on the need for a whole of society approach to defence and the ongoing relationship between the MOD and the DfE is an important element of that plan.