Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce secondary legislation to clarify how different public bodies should carry out their duty to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has published guidance on how the Protected Landscapes duty is intended to operate and broad principles to guide relevant authorities in complying with it.
It will explore further the most appropriate approach through legislation to clarify that developers of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects are not required to pay financial compensation to protected landscape organisations in order to comply with the duty.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 11 March (HL15210), what insurance arrangements they envisage for NHS-accredited hospitals providing services commissioned by public health authorities which were previously part of the NHS but are now part of local government.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where National Health Service accredited hospitals provide services commissioned by public health authorities which were previously part of the NHS but are now part of local government, any liability arising from clinical negligence is covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). CNST is a state indemnity scheme administered by NHS Resolution.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's cultural sector as a whole, and its national museums and galleries in particular, on levels of overseas tourism to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the significant role that the UK’s cultural sector plays in attracting international visitors and supporting the visitor economy. The UK’s museums, galleries, heritage sites, and wider cultural offer are a key part of the country’s global appeal and contribute strongly to the UK’s reputation as a world class tourism destination.
Evidence from VisitBritain indicates that cultural and heritage assets are key motivations for inbound visitors. Data from the International Passenger Survey shows that visiting museums or art galleries is the ninth most popular activity among overseas visitors, with around 11.8 million visits in 2024 (30% of inbound visitors) and associated visitor spending of around £12.7 billion. Cultural heritage more broadly also attracts significant participation, with around 11.2 million visitors (29%) visiting castles or historic houses and 7.9 million (20%) visiting religious buildings.
Through VisitBritain’s international marketing activity and the Government’s support for the cultural sector, the UK continues to promote its rich cultural offer to international audiences. This supports inbound tourism, drives visitor spending across the UK’s regions and nations, and strengthens the UK’s global soft power and reputation as a leading cultural destination.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of implementing the proposals for tax incentives in the Independent Review of Arts Council England, published on 16 December 2025.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
With regard to tax incentive recommendations in the Arts Council England Review, the government already provides the culture and creative industries with tax reliefs, which are some of the most generous in the world. They provided £2.4 billion support in 2023-24 - including £261 million for Theatres Tax Relief, £50 million for Orchestras Tax Relief, and £28 million in Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief. The Chancellor considers changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way and in the context of the wider public finances.
The government is now considering the Review with relevant departments and the Arts Council, and will publish a response shortly.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to ensuring that NHS collective insurance cover can be extended to provide cover for when clinical services are commissioned by local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
When local authorities commission clinical services through the National Health Service, any liability arising from clinical negligence is covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST), where the service is provided by an NHS trust, and the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP), where the service is delivered by general practices under NHS contracts, namely the Personal Medical Services contract, the Additional Medical Services contract, and/or the General Medical Services contract. CNST and CNSGP are state indemnity schemes administered by NHS Resolution.
There are currently no plans to extend the scope of CNST or CNSGP to cover other clinical services commissioned by local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential (1) risks, and (2) benefits, of adopting an entirely remote delivery model for the proposed Home Office English Language Testing service.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has carefully considered both the risks and benefits of an entirely remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements.
The key risks centre on maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration system, including identity assurance, protection against impersonation, and confidence in the reliability of test results. The Home Office has engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain high standards of security and integrity and has developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution. Following rounds of pre-market engagement, the ongoing procurement is explicitly designed to test bidders' ability to meet these standards, and the Department will adopt only those solutions that demonstrably maintain the high level of assurance required.
The expected benefits include improved accessibility and customer service by removing physical barriers for applicants, stronger protections against fraud through enhanced security measures, and better value for money for applicants and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the proposals in the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025, published on 23 April 2025, whether they plan to retain the protected landscapes duty for national parks.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is carefully considering all recommendations of the Nuclear Taskforce’s report and will present a full implementation plan by the end of February. Defra is working with DESNZ and other government departments to set out this plan. We are considering these recommendations in line with our objectives to achieve win-wins for nature and growth, as well as meeting our international obligations.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 8 December (HL12316), in the most recent period for which figures are available, (1) what proportion of, and (2) how many, invoices for contracts carried out for the NHS in England are not paid and must subsequently be resubmitted.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally as NHS England do not collect supplier payment information on behalf of National Health Service trusts.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many invoices submitted to the NHS for services provided by Mildmay Hospital remain unpaid.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally as NHS England do not collect supplier payment information on behalf of National Health Service trusts.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of invoices for contracts entered into by NHS England are settled within four weeks.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England monitors the payment of invoices made within 30 days, to confirm compliance with the Better Payment Practice Code, which sets a target of 95%. In the 2024/25 financial year, 97% of invoices were paid within 30 days, with a slight reduction to 94% in the 2025/26 financial year for the six-month period to 30 September 2025, the latest period for which figures are available.