Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding bringing their military operations in Gaza to a conclusion as soon as possible.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a stop in the fighting in Gaza. The Prime Minister discussed the current hostage negotiations with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 30 April and expressed his hope that negotiations are concluded to allow hostages to return home as soon as possible.

We are clear that the vital elements for a lasting peace include the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution and ensures Israelis and Palestinians can live in security and dignity.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made representations to the government of Iran regarding the death sentences imposed upon Toomaj Salehi, Abbas Deries, Reza Rasaei and Mojahed Kourkour.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The UK condemns the death sentence of prominent and fearless artist Toomaj Salehi. Iran's deliberate attempts to silence dissenting voices are clear for all to see. We call for Mr Salehi's immediate release, and the release of all those who are unjustly detained by the Iranian regime. Mr Salehi's sentence is yet more evidence of unacceptable restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran. Nine people associated with the "Woman Life Freedom" protests have been executed.

The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We condemn Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters and have sanctioned 94 Iranian individuals or entities for human rights violations since September 2022. We call on Iran to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many universities in England have small nuclear reactors that are being used to develop or apply radiotherapy medical treatment.

Answered by Lord Callanan

There are currently no universities in England that have small nuclear fission reactors that are being used to develop or apply radiotherapy medical treatment.

It is critical that the UK continues to maintain access to the nuclear medicines it needs. In the 2024 Civil Nuclear Roadmap, the government committed to considering a research reactor and an accelerator in the next Spending Review to address the UK’s supply needs.

No decisions have yet been taken by the government to select one or more technology options.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total expenditure made under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 in the most recent year for which statistics are available.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie

Expenditure on the Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 is available in the benefit expenditure and caseloads tables: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The latest year for which an outturn is available is 2022/23, and this shows expenditure of £36 million for Great Britain.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many US citizens have been registered as having donated to UK charities in the most recent year for which statistics are available.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

HM Government does not hold information on the nationality of donors to UK charities – but we are, of course, grateful to all those who donate to good causes.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Great British Nuclear prior to their decision to rule out Trawsfynydd as a site for a small modular reactor.

Answered by Lord Callanan

Trawsfynydd has not been ruled out as a potential site for new nuclear and is one of a number of potential sites that could host new civil nuclear projects, subject to National planning policy, regulatory approvals and technical assessments. Decisions on the projects and technologies to be deployed at sites will be made in due course and Great British Nuclear continues to work with Government to support access to potential sites for new nuclear projects to achieve its long-term nuclear programme ambitions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of road in England have speed limits of (1) 20, and (2) 30, miles per hour.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales

This information is not centrally held.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most recent statistics on the Economic Activity Rate of each of the UK's four nations, and what were the equivalent rates (1) 10, and (2) 20, years earlier.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley

House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

Dear Lord Wigley,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the most recent statistics on the Economic Activity Rate of each of the UK’s four nations, and what were the equivalent rates (1) 10, and (2) 20, years earlier (HL4552).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK.

The responses allow us to identify how many people are economically active; that is, those who are engaged with the labour market, either through employment or who are unemployed and actively seeking work. We are also able to calculate economic activity rates by region using these data.

Due to the current smaller sample sizes being achieved by the LFS, recent estimates are showing increased volatility and should be treated with additional caution. We are currently undertaking a programme of work to improve our estimates of the UK labour market. As part of this work, we have updated our labour market estimates from July to September 2022 onwards to incorporate more up to date estimates of the UK population. Labour market estimates prior to this remain based on older population estimates. Therefore, the latest available estimates of the UK labour market, for January to March 2024, are on a different population basis than those ten and twenty years earlier. As a result of this we recommend caution when considering long-term movements in these series.

The latest available estimates (January to March 2024) of the economic activity rates, for people aged 16 to 64 years, resident in each of the UK’s four nations are presented in Table 1, alongside estimates for January to March 2014 and January to March 2004.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Economic Activity Rates, people aged 16 to 64 years, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, seasonally adjusted.

Source: Labour Force Survey

[1] Estimate based on more up to date population estimates and subject to greater volatility due to smaller achieved sample sizes. We advise caution when interpreting movements in these series.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many refugees from Gaza have been accepted into the UK since October 2023.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum decisions in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on gov.uk. The latest data relates to 2023. Data for the year ending March 2024 will be published on 23 May 2024. From October to December 2023, 69 asylum claims (relating to 84 people) from nationals of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, of which Gaza forms a part, were granted some form of protection.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many visas they have issued for overseas students undertaking undergraduate degree courses in universities in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, in the current academic year.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on sponsored study visas by course level in the 'Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release'.

The dataset does not provide a breakdown of the UK constituent country in which the University was based.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve economic ties between the UK and Argentina.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We have a growing economic and trading relationship with Argentina. Bilateral trade surpassed £2 billion in 2023 and there are over 120 UK subsidiaries operating in Argentina across various sectors including food and drink, agricultural technology, financial services and transport. The Foreign Secretary had a productive meeting with President Milei at the World Economic Forum in January and with Foreign Minister Mondino at the G20 in February. We continue to work with the Milei administration to deepen our economic relationship in areas of mutual interest, taking advantage of opportunities to increase bilateral trade and investment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance the Home Office has issued to police forces in Wales about securing witness statements with minimal delay after incidents involving loss of life.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Guidance about securing witness statements is provided to police forces in England and Wales via the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) designed by the College of Policing and The Ministry of Justice; Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on Interviewing Victims and Witnesses, and Guidance on Using Special Measures.

The APP clearly states the person taking a crime report will need to carry out investigative actions to establish what has happened, what further police actions might be necessary and the urgency for those actions. This includes the identification of witnesses to secure any immediate evidence or statements that might otherwise be lost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrants seeking permanent residence in the UK entered directly from the Republic of Ireland in the latest year for which figures are available.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Journeys from Ireland to the UK are within the Common Travel Area (CTA). As part of the CTA arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls of individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Avanti West Coast train executive in relation to their performance in maintaining scheduled direct passenger services between (1) London and Holyhead, and (2) London and Wrexham.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales

Avanti West Coast (AWC) has made significant progress in recovering from recent poor reliability and punctuality, but we are clear that performance is still not good enough and there is more to do. Officials continue to closely monitor and review AWC’s progress to a sustained recovery, restoring services reliably on the West Coast Main Line and delivering good value for the taxpayer. Officials regularly meet with AWC senior management to review performance and we will always hold AWC to account for matters within its control.

Over the next few months AWC is working to introduce a brand-new fleet of bi-mode Hitachi trains offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers along the North Wales mainline.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions Ministers have had with (1) Tata Steel, (2) the Welsh Government, and (3) companies in the nuclear energy sector, concerning the possibility of constructing a small nuclear reactor at Port Talbot to provide energy for the manufacture of steel.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel

The construction of a small nuclear reactor at Port Talbot to provide energy for the manufacture of steel has not been discussed as part of Tata Steel's plans for the construction of an Electric Arc Furnace at the site. The UK Government does not have a role in Tata Steel's energy purchasing arrangements, and the energy sources that Tata will choose to use are a commercial decision for them.

The Alternative Routes to Market for New Nuclear Projects consultation explored potential wider roles of nuclear energy beyond electricity generation, including large scale industrial applications. The consultation responses are now being analysed and will help shape future policy.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the percentage turnout of voters in the May county council elections in England, by county.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)

The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be providing their analysis of the running of the May polls 2024. This will include data on turnout.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether payments of compensation to contaminated blood victims will be funded outside the projected annual expenditure on health and social security budgets.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Given the uncertainty over costs, the scheme will be scored as Capital Annually Managed Expenditure. Annually Managed Expenditure is spend on programmes which are demand led - such as welfare, tax credits or public sector pensions. It is spent on items that may be unpredictable or not easily controlled by departments, as opposed to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) which are allocated to and spent by Government departments. We will set out what this means for the public finances in the usual way at the next fiscal event.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much each Government department has under-spent against their (1) capital, and (2) current expenditure, budgets.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Resource and Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) are published in Supplementary Estimates towards the end of each financial year. Treasury then publishes final outturn figures for Resource and Capital DEL usually in July.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most recent figures for the volume of trade between Holyhead and the Republic of Ireland; and how these compare with corresponding figures in 2015.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton

The volume of trade between Holyhead and the Republic of Ireland from 2021 to 2024 is as follows:

Table1: Republic of Ireland trade with Holyhead port, imports and exports trade value and net mass (2021-2024)

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not have port data prior to 2021 as the UK was part of the European Union and customs declarations were not required for these movements. Trade data for intra-EU movements was collected via monthly Intrastat declarations which did not collect information on ports.

Also, HMRC does not have data for 2021 imports as Staged Customs Controls (SCC) allowed an extended period for traders to complete their declarations. During this period HMRC continued to source intra-EU data from Intrastat declarations.

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