Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring Government publications to disclose how AI contributed.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to the responsible use of artificial intelligence and maintaining public trust. The AI Playbook for the UK Government provides guidance on the responsible adoption of AI, including appropriate transparency and accountability. As AI use continues to evolve, the Government keeps under review how best to provide transparency about the use of AI in government publications.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding take-up of the NHS option for correspondence.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
I have heard the concerns of some Honourable Members about the take-up of the NHS barcode in recent debates in the House, and I will raise this in my engagement with Royal Mail. As an independent business, responsibility for managing the NHS barcode system rests with Royal Mail’s management and they are best placed to provide details of the take-up and success of the NHS barcode option.
The government also encourages NHS bodies to work with their Royal Mail account manager to find practical solutions that suit their needs.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 27512, answered on 17 September 2026, what assessment his Department has made of the number of medical appointments missed where Royal Mail's NHS option has been used.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
I have heard the concerns of some Honourable Members about the take-up of the NHS barcode in recent debates in the House, and I will raise this in my engagement with Royal Mail. As an independent business, responsibility for managing the NHS barcode system rests with Royal Mail’s management and they are best placed to provide details of the take-up and success of the NHS barcode option.
The government also encourages NHS bodies to work with their Royal Mail account manager to find practical solutions that suit their needs.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 17788, answered on 16 July 2026, what steps the Department is taking to raise awareness amongst schools of this funding.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In February 2026, the department published the Education Estates Strategy to support and provide guidance for those responsible for managing school and college estates. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-estates-strategy/education-estates-strategy-a-decade-of-national-renewal.
Alongside this, the department also launched a new digital service, ‘Manage your education estate’, to bring together our estates guidance, data, tools, programmes and funding in one place to provide easier access for responsible bodies and a clear route to share information and communicate with the department. This service available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-education-estate.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether all reports commissioned by the Government are required to use the AI Playbook for the UK Government.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
It is not a requirement that all reports commissioned by the Government use the AI Playbook for the UK Government. The Government provides a range of guidance, resources and standards to support the responsible use of AI across the public sector.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Department's Answer to Question 107484 on the 28th of January 2026, whether he intends to review the Government's decision regarding legislation to require private creditors to participate in sovereign debt relief arrangements on comparable terms to official lenders.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has no current plans to pursue a legislative approach which would force private sector participation in restructurings. Overall, we have seen private creditors’ willingness to engage and provide debt treatments on comparable terms where needed – though we continue keep this under review.
The Economic Secretary co-chairs the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', which brings together government and private sector stakeholders to find innovative solutions to more sustainable sovereign debt financing in developing economies. With a focus on private debt, the Coalition will continue to drive improvements in debt transparency, resolve challenges with private sector creditor coordination, and champion the uptake of UK-led contractual innovations in private lending, namely debt pause clauses, which allow countries hit by major shocks to temporarily defer debt payments in a clear and a time-bound manner.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department's Answer to WQ17788 on 16 July 2026, what portion of the £710 million renewal and retrofit programme has been spent on air conditioning systems for schools to date.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new Renewal and Retrofit Programme was launched to improve the condition of school and college buildings and increase resilience to climate change so buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The programme will initially focus in 2026/27 on replacing the worst-condition, life-expired temporary buildings alongside installation of energy generation and efficiency measures. There was no application process, and projects are currently being selected.
As the programme expands from 2027, it will support a broader range of renewal projects, such as those addressing significant issues with roofs, heating and electrical systems, while also considering measures to improve resilience to flooding and overheating. The programme will take a whole-site approach, assessing individual school needs and delivering a range of interventions that improve building condition and increase resilience to climate change.
The department will set out further details on how schools and colleges join the programme when it is expanded from 2027 in due course.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer to WQ17788 on 16 July 2026, what portion of the £710 million renewal and retrofit programme is expected to be spent on air conditioning systems for schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new Renewal and Retrofit Programme was launched to improve the condition of school and college buildings and increase resilience to climate change so buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The programme will initially focus in 2026/27 on replacing the worst-condition, life-expired temporary buildings alongside installation of energy generation and efficiency measures. There was no application process, and projects are currently being selected.
As the programme expands from 2027, it will support a broader range of renewal projects, such as those addressing significant issues with roofs, heating and electrical systems, while also considering measures to improve resilience to flooding and overheating. The programme will take a whole-site approach, assessing individual school needs and delivering a range of interventions that improve building condition and increase resilience to climate change.
The department will set out further details on how schools and colleges join the programme when it is expanded from 2027 in due course.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Royal Mail's NHS option on delivery of health-related correspondence.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government recognises the importance of timely delivery of NHS letters. Royal Mail has introduced an NHS barcode to assist NHS units that continue to rely on post to communicate with patients. In addition, NHS England and NHS Providers have produced guidance for NHS organisations, including a case study, to increase awareness and uptake of the variety of Royal Mail services for the timely delivery of letters.
NHS Providers understand that they must ensure they are sending patients’ post out within the right timeframe and it is for them to determine what service they use to enable that.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to raise concerns regarding the human rights of the Uyghur Muslims in China.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government continues to stand firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Xinjiang. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations and we raise our concerns at the highest levels of the Chinese government.