Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister, as of 3 February, had asked the Forfeiture Committee whether the Rt Hon Lord Mandelson should be stripped of his membership of the Privy Council.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The Forfeiture Committee has no role in relation to Privy Council appointments. Appointments to, and removals from, the Privy Council are made by The King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister announced on the 4th February that he had recommended to The King that Lord Mandelson be removed from the Privy Council.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through Skilled Worker visas in (1) the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (2) Natural England, and (3) Environment Agency.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not employ any civil servants through Skilled Worker visas as the department is not a sponsoring organisation.

As Natural England (NE) and the Environment Agency (EA) are non‑departmental public bodies (arm’s‑length bodies), they do not employ civil servants.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through Skilled Worker visas in the Home Office.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence and therefore, cannot sponsor individuals under the route.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through skilled worker visas in (1) the Ministry of Justice, and (2) the Prison Service.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker where in the parliamentary estate each of the 36 fire incidents since 2016 referenced in the Restoration and Renewal Client Board report Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals, published on 5 February, took place; and which of those incidents required an evacuation of the nearby premises.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

A total of 36 fire-related or safety ‑related incidents have occurred since 2016 within the Palace of Westminster. We attach the list of incidents within this timescale.

None of the 36 incidents, resulted in either partial or complete evacuation of the Palace of Westminster and all were dealt with by the in-house teams and did not require the assistance of London Fire Brigade.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish abortion statistics in England and Wales for 2024.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The publication date of the abortion statistics for England and Wales for the calendar year 2024 has not yet been announced. We will announce the date of the 2024 data publication in due course.

The statistics have been delayed due to several operational issues. These include issues associated with moving to a new data processing system and an increase in the number of paper abortion notification forms to process.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 30 January (HL13334), of the 344 civil servants employed in the Department for Work and Pensions, what grades they are comprised.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We do not disclose a breakdown of the grades for data privacy reasons as some of the grades may have fewer than five staff members on Skilled Worker visas.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through skilled worker visas in the Ministry of Defence.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As at 10 February 2026, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has nine active civil servants who have continued their employment with the MOD through a Skilled Worker Visa Sponsorship.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through skilled worker visas in the Department for Business and Trade.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through skilled worker visas in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As of 9 February 2026, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), had 18 currently employed civil servants under the Skilled Worker route, as confirmed by the department Sponsor Management System and internal HR records.

Separately, seven civil servants have recently transferred to DSIT from the Cabinet Office as part of the machinery of government rules. Their visas are currently sponsored by the Cabinet Office and will be recorded under DSIT’s Sponsor Licence once the transfer is confirmed through the Sponsor Management System.

These figures cover DSIT civil servants only and excludes agency staff, secondees and contractors.

Found: I believe that eight of these relate directly to matters that Earl Attlee and Baroness Coffey have asked

Found: Letter dated 18/02/2026 from Baroness Smith of Cluny to Baroness Coffey regarding points raised during