Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will provide a breakdown of the number of foreign national offenders supervised by the Probation Service by nationality.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest published data on the nationality of offenders supervised by the Probation Service as at 31st December 2024 can be found at Table 6_9_Caseload_Nationality in the attached link: probation-Oct-to-Dec-2024.ods.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since 5 July 2024, more FNOs have been returned than in the same period 12 months prior.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many overseas voters from North East Hertfordshire constituency are impacted by frozen British Pensions; and whether she is taking steps to help tackle this.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are no plans to change the policy on frozen State Pension.
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only up-rated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.
The policy on up-rating UK State Pension paid overseas is a longstanding one and has been in place for over 70 years.
The Department does not hold information on voter identification and is not able to reliably identify voters from a specific constituency among those whose State Pension has not been up-rated
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement regulation on the use of facial recognition technology aided by artificial intelligence.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government believes that the vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use and that our existing expert regulators are best placed to do this. Oversight of this technology is distributed across several sectoral regulators and departments, including the Information Commissioner's Office, who ensure its compliance with data protection law. Through delivery of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we are making sure regulation is well-designed and implemented, to fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many permanent civil servants in his Department had their contract of employment terminated as a result of poor performance in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have provided the information requested in the table below
Financial Year | Count of Permanent Civil Servants dismissed for Unsatisfactory Performance /Unsatisfactory Work Performance |
2022-23 | 17 |
2023-24 | 22 |
2024-25 | 37 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people who are eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 50 per cent of their sentence were convicted of (a) actual bodily harm and (b) grievous bodily harm.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Many offenders who commit these types of offences are subject to two-thirds release provisions, and others are subject to 50% depending on their specific circumstances and sentencing outcomes. Establishing who is released at exactly 50% would require examination of individual records and therefore comes at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people who are eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 50 per cent of their sentence were convicted of rape.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Many offenders who commit these types of offences are subject to two-thirds release provisions, and others are subject to 50% depending on their specific circumstances and sentencing outcomes. Establishing who is released at exactly 50% would require examination of individual records and therefore comes at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects construction of Angel Hill Free School in Rosehill to begin.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Works at Angel Hill Free School are expected to commence in September 2025 subject to the contract being awarded in August.
Departmental officials working on the programme would be happy to meet to discuss the project in detail alongside the Trust.
Asked by: Baroness Rock (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide guidance or support to existing county councils with council farm estates to explore placing those estates into trusts or alternative legal entities to safeguard their integrity and management continuity following their plans for local government reorganisation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 5 February the government formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.
During the local government reorganisation process, it is expected that assets and liabilities remain locally managed by councils. There is a suite of general continuity regulations for local government reorganisation made under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 which ensure smooth transfer to new unitary councils. These general regulations provide transitional and supplementary arrangements, so that the councils can undertake specific functions to enable a successful move to the single tier of local government. These provisions relate to continuity of services and functions, staffing, local authority plans and schemes, transfer of assets, property and reserves, and can include farm estates. We will review and if necessary update relevant legislation to ensure that powers currently designated to county councils are provided to new unitary councils.
The Government has not made an assessment of the impact of local government reorganisation on council farms. Although local government reorganisation may impact who administers farming tenancies, it will not alter council farm tenants' succession rights.
We are committed to working with colleagues across Government, and with the LGA and its sector support group to ensure councils have the information, tools and expertise to develop the solutions that are right for their area, so new authorities are set up for success. I am happy to meet Noble Lords at any point to discuss local government reorganisation, and Baroness Hayman and I stand ready to meet Baroness Rock to discuss the issues she has raised.
Asked by: Baroness Rock (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the abolition or restructure of county councils on council farm tenants under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, including the impact on succession rights.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 5 February the government formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.
During the local government reorganisation process, it is expected that assets and liabilities remain locally managed by councils. There is a suite of general continuity regulations for local government reorganisation made under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 which ensure smooth transfer to new unitary councils. These general regulations provide transitional and supplementary arrangements, so that the councils can undertake specific functions to enable a successful move to the single tier of local government. These provisions relate to continuity of services and functions, staffing, local authority plans and schemes, transfer of assets, property and reserves, and can include farm estates. We will review and if necessary update relevant legislation to ensure that powers currently designated to county councils are provided to new unitary councils.
The Government has not made an assessment of the impact of local government reorganisation on council farms. Although local government reorganisation may impact who administers farming tenancies, it will not alter council farm tenants' succession rights.
We are committed to working with colleagues across Government, and with the LGA and its sector support group to ensure councils have the information, tools and expertise to develop the solutions that are right for their area, so new authorities are set up for success. I am happy to meet Noble Lords at any point to discuss local government reorganisation, and Baroness Hayman and I stand ready to meet Baroness Rock to discuss the issues she has raised.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims have been made under the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme; how many of them were settled by 31 May; and what steps have been taken if any, to process claims more rapidly.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) launched in December of last year, and as of 2 June 2025, the Scheme has received 1,054 applications, and 39claims have been settled. .
The first payments were made within 16 weeks of the Scheme opening and payments are continuing to be made. The Independent Panel and Appeals Board Members were both recruited on 13 May, and the Independent Panel had their first sitting on 21 May.
We are mindful of the need for timeliness, although it is a complex process, and the Scheme needs to be delivered effectively and correctly. The Scheme continues to make progress with applications, with process capacity expected to increase in the coming months. The FRS is continually looking for opportunities to automate processes where possible, to streamline processing and to work as efficiently as possible processing applications.