Written Questions

Lords HL8

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Chinese ambassador following the convictions of Chi Leung Wai and Chung Biu Yuen.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Lord Alton of Liverpool

XB

To: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Answered 2026-05-26

On instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chinese Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 8 May. It was made clear that the UK will not tolerate any atte...

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Lords HL76

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with their counterparts in the government of the USA regarding the implementation of the two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Lord Wigley

PC

To: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Answered 2026-05-26

UK Ministers speak regularly to our US counterparts on a wide range of issues relating to Israel and Palestine, including progress on President Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, and the UK's commit...

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Lords HL43

To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign visits have been undertaken by Baroness Harman as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls since March 2025.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Lord Moylan

Con

To: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Answered 2026-05-26

Since being appointed UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls in March 2025, Baroness Harriet Harman has undertaken eight overseas visits, including attending multilateral meetings, and carrying out a...

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Lords HL168

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made at the United Nations Human Rights Council about renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, including in relation to violations of...

Tabled: 2026-05-18

Lord Alton of Liverpool

XB

To: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Answered 2026-05-26

The Government consistently raises human rights and freedom of religion or belief, both directly with the Eritrean Government, and in our statements at the UN Human Rights Council. We also call for...

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Lords HL3

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of increasing levels of AI adoption on public sector efficiency.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Baroness Alexander of Cleveden

Lab

To: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Answered 2026-05-26

The Government recognises the significant potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to improve public sector efficiency and productivity.Analysis undertaken through the State of Digital Government...

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Lords HL4

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in setting up AI growth zones.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Baroness Alexander of Cleveden

Lab

To: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Answered 2026-05-22

To date, Government has announced five AI Growth Zones: in Culham; the North East of England; Anglesey (North Wales); a South Wales Cluster (spanning from Newport to Bridgend); and Lanarkshire, Sco...

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Lords HL5

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in improving their use of technology to deliver government priorities.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Baroness Alexander of Cleveden

Lab

To: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Answered 2026-05-22

The Government has made significant progress in improving its use of technology to deliver priorities across the public sector.The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Government Dig...

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Lords HL167

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of higher technical qualifications approved for delivery in 2024–25.

Tabled: 2026-05-14

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich

XB

To: Department for Education

Answered 2026-05-22

In September 2024, there were 227 qualifications awarded the HTQ quality mark and approved for delivery in the 2024/25 academic year. A further 39 qualifications were awarded the HTQ quality mark b...

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Lords HL254

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact on the welfare of cats arising from the absence of regulations on cat breeding.

Tabled: 2026-05-19

Lord Black of Brentwood

Con

To: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Answered 2026-05-22

Anyone in the business of selling cats and kittens as pets should already have a pet selling licence and must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities...

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Lords HL65

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 13 May (HL6754), when they intend to accede to the IMO Cape Town Agreement for the Safety of Fishing Vessels and thereby achieve Principle 8 of the Glob...

Tabled: 2026-05-13

Lord Teverson

LD

To: Department for Transport

Answered 2026-05-22

I am pleased to confirm that the United Kingdom formally acceded to the IMO Cape Town Agreement for the Safety of Fishing Vessels on 14 May 2026.

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Lords HL98

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that British grain is used to produce bioethanol at the Ensus plant on Teeside.

Tabled: 2026-05-14

Lord Fuller

Con

To: Department for Business and Trade

Answered 2026-05-22

Government is in open dialogue with Ensus on the plant's operation, including the use of British grain in their production. We are committed to supporting British business and products.

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Lords HL96

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 14 April (HL14589), what assessment they have made of reporting by the BBC on 24 April that Jeffrey Epstein paid for at least five women to study in London; ...

Tabled: 2026-05-14

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Lab

To: Home Office

Answered 2026-05-22

The Home Office monitors trafficking and exploitation risks across the immigration system and identifies and supports potential victims, including through the National Referral Mechanism.There is n...

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Lords HL155

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to set national standards and oversight for the use of AI chatbots by police forces in non-urgent queries, including safeguards for vulnerable users.

Tabled: 2026-05-14

Lord Taylor of Warwick

To: Home Office

Answered 2026-05-22

The Police Reform White Paper published in January set out the Government’s commitment to strengthen transparency around police use of AI in England and Wales. Through the establishment of Police A...

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Lords HL154

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of AI tools to detect and prevent extremist recruitment activity on online platforms.

Tabled: 2026-05-14

Lord Taylor of Warwick

To: Home Office

Answered 2026-05-22

The government is delivering a fundamental reset of how we counter extremism ensuring we have the tools, capabilities, and partnerships to match the scale and nature of an evolving threat.AI is bei...

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Lords HL11

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to resettle refugees through community sponsorship and humanitarian programmes.

Tabled: 2026-05-13

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford

Bshp

To: Home Office

Answered 2026-05-22

In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, published in November 2025, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a name...

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