To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to expand the British Industry Supercharger programme to include a larger proportion of the steel industry and related sectors, including the scrap metal sector.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to expand the British Industry Supercharger programme to include a larger proportion of the steel industry and related sectors, including the scrap metal sector.

I. Local government reorganisation: support offer. Incl. annex. 11p. II. Supporting adult social care, public health and children's services leadership through local government reorganisation. 5p. III. Letters dated 16/07/2026 from Steve Read MP to Council Leaders regarding decisions on local government reorganisation [Letters sent to Leaders in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Derbyshire, Devon, East Sussex & Brighton, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Worcestershire] (16 docs).

I. Local government reorganisation: support offer. Incl. annex. 11p. II. Supporting adult social care, public health and children's services leadership through local government reorganisation. 5p. III. Letters dated 16/07/2026 from Steve Read MP to Council Leaders regarding decisions on local government reorganisation [Letters sent to Leaders in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough,...

Lords motion to consider. Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to consider. Agreed to on question.

My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 8 June and, in case noble Lords think we are suffering from a small dose of déjà vu, similar regulations, which we debated at the time, were laid months ago for reasons that I will come to in a...

My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 8 June and, in case noble Lords think we are suffering from a small dose of déjà vu, similar regulations, which we debated at the time, were laid months ago for reasons that I will come to in a...

I thank the Minister for presenting the regulations before us. I express the hope that he stays in his position, as indeed does the Whip. We do not like changes in the House of Lords.

I will make a couple of comments. Eons ago, I served as the shadow Environment Minister...

I thank the Minister for presenting the regulations before us. I express the hope that he stays in his position, as indeed does the Whip. We do not like changes in the House of Lords.

I will make a couple of comments. Eons ago, I served as the shadow Environment Minister...

I think that, in fact, our government lectern is higher than the opposition lectern.

I think that, in fact, our government lectern is higher than the opposition lectern.

For very good reason.

For very good reason.

As we are all about the same height at this end, we do not need it. We should not worry about that.

Can the noble Lord write to me—I have asked this on more than one occasion—to tell me whether he, the department and the Government are inclined to look into...

As we are all about the same height at this end, we do not need it. We should not worry about that.

Can the noble Lord write to me—I have asked this on more than one occasion—to tell me whether he, the department and the Government are inclined to look into...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for the way in which he introduced these regulations. It is almost like double déjà vu because we have considered the Northern Ireland regulations and we considered these ones very recently. We had a good debate on them last time, so I will be...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for the way in which he introduced these regulations. It is almost like double déjà vu because we have considered the Northern Ireland regulations and we considered these ones very recently. We had a good debate on them last time, so I will be...

My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of both Amey and of Acteon subsea engineering company, which works on offshore wind and oil and gas around the world, and as chairman of Buckthorn Partners, all of which are involved with energy transition.

I am very grateful to the Minister for...

My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of both Amey and of Acteon subsea engineering company, which works on offshore wind and oil and gas around the world, and as chairman of Buckthorn Partners, all of which are involved with energy transition.

I am very grateful to the Minister for...

My Lords, I apologise for the interruption due to the vote. I was simply going to give the Committee one example of the consequences of overreliance on renewables.

On 23 June this year, NESO, the National Energy System Operator, faced severe supply constraints caused by high electricity demand for cooling during...

My Lords, I apologise for the interruption due to the vote. I was simply going to give the Committee one example of the consequences of overreliance on renewables.

On 23 June this year, NESO, the National Energy System Operator, faced severe supply constraints caused by high electricity demand for cooling during...

I thank noble Lords for their constructive contributions and hope they will forgive me if I do not tarry too long in my closing speech and try to give a detailed response to everything that has been put forward. They are all very valid points but, among other things, we...

I thank noble Lords for their constructive contributions and hope they will forgive me if I do not tarry too long in my closing speech and try to give a detailed response to everything that has been put forward. They are all very valid points but, among other things, we...

In the interests of transparency, will the Minister write to us with the outcome of that report, so that this Committee, and indeed the House, are fully apprised of what happened that day and the actions being taken?

In the interests of transparency, will the Minister write to us with the outcome of that report, so that this Committee, and indeed the House, are fully apprised of what happened that day and the actions being taken?

Yes, I am very happy to do that, but I anticipate—I do not know whether the noble Lord has this actively in mind—that we may have an Urgent Question coming on this, so we may be able to start talking about it at that point.

On the wider question of frequency...

Yes, I am very happy to do that, but I anticipate—I do not know whether the noble Lord has this actively in mind—that we may have an Urgent Question coming on this, so we may be able to start talking about it at that point.

On the wider question of frequency...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for Waste to Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (WECCS) projects to minimise the need for government support through the generation of Greenhouse Gas Removals.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for Waste to Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (WECCS) projects to minimise the need for government support through the generation of Greenhouse Gas Removals.

We published an assessment of AI impacts on the labour market in January, and the new AI Economics Institute will broaden and deepen our analytical capability. We will upskill 10 million people through the AI skills boost and help people to develop digital skills through the £187 million TechFirst programme. Our £20 million Early Careers Jobs Alliance will bring together employers, unions and young people to redesign roles while maintaining progression in the digital and technology sector.

We published an assessment of AI impacts on the labour market in January, and the new AI Economics Institute will broaden and deepen our analytical capability. We will upskill 10 million people through the AI skills boost and help people to develop digital skills through the £187 million TechFirst programme. Our £20 million Early Careers Jobs Alliance will bring together employers, unions and young people to redesign roles while maintaining progression in the digital and technology sector.

I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. The Open University’s latest Business Barometer report on the employer skills gap included a survey of 1,500 UK businesses and over 1,000 young people outside education, employment and training. Some 42% of young people agree that AI is threatening their job prospects, and 49% are wary of the future of AI and its impact on their future work. Do His Majesty’s Government agree that the best way to equip our people for the future is upskilling, as the Minister talked about, and investing in people? What

assessment, strategy and planning are taking place to ensure that all regions are upskilled and no one is left behind?

I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. The Open University’s latest Business Barometer report on the employer skills gap included a survey of 1,500 UK businesses and over 1,000 young people outside education, employment and training. Some 42% of young people agree that AI is threatening their job prospects, and 49% are wary of the future of AI and its impact on their future work. Do His Majesty’s Government agree that the best way to equip our people for the future is upskilling, as the Minister talked about, and investing in people? What

assessment, strategy and planning are taking place to ensure that all regions are upskilled and no one is left behind?

My noble friend is right about the potential of AI and that many people are uncertain about how it will develop in the future. The critical point that I think he and I agree on is that the best way of approaching this technological development is equipping people in all regions of the country—young people and those who need retraining—which is exactly the approach we are taking. With our AI skills boost, we will upskill 10 million people in work, and we have already reached 1.7 million. In that way, workers in this country will be able to make the most of this technological revolution.

My noble friend is right about the potential of AI and that many people are uncertain about how it will develop in the future. The critical point that I think he and I agree on is that the best way of approaching this technological development is equipping people in all regions of the country—young people and those who need retraining—which is exactly the approach we are taking. With our AI skills boost, we will upskill 10 million people in work, and we have already reached 1.7 million. In that way, workers in this country will be able to make the most of this technological revolution.

My Lords, the Milburn interim report, Young People and Work, found that a growing share of entry-level roles are now filtered by algorithmic screening before a human has even seen an application. Given that NEET numbers are shockingly high, what specific assessment have the Government made of the extent to which AI-driven recruitment tools are narrowing rather than widening life chances for these young people? Will the Minister commit to mandatory algorithmic impact assessments, as suggested by the TUC, for recruitment algorithms so that employers and platforms are required to test for bias before these tools are deployed at scale?

My Lords, the Milburn interim report, Young People and Work, found that a growing share of entry-level roles are now filtered by algorithmic screening before a human has even seen an application. Given that NEET numbers are shockingly high, what specific assessment have the Government made of the extent to which AI-driven recruitment tools are narrowing rather than widening life chances for these young people? Will the Minister commit to mandatory algorithmic impact assessments, as suggested by the TUC, for recruitment algorithms so that employers and platforms are required to test for bias before these tools are deployed at scale?

The Government previously set out guidance on recruitment in the age of AI. The new future of work unit will look at what is developing in the labour market and at whether guidance such as that needs updating and in what respect. In the meantime, we are supporting young people, through our youth guarantee and through provision of early training opportunities for them, so that they can get into work now and continue to advance through their careers.

The Government previously set out guidance on recruitment in the age of AI. The new future of work unit will look at what is developing in the labour market and at whether guidance such as that needs updating and in what respect. In the meantime, we are supporting young people, through our youth guarantee and through provision of early training opportunities for them, so that they can get into work now and continue to advance through their careers.