My Lords, pharmacies are an easily accessible front door to the NHS and we understand the impact that closures may have. We have increased the community pharmacy budget by £340 million—a 10% uplift that builds on the 19% increase, which was at the time the largest uplift in the NHS. That was delivered in 2024-25 and 2025-26 in order to support pharmacies’ essential role. Recent data indicates that closures have slowed, with 19 net closures in 2025-26 compared with 112 in 2024-25.

We are taking a number of actions on the point that the noble Baroness rightly raises. I have spoken about the uplift on the back of a major uplift in the two years previously. For underserved areas, the pharmacy access scheme provides financial support to pharmacies in areas where there are fewer of them. About 1,400 benefit from the scheme and they receive an average of £1,130 per month. Also on the question that the noble Baroness raised, local authorities

have health and well-being boards, which assess whether the local provision of pharmacy services meets the needs of the population. Integrated care boards make decisions on pharmacy openings, and they can directly commission a pharmacy if necessary.

I very much agree with what the noble Baroness says about encouraging people to get engaged with local elections and with their local authorities. We take local people’s views very seriously. Community engagement and neighbourhood

empowerment are both part of our criteria for judging the proposals on new councils, and new councils, like current councils, must listen to their communities and deliver genuine opportunities for people to shape the neighbourhoods where they live, because people generally judge their well-being by what they see when they walk out of their front door. We are determined that communities should have their say in the future of public services, so we have gone through an extensive consultation process and we have made sure that, as we judge the proposals put forward, the authorities putting forward those proposals have done that as well.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer given in the House of Commons on 21 October in response to Question 80474, which I have reproduced below for ease of reference:

The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer given in the House of Commons on 21 October in response to Question 80474, which I have reproduced below for ease of reference:

The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer given in the House of Commons on 21 October in response to Question 80474, which I have reproduced below for ease of reference:

The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I have already talked about the final status arrangements that we hope for in relation to the Palestinian refugees. She asks about the right of return; the UK supports a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees, in line with UN Security Council resolutions. In practice, this means that the right of return is a final status issue that must be agreed in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, but with support from neighbouring countries and the international community, including the UK, and compatible with two states for two peoples.

The home buying and selling process in England is cumbersome , taking an average of nearly five months to complete and a third of transactions fall through – this is holding up the property market.

We believe an improved home buying and selling system that is more efficient has the potential to help people move into their homes more quickly and plan their moves with more certainty. This will benefit the storage and removals sector by enabling more predictable moving timelines, helping businesses anticipate demand more effectively.

On 9 February we announced action to improve home buying and selling by digitalising the process. In collaboration with HM Land Registry, we are working with local authorities to digitise property data, introduce common data standards, and enable digital identity services for the property sector. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-land-registry-local-land-charges-programme/local-land-charges-programme.

Consideration of changes to the VAT threshold would have to carefully balance the potential benefits to businesses, the economy as a whole, and tax revenues.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

The Immigration White paper, published 12 May, set out proposed reforms in a number of areas, including to the shortage occupation list, further details of which will be set out in due course.

My Lords, Labour voters in the last election did not expect this Government to inherit the mess of an economy that we did.

My Lords, I have made our position very clear on the triple lock: this Government are committed to the triple lock for the entirety of this Parliament. I am glad to be able to confirm that again today. However, underneath the noble Baroness’s question is something important about the gender pensions gap. I know that the noble Baroness has raised this before; I commend her for her commitment to this issue, which I share.

There are two things that I would say on this. First, the gender pensions gap starts with the gender pay gap, and this Government are determined to tackle that. For example, we have brought in gender pay audits. Once they come into place, we will be able to see what is happening on the ground, then address it and make it better. Secondly, the new set-up is better. Under the new state pension, we are finding that women pensioners are getting about 98% of what their male counterparts are getting; this was not the case under the old system.

Between these two things, and the review to make sure that private pensions work, as well as making sure that we get people into auto-enrolment, and that they get enough return on their investments, I hope that, bit by bit, we will improve the system for all pensioners, including women. I thank the noble Baroness for continuing to raise this in the House; it is an incredibly important issue.

The noble Baroness raises a perfectly reasonable question. However, I point out that the mandatory reconsideration process was changed—this was under the previous Government, to give them credit. For one thing, it was brought in-house, whereas it used to be contracted out, and made more straightforward. More recently, as was contained in the White Paper which I talked about earlier, assessors have been given more time. The noble Baroness will be aware that, some time ago, there was a system of target-driven assessments. That is what led to the fairly inhumane treatment of people who were disabled. The system is not perfect—and through bitter personal experience I agree that it is not perfect. It has been improved, but we are looking to improve it further through the consultation in the spring.

My Lords, clearly it is important that we have good nutrition for our children, which is why we have worked with schools around breakfast clubs, for example, because it is very important that children receive nutrition, especially at a young age. This is something we are working with the Department of Health and Social Care on. One of the important things this Government are doing is working much more across departmental policy areas in order to ensure that we get the kinds of results that support the policy areas the noble Baroness referred to.

I absolutely agree about the importance of access to healthy food and there are schemes out there to help the lowest-income families access it, particularly pregnant women and the parents of younger children. Having been asked by a noble Baroness previously about breakfast clubs in primary schools, I went off to check and discovered that they are to be covered by the school standards for food, so we will make sure that there are nutritious breakfasts there.

But in the end the noble Baroness, Lady Janke, raises a really important point: we have to tackle the child poverty at the root of this if families are to be able to feed their kids appropriately. That brings us back again to the child property strategy but I am delighted that, in the short term, there were some down payments. One small thing, which will not have gone widely noticed, is that we will introduce a fair repayment rate for universal credit. It sounds really technical but reduces the total cap on deductions from universal credit from 25% to 15%. That means that 1.2 million of the poorest households have £420 a year more to spend, which makes a real difference.

A partnership has been in operation to date with local authorities, particularly Kent County Council, to help quickly with placement and support for those young individuals. Obviously I have just heard my right honourable friend the Chancellor’s Budget, and we have to reflect on that in relation to the local government settlement. However, I assure the noble Baroness that there is a commitment from this Government to ensure the protection of vulnerable children who come here unaccompanied.

My Lords, the first thing would I mention once again is the household support fund. That is £421 million provided specifically for local authorities to support those in need, especially with the cost of living, such as food and fuel, so that is somewhere for people to go. We realise there is still a significant number of people who could claim pension credit, and if they get pension credit, they will get the winter fuel payment. It also opens up a gateway to other potential support with rent or council tax and passporting to a range of other benefits. We are running a campaign, and we will shortly be writing to 12 million pensioners. We will soon be writing also to 120,000 pensioners who get housing benefit who we think might be entitled to pension credit as well, so we are doing huge amount to make sure all that those in that space can claim it. The final point is that there are two bits to pension credit. The main bit tops up income to a certain level. There is also the savings guarantee, so people who have more savings and may think that they are not entitled to the slightly higher income could still be entitled to some pension credit. If they get any at all, they get the winter fuel payment, so please spread the word.

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising a really important point. The gender pensions gap starts with the gender pay gap. Therefore, the first thing the Government need to do is address the gender pay gap and we are committed to doing that. The national pay gap still stands at over 14%, which is really shocking. We know that most employers understand that, when women succeed, so does their business. We are committed to making sure reports are given. For example, gender pay gap action plans will be mandatory and will reflect the hard work of outsourced workers as well as employees.

The kinds of reforms that have taken place under successive Governments are beginning to change at least the way the state pension addresses the gap between men and women. In the new state pension, there is less of a difference because the old state pension was much more dependent on national insurance contributions and pay-related additional pensions, whereas the new one does not have that. The gap is closing, but in private pensions it is still significant, and we need to do more about that.

As the Prime Minister has made clear, the UK supports a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. We agree that the people of the West Bank and Gaza must be given the political perspective of a credible route to a Palestinian state and a new future. And it needs to be irreversible.

We believe that recognition of Palestinian statehood should not come at the start of a new process, but it does not have to be at the very end of the process.

We must start by resolving the immediate crisis in Gaza. Gaza is an Occupied Palestinian Territory and must be part of a future Palestinian state. However, Hamas is still in control of parts of Gaza, and Israeli hostages remain in captivity - this shows that we are still at the start of the process.

Ensuring Hamas is no longer in charge of Gaza and removing Hamas' capacity to launch attacks against Israel are essential and unavoidable steps on the road to lasting peace; as is working together to support the new Palestinian government as it takes much-needed steps on reform and resumes governance in Gaza as well as the West Bank.

Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.

The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation into these allegations.

We continue to urge Israel and all parties with relevant information to cooperate fully with the OIOS investigation.