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To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding recent antisemitic attacks and arson attempts targeting synagogues and Jewish-linked sites in the United Kingdom that are under investigation for potential links to Iranian actors or proxies.
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding recent antisemitic attacks and arson attempts targeting synagogues and Jewish-linked sites in the United Kingdom that are under investigation for potential links to Iranian actors or proxies.
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 15 June in response to Question HL424.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards drafting a bill creating the legal framework for the proscription of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards drafting a bill creating the legal framework for the proscription of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The National Security (State Threats) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 9 June. This legislation will create a new power for the Secretary of State to designate bodies engaged in foreign power threat activity equivalent to proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000. Designation will disrupt and deter the hostile activities of these bodies and those working with them, through new criminal offences.
My Lords, I am glad to hear that the Government are bringing forward legislation, but it is not before time. We have seen IRGC proxies and operatives attacking British Jews and Jewish institutions. We have just seen two such proxies prosecuted and convicted for an almost fatal attack on an Iranian journalist. Is it not time to get this welcome new legislation through every stage of its parliamentary procedures sharpish, and then ban this bunch of homicidal maniacs?
My Lords, I am glad to hear that the Government are bringing forward legislation, but it is not before time. We have seen IRGC proxies and operatives attacking British Jews and Jewish institutions. We have just seen two such proxies prosecuted and convicted for an almost fatal attack on an Iranian journalist. Is it not time to get this welcome new legislation through every stage of its parliamentary procedures sharpish, and then ban this bunch of homicidal maniacs?
My noble friend will know that in the King’s gracious Speech we said we wanted to get this matter on the statute book as quickly as possible. I am in the hands of the House of Commons and this noble House with regard to that, but we want to get this done so that the power is there for the Secretary of State to make judgments on any state threat that we face and to take action which, if agreed by both Houses, will potentially result in sentences of 14 years’ imprisonment for anybody convicted.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the levels of swimming attainment among school children.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the levels of swimming attainment among school children.
My Lords, swimming and water safety are vital life skills, and every child should have the opportunity to learn how to swim and how to keep themself safe around water before they leave primary school. The latest figures indicate that 73% of children can swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school. We are focused on improving that figure through our forthcoming changes to the curriculum and the support for schools to deliver PE and sport.
I am grateful to my noble friend, but I have a slightly different figure for 11 year-olds. According to Swim England, only one in four 11 year-olds leaving primary school can swim 25 metres. That is not entirely unrelated to the fact that we have lost 500 pools in the last 16 years. That is not the gross figure; that is the net figure.
Will my noble friend undertake to publish all information and statistics relating to school swimming attainment? Will she also undertake to work with Ministers at the DCMS, among others, to drive up the number of pools, so that the number of operating pools at the end of this Parliament is greater than at the beginning? Will she also undertake to work with Swim England, among others, to reverse this downward trend and make sure that we have more children able to swim when they finish primary school? The bottom line is that swimming is the one sport that can make the difference between life and death.
I am grateful to my noble friend, but I have a slightly different figure for 11 year-olds. According to Swim England, only one in four 11 year-olds leaving primary school can swim 25 metres. That is not entirely unrelated to the fact that we have lost 500 pools in the last 16 years. That is not the gross figure; that is the net figure.
Will my noble friend undertake to publish all information and statistics relating to school swimming attainment? Will she also undertake to work with Ministers at the DCMS, among others, to drive up the number of pools, so that the number of operating pools at the end of this Parliament is greater than at the beginning? Will she also undertake to work with Swim England, among others, to reverse this downward trend and make sure that we have more children able to swim when they finish primary school? The bottom line is that swimming is the one sport that can make the difference between life and death.
Starting with the last point first, we are already working with Swim England, among others, to improve both the resource and the curriculum when it comes to swimming and water safety. My noble friend is right about the big fall in pools between 2010 and 2026. In fact, I have a slightly higher figure than 500: my figure is 591 fewer pools. Of course, that is a challenge not only for schools but for local government. I know it is something that colleagues at the DCMS are not only concerned about but have also included in the additional investment they are providing for community facilities.
My Lords, the Government are being asked to introduce a legal compulsion to force big tech companies to preserve the relevant data. Why do we not just do it?
My Lords, the Government are being asked to introduce a legal compulsion to force big tech companies to preserve the relevant data. Why do we not just do it?
We have put in place powers under the Data (Use and Access) Act, which established the data preservation process, to require Ofcom, when notified by a coroner, to issue a data preservation notice to the specified online service companies. Since coming into force on 30 September, Ofcom has issued at least 12 data preservation notices. As I mentioned, we are looking carefully at how this is working, at the speed at which this is taken forward and at what more needs to be done.
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they will reconsider their decision not to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they will reconsider their decision not to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It is the Government’s long-standing position not to comment on the detail of security or intelligence matters, including whether a specific organisation is being considered for proscription. The Government’s approach to threats to the UK is kept under constant review. However, the Government utterly condemn the appalling violence recently seen from the Iranian regime.
My Lords, I appreciate what my noble friend says. However, the IRGC remains what it has always been: a bunch of murderous fascists and fanatics. We are seeing that fact play out tragically on the streets of Iran at the moment. In the context of the Question on the Order Paper, I am concerned about the activities of the IRGC on the streets of Britain. It pursues alleged enemies of the Iranian state, very often using criminal proxies for its poisonous ends. On that basis, could we perhaps see an undertaking by the Home Office that there will be an assessment on what would be the effects of full proscription of the IRGC?
My Lords, I appreciate what my noble friend says. However, the IRGC remains what it has always been: a bunch of murderous fascists and fanatics. We are seeing that fact play out tragically on the streets of Iran at the moment. In the context of the Question on the Order Paper, I am concerned about the activities of the IRGC on the streets of Britain. It pursues alleged enemies of the Iranian state, very often using criminal proxies for its poisonous ends. On that basis, could we perhaps see an undertaking by the Home Office that there will be an assessment on what would be the effects of full proscription of the IRGC?
As I said to my noble friend, we keep proscription under constant review, and that will always be the case. I am sure he is aware that the IRGC is sanctioned by the UK Government. That sanction means that we have travel bans, so no known member of the IRGC can travel to the United Kingdom. Where it has resources in the United Kingdom, those resources are frozen under international obligations. So there are significant actions against that appalling regime, and we are acutely aware of the difficulties and challenges that it is facing. We condemn the actions it is taking on the ground in Iran at the moment and we will keep the issue of proscription under review, as I have mentioned.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to recover the last remaining Lancaster bomber of 617 squadron currently located in Sweden.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to recover the last remaining Lancaster bomber of 617 squadron currently located in Sweden.
While there are no plans to recover the Lancaster bomber of 617 Squadron located in Sweden, I understand that the wreckage is monitored and cared for by the Porjus Arkivkommitté, the local Swedish Archival Committee.
The aircraft is in poor condition, and any recovery attempt would require considerable time and funds. However, the Porjus Arkivkommitté have put in place a walking trail and signage around the site for those wishing to visit, so that they may learn about the history of the Lancaster bomber raids and her crew.
The Royal Air Force pays tribute to the sacrifice and courage of Bomber Command by keeping a Lancaster flying on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) and by preservation of a Lancaster in the National Collection within the Royal Air Force Museum.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of alleged inaccuracies in a report produced by the West Midlands police force on the alleged activities of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ahead of Maccabi’s recent match against Aston Villa.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of alleged inaccuracies in a report produced by the West Midlands police force on the alleged activities of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ahead of Maccabi’s recent match against Aston Villa.
I am sorry, it is me again. The Government are limited in what they can say at this time about the intelligence used by West Midlands Police following alleged inaccuracies reported in the media, but I can tell my noble friend that the Policing Minister has written to the chief constable of West Midlands Police requesting an urgent response on the intelligence his force relied on and his confidence in it. Obviously, we have noted the press reports. As the Prime Minister has made clear, the Government remain committed to ensuring that all fans can attend football matches safely, regardless of their background.
My Lords, we have a situation where the police force stands accused of fabricating evidence while under pressure from a bunch of bigots and racists—as well as, it pains me to say, a number of Labour councillors—all with one aim: turning Britain’s second-biggest city into a no-go area for Jewish people; and they actually succeeded in that. I am glad to hear about the review; how soon will it deliver its findings? Also, will the Government undertake to hold an inquiry to find out what the hell is going on in Birmingham city hall and, if necessary, suspend the council and kick out any Labour councillors engaged in this evil plot?
My Lords, we have a situation where the police force stands accused of fabricating evidence while under pressure from a bunch of bigots and racists—as well as, it pains me to say, a number of Labour councillors—all with one aim: turning Britain’s second-biggest city into a no-go area for Jewish people; and they actually succeeded in that. I am glad to hear about the review; how soon will it deliver its findings? Also, will the Government undertake to hold an inquiry to find out what the hell is going on in Birmingham city hall and, if necessary, suspend the council and kick out any Labour councillors engaged in this evil plot?
I thank my noble friend for that question. I will deal first with the issues surrounding the football match. Obviously, the police are operationally independent of government, and officials routinely engage with operational partners to support public safety and effective policing. The Home Office does not publish operational intelligence or risk assessments. To address my noble friend’s question, on 31 October the Home Secretary commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services to review how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice—of course, that is what is being contested here—to local safety advisory groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events. I know that the Policing Minister hopes for earlier feedback from HMI on the situation in the West Midlands and what happened in relation to the intelligence that was available from the Netherlands. But we hope the report from HMI will be ready by March, and I am sure the problems at Birmingham City Council will continue to receive much attention.
My Lords, in the two or three years after the end of the Cold War, around 150,000 jobs were lost in defence manufacturing. Everyone is right in hindsight, but now, looking back, that looks extremely short-sighted. Is there not now a need to reverse that process and expand our manufacturing base, at least as far as weapons manufacture is concerned, in this insecure world?
My Lords, in the two or three years after the end of the Cold War, around 150,000 jobs were lost in defence manufacturing. Everyone is right in hindsight, but now, looking back, that looks extremely short-sighted. Is there not now a need to reverse that process and expand our manufacturing base, at least as far as weapons manufacture is concerned, in this insecure world?
My noble friend makes a really good point, and of course he is right to say that. The total number of direct and indirect jobs supported through MoD expenditure with UK industry a couple of years ago was 272,000, which was up from 244,000 the year before—so defence is growing. Is it growing fast enough? We would all like to see it growing more quickly. But there is no doubt that the development of a UK defence industry is crucial to our defence and the defence of our allies.
My Lords, I accept the pretty appalling inheritance with which the Government have been dealing over the past year or so. Nevertheless, as we heard from the noble Lord, Lord Austin, some—perhaps a small number—of these cases are related to terrorism offences. Considering the small number of those offences, and the way in which lengthy delays in terrorism-related cases could affect public confidence in the court system, is there some way that such cases could be expedited?
My Lords, I accept the pretty appalling inheritance with which the Government have been dealing over the past year or so. Nevertheless, as we heard from the noble Lord, Lord Austin, some—perhaps a small number—of these cases are related to terrorism offences. Considering the small number of those offences, and the way in which lengthy delays in terrorism-related cases could affect public confidence in the court system, is there some way that such cases could be expedited?
I thank my noble friend for that, and I can understand why that seems like an obvious solution. But the separation of powers between the Government and the courts is one of the fundamental protections of any citizen. Therefore, putting pressure on judges to alter a judicial decision would be wrong and is something that this Government will not do. What I can say is that all judges—I know this because I was one—do not just take cases in the order in which they come into the system; they prioritise certain categories. For example, those with vulnerable victims and witnesses, particularly children, will always jump the queue. Where the Lady Chief Justice and her judges put these particular cases is a matter for them, and I am sure that she will look at them with the attention they deserve.
My Lords, could my noble friend tell the House whether this means that the Government operate a proscribed list—in other words, a list of proscribed countries—where the royal college is concerned? If there is a proscribed list, could that be provided to both Houses of Parliament?
My Lords, could my noble friend tell the House whether this means that the Government operate a proscribed list—in other words, a list of proscribed countries—where the royal college is concerned? If there is a proscribed list, could that be provided to both Houses of Parliament?
The straight- forward answer to that is no; we do not operate such a list.
My Lords, I am all in favour of face-to-face interviews, but they would be made a lot easier if we had not seen the closure of many jobcentres prior to 2024. In the last round of closures around eight years ago, 11 Jobcentre Plus offices were shut in London alone. Many of those closures contravened the Government’s own guidelines, and it was purely a cost-cutting exercise.
My Lords, I am all in favour of face-to-face interviews, but they would be made a lot easier if we had not seen the closure of many jobcentres prior to 2024. In the last round of closures around eight years ago, 11 Jobcentre Plus offices were shut in London alone. Many of those closures contravened the Government’s own guidelines, and it was purely a cost-cutting exercise.
My Lords, most assessments are done in assessment centres. Many of those are conducted by providers because we have to have health providers to do them. My noble friend may be glad to know that we have specific, clear rules about what an assessment centre must do. For example, it must be appropriately accessible and reasonably easy to get to—so that someone can get from their transport to the front door—as well as DDA-compliant in terms of ramps and areas of ground-floor space, et cetera. There are specific assessment centres designed to be suited to this purpose.
My Lords, for many years now, schoolchildren have been losing access to swimming pools; pool time has been in decline. That is clearly not the fault of the present Government. However, we are where we are. We need to stop that decline and reverse it so that schoolchildren increasingly have access to pools, not just to create the champions of the future but to save lives, because swimming is the one sport that might make a difference between living and dying.
My Lords, for many years now, schoolchildren have been losing access to swimming pools; pool time has been in decline. That is clearly not the fault of the present Government. However, we are where we are. We need to stop that decline and reverse it so that schoolchildren increasingly have access to pools, not just to create the champions of the future but to save lives, because swimming is the one sport that might make a difference between living and dying.
My noble friend is absolutely right. That is why it is a key part of the national curriculum that children should be able to swim before the age of 11. It is why the ongoing commitment to the primary PE and sport premium, which is funded for the next academic year at £320 million, can also be—and has been—used to ensure that there is access to swimming facilities and water safety in the way my noble friend outlined. We also need to ensure that local authorities recognise the importance of swimming pools so that everybody can benefit.
Is my noble friend aware that a single goods train journey can remove 70 HGV journeys from the roads, and in some cases even more? That being the case, would not expanding the rail network—and that includes high-speed rail—free up capacity on the road network, therefore making the road network significantly safer?
Is my noble friend aware that a single goods train journey can remove 70 HGV journeys from the roads, and in some cases even more? That being the case, would not expanding the rail network—and that includes high-speed rail—free up capacity on the road network, therefore making the road network significantly safer?
The noble Lord is right that rail freight is extremely environmentally friendly; that is why this Government are spending a lot of time and effort to encourage rail freight. This includes setting a target for the new Great British Railways to increase the level of freight, but also remembering that freight needs its own space on the network for train paths. That refers back to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, about open access and is another reason to be careful about allocating all the space on the railway to competing passenger operations.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Kingdom’s future defence capability following the recently announced increases in defence spending.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Kingdom’s future defence capability following the recently announced increases in defence spending.
My Lords, the strategic defence review is well under way and has been considering all aspects of defence, including the capabilities required by UK defence to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the 21st century. The recently announced accelerated programme to increase defence spending is considered a critical step in realising the review's ambition to transform our Armed Forces for this new era. The review will place NATO first and strengthen our alliances and partnerships while making defence central to the security, economic growth and prosperity of the United Kingdom.
My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister. Can he say something about the preparedness of the Armed Forces in all their guises when it comes to the threat from one of the most evil and fascistic regimes in the world? I am talking about the regime in Iran and its proxies who spread their poison and terror across the globe, bearing in mind that one of those proxies was responsible for the most deadly massacre of Jewish people since 1945?
My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister. Can he say something about the preparedness of the Armed Forces in all their guises when it comes to the threat from one of the most evil and fascistic regimes in the world? I am talking about the regime in Iran and its proxies who spread their poison and terror across the globe, bearing in mind that one of those proxies was responsible for the most deadly massacre of Jewish people since 1945?
My noble friend raises an extremely important point about Iran and its proxies. We will continue to work with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its destabilising activity, the things that it has done in the Middle East and, indeed, the threats it poses on UK soil. To do that, the increased defence spending that we have announced today will help us to deal with this very real threat. Let Iran make no mistake: we will both deter and respond to any threat that it or its proxies pose to us. I thank my noble friend again for his question.
My Lords, following on from the initial Question, what assistance can Ministers give to British-registered SMEs in procuring public sector contracts?
My Lords, following on from the initial Question, what assistance can Ministers give to British-registered SMEs in procuring public sector contracts?
I thank my noble friend for the question. It is important that SMEs have fair access to public contracts, which drives economic growth and the strength of public supply chain requirements. All central government departments, including executive agencies and departmental bodies, must set a three-year target for direct spend on SMEs from 1 April this year and a two-year target of direct spend for voluntary, community and social enterprises from 1 April 2026, and they have to report this annually. This is good news for SMEs.