It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

As a fellow Cumbrian, I absolutely understand and appreciate the concerns expressed by the noble Lord about common land, which is an important part of our farmed landscape. The department recognises the vital role that it plays in supporting wildlife, cultural heritage and rural economies. It is important. I recognise the frustration caused by the fact that commons groups cannot at this stage apply for an SFI agreement. I have been told that that is for technical reasons, but I am aware that the Rural Payments Agency is actively working on a solution. I hope to provide an update about when commons groups will be able to apply.

The government has set out its approach to planning for the conservation and enhancement of the historic environment in England in the National Planning Policy Framework. We have not made an assessment of how local planning authorities are taking this into account in reaching decisions on modifying or removing gas street lamps.

Planning in other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved administrations.

The Government recognises that there are registration anomalies relating to common land arising from the former Commons Registration Act 1965. These include issues such as incorrectly drawn boundaries, buildings mistakenly included within registered commons, and land recorded that did not meet the legal definition of common land. Schedule 2 of the Commons Act 2006 provides mechanisms to correct such historic registration errors.

To support this process, and as part of the partial implementation of Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006, the Government has provided grant funding to a limited number of local authorities to undertake this work. Funding was initially made available to seven “pioneer” authorities from October 2008 and later extended to two additional authorities in 2014. These authorities—Cumberland Council and North Yorkshire Council—continue to receive funding to carry out their statutory duties under the Act. To date, they have been allocated £494,858 and £326,339 respectively, with funding scheduled to run until March 2027.

There are currently no plans to roll out Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 more widely across England, but we will keep this under consideration.

The Government produces annual figures relating to the amount of delay repay compensation that is paid out by train operating companies including Avanti West Coast. The data for 2024-25 has been collected and will be published in due course. The data for 2025-26 will be collected at the end of the financial year and subsequently published.

In addition to data published by the Department, Avanti West Coast publish data by rail period via its website which may be found on Avanti’s website: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/help-and-support/delay-repay.

I can confirm.

The Government has not made a formal assessment of the total amount of land incorrectly registered as common land. However, the Commons Act 2006 acknowledges that registration errors occurred under the Commons Registration Act 1965, including wrongly drawn boundaries, buildings mistakenly included, and land that did not meet the legal definition of common land. Schedule 2 of the Commons Act 2006 provides mechanisms to correct registration errors, but implementation is limited to specific areas with varying deadlines - applications closed in pioneer areas in December 2020, while deregistration applications in other English areas must be made by 15 March 2027.

There are currently no plans to review legislation affecting common land.

However, the Government has announced that we will bring forward an Access to Nature Green Paper by the end of this Parliament. This will provide an opportunity to feed in views on common land and related access issues.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications networks and services, including supporting informed purchasing decisions by businesses and other organisations.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 (TSA) amended the Communications Act 2003 to establish a robust security framework for UK public telecoms networks and services. Ofcom provides guidance to businesses purchasing telecommunications services and enforces protections for business customers through the General Conditions of Entitlement, which all telecommunications operators must meet to provide services in the UK.

The Government will continue to keep the security of telecoms networks under review.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 (TSA) established a robust security framework for UK public telecoms networks and services, placing new legal duties on public telecoms providers to identify and mitigate security risks. The framework is designed to ensure that security is embedded within the networks and services, so those using them can have confidence in their security.

DSIT works with Ofcom and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure providers are aware of their obligations. Ofcom produces annual security reports for the Secretary of State on providers’ compliance with their obligations in the Act, and their progress against the guidance measures set out in the accompanying Telecommunications Security Code of Practice. These measures have staggered implementation timeframes based on factors such as their complexity and cost.

The first report was published on GOV.UK in January 2025, and is available to organisations purchasing telecommunications services. The report helps the Government monitor compliance approaches across the sector, including progress against guidance measures in the Code of Practice as they fall due.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications networks and services. This includes regular assessment of security and resilience risks relating to such networks and services.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 (TSA) amended the Communications Act 2003 to establish a robust security framework for UK public telecoms networks and services, placing new legal duties on public telecoms providers to identify and mitigate security risks.

Some essential services may use private telecoms networks outside the scope of the TSA. However, under the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018, operators of essential services are required to manage risks to those services resulting from their use of such networks. In addition, the National Security and Investment Act 2021 includes powers to scrutinise and, if necessary, intervene in foreign acquisitions or investments in the UK telecoms sector that may pose national security risks.

The UK government also works closely to promote the adoption of appropriate and proportionate telecoms security regulations by other countries.

This is the important work that is being done—working with the construction industry and the BSR to make sure that everybody understands what their responsibilities are in this process. The construction industry has worked incredibly closely with the BSR to develop guidance on what needs to be submitted it, and to understand how we make can sure that buildings are safe. I come back to the words of Andy Roe: it is very important that people be reassured that the buildings they move into are going to be safe going forward. Our job in government is to make sure that we get the balance right between safety and not blocking up the whole industry, such that it cannot move forward with developing the homes people need. I am very confident in the ability of the new BSR team to take this forward.

The principle of BBC First - where the BBC has the opportunity to try and resolve complaints about its content before consideration by Ofcom - was formalised by the BBC’s current Charter. The Framework Agreement then sets out considerations the BBC should take into account as part of its complaints procedures, including that complaints must be considered and resolved effectively.

If a complainant is not satisfied by the BBC’s initial response to their complaint, they have the option to escalate it for consideration by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Framework Agreement requires Ofcom’s timely and effective handling of complaints referred on to it.

The forthcoming Charter Review will look at how the BBC can remain independent and accountable to the public it serves and continue to provide trusted and truthful news to combat an era of growing disinformation.

The principle of BBC First - where the BBC has the opportunity to try and resolve complaints about its content before consideration by Ofcom - was formalised by the BBC’s current Charter. The Framework Agreement then sets out considerations the BBC should take into account as part of its complaints procedures, including that complaints must be considered and resolved effectively.

If a complainant is not satisfied by the BBC’s initial response to their complaint, they have the option to escalate it for consideration by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Framework Agreement requires Ofcom’s timely and effective handling of complaints referred on to it.

The forthcoming Charter Review will look at how the BBC can remain independent and accountable to the public it serves and continue to provide trusted and truthful news to combat an era of growing disinformation.

The noble Lord makes a fair comment, and I will pass on his comments to the Secretary of State.

I think we need a bit of reality here. The idea that the Treasury is going to accept art in lieu of a loan is a little fanciful. It is up to the British Council to decide what it wants to do with its assets. Setting aside the loan, the British Council still has work to do to make itself financially secure and sustainable into the future. It is getting on with that and doing a really good job of it. I commend the British Council for what it is doing. What it decides to do with its own assets is a matter for the British Council.

I absolutely agree with that point. The story of Barrow-in-Furness is quite inspiring. Since 1901, Barrow-in-Furness has built 312 submarines, and its current renaissance reflects the importance of skills, innovation, R&D and the supply chain. But I would emphasise that things had got to a very low ebb in Barrow-in-Furness before the turnaround we are now discussing.

Avanti West Coast (AWC) has announced rail replacement bus services will be in operation for passengers wishing to travel to and from Lancaster, Oxenholme and Penrith during the January engineering works. Further details on this will be available on the AWC website soon.

The Department regularly discusses with AWC the provision of services for passengers, including during engineering works. The Department has not undertaken an assessment of AWCs proposed bus connections.

The average full time equivalent staff number employed by Historic England in (1) 2015/16 was 878, (2) 2019/20 was 828 and (3) 2024/25 was 982.

The geological disposal facility will isolate and secure radioactive waste against credible threats, in accordance with regulatory requirements. The design of the facility will incorporate international learning, to contain the waste in engineered vaults at a depth of hundreds of metres, so that no harmful quantity of radioactivity reaches the surface environment. The independent Office for Nuclear Regulation is responsible for assessing the safety and approving security arrangements for the facility, and for securing compliance with those arrangements once a nuclear site licence has been granted.