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To ask His Majesty's Government on what grounds they refuse former Ministers access to the papers of the period when they were in office; and whether issues of concern to Buckingham Palace constitute grounds for such a refusal.
To ask His Majesty's Government on what grounds they refuse former Ministers access to the papers of the period when they were in office; and whether issues of concern to Buckingham Palace constitute grounds for such a refusal.
My Lords, I declare an interest as an unpaid member of the Transparency International advisory council.
There is much that is good about this Bill. We have seen welcome measures strengthening the Electoral Commission and electoral law and improving voter registration processes. However, I shall focus my remarks, as many previous...
My Lords, I declare an interest as an unpaid member of the Transparency International advisory council.
There is much that is good about this Bill. We have seen welcome measures strengthening the Electoral Commission and electoral law and improving voter registration processes. However, I shall focus my remarks, as many previous...
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement made by Lord Livermore on 19 May (HLWS46), when they now expect to receive Sir Jim Harra's review into the background to the tracing problem and the lessons to be learned.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement made by Lord Livermore on 19 May (HLWS46), when they now expect to receive Sir Jim Harra's review into the background to the tracing problem and the lessons to be learned.
My Lords, the Minister made the case for this important Bill eloquently, and much of what I am about to say has already been said in some of the compelling speeches that your Lordships have heard today.
The Bill has two key objectives: creating a duty of candour throughout the public...
My Lords, the Minister made the case for this important Bill eloquently, and much of what I am about to say has already been said in some of the compelling speeches that your Lordships have heard today.
The Bill has two key objectives: creating a duty of candour throughout the public...
To ask His Majesty's Government, following National Savings and Investment (NS&I) notifying the Treasury in December 2025 of a failure to comprehensively trace accounts for some customers who died what assessment they have made of whether there are wider systemic problems in NS&I account management.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following National Savings and Investment (NS&I) notifying the Treasury in December 2025 of a failure to comprehensively trace accounts for some customers who died what assessment they have made of whether there are wider systemic problems in NS&I account management.
As outlined in the written ministerial statement (HLWS1491) on 27 March 2026, we appointed Sir Jim Harra, former HMRC First Permanent Secretary, to take over as Chief Executive of NS&I on an interim basis, to provide a fresh start for NS&I’s next phase of development.
NS&I is also part-way through delivering its Business Transformation Programme which aims to modernise NS&I’s operations and systems. NS&I and HMT will consider the lessons learned from this operational error, alongside those identified by the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee on programme delivery, to strengthen how NS&I works with its outsourced delivery partners going forward.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following National Savings and Investment (NS&I) notifying the Treasury in December 2025 of a failure to comprehensively trace accounts for some customers who died what assessment they have made of work by NS&I since December 2025 to trace accounts for customers who have died; what actions...
To ask His Majesty's Government, following National Savings and Investment (NS&I) notifying the Treasury in December 2025 of a failure to comprehensively trace accounts for some customers who died what assessment they have made of work by NS&I since December 2025 to trace accounts for customers who have died; what actions...
On 26 March 2026, the Minister for Pensions confirmed to Parliament that NS&I had identified an issue where the estates of deceased customers were not always repaid money from all of their accounts following a bereavement claim. These errors happened because the search process used when handling a bereavement claim failed to identify all NS&I products. The issue has been resolved for current and new bereavement claims and robust measures have been introduced to ensure this does not happen again.
Working with external consultants, NS&I reviewed 34 million customer records to identify its tracing issue. On 19 May 2026, the Minister for Pensions updated Parliament that the remediation population was estimated at up to 34,000 cases with a total value of £367 million. HM Treasury is working closely with NS&I to progress the remediation scheme, which is planned to conclude by mid-2027.
NS&I published a delivery plan that it will follow to ensure proactive, timely contact and will publish an update on progress against this plan on a quarterly basis.
NS&I announced it would seek to proactively reunite estates with combined deposits or holdings of £10 or more, providing compensatory interest of at least the Bank of England plus one percentage point rate, or any higher contractual interest accrued under the products’ terms and conditions, in line with Financial Ombudsman Service guidance.
My Lords, it is a privilege to follow and support my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Alton. Although he sits in a different part of the House, I regard him as a friend, and I am very glad to have this opportunity to pay tribute to the tireless way that...
My Lords, it is a privilege to follow and support my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Alton. Although he sits in a different part of the House, I regard him as a friend, and I am very glad to have this opportunity to pay tribute to the tireless way that...
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 15 June (HL535), what progress the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues (1) has made, and (2) plans to make in the next six months, to (a) represent the UK in Holocaust commemorations, including anniversary commemorations in...
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 15 June (HL535), what progress the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues (1) has made, and (2) plans to make in the next six months, to (a) represent the UK in Holocaust commemorations, including anniversary commemorations in...
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer he referenced in his question. As I said in that answer, we will confirm further details of the Envoy's work in due course.
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues (1) has made, and (2) plans to make in the next six months, to (a) represent the UK in Holocaust commemorations, including anniversary commemorations in the UK and across Europe as appropriate, (b) regularly lobby European states where there...
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues (1) has made, and (2) plans to make in the next six months, to (a) represent the UK in Holocaust commemorations, including anniversary commemorations in the UK and across Europe as appropriate, (b) regularly lobby European states where there...
Since his appointment in February, the UK Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues has made excellent progress against his Terms of Reference for the role, including attending the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance plenary meeting in Argentina from 1-4 June, as the head of the UK's delegation, and meeting with the President of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation on 6 May to discuss the UK's ongoing commitment to the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust-Era Assets. Further details of the Envoy's work, including his overseas visits, will be confirmed in the usual way in due course.
My Lords, like all the other speakers, I very much welcome what the Government have done in this area and the emphasis they have placed on the importance of enduring relationships. I am very pleased to see that they have in many ways taken up the cause that my noble...
My Lords, like all the other speakers, I very much welcome what the Government have done in this area and the emphasis they have placed on the importance of enduring relationships. I am very pleased to see that they have in many ways taken up the cause that my noble...
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues plans to visit Poland.
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues plans to visit Poland.
We continue to engage with Poland on post-Holocaust issues and tackling antisemitism, including through our Embassy in Warsaw. For instance, in February we facilitated a Community Security Trust best practice visit to Poland through our programme fund to support post-Holocaust initiatives for financial year 2025-26. Further details of our engagement with Poland on these issues, including any planned visits by the Special Envoy, will be confirmed in the usual way in due course.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British citizens living abroad are registered to vote in UK elections; and how many voted in the 2024 General Election.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British citizens living abroad are registered to vote in UK elections; and how many voted in the 2024 General Election.
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases they have identified of the government of China attempting to gather information on the UK Government using freedom of information requests.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases they have identified of the government of China attempting to gather information on the UK Government using freedom of information requests.
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member
To ask His Majesty's Government what the Freedom of Information casework budget for the Information Commissioner's Office will be next year; and whether that budget will match the previous year's in real terms.
To ask His Majesty's Government what the Freedom of Information casework budget for the Information Commissioner's Office will be next year; and whether that budget will match the previous year's in real terms.
While the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)’s sponsor department within government and provide ICO’s Freedom of Information (FOI) funding as a Grant-in-Aid, government policy for Freedom of Information sits with the Cabinet Office.
The government is committed to ensuring sufficient funding for the ICO’s FOI responsibilities. Spending review budget allocations until Financial Year 2028-29 will be finalised by DSIT and will be published in due course.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement the first recommendation of the Rycroft Review: Report of the independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics, published on 25 March, that there should be an annual cap on political donations from British voters living...
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement the first recommendation of the Rycroft Review: Report of the independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics, published on 25 March, that there should be an annual cap on political donations from British voters living...
British citizens living overseas who are registered as overseas electors are permissible donors under electoral law and may donate to UK political parties.
Political parties are required to take all reasonable steps to check that donations come from permissible donors and to report donations above statutory thresholds to the Electoral Commission. It is a criminal offence to accept, facilitate or disguise an impermissible donation.
Following the publication of the independent Rycroft Review, the Government set out (attached) its intention to implement the Review’s first recommendation by introducing an annual cap of £100,000 on political donations from overseas electors.
To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are carried out on the source of finance donated to political parties by British voters living abroad.
To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are carried out on the source of finance donated to political parties by British voters living abroad.
British citizens living overseas who are registered as overseas electors are permissible donors under electoral law and may donate to UK political parties.
Political parties are required to take all reasonable steps to check that donations come from permissible donors and to report donations above statutory thresholds to the Electoral Commission. It is a criminal offence to accept, facilitate or disguise an impermissible donation.
Following the publication of the independent Rycroft Review, the Government set out (attached) its intention to implement the Review’s first recommendation by introducing an annual cap of £100,000 on political donations from overseas electors.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the cost limit for freedom of information requests; and what assessment they have made of the impacts of doing so on civil liberties and press freedom.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the cost limit for freedom of information requests; and what assessment they have made of the impacts of doing so on civil liberties and press freedom.
The cost thresholds above which public authorities are not obliged to comply with a Freedom of Information request are set out in secondary legislation. Any changes to FOI legislation would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in (1) promoting the accountability of government and public authorities, and (2) encouraging public confidence in democratic politics.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in (1) promoting the accountability of government and public authorities, and (2) encouraging public confidence in democratic politics.
The Government is committed to Freedom of Information and continues to monitor the performance and implementation of the Act to ensure it is operating as intended by Parliament.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the maximum amount of non-means-tested legal aid that they envisage being made available for each individual bereaved person and family at inquests in England and Wales for (1) legal assistance, and (2) advocacy, under the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the maximum amount of non-means-tested legal aid that they envisage being made available for each individual bereaved person and family at inquests in England and Wales for (1) legal assistance, and (2) advocacy, under the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
The Bill will provide non-means tested legal help and advocacy for bereaved families at inquests where a public authority is named as an interested person. As under the current system, the amount paid will depend on the work carried out by the provider on the inquest, which will be different for each case depending on its duration and complexity.
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of legal aid they envisage being made available for each individual bereaved person and family at inquests in England and Wales for (1) legal help, and (2) advocacy, under the provisions of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of legal aid they envisage being made available for each individual bereaved person and family at inquests in England and Wales for (1) legal help, and (2) advocacy, under the provisions of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill will provide non-means tested legal aid to bereaved family members at any inquests where a public authority is named as an interested person.
Under the Bill, an “individual” is defined as being a member of another individual’s family if they are relatives (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership), they are cohabitants (as defined in Part 4 25 of the Family Law Act 1996), or one has parental responsibility for the other.
Legal aid consists of legal help and advocacy.
a. Legal help covers advice, assistance and preparation for an inquest but not advocacy at the hearing. Under the Bill’s expansion, multiple bereaved family members will be able to receive non-means tested legal help services where a public authority is named as an interested person.
b. Advocacy covers the instruction of an advocate (usually a barrister) to prepare for and attend the inquest hearing(s) to make submissions. The Bill limits advocacy funding to one member of each family – in practice, this level of service will be granted to the first family member to apply. We believe that one legally aided advocate should in most cases be sufficient to support each family through the inquest hearing and that it is reasonable to ask members of the same family to collaborate in the instruction of a single advocate.