Ministers regularly hold wide-ranging discussions with the Director of the British Museum, however this matter has not arisen since July 2024, and no such offers have been made.

The British Museum operates independently of the government. Decisions relating to the care and management of its collections, including the Hoa Hakananai'a, are a matter for its trustees. The British Museum’s governing legislation, the British Museum Act 1963, prohibits the museum from disposing of objects in its collection, unless, broadly, they are duplicates or unfit for retention. The two exceptions to this are for objects taken during the Nazi-era, and human remains less than 1000 years old. The Government has no plans to change the law.

The British Museum operates independently of the Government, and decisions relating to the care and management of its collections are a matter for the Museum's Trustees. Government representatives have discussed issues relating to Hoa Hakananai'a with the British Museum, most recently in June 2025.

I remind my noble friend that they left us with a black hole of £22 billion. Among other matters, there was £2.6 billion of new unfunded policy announcements, £6.4 billion for asylum and illegal migration, which was not funded, and £9.4 billion for pay awards, which was not funded. We need to find a few hundred million pounds to help the people most in need. I think that they should reflect on what they did in government.

The Government is aware of the distress caused by the sale of human remains, via auction or any other means, and finds this activity abhorrent.

Under the current framework it is for auction houses to decide whether to prohibit sales of human remains, taking into account their own professional standards. We expect those involved to strongly consider the ethical implications of this activity. All human remains should be treated with respect and dignity.

We recognise that further work is needed to understand these specific issues and their scope. We remain committed to exploring ways to protect the safety and dignity of the deceased, including the treatment of human remains over 100 years old.

My noble friend is right to highlight the importance of battery supply chains and the challenges of potential forced labour exposure, particularly upstream, in raw material extraction and in refining stages. The UK is supporting international frameworks such as the UN guiding principles and the OECD guidelines so we can contribute our expertise in responsible mining and enable UK businesses to play a role in the development of global supply chains with strengthened due diligence.

We have not made a formal assessment of the adequacy of the powers and performance of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in inspecting supported accommodation for people with autism.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, a provider must register with the CQC if they provide a regulated activity. More specifically, supported living providers need to register with the CQC if they carry out the regulated activity of ‘personal care’. The CQC’s guidance Housing with Care provides further information on regulated activities and how they apply in the context of supported living services. A copy of the CQC’s guidance is attached.

The Government is tackling poor quality supported housing to ensure that residents get the care and support they need and is committed to the reforms set out in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 (the Act). The Act was enacted to address gaps in regulation and set standards for the support provided to prevent exploitation in the sector, ensuring that all providers deliver safe housing and necessary support services.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government consulted on proposals for implementing the measures set out in the Act between February and May 2025. These include the introduction of new National Supported Housing Standards for all supported housing settings, enforced through a licensing regime, and a proposal to link the payment of higher rates of Housing Benefit to licensing in England. We are working to issue the Government response to the consultation as soon as possible.

DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.

Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.

DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.

Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.

DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.

Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.

I thank my noble friend for that question. I pay tribute to his experience and commitment in this area. I too have history in the prison system, as it were: I was lead non-executive director of the Prison Service for many years, so I know first-hand some of the recruitment and retention problems that it faces. I totally understand the problem but, as I have said, these are all matters under consultation and we will make sure to try to avoid unintended consequences where we can. We take very seriously the problem that my noble friend has highlighted.

The Ministry of Justice holds data pertaining to employees who have limited leave to remain. This data includes all employees, past or present, for whom this would be the case, but there is no functionality to withdraw any ex-employees from the data other than manually checking every file. To provide an accurate response to the question would be of disproportionate cost.

We are clear that net migration, as a whole must, come down. We will of course provide support to those affected by the changes to Immigration Rules, and anyone with a Skilled Worker visa can be considered for an extension where possible.

We are working with Home Office colleagues to consider the impact of the reforms and options to ensure the safety and stability of our prisons. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold the requested data in a single central system. Information on nationality, new joiners, and salary is recorded across separate administrative systems, and linking these datasets accurately would incur disproportionate cost.

We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prisons. We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience.

Substantive recruitment efforts will continue at all prisons where vacancies exist or are projected, with targeted interventions applied to those prisons with the most need. We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate, including at a regional level, and look to provide short-term tactical support where possible. Where establishments feel that their staffing levels will affect stability or regime, there are a number of ways they can maximise the use of their own resource and seek support from other establishments in the short term, through processes managed nationally at Agency level.

HMPPS has a retention strategy in place which is linked to wider activities around employee experience, employee lifecycle, and staff engagement at work. Alongside the strategy a retention toolkit has been introduced which identifies local, regional, and national interventions against the drivers of attrition, which are utilised by establishments to ensure that they are embedding individual Retention Plans.

HMPPS publishes the following data as part of the HMPPS Workforce quarterly statistics for prison officers. This includes:

• The number of prison officers appointed to HMPPS annually, consisting of direct new recruits and existing staff who converted to a band 3 officer grade;

• Resignation rates cover the rate for those who voluntarily resigned from the organisation;

• Leaving rates covers the rate for all leavers and all reasons for leaving, including deaths, resignation, dismissals and redundancies; and,

• Reasons for leaving for prison officers.

This data can be accessed via the following link: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: HM Prison & Probation Service workforce quarterly: September 2025 - GOV.UK:. Table 1 below gives an overview of Band 3-5 prison officer joiners, leavers, leaving rate and resignation rate: 2019/20 to 2024/25:

Table 1: Band 3-5 prison officer joiners, leavers, leaving rate and resignation rate: 2019/20 to 2024/25

HMPPS also publishes the difference between Staff in Post (SIP) and Target Staffing Figures (TSF) for Band 3 to 5 Prison Officers at establishment and national level in the Annex of the workforce quarterly publication (Table 4 of the Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment Annex, which can also be accessed via the link above). There was a difference of 1,225 FTE between the SIP and TSF for Band 3-5 prison officers in HMPPS at the end of September 2025. We are unable to attribute specific vacancies to reasons for leaving and as such, cannot calculate a breakdown of vacancies by reasons for leaving.

My noble friend raises an interesting point, which I suspect has been raised in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, but it is not one that I can respond to at this point. I apologise for that, but I will also follow up with him afterwards.

This government calls on all auction houses to scrutinise their activities and for anyone trading in human remains to consider carefully the ethical implications of this activity which many understandably find deeply disturbing. All human remains should be treated with respect and dignity. This did not happen with this sale. I have written to Richard Winterton Auctioneers and other relevant bodies to raise concerns about this issue. UK auction houses currently set their own standards and best practice, taking into account the consent and licensing provisions of the Human Tissue Act. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will meet with the Department for Health and Social Care in the Autumn to discuss the sale of human remains at auction and online.

This government calls on all auction houses to scrutinise their activities and for anyone trading in human remains to consider carefully the ethical implications of this activity which many understandably find deeply disturbing. All human remains should be treated with respect and dignity. This did not happen with this sale. I have written to Richard Winterton Auctioneers and other relevant bodies to raise concerns about this issue. UK auction houses currently set their own standards and best practice, taking into account the consent and licensing provisions of the Human Tissue Act. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will meet with the Department for Health and Social Care in the Autumn to discuss the sale of human remains at auction and online.

The majority of museums are able to deal with the restitution of human remains on a case-by-case basis. My noble friend will be aware that I am planning to have a meeting with my noble friend Lady Merron to discuss issues relating to the Human Tissue Act. There is human remains guidance for museums, issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2005, which covers the legal and ethical framework for the treatment of human remains. I understand the strength of feeling of my noble friend and I am happy to have a conversation with him to discuss this further.

What absolutely terrifies me is how I can remember the jingles from so many adverts from when I was a child. I am not sure if I did any revision for exams or not—I cannot remember any of that, but I remember that Smash was going to transform our lives. My noble friend will be aware of the curriculum review that is taking place. There is enormous interest in the whole area of domestic sciences,

as well as food, and in the introduction and expansion of best start family hubs. It is about educating the whole family to make sure that we can move forward.

His Majesty's Government recognises the vital role that civil society, youth, and religious organisations play in fostering reconciliation and promoting restorative justice in conflict-affected regions. These actors are often uniquely placed to build trust, mediate dialogue, and support inclusive peacebuilding processes at the grassroots level.

In relation to conflict areas with disputed boundaries, the Government continues to support initiatives that empower local communities and civil society actors to engage in dialogue, reduce tensions, and promote peaceful coexistence. With regard to Nagaland, while the UK does not have a direct role in the peace process, we continue to monitor developments closely.

The UK remains deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in Myanmar and its impact on all communities, including those in border regions. We are aware of reports that the violence and instability have affected indigenous populations in neighbouring areas, including the Naga people. We condemn all human rights atrocities committed in Myanmar, notably by the military regime. In April, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar calling for the military regime to fully respect and protect the human rights of all persons in Myanmar, including ethnic and religious minorities. British Officials have not recently visited the Naga territories in India, and have not been able to visit Naga territories in Myanmar since the coup in February 2021.