My Lords, I am and always have been a faithful. With tighter regulation in the future confidently anticipated, is it not often the case that its absence in the present can impede innovation rather than foster it? Given that many of those responsible for the development of AI—and, in some cases, the development of AI superintelligence—have repeatedly requested tighter controls on their activities, can my noble friend the Minister assure your Lordships’ House that the existing regulatory structures are adequate? Can she describe the mechanisms through which their salience and strength are kept under constant review?

My Lords, I am and always have been a faithful. With tighter regulation in the future confidently anticipated, is it not often the case that its absence in the present can impede innovation rather than foster it? Given that many of those responsible for the development of AI—and, in some cases, the development of AI superintelligence—have repeatedly requested tighter controls on their activities, can my noble friend the Minister assure your Lordships’ House that the existing regulatory structures are adequate? Can she describe the mechanisms through which their salience and strength are kept under constant review?

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environment for civil society organisations in Ethiopia, following  recent reports of proposed legislative restrictions, intimidation of civil society actors, constraints on media freedom, and the suspension of several human rights organisations.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environment for civil society organisations in Ethiopia, following  recent reports of proposed legislative restrictions, intimidation of civil society actors, constraints on media freedom, and the suspension of several human rights organisations.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 22 July (HL9363), what further steps they are taking, in coordination with international partners, to address ongoing gaps in support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Tigray, including children; and what role they...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 22 July (HL9363), what further steps they are taking, in coordination with international partners, to address ongoing gaps in support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Tigray, including children; and what role they...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the needs of internally displaced persons in Ethiopia, and what discussions they are holding with the government of Ethiopia about the safe and voluntary return of displaced communities to their homes.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the needs of internally displaced persons in Ethiopia, and what discussions they are holding with the government of Ethiopia about the safe and voluntary return of displaced communities to their homes.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in coordination with the African Union and international partners, to encourage the withdrawal of the Eritrean Defence Forces from Tigray and to support stability and protection for civilians in the region.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in coordination with the African Union and international partners, to encourage the withdrawal of the Eritrean Defence Forces from Tigray and to support stability and protection for civilians in the region.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 1 April (HL5876), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of these steps and of observing and monitoring the African Union on the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 1 April (HL5876), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of these steps and of observing and monitoring the African Union on the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the attacks on the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace in Columbia in November, and whether they have discussed those attacks with the government of Colombia, including alleged failures of the National Protection Unit.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the attacks on the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace in Columbia in November, and whether they have discussed those attacks with the government of Colombia, including alleged failures of the National Protection Unit.

My Lords, the media coverage of this universally describes a significant proportion of it being done by Belarus as a proxy for Russia. Last month, Admiral Dragone, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, said that the western military alliance was considering a more aggressive or proactive stance to Russia’s hybrid warfare, which this is. To what extent are we contributing to that process of consideration?

My Lords, the media coverage of this universally describes a significant proportion of it being done by Belarus as a proxy for Russia. Last month, Admiral Dragone, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, said that the western military alliance was considering a more aggressive or proactive stance to Russia’s hybrid warfare, which this is. To what extent are we contributing to that process of consideration?

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of democratic resilience in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of democratic resilience in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

My Lords, as we recall the initialling of the Dayton peace agreement on 21 November 1995 and appreciate the progress that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made in NATO and EU accession efforts since, and while remaining concerned about the ongoing threats to the country’s peace, security and constitutional order by Russian-aligned authorities in the Republika Srpska entity, can my noble friend the Minister assure us that the Government will maintain their sanctions against Bosnian Serb secessionist Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic and expand the same to others in their regime if there are further threats to the integrity of the Dayton agreement?

My Lords, as we recall the initialling of the Dayton peace agreement on 21 November 1995 and appreciate the progress that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made in NATO and EU accession efforts since, and while remaining concerned about the ongoing threats to the country’s peace, security and constitutional order by Russian-aligned authorities in the Republika Srpska entity, can my noble friend the Minister assure us that the Government will maintain their sanctions against Bosnian Serb secessionist Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic and expand the same to others in their regime if there are further threats to the integrity of the Dayton agreement?

My Lords, I draw the attention of your Lordships’ House to my entry in the register of interests, particularly as vice-chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which I am a consultant to as well. Every European NATO member has ratified the 1996 nuclear test-ban treaty. In addition to a commitment to Article VI, the commitment by the five nuclear weapon states to the CTBT was essential to the indefinite extension of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in 1995. My noble friend the Minister will be aware that former US officials who have had responsibility for their nuclear arsenal have stated publicly that new US nuclear tests are unnecessary, unwise and unwelcome. As those officials have done, have our Government assessed the impact on the NPT’s future if there are renewed explosive nuclear tests by any of the five—including the US and the UK?

My Lords, I draw the attention of your Lordships’ House to my entry in the register of interests, particularly as vice-chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which I am a consultant to as well. Every European NATO member has ratified the 1996 nuclear test-ban treaty. In addition to a commitment to Article VI, the commitment by the five nuclear weapon states to the CTBT was essential to the indefinite extension of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in 1995. My noble friend the Minister will be aware that former US officials who have had responsibility for their nuclear arsenal have stated publicly that new US nuclear tests are unnecessary, unwise and unwelcome. As those officials have done, have our Government assessed the impact on the NPT’s future if there are renewed explosive nuclear tests by any of the five—including the US and the UK?

My Lords, many, including many noble Lords, rightly believe that the renaissance of shipbuilding in the UK is a direct consequence of Sir John Parker’s review of the 2017 shipbuilding strategy, which reported in 2019, and his recommendations that the industry could be transformed by simplifying governance, securing long-term funding, and improving competitiveness to boost skills and engineering. May I suggest to my noble friend that the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Procurement meet with Sir John, if they have not already done so, to discuss whether the Parker approach would be to the benefit of all military manufacturing in the UK, in particular the manufacturing of drones and drone-hunting technology?

My Lords, many, including many noble Lords, rightly believe that the renaissance of shipbuilding in the UK is a direct consequence of Sir John Parker’s review of the 2017 shipbuilding strategy, which reported in 2019, and his recommendations that the industry could be transformed by simplifying governance, securing long-term funding, and improving competitiveness to boost skills and engineering. May I suggest to my noble friend that the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Procurement meet with Sir John, if they have not already done so, to discuss whether the Parker approach would be to the benefit of all military manufacturing in the UK, in particular the manufacturing of drones and drone-hunting technology?

My Lords, the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, is perfectly correct that the reduction of the limit in Scotland did not reduce the number of accidents. In fact, at one point the number of accidents was 7% higher after the law was changed than before. However, the same researchers who came to that conclusion suggested that the policy failed because it was not accompanied by sustained, high-visibility enforcement, such as random breath tests. They argued that the law needed that, otherwise it would not deter high-risk offenders who regularly ignore the limit.

My Lords, the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, is perfectly correct that the reduction of the limit in Scotland did not reduce the number of accidents. In fact, at one point the number of accidents was 7% higher after the law was changed than before. However, the same researchers who came to that conclusion suggested that the policy failed because it was not accompanied by sustained, high-visibility enforcement, such as random breath tests. They argued that the law needed that, otherwise it would not deter high-risk offenders who regularly ignore the limit.

My Lords, wind turbines are modular—they are manufactured in factories and built on site—and modular reactors will be the same. We do not want to make the same mistake with modular reactors that was made over decades with wind turbines. There are 11,000 wind turbines on these islands, nearly 5,000 of them in Scotland. Not one of them was manufactured in Scotland and very few were manufactured elsewhere in the United Kingdom—I cannot find any evidence of any being manufactured here. These are key jobs. Are we going to build manufacturing plants—that is, factories—that will make the modular parts of these reactors? Is that the deal we made with the US?

My Lords, wind turbines are modular—they are manufactured in factories and built on site—and modular reactors will be the same. We do not want to make the same mistake with modular reactors that was made over decades with wind turbines. There are 11,000 wind turbines on these islands, nearly 5,000 of them in Scotland. Not one of them was manufactured in Scotland and very few were manufactured elsewhere in the United Kingdom—I cannot find any evidence of any being manufactured here. These are key jobs. Are we going to build manufacturing plants—that is, factories—that will make the modular parts of these reactors? Is that the deal we made with the US?

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they are monitoring the escalating tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and what steps they are taking to reduce the risk of renewed cross-border conflict and protect civilians in the region.

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they are monitoring the escalating tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and what steps they are taking to reduce the risk of renewed cross-border conflict and protect civilians in the region.

My Lords, with the leave of the House, before I ask my supplementary question, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his deserved promotion and welcome him to his place on the Front Bench.

My noble friend will be aware that, in the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022, the Ethiopian federal Government and the Eritrean regime, with others, fought together against the TPLF in a war that caused between 160,000 and 600,000 civilian deaths. What assessment have His Majesty’s Government made of the reason for, and the implications of, a new and unthinkable unholy alliance between Eritrea and the TPLF, apparently formed with the aim of facing Ethiopia? What lies ahead?

My Lords, with the leave of the House, before I ask my supplementary question, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his deserved promotion and welcome him to his place on the Front Bench.

My noble friend will be aware that, in the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022, the Ethiopian federal Government and the Eritrean regime, with others, fought together against the TPLF in a war that caused between 160,000 and 600,000 civilian deaths. What assessment have His Majesty’s Government made of the reason for, and the implications of, a new and unthinkable unholy alliance between Eritrea and the TPLF, apparently formed with the aim of facing Ethiopia? What lies ahead?

My Lords, beyond health deception, cigarette filters are the single most-littered item on the planet. They are an environmental disaster: they do not biodegrade but break down into microplastics, polluting our rivers and oceans. Banning them would remove the illusion of safety from filtered cigarettes, at the same time preventing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste. If we can ban plastic straws, surely we can ban cigarette filters.

My Lords, beyond health deception, cigarette filters are the single most-littered item on the planet. They are an environmental disaster: they do not biodegrade but break down into microplastics, polluting our rivers and oceans. Banning them would remove the illusion of safety from filtered cigarettes, at the same time preventing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste. If we can ban plastic straws, surely we can ban cigarette filters.

My Lords, what support are His Majesty’s Government—or, for that matter, any Government—providing to civil society organisations and human rights defenders in Nepal as they alone work to promote accountability for the violence that caused 19 deaths, and to protect fundamental freedoms?

My Lords, what support are His Majesty’s Government—or, for that matter, any Government—providing to civil society organisations and human rights defenders in Nepal as they alone work to promote accountability for the violence that caused 19 deaths, and to protect fundamental freedoms?

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the state of UK–EU defence and security co-operation.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the state of UK–EU defence and security co-operation.

My Lords, noble Lords will recollect that, in February 2018 at the Munich Security Conference, the noble Baroness, Lady May of Maidenhead, then Prime Minister, urged European Union leaders to

“forge a new security partnership with the UK after Brexit”.

The EU-UK defence and security partnership—I imagine entirely coincidentally established in May—is testament to a mutual recognition that we must work together to deepen the resilience of our collective security. The FCDO has already been briefed on the European Leadership Network’s proposal for an annual EU-UK strategic forum, which would work to deepen defence and security co-operation, assessing emerging threats and ensuring that we pool capacity as needed. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that such a forum is desirable, and would he further agree to meet me and the ELN senior management team to discuss how the MoD could engage in this process too?

My Lords, noble Lords will recollect that, in February 2018 at the Munich Security Conference, the noble Baroness, Lady May of Maidenhead, then Prime Minister, urged European Union leaders to

“forge a new security partnership with the UK after Brexit”.

The EU-UK defence and security partnership—I imagine entirely coincidentally established in May—is testament to a mutual recognition that we must work together to deepen the resilience of our collective security. The FCDO has already been briefed on the European Leadership Network’s proposal for an annual EU-UK strategic forum, which would work to deepen defence and security co-operation, assessing emerging threats and ensuring that we pool capacity as needed. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that such a forum is desirable, and would he further agree to meet me and the ELN senior management team to discuss how the MoD could engage in this process too?