Describes the effects of the conflict in Ukraine and the number of refugees leaving the country, alongside what aid the UK and others have pledged from 2022.

Describes the effects of the conflict in Ukraine and the number of refugees leaving the country, alongside what aid the UK and others have pledged from 2022.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the resilience of the financial system against cyber risks arising from the use of advanced artificial intelligence tools, in light of warnings from the International Monetary Fund that such risks could pose systemic threats.

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the resilience of the financial system against cyber risks arising from the use of advanced artificial intelligence tools, in light of warnings from the International Monetary Fund that such risks could pose systemic threats.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support energy security through international co-operation following the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support energy security through international co-operation following the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support energy security through international co-operation following discussions at the IMF Spring Meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support energy security through international co-operation following discussions at the IMF Spring Meetings.

Lords statement on the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the continued action that the Government are taking to strengthen our economic and energy security in response to the conflict in the Middle East.

Lords statement on the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the continued action that the Government are taking to strengthen our economic and energy security in response to the conflict in the Middle East.

My Lords, the International Monetary Fund, in its latest World Economic Outlook, has warned that the energy shock stemming from the Iran war will hit the United Kingdom harder than any other advanced economy, notably in terms of growth and inflation. It is also the case that UK borrowing costs...

My Lords, the International Monetary Fund, in its latest World Economic Outlook, has warned that the energy shock stemming from the Iran war will hit the United Kingdom harder than any other advanced economy, notably in terms of growth and inflation. It is also the case that UK borrowing costs...

My Lords, the impact of the Iran war has made previous economic forecasts pretty much redundant. We talked last week about warnings from the IMF and the OECD, repeated today by the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, which essentially assess that the UK would suffer more than any other G7 economy....

My Lords, the impact of the Iran war has made previous economic forecasts pretty much redundant. We talked last week about warnings from the IMF and the OECD, repeated today by the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, which essentially assess that the UK would suffer more than any other G7 economy....

My Lords, I am grateful for the questions and comments from the noble Baronesses, Lady Neville-Rolfe and Lady Kramer. The noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, started her comments by focusing on the IMF’s revised forecasts that were published last week and that we discussed briefly in this House then. As both

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My Lords, I am grateful for the questions and comments from the noble Baronesses, Lady Neville-Rolfe and Lady Kramer. The noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, started her comments by focusing on the IMF’s revised forecasts that were published last week and that we discussed briefly in this House then. As both

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My Lords, one of the big problems that the Government faced when they took office was an unsustainable level of public debt and a totally unsustainable level of debt interest being paid by taxpayers each year on that debt. The Government saw clearly at the time that one thing they...

My Lords, one of the big problems that the Government faced when they took office was an unsustainable level of public debt and a totally unsustainable level of debt interest being paid by taxpayers each year on that debt. The Government saw clearly at the time that one thing they...

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question. We are repairing the public finances. At the time of the spring forecast, borrowing was set to fall more over this Parliament than in any other G7 economy. We are now borrowing below the G7 average, something that was not...

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question. We are repairing the public finances. At the time of the spring forecast, borrowing was set to fall more over this Parliament than in any other G7 economy. We are now borrowing below the G7 average, something that was not...

My Lords, returning to defence spending, the Minister referred to the biggest sustained increase in that spending. If it happens, we will welcome

it, but it does not happen until the defence investment plan is published. I noted the slight smile on his face when he said, “in due course”,...

My Lords, returning to defence spending, the Minister referred to the biggest sustained increase in that spending. If it happens, we will welcome

it, but it does not happen until the defence investment plan is published. I noted the slight smile on his face when he said, “in due course”,...

Of course there are consequences; I agree completely with the noble Lord. He talks of a hypothetical of the defence investment plan not happening. It will happen and, as I have said already, it will be published in due course.

Of course there are consequences; I agree completely with the noble Lord. He talks of a hypothetical of the defence investment plan not happening. It will happen and, as I have said already, it will be published in due course.

My Lords, in response to my noble friend Lord Clarke’s question, the Minister spoke of the cuts that the Government are planning to make to the welfare budget. Is he saying that those cuts are sufficient and that that is all the Government will be doing?

My Lords, in response to my noble friend Lord Clarke’s question, the Minister spoke of the cuts that the Government are planning to make to the welfare budget. Is he saying that those cuts are sufficient and that that is all the Government will be doing?

I do not have a crystal ball and I cannot look ahead to everything the Government will be doing, but I can tell the noble Lord, as I said to his noble friend, that we are reforming the welfare system.

I do not have a crystal ball and I cannot look ahead to everything the Government will be doing, but I can tell the noble Lord, as I said to his noble friend, that we are reforming the welfare system.

In Washington, the Chancellor pledged to avoid unnecessary trade restrictions. Can we look forward to the Government cancelling the bad idea of introducing a large carbon border tax or tariff, which would be a penalty on British consumers and a further boost to costs, making British industry less competitive?

In Washington, the Chancellor pledged to avoid unnecessary trade restrictions. Can we look forward to the Government cancelling the bad idea of introducing a large carbon border tax or tariff, which would be a penalty on British consumers and a further boost to costs, making British industry less competitive?

No, and I disagree with the noble Lord, as I am sure I do on many issues. He talks about trade restrictions. He obviously championed a Brexit which put up massive trade restrictions with our nearest trading partners—

No, and I disagree with the noble Lord, as I am sure I do on many issues. He talks about trade restrictions. He obviously championed a Brexit which put up massive trade restrictions with our nearest trading partners—

Tariff free!

Tariff free!

It was estimated at the time to be costing us some 4%, subsequently estimated to be 8%, of GDP, so he has put up massive tariff barriers with our biggest partner, which is not something that is in favour of free trade. He talks about it being tariff free, but...

It was estimated at the time to be costing us some 4%, subsequently estimated to be 8%, of GDP, so he has put up massive tariff barriers with our biggest partner, which is not something that is in favour of free trade. He talks about it being tariff free, but...