National Highways routinely reviews the management of major incidents to identify lessons learned and opportunities for improvement. In relation to the closure of the M25 on 16 July 2026, National Highways will undertake both an internal debrief and contribute to multi-agency review processes involving the emergency services and other partners.

Major incidents on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are managed through a multi-agency response led by the police. National Highways works in accordance with the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) and the Collision, Lead, Evaluate, Act, Reopen (CLEAR) process and supports partners in delivering a coordinated response.

As part of the review process, National Highways will consider the tactical options available and deployed during the incident, including arrangements for traffic management, the release of trapped traffic where appropriate, and support for driver welfare. The review will identify what worked well and any areas where improvements can be made.

National Highways will share relevant lessons learned with operational partners and incorporate any agreed actions into future incident management arrangements. The Government is also supporting work to review local arrangements for driver welfare during major incidents.

There are no current plans to review either the CLEAR or JESIP processes which National Highway works in accordance with to clear incidents on the SRN.

On 15 July 2025 HM Government confirmed its commitment to hold a mandatory, questionnaire based census in England and Wales in 2031. The Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have confirmed their commitment to hold tradition censuses in their nations at the same time.

HM Government reached this decision after the UK Statistics Authority conducted extensive research and consultation into alternative options and concluded that a traditional census best met the needs of the UK’s government, local authorities, businesses, charities and citizens. Their reasoning is set out in their detailed recommendation, which was also published on 15 July 2025.

The Government remains committed to delivering the census in 2031 and is working closely with the ONS to ensure the programme’s success.

The National Armaments Director Group are accelerating Defence adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) through Project TAMPA, working with industry, including Defence primes and small and medium enterprises, to improve supply chain resilience and platform availability. UK Defence Innovation is funding a 2-year sprint to accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing. This will support coherence across the Military Commands, facilitate regulatory compliance and adoption of safe and secure practices in alignment with the Defence Advanced Manufacturing Strategy.

The Royal Navy (RN) are employing additive manufacturing across multiple shore locations and selected vessels to produce spare parts as part of ongoing innovation efforts. This technology has primarily been utilised for low-complexity, non-critical but important components, allowing the RN to build experience and confidence in its application. HMNB Clyde, the home of the Submarine Service, have AM capabilities to support in-service submarines through obsolescence and supply limitations. Multiple components were additively manufactured for HMS ANSON using Australian sovereign AM capabilities during her recent maintenance period at HMAS Stirling.

The Army Equipment Support Publication for Land Systems Expedient Repair outlines the process for applying AM across the Army in the delivery of maintenance and repair. The Army have a permanent capability deployed in Estonia on Op CABRIT, and have recently placed capability in Cyprus, with forward locations supported by a network of advanced manufacturing nodes across the UK.

Since 2020 the RAF have delivered multiple AM parts to front line platforms, helping to return aircraft to availability months earlier. This year, the RAF will release a strategy outlining their ambition by 2030 to make AM business‑as‑usual within the supply chain for both on‑ and off‑aircraft components.

This Government is taking forward all of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce’s recommendations and has published an implementation plan. Delivery is already under way, including establishing a lead regulator model and taking forward reforms to cut duplication and improve proportionality.

Our reforms focus on outcomes over process, accelerating nuclear deployment while maintaining the UK’s robust safety and environmental standards.

Delivery is overseen by a cross sector Nuclear Regulatory Implementation Panel, ensuring accountability and pace. I will chair this Panel with the first meeting scheduled for 30 June.

The Government response commits to completing implementation by the end of 2027, supporting faster, more cost-effective delivery of new nuclear projects.

My Lords, on 26 March, the Government announced procurement reforms to protect our national security, boost growth and build a fairer economy. We have now moved from policy direction to delivery. As of last month, government departments can make use of the national security exemption in the Procurement Act 2023, where relevant. We also introduced a public interest test for departments to formally assess whether their services can be delivered more effectively in-house and have requested all government departments to develop insourcing plans.

The Department does not require a specific ratio of apprenticeships to professional staff from shipbuilders as part of the tendering process, but all of the shipyards currently delivering major programmes have significant apprenticeship schemes.

We fully recognise the powerful value that apprenticeships offer to boost employment and as an important part of building a diverse and highly skilled workforce. The Government works closely with employers to encourage and support them to invest in training and development at all stages to build a sustainable pipeline of labour.

The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) works closely with businesses across the sector to understand their skills requirements and challenges and will set out more detail in the Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology Action Plan.

The UK Government is committed to accelerating the development and deployment of directed energy weapons to counter low-cost drones. The UK is a world leader in research on High-Energy Lasers and Radio Frequency weapons, working with key allies who share our mutual aims in this field. The first DragonFire high-energy laser system is due to be installed on a Type 45 destroyer in 2027, five years ahead of the original plan. This will make the UK the first European NATO nation to operationally deploy advanced laser directed energy technology.

Details of the cases considered by the Certification Officer, including those upheld, are published in the Certification Officer’s Annual Report.

In the 2024–25 reporting year, the Certification Officer issued formal decisions on 13 complaints, of which 1 was upheld.

For the 2025–26 reporting year, the Annual Report has not yet been published. However, the Certification Officer issued 15 formal decisions covering 46 complaints. Of these, 7 were upheld, 33 were not upheld, 4 were struck out, and 2 were dismissed following withdrawal.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with my noble Friend.

The Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.

The Government wants British farmers and producers to be well‑placed to bid for a fair share of the £5 billion spent each year on public sector food and catering contracts.

The Government has already published a new national procurement policy statement.

It sets expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that we think high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.

Given the limited information on the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain, Defra has begun collecting new data to understand how far public sector settings are serving food, including chicken, from local and sustainable sources and what further action is needed.

Home Office body armour standards, including for ballistic protection, are developed using expert scientific advice and in line with police operational requirements to ensure that body armour does not place an unnecessary burden on officers while protecting them.

Body armour certified to Home Office standards is rigorously and independently tested to ensure it meets the highest safety standards, based on operational requirements.

Table 1 - Crown Court open cases in West Midlands by court (December 2025)

Table 2 - Magistrates’ courts open cases in West Midlands by court (December 2025)

notes

1) Open cases are those without a final result record. At the Crown Court this excludes cases where one or more defendants is absent and have a live bench warrant.
2) Court location relates to where a case was first received.

3) * signifies magistrates’ courts which have permanently closed. Open cases for these courts will have been transferred to other courts but workload will continue to be reported under the initial location.

The Crown Court backlog currently stands at over 80,000 cases and, without decisive action, would rise to 100,000 by 2028. Behind each of those cases is someone awaiting justice – defendants seeking to clear their name and victims putting their lives on hold. The record and rising Crown Court caseload means that thousands of victims and witnesses are waiting years for their day in court. Justice delayed is justice denied and the status quo is unacceptable.

That is why we asked Sir Brian Leveson, one of our most distinguished judges, to conduct an independent review of the criminal justice system and make recommendations for the modernisation of the system and ways to tackle the backlog. His expert panel gathered evidence over many months. They concluded that reform is essential alongside additional investment in sitting days and the workforce, and a programme of efficiencies. Part 1 of the Review set out a blueprint for pragmatic structural reform in our criminal courts and made clear that action across all aspects of the criminal justice process is needed. Reform, investment and modernisation are all necessary to ensure that our courts deliver justice effectively and efficiently.

The Government has already invested significantly in the system – in record sitting days (increasing judicial capacity), court buildings and technology, and in legal professionals with significant investment in legal aid. However, these investments in growing the workforce, whilst vital, will take years to take effect.

The Government is committed to doing whatever is necessary to deliver swifter justice for victims. Only by pulling every lever we have – investment, efficiency and reform – can we turn the tide on the backlog and begin to deliver faster and fairer justice.

I refer my noble friend to the answer to question HL14258 tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, on 4th February 2026.

The UK Government is committed to accelerating the development, testing, production, and installation of the DragonFire high energy laser system. The UK remains on track to become the first European NATO nation to bring advanced laser directed energy technology into service. Two major periods of firing trials, conducted successfully in 2025, have been instrumental in advancing the system's readiness for service and operational capability.

In November 2025, the Ministry of Defence awarded a contract to MBDA for the delivery of the first two DragonFire units, with the first of these scheduled for installation on a Type 45 destroyer in 2027, five years earlier than originally planned. This programme exemplifies the MOD's commitment to supporting British technical excellence and rapidly integrating cutting-edge technology to enhance the capabilities of our Armed Forces.

On 12 March it was announced that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will receive a grant of £33.4m to help improve air quality in Sheffield by replacing diesel buses with new zero-emission buses. It is for SYMCA to procure these buses.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) spent £2.56 million in August 2021 to acquire Sheffield Forgemasters and its unique defence supply capability in its entirety. To date the MOD has invested a further £542 million in the recapitalisation of the company to modernise and expand its defence manufacturing facilities, including a new 13,000 tonne forging line and a state-of-the-art machining facility. The programme to deliver this is running to cost and schedule and completes in 2033. The total investment is forecast to be £1.3 billion.

In 2020, the regional breakdown of higher education students from England who participated in the Erasmus+ programme was:

• 18.6% from the South West.
• 14.7% from London.
• 13.7% from the West Midlands.
• 11.7% from the East Midlands.
• 10.6% from Yorkshire and The Humber.
• 10.4% from the South East.
• 8.4% from the North West.
• 7.1% from the North East.
• 4.8% from the East of England.

All Erasmus+ data is publicly available.

The Executive Order highlighted by the noble Lord outlines potential actions placed upon contractors deemed to be underperforming by the United States Government. Under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on February 24 2025, the UK Government has similarly strengthened its ability to take action against underperforming suppliers through a more centralized, transparent system.

Under the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) the UK Government has strengthened its ability to deal with underperforming suppliers. The Act introduced commercial levers to manage systemic underperformance via an expanded exclusions regime. This regime ensures that a suppliers’ historic conduct, including poor performance, breaches of contract or serious misconduct, can be assessed and addressed appropriately. Discretionary exclusion grounds allow contracting authorities to take proportionate action where suppliers have demonstrated significant or persistent poor performance, including any self-cleaning demonstrated by the supplier. Where a supplier is an excluded or excludable supplier, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) must or may restrict their participation in future competitions, depending on the nature of the exclusion, and in the most serious cases a Minister of the Crown may place a supplier on the debarment list, following investigation. This creates a transparent, consistent approach to managing poor performance risk across MOD and wider Government.

Great British Energy-Nuclear's (GBE-N) SMR competition evaluated bids across technical, commercial, and social value criteria, though any specific commitments would remain subject to final government approvals and GBE-N entering into contract with Rolls-Royce SMR.

GBE-N's ambition is for 70% British built products across a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) fleet, including both on-site and off-site activity.

The government wants UK supply chains to develop world-leading expertise across a range of civil nuclear activities and be competitive both domestically and internationally.

To achieve this, we will continue to engage with industry to address barriers to entry in the nuclear sector so that UK companies are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities created.