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To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with regard to their small modular reactor programme.
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with regard to their small modular reactor programme.
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) is continuing to drive forward the UK’s flagship small modular reactor (SMR) programme.
GBE-N and Rolls-Royce SMR (RR SMR) entered into a Technology Partner contract earlier this year and are now jointly undertaking design work to progress the Gwyndod SMR project on Anglesey in North Wales.
GBE-N is also focused on reindustrialisation opportunities and delivering on its ambition that 70% of supply chain products are British built across the SMR fleet. To date, it has awarded nearly £900m in supply chain contracts, with over 70% going to UK-registered companies.
GBE-N is working closely with RR SMR on its supply chain plan; it was recently announced that Siemens Energy will support UK jobs by manufacturing RR SMR steam turbine components in Newcastle.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the maximum annual capacity of the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the maximum annual capacity of the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Leong on 16 September, what requirements they are including in invitations to tender for public sector construction contracts relating to the provision of apprenticeship opportunities and adult skills training by contractors and subcontractors.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Leong on 16 September, what requirements they are including in invitations to tender for public sector construction contracts relating to the provision of apprenticeship opportunities and adult skills training by contractors and subcontractors.
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the total cost to date of the Undercover Policing Inquiry; and how much has been paid to the Chair, Sir John Mitting.
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the total cost to date of the Undercover Policing Inquiry; and how much has been paid to the Chair, Sir John Mitting.
As of 30 June 2026, the Undercover Policing Inquiry had incurred a total expenditure of £144,597,900.
The Chair’s remuneration forms part of the £28,931,400 published under “Inquiry staffing, including secretariat”.
The Inquiry publishes a quarterly breakdown of its costs on its website: https://www.ucpi.org.uk/about-the-inquiry/#costs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of structural steel and steel rebar procured for use in High Speed 2 was produced in the United Kingdom.
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of structural steel and steel rebar procured for use in High Speed 2 was produced in the United Kingdom.
Based on the aggregated figures from all Steel demand returns from 2022/23 to 2024/25 inclusive, 62% of total steel used across the project was UK sourced, increasing to 78% for reinforcement (rebar). Data including 2025/26 will be available in due course.
In line with the government’s new Steel Trade Measure and Strategy, which seeks to sustain and strengthen domestic steel production, HS2 will continue to be proactive in sourcing UK steel to meet future programme demand.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand domestic capacity for the production of energetics and munitions; and what their estimated timeline is for achieving that expansion.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand domestic capacity for the production of energetics and munitions; and what their estimated timeline is for achieving that expansion.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to resume uranium conversion in the UK.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to resume uranium conversion in the UK.
The Government recognises the importance of conversion for our nuclear industry and has a stated ambition to re-establish conversion services in the UK. In 2023, through the Nuclear Fuel Fund, we invested £13m, match-funded by Westinghouse, into their conversion project at the Springfield’s site in Preston.
The UK continues to be supportive of this ambition, and the role UK based conversion can play in delivering secure and reliable fuel supply chains.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many drivers were trained for C+E heavy goods licences at the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield in the last year.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many drivers were trained for C+E heavy goods licences at the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield in the last year.
Between 31 August 2025 and 1 September 2026, 646 Category C+E licences were awarded following training at the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield. The award of a Category C+E licence marks successful completion of the training and has therefore been used as the measure for the number of drivers trained.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of productivity in the building industry; and what steps they are taking to improve it.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of productivity in the building industry; and what steps they are taking to improve it.
An ONS study in 2021 (Productivity in the construction industry, UK - Office for National Statistics) concluded that both the level of productivity, and the rate of productivity improvement in the construction sector, have historically been below that of the wider economy, and have not changed much in decades.
The Government is addressing this challenge through investing £625m in the Construction Skills Challenge, £85m in the Industrialising and Digitalising Construction Challenge, and has also worked with the industry to develop a Publicly Available Specification, PAS 4010, which will create a consistent approach to managing productivity improvement in the sector.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Leong on 9 July (HL1468), what steps they are taking to ensure that the 484 zero emission buses to be funded by additional bus funding will be built in the UK.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Leong on 9 July (HL1468), what steps they are taking to ensure that the 484 zero emission buses to be funded by additional bus funding will be built in the UK.
While the Government cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses, at the final UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) agreed to commit that a 10% minimum of social value criteria would apply in all future bus procurement exercises.
This means that when procuring buses, MCAs will consider the positive impact a manufacturer has on our society, the environment, and on the local community as part of their decision-making process.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to reduce and eliminate environmental, social and governance restrictions on access to finance for the UK defence industry.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to reduce and eliminate environmental, social and governance restrictions on access to finance for the UK defence industry.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 9 September (HL2269), why they cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses given that funding is being provided by the HM Treasury.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 9 September (HL2269), why they cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses given that funding is being provided by the HM Treasury.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) repair vessels for communication cables, and (2) repair crew for communication cables, are based in the UK.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) repair vessels for communication cables, and (2) repair crew for communication cables, are based in the UK.
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions regarding UK involvement in the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank.
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions regarding UK involvement in the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank.
To ask His Majesty’s Government, in light of Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to cut 4,000 jobs over the next two years, what steps they are taking to support the UK’s automotive and components sector and its workforce.
To ask His Majesty’s Government, in light of Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to cut 4,000 jobs over the next two years, what steps they are taking to support the UK’s automotive and components sector and its workforce.
My Lords, we understand the anxiety that this announcement causes among workers, families and communities in the area where JLR is based. We are determined that Britain will remain a world-leading automotive nation. Our industrial strategy reduces electricity costs, commits £4 billion to DRIVE35 to advance manufacturing and research, and allocates £2 billion to boost electric vehicle demand. We are strengthening supplies through the DRIVE35 transformation programme and securing better access to markets in the EU and the United States, thereby protecting investment and jobs.
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that Answer. He obviously recognises the importance of our auto components industry, which underpins our car assembly plants and is also a significant part of our exports and regional economies. He and the House will be aware of the significant impact of the hack at Jaguar Land Rover last year, which led to an overall drop in GDP but also had a much more significant effect on the West Midlands economy. So, with those current problems at JLR, which the Minister has identified, what are the Government doing to support the supply chains and the British car plants, and would not one measure be for public bodies to prioritise buying British vehicles built by British workers?
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that Answer. He obviously recognises the importance of our auto components industry, which underpins our car assembly plants and is also a significant part of our exports and regional economies. He and the House will be aware of the significant impact of the hack at Jaguar Land Rover last year, which led to an overall drop in GDP but also had a much more significant effect on the West Midlands economy. So, with those current problems at JLR, which the Minister has identified, what are the Government doing to support the supply chains and the British car plants, and would not one measure be for public bodies to prioritise buying British vehicles built by British workers?
My Lords, my noble friend rightly reminds us that cyber attacks affect companies of all sizes, and this is a stark reminder that JLR is not only the manufacturer but also the anchor of the supply chain. We are working with JLR, lenders, local partners and suppliers to safeguard viable businesses, improve access to finance and strengthen cyber resilience. On procurement, we will use government purchasing power strategically to ensure that British manufacturers can compete fairly and that social value, resilient supply chains and UK capability are recognised in purchasing decisions.
My Lords, I commend the Minister for the forthright statement in support of the Falklands and the Falkland Islanders. But does she share my concern at the interview given last week on Radio 4’s “Today” by the noble Lord, Lord McDonald, the previous head of the Foreign Office, which indicated...
My Lords, I commend the Minister for the forthright statement in support of the Falklands and the Falkland Islanders. But does she share my concern at the interview given last week on Radio 4’s “Today” by the noble Lord, Lord McDonald, the previous head of the Foreign Office, which indicated...
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the development of drought and heat tolerant varieties of crops for UK farmers.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the development of drought and heat tolerant varieties of crops for UK farmers.
My Lords, I also welcome my noble friend to his position. We might be in a better position to exercise influence in the nuclear sphere, in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, if we had the capacity to be able to sell to them. Small modular reactors might give much better control, but we can do that only if the department of energy and others get a move on with the British model, particularly the Rolls-Royce, which has been pre-selected and preferred. If we get that going then we will have something to sell to them. That will also help us to enable a safer use of nuclear power for the future.
My Lords, I also welcome my noble friend to his position. We might be in a better position to exercise influence in the nuclear sphere, in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, if we had the capacity to be able to sell to them. Small modular reactors might give much better control, but we can do that only if the department of energy and others get a move on with the British model, particularly the Rolls-Royce, which has been pre-selected and preferred. If we get that going then we will have something to sell to them. That will also help us to enable a safer use of nuclear power for the future.
I thank the noble Lord for that. In my first few days in my job, I had many discussions with my counterparts across countries talking about British leadership in SMRs—small modular reactors. I agree that it is an exciting area for the future. We support responsible expansion of civil nuclear power and work closely with the Saudis in nuclear co-operation and dialogue on this issue. There are opportunities for British companies, not just in Saudi but elsewhere, in particular in the areas that the noble Lord discussed.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review National Highways' management of major incidents, in light of the closure of the M25 on 16 July.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review National Highways' management of major incidents, in light of the closure of the M25 on 16 July.
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.