Prisons Under Spotlight as Lords Push Transparency, Training

High-Level Summary

The House of Lords held oral questions on animal welfare proposals affecting rural communities, on security for candidates and elections, on redress for the Post Office Horizon and Capture scandals, and on flooding and climate adaptation. Peers then debated the Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s prisons report, featuring five maiden speeches and a detailed ministerial response. The Government repeated its approach to complying with the Commons’ Humble Address concerning papers on Lord Mandelson. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill completed Committee, with all amendments withdrawn or not moved and the Bill reported without amendment.

Detailed Summary

Introduction and Royal Assent

Michael Henry Dixon was introduced as Baron Dixon of Jericho and made the solemn affirmation, signing the Code of Conduct undertaking. Royal Assent was then notified for three Acts: the Licensing Hours Extensions Act 2026, the Secure 16 to 19 Academies Act 2026, and the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act 2026.

Animal Welfare Strategy and rural communities (Oral Question)

Baroness Hunter asked how rural interests would be taken into account in forthcoming animal cruelty legislation. The Defra Minister, Baroness Hayman of Ullock, said legislation would consider “the costs and the benefits to a range of stakeholders, including those in rural communities” and confirmed a public consultation to deliver “a ban—the ban is our manifesto commitment” so people could set out impacts on rural communities and businesses. On foxhounds and trail hunting, she urged contributions to the consultation and, when asked to confirm there were “neither plans nor intentions to ban hound trailing,” replied: “I can confirm”. Peers raised imported meat and labelling: the Minister pointed to strategy sections on labelling and international impacts and said the UK “will not allow poor animal welfare standards to undermine our own standards here”. On religious slaughter, she noted “some acceptance of pre-stun slaughter for halal meat” and ongoing discussions. She also said imported meat must meet slaughter standards “equivalent to our domestic standards”. On species protection, she aimed to legislate for a close season for the brown hare at the “best and earliest legislative opportunity”. No decisions were taken; the consultation is the next step.

Security of candidates, MPs and elections (Oral Question)

Lord Lemos said the Government is acting “with urgency” to implement the Speaker’s Conference recommendations, including College of Policing guidance and “introducing legislation to restrict protests outside public officeholders’ homes”. He announced: “The representation of the people Bill is introduced today… and it includes measures which directly tackle the unacceptable issues of harassment and intimidation”. On police cover (Tower Hamlets), he said planning for the May 2026 elections would bear concerns in mind. He highlighted moves to extend disqualification orders and tougher sentences for abuse, and to improve policing consistency. On reporting non-crime incidents, he said: “We will not exclude certain types of information being reported to the police… it is the duty of all of us to ensure that all incidents are reported”. He drew the line between protest and intimidation—“Peaceful protest does not extend to unlawful behaviour”—and recognised that abuse disproportionately affects women and candidates from Black and minority ethnic communities. A response to the Speaker’s Conference will be published after the Recess, and work with policing partners continues; no division occurred.

Post Office Capture and Horizon scandals (Oral Question)

Lord Stockwood reported that, as of 31 January 2026, “over £1.4 billion has been paid to more than 11,300 victims of the Horizon scandal,” and that under the Capture scheme 153 complete applications had been received, 30 deemed eligible, and five individuals had received full payment. He said the Government and Post Office are proactively contacting potential claimants, citing letters to 142 people with quashed convictions who had not yet applied, which led to 29 new registrations. On Capture convictions, he said none has yet been overturned and stressed the independence of the courts and the CCRC process. He undertook departmental work to change the courts’ presumption on computer evidence reliability, following debate on the Victims and Courts Bill. On Fujitsu, he said the inquiry will establish accountability; the company has acknowledged a moral responsibility to contribute financially and “will not be applying for new government contracts unless the Government ask it to,” noting “The Government have 68 live contracts with Fujitsu… Walking away… instantly would do serious damage”. He also outlined non‑financial support, including a family members redress scheme in consultation. Next steps include continued outreach, inquiry proceedings and scheme improvements; no decisions were taken in the Chamber.

Changing weather patterns and floods (Oral Question)

Baroness Hayman of Ullock said the December 2024 national assessment shows that climate‑driven sea level rise and extreme rainfall will increase flood and erosion risks, and the Government is investing “at least £10.5 billion in England until 2036” in flood schemes and defences. On farming, she cited ELMS investment rising “to £2 billion by 2028-29,” supporting flood protection, soil health and natural flood management, and gave examples from West Cumbria. She highlighted the need for water company infrastructure upgrades due to ageing systems and said reservoir policy is under review. She linked heavier rainfall to climate change and noted cross‑departmental work. Planning reforms will include a new chapter on flood risk and coastal change. On insurance, she pointed to Flood Re as the most effective way to secure affordable cover for high‑risk homes, while acknowledging complexities for businesses and the need to explore alternatives. No decisions were taken.

Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority Order 2026 (Motions to Approve)

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage moved that the draft Orders laid on 18 December 2025 be approved; the Motions were agreed without division.

Better Prisons: Less Crime — Justice and Home Affairs Committee report (Motion to Take Note)

Opening the debate, Lord Foster of Bath said witnesses painted a depressing picture of a system “operating either in or at the verge of crisis most of the time”, urged clarity of purpose—“to punish people, to protect the public and to reduce reoffending”—and highlighted high reoffending/recall, poor purposeful activity, recruitment and vetting concerns (including that “a 17 year‑old child… got through the recruitment and vetting procedures”), and education cuts averaging around 25% (up to 60% in some prisons), with about 300 redundancies. He welcomed community sentences over short custodial terms and noted that even with new places and Sentencing Act changes, population demand still rises by 2,000 by 2029. Members raised governance and governor autonomy, understaffing, drugs and corruption, tagging, women in prison, and the importance of relationships and purposeful activity. Responding, the Prisons Minister, Lord Timpson, said the Government inherited a system “on the verge of collapse,” at one point with “fewer than 100 places left in the adult male estate”. He aims to make HMPPS world‑class, has “insisted on adding ‘reducing reoffending’ to my job title”, outlined greater governor autonomy via the “free, flex, fixed” framework, procurement flexibilities and leadership development, and said the proposed King’s Prison Service medal goes to the honours committee this month. He reported band 3‑5 officer resignations at 7%, “the lowest in four years”, announced a 20% reduction in prisoners’ phone call costs, and said he would provide the committee with an update in March, while promising to update the House on oversight reviews “in due course”. The Motion to Take Note was agreed without division.

Government response to Commons Humble Address on Lord Mandelson (UQ)

Baroness Anderson repeated that the Government will “comply fully and publish documents as soon as possible,” with departments retaining relevant material and any potentially prejudicial to national security or international relations sent to the Intelligence and Security Committee. She stressed coordination with the Met so as not to undermine the live investigation, noting the police said the “process to decide which documents should ultimately be published remains a matter for … parliament”. She confirmed a Written Ministerial Statement would be published “today” and that senior officials had already met the ISC, with processes to proceed “at pace… after the Recess”. Peers pressed for transparency and timing. Baroness Anderson emphasised rebuilding public trust while keeping victims central and said legislation to remove peerages from disgraced Peers would come “after the Recess,” following consultation. She affirmed that freedom of speech and parliamentary privilege would not be curtailed. No decisions were taken.

Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill — Committee

Peers debated numerous amendments. Proposals to place UK medical graduates “first” ahead of other priority groups (Lord Patel) and to prioritise British‑citizen graduates (Baroness Coffey) were resisted; the Minister said the Bill creates a binary prioritised group, which includes UK graduates and certain Irish/EFTA graduates, adding: “what matters is where a doctor is trained, not where they are born”. On 2026 transition, Earl Howe’s attempt to preserve pre‑existing offers was deemed unnecessary as, other than statutory deferrals, “no such offers exist”. A one‑year delay to 2027 (Lord Mohammed) was rejected as prioritisation is “necessary and justified” for 2026. Attempts to prioritise via Oriel registration or “professional commitment” were declined; the Minister said that for 2026 immigration status must be used as a practical proxy and that using NHS experience data would require “a manual review of tens of thousands of applications,” with “no current agreed threshold”. From 2027, regulations can specify experience‑based criteria. Amendments to prioritise graduates from UK universities’ overseas campuses (e.g., QMUL Malta; Newcastle Malaysia) or to add Malta to the list were not accepted. The Minister said this would undermine workforce planning and could create loopholes, while EFTA countries are listed due to existing agreements; Malta’s reciprocal healthcare convention “is… not [about] access to training or employment”. She confirmed RCSI Bahrain graduates are not prioritised unless the majority of study is in Ireland. A proposed review of training place provision (Lord Kamall) was declined as monitoring is already planned; she said a long‑term workforce plan would be published “this spring” and 1,000 new specialty training posts delivered over the next three years. An amendment to make all regulations affirmative was not accepted; the Government cited limited scope and that the Delegated Powers Committee had raised no concerns. Commencement‑fixing amendments were rejected to retain operational flexibility, with a one‑month delay ruled too late for 2026 offers. The Bill was reported without amendment.