Written Statements

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Independent Verification Body

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)]

I am pleased to announce the appointment of the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) as the independent verification body that will carry out the statutory obligations in relation to the business impact target set out in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (the Act). The appointment will be for this parliamentary session.

The Act requires an independent body to be appointed to verify the assessments of economic impact in respect of all qualifying regulatory provisions within the business impact target (the target), and to verify the regulatory provisions that qualify and do not qualify for the target.

The RPC is advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It provides the Government with external, independent scrutiny of the quality of evidence and analysis supporting new regulatory and deregulatory proposals. The RPC has experience and expertise in assessing the likely economic impact of regulation on business activities that is necessary to meet the statutory requirements of the verification body as set out in the Act.

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Higher Education Student Support

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Joseph Johnson)]

I am today confirming the student support package for higher education students undertaking a course of study in the 2016-17 academic year beginning in August 2016.

Tuition fees and fee loans

For all new full-time students and eligible continuing full-time students who started their courses on or after 1 September 2012, maximum tuition fees and maximum fee loans will be maintained in 2016-17 at the £6,000 and £9,000 levels which apply in 2015-16.

For continuing full-time students who started their courses before September 2012, maximum tuition fees and maximum fee loans will be maintained in 2016-17 at the £3,465 level which applies in 2015-16.

For all new part-time students and eligible continuing part-time students who started their courses on or after 1 September 2012, maximum tuition fees and maximum fee loans will be maintained at the £4,500 and £6,750 levels which apply in 2015-16.

Maintenance support for new full-time students in 2016-17

In the Budget earlier this month the Chancellor announced that, for new full-time students starting to attend their courses on or after 1 August 2016, all maintenance grants will be replaced by maintenance loans. Eligible students on low incomes will qualify for a maximum maintenance loan that is 10.3% higher than the maximum maintenance grant and loan support available in 2015-16.

For new students living away from home and studying outside London, the maximum maintenance loan available for 2016-17 will be £8,200, a £766 increase compared to the maximum maintenance support in 2015-16. I can confirm that the equivalent loan rates for students living away from home and studying in London will be £10,702; for those living in the parental home during their studies, £6,904; and for those studying overseas as part of their UK course, £9,391.

Maintenance support for new full-time students entitled to certain benefits in 2016-17

For eligible new full-time students starting to attend their courses in 2016-17, who qualify for certain benefits, all special support grants will be replaced by maintenance loans. The maximum maintenance support package for eligible students on low incomes who qualify for certain benefits will be increased by forecast inflation (2.41%) in 2016-17 when compared with the maximum special support grant and maintenance loan support available in 2015-16. Students who qualify for benefits will continue to receive more maintenance support than other students.

For new students who qualify for benefits who are living away from home and studying outside London, the maximum maintenance loan available for 2016-17 will be £9,347, a £220 increase compared to the maximum maintenance support in 2015-16. I can confirm that the equivalent loan rates for students who qualify for benefits who are living away from home and studying in London will be £11,671; for those living in the parental home during their studies, £8,144; and for those studying overseas as part of their UK course, £10,453.

Maintenance support for new full-time students aged 60 or over at the start of their course in 2016-17

For new full-time students aged 60 or over who are starting to attend their courses in 2016-17, special support grants will be replaced by maintenance loans. The maximum maintenance loan for eligible students on low incomes who are aged 60 or over at the start of their course will be increased by forecast inflation (2.41%) in 2016-17 to £3,469 when compared with the maximum special support grant available in 2015-16.

Maintenance support for full-time students continuing their courses in 2016-17

Maintenance grant/special support grant

For continuing full-time students who started attending their course on or after 1 September 2012 but before 1 August 2016, the maximum maintenance grant and special support grant will be maintained at 2015-16 levels in 2016-17, £3,387.

For continuing full-time students who started their courses before 1 September 2012, the maximum maintenance grant and special support grant in 2016-17 will be maintained at 2015-16 levels in 2016-17, £3,110.

Maintenance loans

Maximum maintenance loans for eligible students who started attending their courses on or after 1 September 2012, but before 1 August 2016, will be increased by forecast inflation (2.41%). For students who are living away from home and studying outside London, the maximum loan for living costs will be £5,878. I can confirm that the equivalent loan rates for students living away from home and studying in London will be £8,202; for those living in the parental home during their studies, £4,675; and for those studying overseas as part of their UK course, £6,984.

Maximum maintenance loans for eligible students who started attending their courses before 1 September 2012 will be increased by forecast inflation (2.41%). For eligible full-time students who started attending their courses before 1 September 2012 and are living away from home while studying outside London, the maximum loan for living costs will be £5,292. I can confirm that the equivalent loan rates for students living away from home and studying in London will be £7,404; for those living in the parental home during their studies, £4,102; and for those studying overseas as part of their UK course, £6,299.

Long courses loans

The maximum long courses (maintenance) loans for new and continuing students who are attending full-time courses that are longer than 30 weeks and three days during the academic year will be increased by forecast inflation (2.41%).

Dependants’ grants

Maximum amounts for dependants’ grants—adult dependants’ grant, childcare grant and parents’ learning allowance—will be maintained at 2015-16 levels in 2016-17 for all new and continuing full-time students.

The maximum adult dependants’ grant will be £2,757 in 2016-17.

The maximum childcare grant payable in 2016-17, which covers 85% of actual childcare costs, will be £155.24 per week for one child only and £266.15 per week for two or more children.

The maximum parents’ learning allowance payable in 2016-17 will be £1,573.

Part-time grants and loans

For those students who started part-time and full-time distance learning courses before 1 September 2012 and who are continuing their courses in 2016-17, maximum fee and course grants will be maintained at the levels that apply for 2015-16. Maximum fee grants will be maintained at £1,285, depending on the intensity of study of the course. Maximum course grants will be maintained at £280.

Income thresholds

Household income thresholds for grants for fees, maintenance and dependants and those for maintenance loans, will be maintained at 2015-16 levels for 2016-17.

Disabled students’ allowance

Lastly today, I can confirm that maximum grants for full-time, part-time and postgraduate students with disabilities will be maintained at 2015-16 levels in 2016-17.

Regulations

I expect to lay regulations implementing changes to student support for 2016-17 later this year. More details of the 2016-17 student support package will be published by my Department in due course.

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The Insolvency Service

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise (Anna Soubry)]

I have set performance targets for the Insolvency Service for the financial year 2015-16.

The targets reflect a rise in stakeholder confidence in the agency’s enforcement action and in its timeliness in reporting to creditors, but also the challenges that it continues to face.

The Insolvency Service has reduced its costs significantly to reflect a continuing reduction in demand for its official receiver services, which handled fewer than 23,000 cases in 2014-15 compared to 27,000 in 2013-14. The number of redundancy claims has also fallen, with 62,000 claims in 2014-15 compared to 75,000 in 2013-14. The numbers of official receiver cases and redundancy claims are expected to fall still further in 2015-16.

The Insolvency Service annual plan 2015-16 will be available from 15 July at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/about-us. The plan continues the agency’s focus on deficit reduction and actions that will support long-term resilience.

Cabinet Committees

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr Oliver Letwin)]

Today I am publishing an updated Cabinet Committees list. It includes the new Economic Affairs (Airports) Sub-Committee created by the Prime Minister. I have placed a copy of the new list in the Libraries of both Houses.

Attachments can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements

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Ministerial Responsibilities

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Matthew Hancock)]

The new “List of Ministerial Responsibilities” has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Vote Office and the Libraries of both Houses. Copies will also be sent to each hon. Member’s office in this House.

The list can also be accessed on gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities

Attachments can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements

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Relief Deeds

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Damian Hinds)]

At Budget 2013, the Government announced they would begin signing decommissioning relief deeds. These deeds represent a new contractual approach to provide oil and gas companies with certainty on the level of tax relief they will receive on future decommissioning costs.

Since October 2013, the Government have entered into 72 decommissioning relief deeds. Oil & Gas UK estimates that these deeds have so far unlocked more than £3.5 billion of capital, which can now be invested elsewhere.

The Government committed to report to Parliament every year on progress with the deeds. The report for financial year 2014-15 is provided below.

1. The number of decommissioning relief agreements entered into: the Government entered into 16 decommissioning relief agreements in 2014-15.

2. The total number of decommissioning relief agreements in force at the end of that year: 66 decommissioning relief agreements were in force at the end of the year.

3. The number of payments made under any decommissioning relief agreements during that year, and the amount of each payment: no payments were made under any decommissioning relief agreements in 2014-15.

4. The total number of payments that have been made under any decommissioning relief agreements as at the end of that year, and the total amount of those payments: no payments had been made under any decommissioning relief agreement as at the end of the 2014-15 financial year.

5. An estimate of the maximum amount liable to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements: the Government have not made any changes to the tax regime that would generate a liability to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements. The Government will recognise a provision of £230 million in respect of decommissioning expenditure incurred as a result of a company defaulting on their decommissioning obligations. The date of recognition is dependent on the date of default, however our current planning assumptions assume the amount will be included in HM Treasury’s 2015-16 accounts.

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Office of Tax Simplification

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke)]

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has been established today on a permanent basis as an independent Office of the Treasury.

The OTS was established as a temporary Office of the Treasury in 2010 to advise the Chancellor on options for addressing existing complexity in the tax system. It will be established on a statutory basis in Finance Bill 2016, as announced at summer Budget 2015.

A new framework document setting out the structure within which the OTS will operate has been published on the OTS website today, alongside terms of reference for two upcoming reviews.

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Local Plans

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)]

We are committed to a planning system that provides communities with certainty on where new homes are to be built. Local plans produced in consultation with the community are therefore the cornerstone of our planning reforms.

During the previous Parliament, the Government enabled this locally controlled, plan-led approach by abolishing the top-down regional strategies and by replacing over 1,300 pages of central Government guidance with the 52 page national planning policy framework (NPPF).

These changes have already achieved significant results. Local plans adopted since the NPPF was published allocate substantially more housing than those adopted before the NPPF, and 261,000 homes were granted planning permission in the year to March—the highest annual total since before the 2008 economic crash.

Since the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, local authorities have had more than a decade to produce a local plan. Most have done so—82% of authorities have published a local plan. Action is required to ensure that all local authorities meet the standards already achieved by the best.

As stated in the productivity plan we will publish league tables setting out local authorities’ progress on their local plans. In cases where no local plan has been produced by early 2017—five years after the publication of the NPPF—we will intervene to arrange for the plan to be written, in consultation with local people, to accelerate production of a local plan.

Local plans that are brought forward should meet local needs by being produced in good time and being kept up to date. They should be sufficiently clear and concise to be accessible to everyone with a local interest.

Local authorities cannot plan in isolation. They must work together to provide the land for the housing needed across housing market areas. The NPPF is clear that where local authorities cannot meet their housing needs in full, they should co-operate with other local authorities to do so. We will strengthen planning guidance to improve the operation of the duty to co-operate on key housing and planning issues, to ensure that housing and infrastructure needs are identified and planned for. It is particularly important that this co-operation happens where our housing needs are greatest.

We will continue to support local planning authorities in plan making, through the Planning Advisory Service, with support from officials of my Department and the Planning Inspectorate.

We recognise that those councils who produce a local plan have committed considerable resources, as have others contributing to its development. They should be able to rely on planning inspectors to support them in the examination process. I have made it clear to the planning inspectorate that this support must be provided. In particular, inspectors should be highlighting significant issues at an early enough stage to give councils a full opportunity to respond.

As we have made clear in planning guidance a commitment to an early review of a local plan may be appropriate as a way of ensuring that a local plan is not unnecessarily delayed by seeking to resolve matters which are not critical to the plan’s soundness or legal competence as a whole. The Planning Advisory Service has published a note on where local plans have been found sound, subject to early review, which local authorities should consider.

The Secretary of State has today written to the chief executive of the Planning Inspectorate, and a copy of the letter placed in the Library of the House. The Planning Inspectorate will also be reviewing its procedural guidance to ensure that all local plan examinations take full account of the overarching approach we have set out.

The package of measures set out in this statement will help to accelerate house building over the next five years, provide certainty for local residents and enterprises, and contribute to the Government’s long-term economic plan. I will update Parliament as appropriate on the work the Government is undertaking in support of plan-making progress, and how we will take these measures forward.

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Future Reserves 2020

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of a report into the condition of the reserves and delivery of the FR20 programme compiled by the Future Reserves 2020 external scrutiny team. This is the first report to be published under the statutory obligation imposed by the Defence Reform Act 2014 and follows the voluntary publication of reports that were commissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 2013 and 2014.

I am most grateful for the work of the team. I will take some short time to consider the report’s findings and recommendations and will provide a full response in due course.

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EU Referendum

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

At Committee stage in this House I committed to share electoral administration rules (conduct rules) with hon. Members. Today I have published them in draft form, and deposited copies in the Libraries of both Houses. We intend to consult the Electoral Commission on the draft rules over the summer and would welcome views from hon. Members during this period.

The draft rules are modelled on the rules used for the administration of the parliamentary voting system referendum in May 2011 and those used for elections more generally, in particular UK parliamentary elections, adapted as necessary for the referendum.

They include the range of provisions that are necessary for the administration of the referendum, including the manner of voting—which covers voting in polling stations, voting by post or by proxy—the form of the ballot paper and other forms used by voters, the appointment of polling and counting agents, the arrangements for the counting of votes and declaration of results, and the disposal of ballot papers and other referendum documents after the poll.

The draft rules take into account recent changes to electoral law and are designed to support the effective administration of the poll. This includes changes to enable ballot papers to be sent to overseas voters further in advance of polling day. Alongside practical steps we are taking elsewhere, this will address some of the issues faced by electors abroad at the 2015 general election.

The rules largely cover the administration of the referendum in the United Kingdom though in some areas the provisions apply to Gibraltar.

Attachments can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements

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Hong Kong

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

The latest six-monthly report on the implementation of the Sino-British joint declaration on Hong Kong was published today. It covers the period from 1 January to 30 June 2015. The report has been placed in the Library of the House, as has the previous six-monthly report covering the period 1 July to 31 December 2014. A copy is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office. I commend the report to the House.

Attachments can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements

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Arm's Length Bodies

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences (George Freeman)]

The Department of Health has completed its triennial reviews of the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA), the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), and is today publishing the associated review reports.

The four reviews, which commenced on 15 January 2015 (ACCEA), 30 October 2014 (MHRA and NICE) and 16 October 2014 (NHSLA), consulted with a wide range of stakeholders. Their key conclusions are that all the organisations perform necessary functions. However, all the review reports make a number of recommendations— primarily around communications and engagement, efficiency and governance—that aim to improve performance further.

Copies of all four reports and associated annexes can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements

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NHS Modernisation

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The health and care reforms came into operation on 1 April 2013. They reshaped the NHS to give patients a stronger voice and give doctors, nurses and elected councillors more power to decide how best to use local resources to significantly improve services and patients’ health.

The National Audit Office subsequently reported that the transition to the reformed health system was successfully implemented and the savings in administration costs would far outweigh the implementation costs.

The Department of Health originally forecast the total cost of transition to be £1.5 billion. On publication of the Department’s annual report and accounts for 2014-15, I can today announce that the actual costs to 31 March 2015 are £1.38 billion, and total costs are forecast to be under £1.43 billion. The costs to 31 March 2015 comprises:

£473 million on staff redundancies;

£75 million on IT for the new organisations;

£88 million on estates costs of closing bodies and setting up new organisations;

£29 million on internal Departmental costs (e.g. programme management);

£323 million on setting up clinical commissioning groups (excluding items above); and

£395 million on other costs of closing bodies (e.g. PCTs) and setting up new organisations.

The Department of Health also originally forecast that between 2010-11 and 2014-15 the reforms would save the NHS £4.5 billion in lower administration costs, as well as a further £1.5 billion a year thereafter. I can today also announce that actual savings were far greater, in cash terms at £6.9 billion over this period, including £2 billion in 2014-15—and in 2010-11 prices comparable to the impact assessment £6.5 billion, including £1.8 billion in 2014-15. This means the Government have successfully achieved their aim to reduce NHS bureaucracy costs by a third.

By removing excessive layers of bureaucracy, the NHS has significantly reduced the number of managers it employs. For example, the reduction of central administrative staff by 18,000 since 2010 has helped the NHS to increase the number of professionally qualified clinical staff by over 23,500, including over 8,500 more nurses and over 9,000 more doctors. These extra clinicians are treating record numbers of patients. For example, compared to 2012-2013, in 2014-2015 the NHS admitted 600,000 more patients to hospital, saw 3.4 million more outpatients, and did 2.2 million more diagnostic tests.

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NHS England

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

Today, I am laying before Parliament my annual assessment of the NHS Commissioning Board (known as NHS England) for 2014-15. The NHS Commissioning Board Annual Report & Accounts 2014-15 were also laid (HC109). Together these documents show an improving picture of performance, both in terms of delivering the Government’s mandate and more widely as an organisation. Copies of both documents will be available to hon. Members from the Vote Office and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.

NHS England’s annual report sets out the progress that has been made in the last year in delivering the Government’s mandate as well as acting to reduce health inequalities, improve quality and encourage greater public and patient involvement in the health service. I am encouraged by its focus on improving efficiency and delivery across the health service and its plans to tackle those areas where improvement is required.

My annual assessment recognises the progress that NHS England has made, I have been impressed by the way in which NHS England has worked with organisations across the health system to develop the NHS Five Year Forward View. We are committed to this vision for a better NHS, which has generated consensus across the health system about how care needs to change to meet patients’ needs.

The assessment also sets out my expectations of NHS England for the year ahead. In particular we want to see the NHS make further progress on achieving parity of esteem for mental health and to address winter pressures including restoring and sustaining performance all year round against access standards. We also want to see NHS England strengthen commissioning assurance as well as working with the health system to deliver the productivity and efficiency savings identified within the NHS Five Year Forward View.

Overall NHS England has made good progress during 2014-15. We will continue to work closely with NHS England to address the significant challenges ahead that will require NHS England to work with organisations across the health system to deliver the new care models, along with the productivity and efficiency savings articulated in the NHS Five Year Forward View.

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EU REFIT Regulation

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Immigration (James Brokenshire)]

The UK has opted in to the regulation (COM (2014) 715 final) repealing certain acts in the field of police co-operation and judicial co-operation in criminal matters to the extent that it applies to the European evidence warrant (EEW).

This regulation originally repealed several acts in which the UK does not participate. However, the proposal was revised to include the EEW, a measure in which the UK also does not participate, but which remains partially in force between some member states. The Government therefore decided to opt-in to the part of the regulation that repeals the EEW under protocol 21 to the EU treaties.

This gives greater legal certainty around the UK’s non-participation in the EEW given the revised terms of the proposal.

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Police Funding: England and Wales

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice (Mike Penning)]

Today I have launched a consultation on reform of the current arrangements for allocating central Government funding to the 43 police force areas in England and Wales.

Police reform is working. Over the last five years, front-line services have been protected, public confidence in the police has gone up and crime has fallen by more than a quarter since 2010, according to the independent crime survey for England and Wales.

However, if we want policing in this country to be the best it can be, then we must reform further, and that includes putting police funding on a long-term, sustainable footing.

The current model for allocating police funding, the police allocation formula (PAF), is complex, opaque and out of date. Following a comprehensive review of the PAF by the Home Office, the Government believe that the formula should be replaced by a simplified model as soon as it is appropriate to do so. This consultation seeks views on the principles underpinning this model, including around transitional arrangements with a view to implementation for the 2016-17 financial year.

A copy of this consultation will be placed in the Library of the House. It will also be available on the Home Office website: www.gov.uk

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Wanless and Whittam

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

The House will recall that the Cabinet Office released a file containing information about Sir Peter Hayman to The National Archives in January this year. That file should have been submitted to Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam QC in their review of “An Independent Review of Two Home Office Commissioned Independent Reviews looking at Information Held In Connection with Child Abuse from 1979-1999” which was published on 11 November 2014. As a result of the discovery of the Sir Peter Hayman file, the Cabinet Office undertook further searches of the Cabinet Secretary’s private papers collection. Officials identified four additional relevant files. The then Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, informed Members about these papers in a written ministerial statement to the House on 4 February, Official Report, column 275.

Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam QC have now reviewed this additional material and produced a supplementary report. They have found nothing in these additional files and papers which leads them to alter the conclusions drawn in their original report, which was published in November 2014. They found

“nothing to support a concern that files had been deliberately or systematically removed or destroyed to cover up organised child abuse”

and saw

“no evidence to suggest PIE was ever funded by the Home Office because of sympathy for its aims”.

Nor do they alter their previous recommendations made in their report published in November. The Home Office accepted all three of these recommendations last year and continues to ensure they are being implemented across the Department.

The supplementary report refers to a letter from the Home Office’s director of safeguarding informing Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam QC that, following a separate enquiry, the Home Office had also uncovered some unregistered papers. Wanless and Whittam chose not to examine this additional material because although these papers contained search terms relevant to their original review they were unregistered. As a result they did not appear on the Department’s record management system and were therefore outside the scope of the search process agreed at the time.

The supplementary report concludes that the discovery of these papers shows the need for all Departments to be able to search material both on and off record managements systems. This is particularly important given that the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse will be asking for Departments to produce relevant documents in the near future. I have been clear that it is vital that the whole of Government fully co-operate with the inquiry on its important work and ensure that Departments have the systems and processes in place in order to do so.

I will arrange for a copy of the supplementary report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and on the gov.uk website.

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