Written Statements

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

Monday 3 July 2023

Civil Service Code: Prima Facie Breach

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

On 6 March 2023, I explained in reply to an urgent question from my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland) that the Cabinet Office was looking into the circumstances leading to the resignation of Ms Sue Gray, the former second permanent secretary for the Union and the constitution. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out further information in a written statement on 2 May and a commitment was made to update the House again in due course.

The civil service code sets out the four core values of the civil service:

Integrity—putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests;

Honesty—being truthful and open;

Objectivity—basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence; and

Impartiality—acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well Governments of different political persuasions. The political impartiality section states, “you must...act in a way which deserves and retains the confidence of Ministers”.

Section 4.4.9 of the civil service management code sets out that all members of the senior civil service are in the “politically restricted” category, which places further restrictions on their political activity.

In addition, the guidance on the declaration and management of interests for civil servants, which is enshrined in departmental HR policies, sets out that individuals must declare all relevant outside interests to their line manager as soon as they arise. The policy advises that individuals should err on the side of caution when considering what to declare,

“but the onus is on the individual to consider what might be relevant and declare it”.

The Prime Minister has now received and accepted the advice of the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) in relation to Sue Gray’s appointment, and the final conditions letter has been published on ACOBA’s website. The Government expect all parties to abide by the conditions set out in the letter.

ACOBA’s final conditions letter sets out a timeline with regard to the contact Ms Gray had with the Opposition. It records that Ms Gray first spoke to the Leader of the Opposition in late October. This was approximately four months before she resigned from the civil service. The letter from ACOBA also states that

“she had subsequent brief informal conversations...where she was updated on their developing plans”.

She did not inform Ministers or the civil service of these interactions at any point prior to her resignation.

It is right that we maintain the principle of confidentiality with respect to individual personnel matters. However, I am sure the House will agree with me that the facts in this case, when compared to the rules and guidance in place for civil servants, speak for themselves, and that there is a public interest in ensuring that the civil service code is adhered to.

Given the exceptional nature of this case and the previous commitment by Ministers to update the House, I can now confirm that the Cabinet Office process looking into the circumstances leading up to Ms Gray’s resignation has been concluded. As part of the process, Ms Gray was given the opportunity to make representations but chose not to do so. This process, led by the civil service, found that the civil service code was prima facie broken as a result of the undeclared contact between Ms Gray and the Leader of the Opposition.

The rules and guidance that govern the conduct of civil servants are clear and transparent. It is deeply unfortunate that events have transpired in this way. However, regardless of the details of this specific situation, I remain confident in the impartiality of our civil service and would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that it is the responsibility of everyone in this House to preserve and support this impartiality.

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Reforming Anti-Money laundering and Counter-terrorism Financing Supervision

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Victoria Atkins)]

My noble friend the Treasury Lords Minister, Baroness Penn, made the following written statement on 30 June:

On 30 June 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation regarding the reform of the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) supervisory regime.

Consulting on and implementing reform of the AML/CTF supervisory system is a key commitment in the Economic Crime Plan 2023 to 2026. It is expected to complement a number of other actions aimed at strengthening the UK’s anti-money laundering regime, and ensuring that businesses most vulnerable to abuse for money laundering or terrorism financing have robust and proportionate controls in place, and are subject to effective supervision.

The Treasury’s 2022 Review of the UK’s AML/CTF regulatory and supervisory regime concluded that, while further improvements should be made to the current regime, structural change may be needed to address certain weaknesses. This consultation outlines in more detail four potential models for the future of supervision and seeks to gather evidence on which will best deliver the reform objectives.

The first model, OPBAS+, would provide increased powers to the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS). OPBAS was established in 2017 and has made significant progress against its aim of ensuring high and consistent supervisory standards among the 22 professional body supervisors (PBSs) which supervise the legal and accountancy sectors.

The second model would consolidate PBSs so that between two and six PBSs would retain responsibility for AML/CTF supervision.

The third model would see the creation of new public body. This could take over the AML/CTF supervision of the supervisory populations of PBSs, and potentially some additional sectors currently supervised by HMRC. Alternatively, it could be given responsibility for the AML/CTF supervision of all populations currently supervised by a PBS or by HMRC. This would create a system whereby either three or four public bodies carry out all AML/CTF supervision.

Finally, the fourth model would place the AML/CTF supervision of all sectors regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations under the remit of a single public body.

These four models represent a commitment to strengthen the UK’s defences against economic crime, responding to calls to address weaknesses in the current system made by stakeholders such as the international AML/CTF standard-setter, the Financial Action Taskforce. The consultation also seeks views on whether there is a case to increase requirements on supervisors and their regulated populations to further support compliance with sanctions.



The consultation will be open for three months, closing on the 30 September 2023. After this, the Government will make a policy decision by the end of Q1 2024 on the model which best achieves the reform objectives. Strengthening the effectiveness of the UK’s AML/CTF regime will also support wider public and private sector priorities set out in the Economic Crime Plan 202 to 2026, such as the reforms of Companies House legislated for through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. Taken together, these reforms will help to cut crime, protect our national security, and support the UK’s legitimate economic growth and competitiveness.

The consultation is published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-anti-money-laundering-and-counter-terrorism-financing-supervision

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Nature Recovery

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Trudy Harrison)]

I am repeating the statement made last Friday by my noble Friend the Minister, Lord Benyon.

The Government are committed to delivering large scale, widespread nature recovery across England. We depend on nature for everything—from food, water, and resources to the places we go when we need to relax and recharge—but over the last century, the state of nature in our country has declined dramatically.

Our environmental improvement plan, published in January 2023, set out how we will continue to help nature to recover and thrive. We committed to doing more to restore the vital habitats that support a huge variety of species, which will help us deliver the ambitious biodiversity targets we have set under the Environment Act 2021.

Local nature recovery strategies will be key to our drive to restore nature. The 48 responsible authorities, announced today, will lead on the preparation of localised, tailored strategies to support and recover nature, using the best of local expertise in the community. These responsible authorities, supported by £14 million of Government funding, will now begin to engage across their areas to prepare the strategies, working closely with landowners, farmers and land managers. Regulations and statutory guidance setting out the process responsible authorities must follow and what they should include in the strategies was published in March 2023. Delivery of the proposals set out in a local nature recovery strategy will not be directly required but will instead be encouraged by a combination of financial incentives, the support of local delivery partners and broad requirements on public bodies.

Alongside local nature recovery strategies, which will support long-term planning for nature, the first round of the species survival fund opens today with an initial £25 million available to projects that will help drive the action we need to halt the decline in species.

Taken hand in hand, the species survival fund and local nature recovery strategies provide opportunities, both in the shorter and longer term, for new and innovative projects to make a real difference, so that communities across England can contribute to nature recovery.

This Government are proud of their extensive record on nature and climate. These measures are the latest of many to protect the environment. In just the last six months, we have:

Set legally binding targets to protect our environment, clean up our air and rivers and boost nature

Announced our environmental improvement plan which sets out delivery plan for building a greener, more prosperous country

Announced nearly £30 million to support developing countries in delivering the “30by30” land target

Announced the £5 million for projects which showcase the incredible work under way to study and restore nature across our network of overseas territories

DEFRA Ministers attended the G7 Meeting on climate, energy and the environment in Sapporo, Japan. The G7 leaders agreed a joint statement to tackle global nature loss

Hosted a major multinational event at Lancaster House in London to drive forward action on the COP15

Provided the £16 million of funding for local authorities to support plans to make new housing, industrial or commercial developments “nature friendly”

Published the draft border target operating model setting out the UK Government’s plan to strengthen our borders against biosecurity threats and illegal imports

Launched a new climate change hub for the forestry sector

Secured a landmark deal for nature at COP15 in Montreal to protect 30% of our land and ocean by 2030

Provided England’s national parks with an additional £4.4 million to support services such as visitor centres and park rangers

Handed over the COP presidency at the COP27 summit in Egypt as we work to tackle climate change and reverse biodiversity loss

Launched the new green finance strategy and the nature markets framework to develop the growth of green finance

Announced £110 million of funding for communities allocated under the rural England

prosperity fund.

Announced a ban this week on the sale of peat-based products in the retail horticultural sector by 2024

Re-opened grants to boost domestic tree production with £5 million available for free and seed suppliers

Provided £500,000 to our delivery partners of The Queen’s Green Canopy to fund the planting of trees in communities across the country

Published the plant biosecurity strategy

Introduced new powers, including unlimited fines and prison sentences, as part of a crackdown on illegal tree felling in England

Launched the Great Britain invasive non-native species strategy

Opened this year’s round of the tree health pilot—a three-year scheme which tests different ways of slowing the spread of tree pests and diseases as well as building the resilience of trees across England

Made £14 million available to allow both local authorities and community groups to access funds for new tree-planting projects

Shark Fins Act: Royal Assent

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

I am repeating the statement made today by my noble friend the Minister, Lord Benyon.

On Thursday 29 June the Shark Fins Act received Royal Assent, banning the import and export of detached shark fins, including all products containing shark fins such as tinned shark fin soup. The Act extends to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This Act goes further than existing protections by preventing the trade of detached shark fins and related products obtained using this method.

Many species of shark now face significant population pressures. Out of approximately 500 species of shark, 143 are listed as “under threat” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with different species ranging from “vulnerable” to “critically endangered”.

Demand for shark fin products and subsequent overfishing is a significant driver for these pressures. The Act will help protect sharks and reduce the unsustainable overfishing of sharks.

This Act is a significant step in demonstrating the UK’s global leadership in shark conservation, in protecting our natural environment, and in continuing to deliver on our “Action Plan for Animal Welfare”.

The Government are proud of their extensive record on animal welfare. This Bill follows several others in protecting animal welfare, both at home and abroad. Some examples include:

The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021.

The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.

The Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022.

The Ivory Act 2018, came into force in 2022 and extended to further species this year.

Measures to crack down on hare coursing in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022.

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Bathing Water Designation and De-designation in England

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

Designated bathing waters are coastal or inland waters that are used by large numbers of bathers and have facilities to promote and support bathing as set out in the Bathing Water Regulations 2013.

This year, four new sites were designated and one de-designated, taking the total number to 424, the highest ever. 93% of bathing waters were classified as good or excellent last year, up from 76% in 2010.

Today, my Department is publishing updated guidance on how to apply for both bathing water designation and de-designation for this and future bathing seasons, making it easier for applicants to understand.

The main changes to the designation guidance are:

There must be at least 100 bathers a day at the site during the bathing season.

Applicants must carry out user surveys on two days during the bathing season to provide evidence of this.

There must be access to toilet facilities within a short distance up to 500 metres of the proposed bathing water site.

Clearer guidance on seeking local views on proposals to designate sites as bathing waters.

The introduction of an application form to make it easier for people to prepare their applications.

Local authorities and landowners should contact Natural England for advice on managing bathing waters in protected sites, including ensuring any necessary consents, assents or licences are obtained from Natural England as appropriate. Bathers should comply with any local byelaws.

For de-designations the changes are the same except toilet facilities are not a requirement and a site must be used by an average of fewer than 100 bathers a day during the bathing season.

Applications for bathing water designation and de-designation in 2024 must be submitted to Defra by 31 October this year. My officials will consider all applications against the revised guidance and will continue to run a public consultation on those selected as candidate sites.

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NHS Long-term Workforce Plan

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)]

I refer hon. Members to the oral statement I will make in the House today, 3 July 2023, on the long-term workforce plan.

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Community Ownership Fund

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Dehenna Davison)]

On Friday, I was delighted to announce the outcome of round 2 window 3 of the £150 million community ownership fund, which will see £12.91 million awarded to 52 projects across the United Kingdom. This additional funding takes our funding total to £36.83 million for 150 projects.

This investment will ensure that important parts of our social fabric, such as pubs, sports clubs, theatres and post office buildings can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK.

The community ownership fund is helping to reduce geographical disparities across the United Kingdom. To this end, the funding provided in round 2 window 3 will see over £2 million awarded to projects in Scotland, £1.4 million to Wales and £1.4 million to Northern Ireland. This, so far, brings the total funding awarded across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to over £11.3 million collectively, with each nation on track to receive its minimum allocation across the duration of the fund.

The funding provided in round 2 window 3 will also see £8 million awarded to projects in England. This brings the total funding awarded across English regions to over £25.5 million collectively.

The community ownership fund is already supporting 98 projects across the UK such as the Leigh spinners mill in Greater Manchester; the Queen’s ballroom in Blaenau Gwent, Wales; St Columb’s Hall in Derry City and Strabane, Northern Ireland; and the UK’s most remote pub, The Old Forge, in the Scottish highlands. These projects are making a genuine difference to their communities.

With the additional investment awarded in this bidding window, I am delighted to be supporting many more small but mighty local assets across the United Kingdom, levelling up the places we love and cherish.

Interested groups can submit an expression of interest form to start their application process at any time. The fund will be running until March 2025, so there is plenty of opportunity for interested community groups to apply to take over invaluable community assets and to run them as businesses, by the community, for the community.

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Investment Zones: Scotland

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove)]

Investment zones are a crucial part of levelling up, and are designed to deliver economic growth, more high skill jobs, investment, and future opportunities for local people—a key priority for the Prime Minister.

The UK and Scottish Government have jointly announced that there will be two investment zones in Scotland and that the Glasgow city region and north-east of Scotland region offer the most potential to host these. This is a significant milestone for the investment zone programme, and for our wider ambition to level up the whole of the UK as set out in the levelling up White Paper.

This is the result of significant joint work between the UK and Scottish Governments to identify investment zone areas in Scotland, reflecting Scotland’s specific geography and economic landscape. The speed at which we have been able to develop this work is testament to the strength of the partnership between the UK and Scottish Governments. The locations of the Glasgow city region and the north-east of Scotland have been selected based on several criteria, including their research strengths, an assessment of economic need and potential, and a consideration of geographic spread.

Subject to final approval, investment zones will benefit from an overall funding envelope of £80 million each over five years. They will help to level up Scotland and drive long-term innovation and economic growth in selected areas. These will be focused around research institutions such as universities and focus on driving growth in priority sectors including digital technology, the creative industries, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and the green sector.

Our ambition is for these investment zones to make the most of both reserved and devolved policies as is the case with green freeports. We will publish further information jointly with the Scottish Government in due course and will continue to work in partnership, including with regional partners, the private sector and communities across Scotland to ensure our programmes’ overall objectives are achieved.

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Project Gigabit Progress Update: June 2023

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure (Sir John Whittingdale)]

On 30 June 2023 we published, at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/project-gigabit-progress-update-june-2023 Building Digital UK’s (BDUK) latest progress update on Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK.

In this update, we report on the six latest contracts to be signed in Cambridgeshire, the New Forest, North Shropshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Hampshire with a total value of up to £425 million, covering up to 284,000 premises.

In total, we now have 30 live procurements and contracts in place, amounting to £1.4 billion of funding available to the market to extend gigabit-capable networks into hard-to-reach parts of the country.

We also provide an update on the development of our first cross-regional procurement, which has been designed as an alternative approach to reach premises in areas where there is insufficient market appetite to support a local or regional procurement.

The report also highlights our progress across the Union, with procurements planned to launch in the summer in Wales and in the autumn in Northern Ireland. The public review for Scotland has concluded, and the Scottish Government have committed to launch procurements by the end of the year.

On top of our Project Gigabit procurements, more than 117,000 vouchers have been issued so far under the gigabit broadband voucher scheme and its previous iterations. To date, 89,000 of these vouchers have been used to connect premises to a gigabit-capable connection. Two case studies included in the report provide an overview of the benefits of the voucher scheme, highlighting examples of successful projects on the Isle of Jura and in Elvington, North Yorkshire.

Finally, we report on the launch of an £8 million fund to provide satellite connectivity to a cohort of 35,000 of the very hardest-to-reach premises. This announcement follows the launch of alpha trials in December 2022.

I will place a copy of the latest Project Gigabit progress update in the Libraries of both Houses.

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High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill: Second Additional Provision

Monday 3rd July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Huw Merriman)]

On 9 March 2023, the Secretary of State for Transport restated the Government commitment to building HS2 between London Euston and Manchester. Continuing to progress the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill through Parliament is a vital part of this commitment. Today the Government are introducing into Parliament a second additional provision to the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill.

HS2 is a key part of the Government levelling-up agenda; this new railway will act as a catalyst for investment and economic growth, offering an unparalleled opportunity to deliver new homes, jobs and commercial development. The section of the railway between Crewe and Manchester will also form the foundations for Northern Powerhouse Rail, boosting inter-city connections and speeding up east-west rail services between the north’s towns and cities.

The second additional provision proposes a number of changes to the powers of the Bill. These changes have been developed following engagement with individuals and businesses, requests from individuals affected by the route, and further improvements to the route design, to ensure that the best possible railway is built. The main changes are:

Realignment of the M56 junction 6;

Lane and slip road works at junctions 19 and 20a of the M6;

Relocation of the Palatine Road Vent Shaft to the former Hollies Convent School site near the Britannia Country House Hotel;

Altered utility works to avoid or mitigate impacts on five ancient woodlands and sites of special scientific interest;

Road works along the line of route between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly station to reduce congestion and increase road capacity during construction and operation.

The additional provision also includes works to reduce the risk of flooding, new footpath provision, changes to parking and taxi provision at Manchester Piccadilly station, and added areas of planting to mitigate impacts on the environment.

Delivery of a project on the scale of HS2 will inevitably cause disruption for local people and their communities. Those individuals who are directly and specially affected by today’s proposals can petition against the changes. The petitioning period will open tomorrow—4 July 2023 —and continue until 15 August. I have overseen extensive engagement with affected individuals and their communities by HS2 Ltd and I have written to elected representatives, such as parish councils and local authority leaders, as well as my colleagues with impacted constituencies in Parliament. Petitions will be heard by the specially appointed Select Committee. The Select Committee can make recommendations to address matters raised—it may amend the Bill, it may ask for new Bill powers, or it may require HS2 Ltd to address a petitioner’s issues via other means.

I am also publishing a supplementary environmental statement setting out the significant effects, mitigation, and compensation from the changes in the additional provision, as well as reporting new environmental information relating to the scheme. A public consultation on these documents will run until 31 August 2023. The documents will be put in the Libraries of both Houses and will also be made available in locations open to the public in all local authorities and parishes affected by the changes.

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