Written Statements

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

Thursday 7 March 2024

Security and Intelligence Agencies: Contingencies Fund Advance

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Alex Burghart)]

The Minister of State, Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, has today made the following statement:

The security and intelligence agencies have presented a supplementary estimate for approval to Parliament in the central Government supply estimates booklet (HC 500, published on 27 February). Full details can be found on www.gov.uk. As it will be some time before the associated legislation receives Royal Assent, the agencies are seeking an advance from the Contingencies Fund in order to meet contractual commitments.

Parliamentary approval for additional resource of £5,295,000, capital of £96,261,000 and cash movement of £66,444,000 has been sought in a supplementary estimate for the security and intelligence agencies. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £168,000,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.

As the security and intelligence agencies are non-ministerial Departments, I am making this statement on behalf of their accounting officer to ensure that Parliament is informed of this advance from the Contingencies Fund.

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Sunnica Energy Farm: Development Consent Application

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Claire Coutinho)]

This statement concerns an application for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by Sunnica Energy Farm for the construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic electricity generating station, situated across West Suffolk and East Cambridgeshire.

Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the examining authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline. Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a statement to Parliament to announce it.

The current statutory deadline for the decision on the Sunnica Energy Farm application is 7 March 2024.

I have decided to set a new deadline of no later than 11 April 2024 for deciding this application.

The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.

[HCWS322]

Westminster Foundation for Democracy Review

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

My noble Friend the Minister for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has today made the following statement:

I wish to inform the House that the Government have today published the independent public body review of Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), an executive non-departmental public body of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The Government launched this review in autumn 2023, and it concluded in December. The review was independent and formed part of the public bodies review programme, which delivers against the commitments made in the declaration on Government reform to increase the effectiveness of organisations to ensure they are set up in the best possible way to deliver.

The Government set out in the 2021 integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy our approach to shaping the international order organised around open societies and economies. The integrated review noted the role of WFD in helping us deliver the ambition to support strong, transparent and accountable political processes and institutions overseas, including parliaments and political parties.

The 2023 integrated review refresh reaffirmed our commitment to sharpening the UK’s posture; shaping, balancing, cooperating and competing wherever we are active internationally to create the conditions, structures and incentives necessary for an open and stable international order.

The 2023 White Paper “International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change” stated our intention to harness the best of the UK’s capability, including WFD, to create fairer, more inclusive, and accountable democratic systems around the world. It also suggested that increased funding could be made available to WFD, subject to the outcomes of the public bodies review.

The review reaffirms WFD’s relevance and effectiveness. It also makes a number of recommendations for improvements with regards to the relationship between WFD and the FCDO; and WFD’s governance, risk management, and efficiency. The Government accept all these recommendations, and will work with WFD to implement them.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the lead reviewer and the review team for dedicating much time and consideration to this review.

The publication will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

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Clinical Indemnities Reform

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)]

In December 2022, I reported on the steps we are taking to respond to the findings of the inquiry into the issues raised by disgraced surgeon, Ian Paterson. Today, I am reporting further progress on recommendation 10 of the inquiry report, which identified shortcomings in the clinical negligence cover system.

Clinical negligence cover is the system that enables patients to receive compensation if they are harmed during treatment through the cover held by regulated healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and dentists. The inquiry highlighted that Paterson’s private patients were unable to access compensation for the harm caused by his actions due to gaps in clinical negligence cover in the independent sector. These gaps do not occur in the NHS where cover is via a state scheme.

The Government’s implementation update on the inquiry’s recommendations included proposed policy options for recommendation 10. One of the policy options was to make the system more transparent through safeguards, such as the introduction of a code of practice for medical defence organisations which provide a particular type of clinical negligence cover called discretionary indemnity that many healthcare professionals purchase. Unlike regulated insurance, where terms and conditions are set out contractually, discretionary indemnity allows for discretion to be applied to accept or refuse claims.

Following engagement with patients and the wider sector last year, I am pleased that medical defence organisations propose to implement a sector-led code of practice by end of 2024. The aim of this code is to provide greater transparency around this system of discretionary indemnity.

For example, there will be more information on how decisions are made to assist healthcare professionals to pay patients compensation. The code will include an escalation procedure with an independent review of disputed claims assistance decisions. Importantly, the code will now offer healthcare professionals information on the basis of any decisions to decline claims.

We welcome the code as a meaningful step forward. The Department of Health and Social Care will evaluate its implementation, including the long-term impact on patients and healthcare professionals, to determine whether further intervention is required. I will provide an update on further steps to reform the clinical negligence cover system, such as addressing cover for criminal acts or when a healthcare professional has otherwise worked outside the terms of their cover, in due course.

Alongside this update, the report on a survey that the Government commissioned IFF Research to carry out into healthcare professionals’ clinical indemnity arrangements will also be published. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

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Dental Patient Charges Uplift 2024-25

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dame Andrea Leadsom)]

The Department recently published our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, which will make dental services faster, simpler and fairer to patients and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments (or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment). The plan sets out a number of actions that will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, addressing underlying issues and setting out the action needed for longer-term reform of the system.

The National Health Service (Dental Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (“the Amendment Regulations”) were laid in Parliament on 1 March 2024 to increase national health service dental patient charges in England from 1 April 2024.

NHS dental patient charges provide an important revenue source for NHS dentistry and are typically uplifted on 1 April each financial year. In April 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care implemented the first dental patient charge uplift since December 2020. The economic climate at the time, along with an extended period between uplifts and increasing costs of delivering NHS dental care, meant that a higher than usual uplift of 8.5% came into force in April 2023. This allows a smaller uplift for 2024-25 without adversely affecting NHS budgets. It is important that current and future work to improve NHS dentistry is not undermined by the risk of reduced funding because of lower NHS dental patient charge revenue.

Therefore, from 1 April 2024, dental patient charges in England will increase by 4%. This means that a dental charge payable for a band 1 course of treatment will rise by £1, from £25.80 to £26.80. For a band 2 course of treatment, there will be an increase of £2.80 from £70.70 to £73.50. A band 3 course of treatment will increase by £12.30, from £306.80 to £319.10.

Details of the revised charges for 2023-24 can be found in the table below:

Local Authority Interventions: Sandwell, Liverpool, Thurrock and Tees Valley

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

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

All hon. Members will recognise the critical role local authorities play in providing services to their residents and being accountable to the communities they serve. I would like to update the House on actions the Government have taken in relation to four local authorities, which demonstrate the importance with which this Government see our role in ensuring the high standards that we set for local government are met. I am updating the House on the developments in the statutory interventions in Sandwell, Liverpool and Thurrock councils and on the Tees Valley Mayor’s initial response to the independent review published on 29 January.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Following evidence provided by a governance review from its external auditor, Grant Thornton, Sandwell Council has been under statutory intervention since March 2022. The review included statutory recommendations to the council and detailed years of governance issues, leadership instability, and a breakdown in trust, respect and confidence between members and officers. These led to some significant failures. The review led the Secretary of State to decide that the council was failing to comply with its best value duty and consequently directions were issued and commissioners appointed.

Given Grant Thornton’s observation that “green shoots” of improvement had started to show at Sandwell, the intervention package was shorter and narrower than other interventions. I wish to update the House on the fourth and final report from the commissioners and the end of the intervention.

The commissioners’ fourth report

Since the beginning of the intervention, the commissioners have been clear about the aim of the intervention, setting out in their first report their “12 proxies for success”, as the House was updated on in the statement of 1 December 2022. These proxies brought together all the recommendations of the Local Government Association (LGA), CIPFA and Grant Thornton reviews, and commissioners reported against these proxies in each report.

On 20 December commissioners submitted their fourth report, setting out that the council is

“a far cry from the organisation first encountered”

in March 2022, and noting the considerable progress even since their third report. They observe

“the scrutiny and accountability systems, including performance and risk management, are robust and being upheld rigorously. The improvement work which was once seen as a standalone priority has now been interwoven with the “business as usual” strategic planning of the council.”

They also praise the staff at the council,

“who were eager to...work hard to improve”

from the outset. They conclude that the council is now an organisation that is “resilient and agile enough to provide its services to residents whilst withstanding adversity, and one with the plans, aspiration and people to strive for excellence independently”.

The commissioners conclude that

“the council is now meeting its best value duty and is capable of taking forward its improvement independently”,

recommending that the directions be permitted to expire as planned on 22 March and that they too leave their roles at the council on that date. Having considered carefully the evidence, including triangulation with the council’s own assessment of its progress and the follow up review from the external auditor, Grant Thornton, I am happy to update the House that the Secretary of State and I are satisfied that the council is now meeting its best value duty. Consequently, when the directions expire on 22 March 2024 the intervention will end.

The commissioners’ fourth report and my response to them and to the leader of the council will be published on www.gov.uk today.

It is right that, as the commissioners acknowledge, improvement “is never finished”: Sandwell is not perfect. However, the draft statutory guidance on best value standards and intervention, which we intend to finalise shortly following the consultation last summer, is clear that

“local authorities are not expected to be perfect before an intervention ends”

and that an intervention should

“resolve incidents of failure to the point where the authority can demonstrate that it now has the capacity and capability to sustain its own journey of continuous improvement without the need for further external involvement.”

It will take continued, concerted effort for the council to sustain the rate of improvement, build further resilience and ultimately continue to improve outcomes for residents. The commissioners note that part of that striving for excellence will include the continued development of the council’s partnership working with its neighbours, the wider local government sector and supporting its staff and elected members.

Next steps

To that end, I am pleased to note that the LGA will be working to support Sandwell over the next 12-18 months, to ensure a steady path out of intervention. As I said in the Chamber in the Adjournment debate on 18 January on the governance at Sandwell, “falling back into the old ways...will not be tolerated.” We will keep a weather eye on Sandwell, and continue to be there to support, advise and encourage.

Liverpool City Council

On 13 December 2023, I announced that the Secretary of State was minded to change the scope of the intervention at Liverpool by returning certain functions to the council by March 2024, together with updating the directions as part of a planned and phased transition towards the end of the intervention. Today I am confirming that these proposals will be implemented.

The intervention started on 10 June 2021 following a best value inspection. Since then, the scope of intervention has changed, and there are five commissioners who can exercise functions relating to regeneration, highways, finance, and property and their associated governance.

When I announced to the House that I was publishing the commissioners’ fourth report, together with the Government’s response that the Secretary of State was minded to change the intervention, I invited representations on the proposals by 2 January 2024. Having considered carefully the two representations received (one from the council and one from a member of the public), and other relevant information, the Secretary of State has decided to implement those proposals.

Accordingly, the Secretary of State has returned certain functions to the council, recognising the progress made and as part of a planned and phased transition towards the end of the intervention. The commissioners will no longer exercise the following functions:

all executive functions associated with highways, from 31 March 2024;

the requirement from section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972, to make arrangements for the proper administration of the authority’s financial affairs, and all functions associated with the strategic financial management of the authority, from 31 March 2024, to include:

the power to amend budgets where commissioners consider that those budgets constitute a risk to the authority’s ability to fulfil its best value duty; and

providing advice and challenge to the authority in the setting of annual budget and a robust medium term financial strategy (MTFS) for the authority.

all functions in relation to the appointment, organisation and performance of persons to positions the holders of which are not designated as statutory officers, and the designation of those persons for tiers 1 to 3 from today.

In addition, directions issued to the council today direct the council to undertake a range of actions to the satisfaction of commissioners, including to:

allow commissioners to provide advice and challenge to the authority on strategic decisions related to its finance function, including the setting of annual budgets and medium term financial strategy;

continue to build on improvements to rebuild trust with residents, in particular to improve FOI performance, report writing and systems to record delegated decisions;

complete a review of the strategic risk management and implement a strengthened mechanism based on its recommendations;

significantly progress the implementation of the corporate landlord model, commence the stock condition surveys to understand better the asset base, develop comprehensive asset management plans and produce a revised structure for the property directorate; and

continue to establish and implement a cultural change programme which embeds a customer focus, performance management culture, systems and reporting across the organisation.

The Secretary of State has removed directions to the authority that commissioners have confirmed have been met and revoked the directions issued on 10 June 2021 and 8 November 2022. Outstanding actions have been retained in the new directions issued today, and commissioners will continue to exercise functions relating to governance, regeneration, property management and appointments (for directors of property, human resources/organisational development and statutory officers).

I also wish to put on record our thanks to Joanna Killian who will be leaving the commissioner team on 17 March when she becomes the chief executive to the Local Government Association.

The new directions, accompanying explanatory memorandum, representation from the council, and my response to the commissioners will be published today on www.gov.uk.

The next commissioners’ report, due in March 2024, will provide a full assessment by commissioners of the intervention and will be vital to support our decision on how to proceed. I will update the House at that time.

Thurrock Council

Thurrock has been in intervention, with commissioners appointed, since 2 September 2022, after grave concerns were raised about the scale and commercial risk facing the council. On 1 March 2023 the intervention was expanded.

On 22 January 2024, commissioners submitted their third report on the progress of the intervention. This describes continued progress, with the council “owning its recovery” and demonstrating it is able to take difficult decisions. I am pleased to see the strengthening of member officer relationships and that all councillors agreed to adopt and commit to the enhanced improvement and recovery plan in October; it is important that there continues to be a whole-council approach to Thurrock’s recovery.

While the progress to date is to be commended, there is still much to do, including addressing ongoing governance requirements and ensuring the council has underpinning plans to implement its recovery, including a corporate plan and operating model. The financial situation should not be underestimated, with commissioners making clear that the challenge remains substantial.

There has undoubtedly been good progress at Thurrock, and it is imperative focus is maintained in the months ahead on the long-term priorities, to continue to build upon and drive the necessary improvements. The commissioners’ report and my response will be published today on www.gov.uk.

Tees Valley Combined Authority

On 29 January my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety made a statement to this House alongside the publication of the report of the independent panel investigating the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks joint venture.

The review was commenced in June 2023 following very serious allegations made in the House regarding potential corruption and illegality. As my hon. Friend confirmed, the independent panel found no evidence of corruption or illegality and the panel made several useful and important recommendations on governance and oversight.

Upon publication of the report the Secretary of State wrote to the Mayor and asked for an initial response to the report and its recommendations by 8 March: this was received on 28 February and also published by Tees Valley Combined Authority. The Mayor has accepted, in principle, all the recommendations for the combined authority and development corporation. His response proposed actions for each of the 26 recommendations for the combined authority, development corporation, and partners, as well as outlining actions he has already taken, including establishing a combined authority working group to take this forward. I welcome the independent support the Mayor is seeking from the LGA and the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny and have encouraged him to make full use of independent peer challenge and support.

I am encouraged by the progress within the first month and keen to give time now for the Mayor to develop his plans further and implement the changes required. These will enhance the successes of the Teesworks regeneration by ensuring governance arrangements and accountability are strong and transparent, and supported by robust scrutiny. Given the issues raised in the report, it is important that rapid progress is made that engages comprehensively with the substance of the report’s findings to implement lasting change. To that end, I look forward to receiving further updates from the Mayor, which I have asked for initially after six months.

I am confident that the Mayor and his cabinet will implement successfully their plans and continue their important work regenerating and bringing new jobs to the Tees Valley. The Mayor’s response to the review and the Secretary of State’s reply will be published today on www.gov.uk.

Conclusion

I want to acknowledge the work of the dedicated staff who deliver the important services of local authorities, on which local residents depend. I also want to thank the commissioners in Sandwell, Liverpool, Thurrock, and other councils in statutory intervention, for all they do. I will deposit in the House Library copies of the reports and associated materials.

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Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety (Lee Rowley)]

Building the next generation of road, rail and energy projects will be the cornerstone of the United Kingdom’s future success. New infrastructure transforms communities, cuts congestion, and improves the resilience of our country for the long-term.

Over a decade ago, the Government turbocharged the delivery of new infrastructure by introducing nationally significant infrastructure projects consenting process for projects in England and Wales, and in some limited circumstances, Scotland. This has served Great Britain well for more than a decade and created a planning and consenting process that acknowledged the unique importance of a number of key projects across energy, transport and water. Since then, over 120 projects, from major offshore wind projects like Hornsea 2 to vital nuclear power generation such as Hinkley Point C, have successfully been approved, with many others constructed and operational, such as the East Northants Resource Management Facility and the Heysham to M6 Link Road —all for the benefit of Great Britain.

Building on the “National Infrastructure Strategy” of November 2020, and in recognition of changing circumstances, we launched a major programme of reform and improvement to our NSIP processes. While much is still being built successfully, the speed at which decisions are made has slowed and demands on the system are intensifying. Change is needed if we are to meet the growing demands on our country’s infrastructure.

Last year we acted by publishing an action plan, setting out our plans to reform the way in which our major infrastructure is consented and we promised consultation on key elements of those reforms before implementation, following feedback from industry and interested parties.

Today, following the conclusion of that consultation, I am pleased to confirm the following major improvements to our nationally significant infrastructure projects consenting process in the future:

A major increase to the capacity within the planning system by better resourcing public bodies through costs recovery for the advice and services they give to applicants – with additional resources in place already and cost recovery being introduced from 1 April;

New secondary legislation to make vital changes to the legislative framework under which the system operates covering the way in which examinations are conducted – to support faster and more proportionate examinations for all projects – in force by the end of April;

Improvements to and strengthening of national infrastructure planning guidance to provide clarity for applicants and ensure that all users of the system are provided with the guidance they need to maximise the benefits of the system changes, and to help navigate applications more efficiently – live by the end of April.

A new pre-application process, designed to allow applicants to work with the Planning Inspectorate to speed up decision making and ensure that consultation is effective and proportionate, which will be available for any project which requests it from this Autumn, on a cost recovery basis;

A new fast-track route to consent, to enable projects which meet a quality standard to progress through the process in one year—available from autumn;

We have provided £3.5 million of taxpayer funds to support innovation and capacity in local authorities that are working, right now.

As we have said, clear policy is the foundation of a successful consenting system. We are close to fulfilling our commitment to updating our key national policy statements, with five revised energy NPSs now designated and an NPS for national networks published and laid before Parliament yesterday for intended designation next month. This is in addition to the new water resources NPS designated last year.

A copy of the consultation response on operational reforms to the nationally significant infrastructure projects consenting process will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

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Space Industrial Plan

Thursday 7th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation (Andrew Griffith)]

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recently passed the one-year milestone since its creation—a year in which we have firmly embedded our mission and delivered against it, driving innovation that will improve public services, create new well-paid jobs, and grow the economy.

The UK is already ranked by the World Bank as the best place to do business among large European nations. Combined with the City of London and the research strengths of our universities, our space sector is poised to support our growth ambitions.

Our commitment to innovation and enterprise, backed by a globally competitive tax regime and smart regulation, uniquely positions us at the forefront of technological advancement and economic growth in space.

For the UK space sector, our “National Space Strategy” encapsulates not just my Department’s mission, but the whole of Government’s ambition to develop one of the world’s most innovative and attractive space economies. As part of that journey, we published “The National Space Strategy in Action” in July 2023, setting out our key next steps on the road to achieving that ambition.

Today we take another a significant step towards unlocking growth and developing resilience in the UK space sector, with the publication of Government’s space industrial plan.

Building on the foundations of our national and defence space strategies, the space industrial plan is a joint civil and defence publication that sets out our new way of working with the commercial space sector, modernising our approach, and giving the sector greater confidence to invest. We set out clear, timed missions and actions deliverable through a shared endeavour with the sector to address the long-term problems facing the nation: improving economic security and opportunity for everyone.

This plan sends a strong demand signal to, and provides clarity for, UK space companies and investors, giving them the confidence to invest long term in the sector. We have been decisive in sequencing the first five national space capability goals where we want the UK to excel, agreed by the National Space Council. These capabilities will support UK Government in fulfilling their commitments and legal obligations, target the specific needs of the citizen, and drive our future ambitions to unlock new markets. These capabilities are underpinned by a set of intervention areas, describing how we will utilise our main Government levers to shape the business environment in pursuit of our ambitions.

We have heard and understood the challenges facing UK space companies, and we want the world’s space entrepreneurs and innovators to come to the UK because it offers the best possible place to make their visions happen.

We are committed to making the UK the most attractive country for space industry investment, driving prosperity and security across the nation.

I will be placing copies of this publication in the Libraries of both Houses, and it will also be made available on gov.uk.

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