Written Statements

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

Tuesday 22 October 2024

Support to Ukraine

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)]

The UK is committed, alongside our G7 allies, to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes. Ensuring Ukraine’s security is in the interest of our own national security and shared values. We and our G7 partners have also repeatedly underscored that Russia’s obligations under international law are clear: Russia must pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.

The Government have today announced that the United Kingdom will contribute £2.26 billion—$3 billion —to the G7 “Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration” (ERA) Loans to Ukraine scheme. The ERA was announced on 14 June 2024. The scheme will provide Ukraine with approximately $50 billion of additional funding. This funding will be provided through budget support from the G7, repaid using the extraordinary profits generated on immobilised Russian sovereign assets primarily held in the EU.

This funding is additional to both the £3 billion per year of bilateral military support which the UK has committed to for as long as required, and UK Export Finance’s overall £3.5 billion capacity for Ukraine, including support for defence requirements. The UK has also committed to up to $5 billion in fiscal support through loan guarantees on World Bank lending to Ukraine since 2022.

The UK’s contribution to Ukraine under the ERA scheme will be used for budgetary support earmarked for military procurement, bolstering Ukraine’s capacity for self-defence in the face of Russia’s illegal war, and providing vital equipment and support to the front line.

The Government will introduce primary legislation, when parliamentary time allows, seeking parliamentary spending authority to provide this financial assistance. Subject to achieving Royal Assent and concluding a bilateral agreement with Ukraine, the UK will be able to begin disbursing funds to Ukraine and receiving repayments via the EU’s Ukraine Loan Co-operation Mechanism.

The Government intend to begin disbursals within this financial year.

[HCWS153]

Council of Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations Annual Reports and Accounts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)]

I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of the Council of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCA) annual reports and accounts 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, in accordance with the RFCA Regulations 2014.

[HCWS151]

Mainstream Free Schools: Review

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

Education is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life, no matter their background. This Government are determined to drive high and rising education standards for children across the country. We can only achieve this by making sure Government funding is targeted where it is most needed.

Under the last Administration, substantial funds were allocated to the free schools programme, often resulting in surpluses in school capacity. The National Audit Office set out in 2017 that of the 113,500 new places in mainstream free schools due by 2021, an estimated 57,500 amounted to spare capacity in the new schools’ local area. Not only is this poor value for money, the oversupply of places can be detrimental to the other, more established schools in that area—who might lose pupils, as well as teachers, to their new competitor.

Meanwhile, in the 14 years since the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future programme, some of this funding could have been put to better use improving the deteriorating condition of our existing schools and colleges. We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that we have inherited and this will not be a quick fix.

I have therefore asked officials to review the mainstream free schools planned by the last Government, that have not yet opened. We will look at whether they will meet a need for places in their local area and offer value for taxpayers’ money. We will also take into account whether projects would provide a distinctive curriculum and any impact on existing local providers. Officials will work with local authorities and academy trusts to take this work forward over the autumn and will write to them now, setting out next steps in relation to individual projects. There are 44 centrally delivered, mainstream projects where we will engage with local authorities and trusts to review whether the school should open. More detail on schools in scope of the review will be provided in due course.

Our priority is to ensure children thrive in education, whatever type of school they are in—including free schools. Capacity varies from place to place, so we will continue to open new schools where they are needed. We also value the role of academy trusts within the school system. Strong trusts use their collaboration and leadership to deliver exceptional results for children and young people, including those in disadvantaged areas. Academy trusts will continue to have a crucial role in our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.

We are setting this out now, so that we can work transparently and openly with trusts and local authorities as we undertake this important work.

The review announced today will only examine mainstream free school projects that were approved by central Government. It does not include those being delivered through competitions run by local authorities, which will continue as planned.

The Government are clear they want to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. That is why the manifesto set out a clear ambition to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, while ensuring that special schools cater for children with the most complex needs.

Work to deliver special and alternative provision free schools is continuing. As with all Government investment, special and alternative provision free school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the Government’s vision for the special educational needs system.

Access to high-quality school places that enable all children to achieve and thrive, including those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND, is fundamental in delivering our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.

[HCWS150]

EU Foreign Affairs Council

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

I attended the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 14 October. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also attended via video teleconferencing.

This was the first time a UK Foreign Secretary has attended this meeting in over two years—and the first attendance at a regular FAC since Brexit. My visit, following that of the Prime Minister to Brussels on 2 October, marks a significant moment in our reset with Europe and has established a course towards a new UK-EU security partnership to address common threats and challenges.

Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, I met with the EU High Representative to take stock of the shared challenges facing Europe, including Russia’s war against Ukraine and the situation in the middle east. The High Representative and I agreed to establish a regular, six monthly strategic dialogue, with the first meeting in early 2025 to reaffirm the importance of the relationship between the UK and the EU and strengthen our co-operation in this difficult geopolitical context. In addition, we agreed to launch four new regular working groups on Russia/Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, the western Balkans and hybrid threats.

At the Foreign Affairs Council itself, I described the common challenges facing our continent. I reiterated the UK’s ironclad commitment to Ukraine, and pushed for bold action, including accelerated financial and military support, ratcheting economic pressure on Russia, and tackling third-country support to Russia’s military industrial complex. I emphasised that investment in Ukraine’s security today was critical to ensuring Europe’s security for generations to come.

On the middle east, I called for an immediate ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border and stressed the UK’s unwavering support for UNIFIL’s role in South Lebanon, as mandated in UN resolution 1701. On Gaza, I called for the immediate release of hostages, unhindered access for humanitarian aid and renewed focus on a two-state solution. I condemned recent attacks on Israel and Iran’s ballistic missile supply to Russia, committing to sanctioning Iran’s regime in response. In the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, I held a series of bilateral engagements with European counterparts from Germany, France, Romania, Spain, and Luxembourg.

This meeting marked a significant step forward in our reset of the UK’s relationship with our European neighbours and friends, in which we will deepen ties, grow our economies, and enhance our shared security against shared challenges. Together with my ministerial colleagues, this Government will continue to progress this work.

[HCWS154]

Point of Care Medicines Manufacture Regulations

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

I am pleased to announce that the draft Human Medicines (Amendment) (Modular Manufacture and Point of Care) Regulations 2024 were laid before Parliament yesterday. When approved by Parliament, this instrument will create a new regulatory framework for innovative manufacturing methods for medicines that must be made near the patient, innovative medicines manufactured at the point of care, and modular manufacturing, where products are manufactured in modular, relocatable units.

The UK will be the first country worldwide to introduce such a regulatory framework. These regulatory changes will support the development of medicines at the forefront of technology, enable patient access to pioneering medicines and help move treatment closer to the patient.

Point of care manufactured products are often highly personalised, such as cell or gene therapies, 3D-printed medicines or treatments derived from a patient’s own blood. These products can have extremely short shelf lives, sometimes as brief as an hour or even a few minutes. This requires manufacturing and supply either at the point of care or close to where the patient is being treated. This could include in hospital wards, operating theatres, community health centres or even the patient’s home.

The current regulations are not geared for manufacturing at multiple different sites across the country in this way, and current regulatory barriers would make such manufacture complicated and burdensome. Current regulations also limit other innovative manufacturing models, such as modular, where products need to be manufactured in relocatable units, for example where cancer biopsies and blood-derived components are taken from a patient and sent to a local manufacturing site to manufacture a personalised cancer vaccine specific to that patient’s disease.

Many of these technologies are currently in early development. Providing regulatory clarity now will enable new products and manufacturing approaches to be developed. A tailored framework will ensure that these novel medicines meet the same rigorous standards of safety, quality and efficacy as more traditional treatments, while removing barriers to using innovative manufacturing methods.

The new framework will bring a range of benefits to:

Patients and carers—who will benefit from access to new and more personal treatments in a timely and more convenient manner with the potential for less travel and time in hospitals,

Healthcare professionals—by providing a greater range and more effective treatment options and improving patients’ response to treatment, and

Innovators—by providing clear regulatory expectations and enabling speedier product development.

This instrument follows a public consultation that gained feedback from a range of individuals and organisations across the UK and internationally. The overwhelming majority of responses were positive, with 91% of respondents agreeing that a new framework was required and 94% agreeing with the framework proposed.

The regulations, along with the associated explanatory memorandum and impact assessment, have been published on gov.uk.

[HCWS152]

Local Government Interventions: Birmingham and Slough

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)]

All hon. Members will recognise the importance of having well-functioning local councils which provide essential statutory services local residents rely upon. Local councils must be fit, legal and decent. Today, I would like to update the House on the statutory intervention in Birmingham, which was a year old as of 5 October, and my plans to reset the relationship between central and local government with a focus on reform and recovery. I will also update the House on the statutory intervention in Slough, which has been in place since December 2021.

Birmingham city council remains in a challenging place. Significant challenges continue to face the council, as outlined in the commissioners’ first progress report which I am publishing today. Steps towards financial stability have been taken, including setting the 2024-25 budget, and I am grateful for the significant oversight and direction from commissioners, who have been fundamental to this progress. The council is committed to leading its own recovery. I want to recognise the progress made by the council to date under the leadership of Councillor Cotton and his commitment to resolving the challenges facing the city. While there remains much more that needs to be done, I am keen that the intervention moves as quickly as possible to a model based around a more equal partnership with the council, working in the interests of the people of Birmingham.

Birmingham city council is committed to achieving financial stability, including finding a resolution to its significant equal pay liabilities once and for all, delivering the necessary savings to bridge the projected budget gap for 2024-25 and 2025-26 to move to a more stable financial footing and transforming local services, many of which still require significant improvement. I know that difficult decisions will need to be taken in the coming weeks and months. I am confident that Joanne Roney CBE, who has recently taken up her post as managing director at the council, will work with both officers and members to improve the culture and governance of the organisation and shift the focus to growth opportunities in the city.

I am exploring options to reset and reform the system to provide a more supportive approach to stewardship for local councils, establishing partnerships across local government built on mutual respect, genuine collaboration and meaningful engagement. In any system with adequate checks and balances there will always be a need for Government to work directly with a small number of councils in difficulty, but I am clear that this should be done in a different way that is not punitive and is based on genuine partnership to secure improvements.

Building a wider partnership to deliver for the city of Birmingham is essential. I encourage Birmingham city council to consider establishing and deepening partnerships with private and public partners in the region, including Mayor Parker of the West Midlands combined authority, so they can be more involved in shaping decisions around asset realisation and the growth strategy, linking in with local growth plans as necessary. Such partnerships will help unlock Birmingham’s huge potential for growth and drive forward skills, jobs and opportunities in the wider region.

I have asked that commissioners provide a further assessment of the council’s progress in January, including their assessment of how the council’s growth strategy can support the council’s recovery and contribute to this Government’s wider ambition for national renewal. I would like to place on record my gratitude to Lord Hutton, who is stepping down from his role as a political adviser to the intervention, for his knowledge and expertise which has been of immense value to both the council and the wider commissioner team.

I also want to acknowledge the diligent and hard-working members of staff at the council who do their utmost to provide essential frontline services for residents. I, in turn, will do my utmost to ensure that all interested parties/partners work collaboratively to guarantee Birmingham’s recovery remains on track so that residents have a well-functioning local authority with a set of statutory services they deserve.

I will keep the House and the public updated on any changes to the intervention, including publishing the second commissioners’ report in the new year.

Slough borough council has been in intervention since December 2021 and this House has received a series of updates on the recovery of the council. The last update was in February, when the view of commissioners was that the council would continue to need support beyond the scheduled end of the intervention on 30 November this year. Significant challenges continue to face the council, as outlined in the commissioner’s report from April and update letter from September, both of which I am publishing today.

While some improvements have been made since the start of the intervention, there are still a substantial number of areas which require further improvement. There remains volatility in the council’s financial position, and there is not yet a target operating model that aligns with the medium-term financial outlook. A robust and resourced transformation plan that aligns to the target operating model is needed to drive change, which must be underpinned by strong leadership and a comprehensive workforce strategy to foster and embed cultural change. Further improvements still need to be secured relating to risk management, governance, including the scrutiny function and audit committee, evidence-based decision making and resident engagement. Separately, the continued progress in children’s social care and SEND services under Department for Education intervention has been noted.

Having considered carefully the findings and evidence presented in the report and update letter, I have concluded that the council is not yet meeting its best value duty and that issuing new directions will provide Slough borough council with ongoing Government support via commissioners. They would continue to assist the council to design, implement and embed the necessary changes and improvements. Accordingly, I am now seeking representations by 4 November on the report and update letter and a proposal to issue new directions under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999. These would set a new end date for the intervention of 30 November 2026, require the council to take actions that are consistent with both the existing directions and the priorities the commissioners have set for the council, and provide for commissioners to continue to be able to exercise council functions relating to governance, finance and appointments. I understand that the council would welcome the extension of the intervention, given the challenges ahead that they also recognise, and I am keen to explore further opportunities to work in partnership to support their reset, reform and recovery.

If, following my consideration of any representations, I decide to implement my proposal, I intend to reappoint the existing commissioner team of Gavin Jones, Denise Murray and Ged Curran, who I know are working with the council with mutual respect, genuine collaboration and meaningful engagement. To further support the council to lead its own recovery, I also intend to appoint the interim chief executive, Will Tuckley, as managing director commissioner.

I again want to acknowledge the diligent and hard-working members of staff at the council who do their utmost to provide essential frontline services for residents, and reinforce my commitment to support Slough’s recovery remaining on track so that residents have a well-functioning local authority with a set of statutory services they deserve.

I will keep the House and the public updated on my proposed change to the intervention.

I will deposit in the House Library copies of the documents I have referred to, which are also being published on www.gov.uk today.

[HCWS155]

Sentencing Review and Prison Capacity Package

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood)]

As I informed the House earlier today, this Government inherited a prison system at the point of crisis. Prior to September, the adult male prison estate was running at over 99% capacity for 18 months, and the system was at risk of imminent collapse, with grave consequences for public safety and the whole criminal justice system.

In July we made the difficult but necessary decision to introduce a temporary change in the law to reduce the eligible standard determinate sentence release point from 50% to 40% (SDS40), with the second tranche of releases being implemented today. There are important offence exclusions for serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more, sex offences, and certain domestic abuse-connected offences, and a commitment to review the change in 18 months. This decision was not taken lightly, but we are clear that this was the safest way forward given the scale of the emergency facing our prisons.

SDS40 bought us valuable time, which has ensured that we could keep sending criminals to prison, protect the public and make prisons safer for hard-working staff. We have already ended the previous Government’s “end of custody supervised licence” scheme, which released over 10,000 offenders early, often with very little warning to probation officers, placing them under enormous strain. We have also deactivated Operation Safeguard, which saw cells in police custody suites made available to hold prisoners temporarily when reception prisons did not have space to accept new prisoners. The headroom created by SDS40 enabled us to increase magistrates courts’ sentencing powers—from six to 12 months’ maximum custodial for a single triable either-way offence—in order to bear down on our large remand population. This measure will also help reduce the Crown court backlog. However, SDS40 was not a permanent solution, and we must now turn our attention to implementing a sustainable solution to the population crisis.

New prison places will continue to form a key part of our solution. We are committed to continuing the prison build programme that the last Government promised but did not deliver, building 14,000 places through the construction of a further four new prisons, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate. We will also publish a 10-year capacity strategy later this year, which will set out our long-term plan for the prison estate, including streamlining the planning process.

However, we cannot build our way out of this crisis. The prison population is rising by around 4,500 each year. The current level of demand would see us need to build three mega-jails a year. The last Conservative Government managed to build three prisons in the last 10 years. However fast we build, increasing demand will outstrip supply. While there will always be a place for prison to punish offenders and keep the public safe, we must therefore review our sentencing framework, ensuring we never run out of prison places again.

We have therefore today commissioned an independent review of sentencing, which will deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment to bring sentencing up to date. It has a clear objective to re-evaluate the sentencing framework to ensure that this Government are never again in a position where we are forced into the emergency release of prisoners. To ensure an effective and coherent justice system, the sentencing review will be guided by three principles:

First, sentences must punish offenders and protect the public, and there must always be space in prison for dangerous offenders;

Secondly, sentences must encourage offenders to turn their backs on a life of crime; and

Thirdly, we must expand the use of punishment outside of prison. In doing so, the review will look at how technology can support the administration of sentences outside of prison.

This will be chaired by the former Lord Chancellor, the right hon. David Gauke, supported by a panel that will include judicial expertise and expertise from across the justice system.

After the violent disorder, we came dangerously close to a disaster. Without action, we would have faced the prospect of a total breakdown of law and order. As a result, pressure on the system has increased, and so we must implement further urgent measures that will ensure the prison system avoids collapse before the sentencing review concludes and we can implement its recommendations. We will take a transparent approach that is proportionate to the levels of pressures seen, and this will not mean any further emergency releases.

We will:

Extend the maximum curfew period that offenders can spend on home detention curfew (HDC) from six to 12 months, meaning that those released on HDC will spend less time in prison and longer in the community subject to electronically monitored curfew.

Change the policy of risk-assessed recall review (RARR) to enable its use in a greater number of low-risk cases than at present to target the unsustainable growth in the recall population.

Work with the Home Office to identify further ways to speed up the removal of foreign national offenders from prison.

The measures on HDC and recall reform will make greater requirements of the probation service. In addition to our commitment to fund at least 1,000 additional trainee probation officers by the end of March 2025, HM Prison and Probation Service will also be considering what operational changes may be required in order to maintain a focus on higher-risk individuals supervised in the community and ensure that the public continue to be protected.

We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support shown by all those working in the criminal justice system, who have worked tirelessly to keep the system from collapsing. This Government will always put the country and its safety first and will take steps so the prison system is never allowed to reach this point again.

[HCWS156]

UK Airspace Design Service: Consultation

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Kane)]

Today, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are launching a consultation proposing the creation of a new UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) that would act as a single guiding mind for modernising the design of UK airspace.

The consultation demonstrates the Government’s commitment to delivering holistic and modernised UK airspace as part of the CAA’s airspace modernisation strategy (AMS). The AMS vision is to provide quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys, and more capacity for the benefit of those who use and are affected by UK airspace.

Modernisation will help meet the needs of passengers, businesses and the wider economy, while bringing environmental improvements that contribute towards the aviation sector achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

UK airspace is an invisible but vital piece of our national infrastructure. Using an ageing network of ground navigation beacons, its design has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s, when there were fewer than 1 million flights per year in UK airspace. This compares with 2.5 million flights in 2019 and projections of 3 million annually by 2030¹. In many cases, today’s aircraft still use the same outdated routes, flying further than necessary at sub-optimal altitudes and speeds because the routes rely on the location of the ground navigation beacons, instead of following shorter, more efficient flight paths.

Doing nothing is not an option. If UK airspace is not modernised, NATS (En Route) plc (NERL), the UK’s licensed provider of en route air traffic control services, estimates that by 2040, delays at a national level may increase by more than 200%, which would result in one in five flights experiencing disruption of more than 45 minutes².

Modernised airspace will make it easier for aircraft to fly more direct routes, with better climb and descent profiles to and from energy-efficient cruising altitudes to help reduce CO₂ emissions. It will also ensure that future technologies such as remotely piloted aircraft systems can operate beyond visual line of sight in the UK in a safe and efficient manner.

The current model for airspace change requires airports and air traffic control providers to develop their own airspace designs individually. Co-ordinating these changes creates significant challenges, particularly for the airports in and around the complex London area, where airspace designs overlap.

The consultation proposes creating a new single guiding mind on future airspace design, to deliver much-needed modernisation at scale and at pace. This will help to instil confidence among stakeholders in the delivery of airspace changes that will facilitate overall reductions in carbon emissions, noise and delays.

The consultation seeks views on the overall concept of a UKADS, including its responsibilities, governance and funding. Views from stakeholders will be critical to the next phase of work and we welcome responses from all interested parties.

¹ NATS (En Route) plc forecast traffic growth estimates (2026 to 2040)

² Airspace Change Masterplan Iteration 2, CAP2312b, ACOG (2022).

[HCWS149]

Pensions Dashboard

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, His Majesty's Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

The Government want to shape the pensions system to serve the interests of savers and future pensioners, ensuring decent, secure retirement incomes for all. As part of achieving that goal, we want to make it easier for people to understand their pensions information so they can better prepare for financial security in later life.

As people often move around the labour market throughout their working lives, this can make it difficult for individuals to keep track of their pensions savings. To help solve this problem, the Government are committed to the delivery of pensions dashboards.

Pensions dashboards will provide a secure way for individuals to view a summary of their pensions picture online, including information about the state pension. This will help people find their lost pension pots and promote greater engagement—empowering individuals to plan their future more confidently.

The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP), which is part of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), recently concluded a formal reset process which generated a revised delivery plan. In line with that plan, the programme has begun testing the connection journey with a small number of external organisations which will help facilitate wider industry connections. Alongside this, the PDP has published an updated draft code of connection, technical standards, and data standards to support the pensions industry to prepare for connection. As a result of the PDP’s progress, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority has increased its confidence in the programme’s ability to deliver against their revised plan.

While it is too early to confirm a launch date for public use, we are taking steps to help the public realise the benefits of using a pensions dashboard at the earliest opportunity. I have directed the PDP to focus its efforts on the connection and launch of the MoneyHelper dashboard service (provided by MaPS), before turning to the work of connecting commercial dashboard services.

The Government support the principle of enabling multiple commercial pensions dashboard services, which will provide savers with greater choice to access their pensions information from organisations they are familiar with, promoting greater engagement with pensions. However, in the interests of ensuring consumers have the best experience on dashboards, it is prudent to allow a period while only the MoneyHelper dashboard is operational. Prioritising the launch of the Government-backed dashboard in this way will provide an opportunity to obtain better insights into customer behaviour and ensure greater confidence in operational delivery, security, and consumer protection before facilitating the connection of commercial dashboards.

We are committed to the existing published timetable for the connection of pension schemes and providers to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, which is expected to begin in April 2025, as well as the overall connection deadline of 31 October 2026. It is therefore essential that the pensions industry continues to prepare for connection, having regard to the timetable set out in DWP’s guidance.

Facilitating the launch of pensions dashboards is a challenging and complex undertaking, but the Government are firmly committed to their successful delivery and to unlocking the potential benefits they will offer to future pensioners.

[HCWS148]