Written Statements

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

Tuesday 12 November 2024

Notification of Contingent Liability

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)]

The independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England decided at its meeting ending on 3 February 2022 to reduce the stocks of UK Government bonds and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bonds held in the asset purchase facility by ceasing to reinvest maturing securities. The Bank ceased reinvestment of assets in this portfolio in February 2022 and commenced sales of corporate bonds on 28 September 2022, and sales of gilts acquired for monetary policy purposes on 1 November 2022. The sales of corporate bonds ceased on 6 June 2023, with a small number of outstanding corporate bonds reaching maturity on 5 April 2024. Therefore, the APF is now comprised solely of gilts.

The Chancellor at the time agreed a joint approach with the Governor of the Bank of England in an exchange of letters on 3 February 2022 to reduce the maximum authorised size of the APF for asset purchases every six months, as the size of APF holdings reduces.

Since 30 April 2024 when the maximum authorised size of the APF was last reduced, the total stock of assets held by the APF for monetary policy purposes has fallen further from £704.2 billion to £654.5 billion. In line with the approach agreed with the Governor, the authorised maximum total size of the APF has therefore been reduced to £654.5 billion, comprising entirely of gilts.

The risk control framework previously agreed with the Bank will remain in place, and HM Treasury will continue to monitor risks to public funds from the APF through regular risk oversight meetings and enhanced information sharing with the Bank.

There will continue to be an opportunity for HM Treasury to provide views to the MPC on the design of the schemes within the APF, as they affect the Government’s broader economic objectives and may pose risks to the Exchequer.

The Government will continue to indemnify the Bank, the APF and its directors from any losses arising out of, or in connection with, the facility. Provision for any payment due under the liability will continue to be sought through the normal supply procedure.

A full departmental minute has been laid in Parliament providing more detail on this contingent liability.

[HCWS208]

Launch of Youth Strategy

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

The Government are today announcing the development and co-production of the national youth strategy. Young people’s needs have never been more complex. Through this strategy, we will improve our understanding of young people’s priorities as well as run an ambitious and wide consultation.

In the coming months this consultation will feed into a report—“Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Nation”—detailing young people’s priorities to inform our new approach. The national youth strategy will be published next year.

Through this strategy we will better co-ordinate youth services, as well as move away from one-size-fits-all approaches from Government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector.

Given our ambition, we will be winding down the National Citizen Service programme from the end of the financial year and the National Citizen Service Trust when parliamentary time allows. All necessary processes will be followed including engagement with Parliament and His Majesty the King.

The Government are grateful for the valuable contribution of every member of NCS staff and board members, past and present, as well as for the contributions of young people who have engaged with the NCS programme and with the trust all those years. We will work closely with the NCS Trust to ensure there is an orderly transition from the end of the NCS programme to what comes next.

The Government have announced that, in 2025-26, we will increase the total funding for other Department for Culture, Media and Sport youth programmes to ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, no matter where they are from. This includes funding for the local youth transformation pilot to support local authorities to build back lost capability and improve youth offers. We will also allocate over £85 million of capital funding in 2025-26, including launching the £26 million better youth spaces fund and completing the youth investment fund projects.

In addition to this Government funding, £100 million of dormant assets funding will be dedicated to youth outcomes over 2024 to 2028.

This will drive the transition to a future in which young people have choices and chances and local communities are empowered to support a generation to succeed.

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Contingent Liability: Local Government Pension Scheme Guarantee

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

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

I am today laying before both Houses a departmental minute on the use of a contingent liability by the Department for Education to provide a local government pension scheme guarantee to further education providers operating in the statutory sector.

The Department for Education further education local government pension scheme guarantee is a Government commitment to fund pension deficits in the event of a closure and where the provider’s reserves are insufficient to fund their own LGPS deficit upon closure.

We expect LGPS administering authorities to recognise the Crown guarantee provided by the further education guarantee in their funding strategies, setting employer contribution rates and deficit recovery periods.

A full departmental minute has been laid in both Houses providing more detail on this contingent liability.

[HCWS202]

Paris Emissions Reduction Target: UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

On Tuesday 12 November at the 29th UNFCCC conference of the parties (COP29) in Baku, the Prime Minister will announce the UK’s 2035 nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris agreement. This will commit the UK to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035, compared with 1990 levels, excluding emissions from international aviation and shipping.

The 2035 NDC is based on advice from the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC). It is a clear progression on the UK’s previous NDC pledging to reduce emissions by at least 68% by 2030. It was informed by the outcomes of the global stocktake from COP28 and is aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. It is aligned with the level of ambition in carbon budget 6 (2033-37) on the pathway to net zero by 2050.

The headline target will be followed by submission of the detail underpinning the NDC—known as information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding (ICTU)—to the United Nations framework convention on climate change ahead of the February 2025 deadline. A copy of the ICTU will be laid in the Houses of Parliament.

The UK’s early and ambitious NDC will help restore our global climate leadership and encourage greater ambition from other countries. It is one important part of the UK’s overall contribution to global emissions reductions, alongside our international climate finance and other support.

Globally, the world is way off track from meeting the Paris agreement temperature goal. Climate action must be accelerated drastically to reduce emissions and keep the annual average global temperature rise below 1.5°C. The ambition and delivery of the next round of NDCs, due to be submitted to the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) by February 2025 and implemented in the 2030s, will be critical in enabling this.

The UK’s domestic action is the first crucial step to restoring UK international leadership on climate change. The clean energy transition is also the economic opportunity of the 21st century and will support the creation of hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the UK and protect our economy from future price shocks while delivering a range of social and health benefits.

That is why making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of the five missions of this Government—delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating to net zero across the economy.

[HCWS206]

Bathing Water Regulations 2013

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

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

Our water system urgently needs fixing. There have been repeated failures for the public and record levels of sewage polluting our rivers, lakes and seas. This must be stopped. Fundamental reform of the water sector is under way but will not happen overnight. This Government are committed to reforming the system so that it works for the public, and are taking further steps to restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.

Bathing waters, as set out in the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, are designated coastal or inland waters that are used by large numbers of people for bathing. Bathing waters are one of the most visible ways in which the public interacts with the water environment. They are local assets that bring social and health benefits to communities, and it is critical that the regulations around bathing waters meet the fundamental needs of the public, and those managing bathing water sites.

We recognise that the way the public interacts with bathing waters has changed, driven by the increasing popularity of wild swimming and other water-based activities.

That is why today, DEFRA, jointly with the Welsh Government, is launching a consultation on a package of reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. These proposed changes to bathing water rules will prioritise public safety and water quality so that more people can enjoy our rivers, lakes and seas throughout the seasons. The proposed reforms will modernise the system to meet the needs of the public, including removing strict automatic de-designation, taking water quality and public safety into account when applications for new bathing waters are assessed, and removing the fixed dates of the bathing season from the regulations to allow for a more flexible approach to monitoring, extending the dates of the bathing season where necessary to better reflect when people use bathing waters. The purpose of the regulations is to ensure the protection of public health through the use of monitoring and classifications. It is the Government’s intention to pursue an increase in the designation of safe bathing water sites.

DEFRA is also seeking both public and stakeholder views on expanding the definition of bathers to include participants in water sports other than swimming, to encompass all who use bathing sites, as well as views on the introduction of multiple testing points at each bathing water. This is to gather initial views for potential longer-term considerations.

Proposed technical amendments will also bring legislation in line with modern best practice, allowing the Environment Agency to improve ways of working and improve delivery for the public.

The consultation will run this winter with a Government response to be published in the new year.

Alongside these reforms, the Government are working on other major changes to the water system. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures, strengthening the powers of the regulators to ensure that water companies—and their executives—are firmly held to account for wrongdoing. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities.

An independent commission into the water sector and its regulation was also launched on 23 October—the largest review of the industry since privatisation. This commission forms the next stage in the Government’s long-term approach to ensuring we have a sufficiently robust and stable regulatory framework to attract the investment needed to clean up our waterways, speed up infrastructure delivery and restore public confidence in the sector. The commission will provide overarching recommendations on transforming how our water system works and cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. The bathing water reforms will tackle a discrete and technical part of the current framework.

It is through these reforms that we can begin to regain public trust, fix the system, and restore our rivers, lakes and seas for current and future generations to enjoy.

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Contingent Liability: TPIMS Accommodation Provision

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)]

I have today laid before the House of Commons a departmental minute concerning a new uncapped contingent liability for the Home Office. The liability relates to Home Office approved accommodation for use by individuals subject to terrorism prevention investigation measures orders. This contingent liability will enable the Home Office to secure appropriate accommodation for such cases. Failure to secure accommodation for TPIMs subjects may result in unacceptable risks to national security. These are risks I am not willing to take.

The need for the liability arises due to the limited information that the Government can share with housing suppliers when securing properties for individuals subject to TPIMs and the potential implications for the validity of insurance covering the relevant properties.

Treasury guidance on managing public money requires that Parliament be notified of any novel contingent liabilities. In normal circumstances, notification would be made when Parliament is in Session, however due to the urgency in this case, the liability was made during the period when Parliament was in recess. I am satisfied that this course of action was necessary in the circumstances.

HM Treasury has approved this liability. In the unlikely event the liability was to be called, provision for payment would be sought through the contract with the supplier.

A full departmental minute has been laid before the House of Commons providing more detail on this contingent liability.

[HCWS203]

Housing Design and Quality

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

The Government are committed to building 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, but we have also been clear that increasing house building rates cannot mean units at any cost. We want exemplary development to be the norm not the exception so that more communities feel the benefits of new development and welcome it. As we act to boost housing supply, we are therefore determined to take steps to improve the design and quality of the homes and neighbourhoods being built.

These guiding principles are woven into the fabric of the reforms we have initiated over recent months. The new towns taskforce, for example, has been asked to ensure that quality and design are integral to its agenda, and it has been explicitly tasked with setting out clear principles and standards for new large-scale communities to ensure they are well-connected, sustainable, well-designed, and attractive. Our proposed reforms to the national planning policy framework also highlighted the Government’s ongoing commitment to well-designed homes and places, and retaining the objective of creating high-quality, beautiful, and sustainable buildings and places.

My Department intends to update the national design guide and national model design code in spring next year, and we will continue to bolster design skills and capacity through the £46 million package of capacity and capability support provided to local planning authorities. This will be used to fund the recruitment and training of 300 graduate and apprentice planners, along with the £1 million funding to public practice for the recruitment of planners, architects and urban designers.

Together, this framework provides a clear basis for the delivery of more high-quality, well-designed homes. To help support this delivery, in particular as we progress our consideration of large-scale sites and large-scale new communities, I intend to establish quarterly steering boards on design and placemaking, ensuring that our work is guided by those with relevant professional and practical expertise.

It was announced in July 2023 that the Office for Place, previously a small team in the then Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, would become an arm’s length body to be based in Stoke-on-Trent. Work to establish the Office has continued since then. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the interim board, led by Nicholas Boys Smith as chair, and the Office for Place team for their exemplary work on this important issue. In putting design and quality at the heart of the housing supply agenda and establishing the principles of design coding and embedding them in practice across the planning and development sectors, Nicholas and the team have made a significant contribution.

Alongside spending decisions taken at the Budget and the re-setting of departmental budgets, the Deputy Prime Minister and I have, however, concluded that support to improve the quality and design of new homes and places can be more efficiently and effectively delivered by the Department itself. The Office for Place will therefore be closed down and the expertise of its staff redeployed within the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, across the country. I would like to reassure the House that this will not impact on wider Government commitments to Stoke-on-Trent, including the award of £19.8 million for their levelling up partnerships programme.

In taking the decision to wind up the Office for Place, the Government are not downgrading the importance of good design and placemaking, or the role of design coding in improving the quality of development. Rather, by drawing expertise and responsibility back into MHCLG, I want the pursuit of good design and placemaking to be a fully integrated consideration as the Government reform the planning system, roll out digital local plans and provide support to local authorities and strategic planning authorities. I also believe that embedding this work within MHCLG will allow experience to be better reflected in decision-making, as well as integrated within an existing delivery team in Homes England already focused on design and placemaking.

It will also ensure continuity of current Office for Place key activities, including support for pathfinder authorities who received a share of £1 million to produce exemplar design codes, alongside work on digital design codes and funding to support local and regional urban design best practice and skills.

The Government regard improving the design and quality of the homes and neighbourhoods we will build over the coming years as conducive to, rather than in tension with, our ambition to significantly increase housing supply, and we have put in place the necessary policy and delivery framework to ensure we deliver on both objectives.

[HCWS209]

Local Government Best Value: London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

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

I have previously updated this House that this Government are committed to resetting the relationship between local and regional government, and to establish partnerships built on mutual respect, genuine collaboration and meaningful engagement. Never is this more important than when individual councils face governance challenges. We are keen to work with local authorities to support focus on recovery and reform. It is imperative that all councils are fit, legal and decent. There must be a clear and deliverable plan in place to address problems where these have been identified to protect the interests of local taxpayers. In that context, I would like to update the House on the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

It is a matter of public record that the London Borough of Tower Hamlets was subject to statutory intervention under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999 between December 2014 and September 2018. This followed an inspection by PwC which identified best value failure, particularly in relation to grant making, property disposal and publicity spending. Commissioners were withdrawn and functions returned to the council in March 2017 on the condition that it continued to achieve against its best value plans and report regularly to the Secretary of State on its ongoing compliance with the best value duty. In response to a corporate peer review by the Local Government Association in June 2018, which concluded the council was now “on a positive trajectory”, Ministers took the decision to end the intervention in September 2018.

Following evidence that suggested recent changes to the council’s governance arrangements may have the potential to undermine past improvements that had allowed the intervention to end, on 22 February 2024 the then Secretary of State (the right hon. Michael Gove), commissioned an inspection of the council’s compliance with its best value duty. He appointed Kim Bromley-Derry CBE DL as lead inspector, along with Suki Binjal, Sir John Jenkins and Philip Simpkins as assistant inspectors, and asked them to report their findings to him by 31 May 2024. On 24 May, following the announcement of the general election, this deadline was extended to 31 July. The inspectors completed their inspection and submitted their report to the Secretary of State and, as statute requires, provided a copy to the council.

The report identifies several positive features at the council, such as the finance service and the enthusiasm shown by officers and members for serving the borough. It also notes that the council has already taken steps to make improvements, including in response to the Local Government Association’s corporate peer challenge report of September 2023. However, the report documents serious concerns across a number of areas which I considered against its best value duty under part 1 of the 1999 Act:

On Leadership: The report concludes that a lack of respect and co-operation between political parties prevents councillors from engaging in a culture of genuine improvement. A lack of trust has contributed to officer churn at the top few levels of the organisation. Inspectors also found insufficient challenge of the executive and a perception among many staff that “many good managers had left the organisation as a result of ‘speaking truth to power’”.

On Governance: The report paints a picture of an organisation with a clear drive and mandate to deliver the mayor’s priorities, but for whom due process is often treated as an obstacle to priorities rather than as a necessary check and balance. The inspectors consider the council’s scrutiny culture to be “weak and confused”, and the level of challenge “inadequate”.

On Culture: The report concludes that the entire organisation is impacted by a lack of trust, with the administration “suspicious and defensive in its behaviour”. The culture appears to be one where decisions are taken based on advice from a small number of people who are trusted by the mayor and has been described by many staff and partners as “toxic”. A culture of patronage, even if not at play in every appointment, is perceived as pervasive enough to undermine trust between members, staff and leadership, as well as with external stakeholders.

On Partnerships and Community Engagement: While the report notes the strong community focus of the mayor, councillors and wider council, it concludes how the “significant time and energy” spent in local communities “seems to distract from their critical and statutory strategic relationships”. Inspectors found a lack of co-production and joint planning undertaken by the council and saw insufficient evidence that the council undertook meaningful and comprehensive consultation with key partners, staff, and service users before decisions were taken in some key areas.

On Continuous Improvement: While the council has made targeted and concerted improvements over the last two years, this has lacked a strategic focus or a cultural prioritisation of continuous improvement. The culture set and exemplified by the leadership is to reactively respond and counter criticism rather than honestly appraise and self-improve. On some issues, the inspectors are sceptical of the council’s capability to self-improve.

I have carefully considered the report and other relevant material and am satisfied that the council is failing to comply with the requirements of part 1 of the 1999 Act, namely that it is failing to comply with its best value duty in relation to continuous improvement, governance, leadership, culture and partnerships. I am therefore minded to exercise powers of direction under section 15(5) of the 1999 Act in relation to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to secure its compliance with the best value duty. I believe, given the evidence of serious concerns in the report, a broad and supportive intervention package, with robust external assurance, is necessary and expedient for the council to secure compliance with this duty. To that end, and in line with procedures laid down in the 1999 Act, I have today, 12 November 2024, written to the council asking them to make representations —if they wish—both on the inspection report and on the statutory support package that I am now proposing.

This proposed statutory support package, to be in place for an initial period of three years, is designed to strengthen and expand the improvement work that the council has already begun. It acknowledges the political mandate the mayor holds, while recognising the need to tackle deeply rooted and persistent issues. It recognises the constructive engagement I have had with the council and acknowledges that they stand ready to work in partnership with Government to deliver the change needed for local people. It also recognises that the council has some corporate capacity to address the challenges identified in the report and has already put in place some of the building blocks for continuous improvement and will help to ensure that the council remains in a stable financial position.

This approach balances the evidenced need for Government support, with the desire to work constructively so that we see sustained improvement. A core element of the proposed support package will be the reconfiguration and strengthening of the council’s transformation advisory board to provide external expertise, challenge and advice to the council. I am proposing directing the council to work with ministerial envoys to reconfigure its existing board into a transformation and assurance board, and to draw on existing and additional members to appoint independent and external leads for leadership, governance and culture and partnerships—all areas where the council is currently failing. I am also proposing directing the council to appoint at least two opposition councillors to the board and for the mayor to continue his role as chair. The council will be required to report to this board on the delivery of its continuous improvement plan every three months or at such intervals as the board may require. The council will also be required to have regard to and respond promptly in public to any recommendations from the board with respect to the council’s improvement work.

In order to assist the council to achieve the necessary improvements, I am minded to appoint a ministerial envoy and assistant envoy to act as adviser, mentor and monitor to the council, and to oversee its improvement work. The ministerial envoys will work comprehensively within the council to oversee the proposed changes to the board, including agreeing its scheme of work and meeting agendas, preparation of the council’s continuous improvement plan and an open recruitment exercise to appoint a permanent lead for the council’s improvement work. They will attend meetings, provide ad hoc advice and challenge, and be available to senior leadership for support. They will also work closely with the board leads for governance, leadership and culture and partnerships to ensure the realisation of comprehensive programmes of cultural change and political mentoring. I am proposing directing the council to co-operate with the ministerial envoys, and to allow them all reasonable access to their premises, documents, employees or members in support of their work.

I would like the ministerial envoys to report on the council’s progress against its improvement agenda after the first four months, and then regularly as we agree is appropriate. Their assessment will provide the assurance local residents, strategic partners and I need to ensure the council’s compliance with its best value duty.

I will carefully consider any representations the council and other interested parties make and decide how to proceed. If I decide to intervene in the manner described here, I will then make the necessary statutory directions under the 1999 Act and appoint the ministerial envoys. Any directions that I make will be without prejudice to making further directions, should this prove necessary.

This action is not undertaken lightly, and I am committed to working in partnership with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to provide whatever support is needed to ensure its compliance with the best value duty and the high standards of governance local residents and service users expect. I hope with focus and oversight that improvement will come at pace, but I will not hesitate to consider further action and escalation if necessary, in the interests of Tower Hamlets residents. I will deposit in the Library of the House copies of the report and letter I have referred to, which are also being published on gov.uk today. I will update the House in due course.

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Completing the Implementation of Universal Credit

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir Stephen Timms)]

This Government are committed to getting Britain working. Completing the implementation of universal credit will support this mission. Universal credit provides greater support and incentives to get people into work and increase the hours they work than the benefits it replaces.

Move to UC statistics published today show that, by the end of September, the Department had, since 2022, notified 943,343 households of the need to make the transition to UC. The latest published complaints data show that as of March 2024 with over 500,000 households asked to move to UC, DWP had only 35 complaints about the process, with 10 upheld. Plans have now been agreed to notify the remaining households receiving income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), building on the insight that DWP has gathered through the summer. This insight, and the learnings from scaling the move to universal credit for all legacy benefit customers, will be published by the end of 2024.

DWP is investing up to a further £15 million in Help to Claim to support employment and support allowance customers moving to universal credit. This means that free confidential and impartial support will continue to be available to help people make a new universal credit claim and manage their claim, up to receiving their first correct payment.

DWP will steadily increase the number of migration notices being sent to people receiving ESA over the next months and are aiming to issue 63,000 migration notices each month from February, sending the final notices in early December 2025 and fully moving people to universal credit and closing legacy benefits by the end of March 2026.

As DWP moves into this final phase for Move to UC, it will make the transition from delivering “Move to UC” in a programme-led approach to a “business as usual” operation. I am therefore announcing today the intention to formally close the Move to UC programme by the end of March 2025, as the work of the programme will be complete by then.

My Department will continue to work closely with stakeholders throughout this transition and under the new operating model. It will also publish all the remaining UC programme board papers in April 2025 when the programme closes. This has been a major undertaking for DWP. As the Department heads towards such a significant milestone, I would like to thank officials who have delivered this transformational reform, and I would also like to thank all MPs and external stakeholders who have shared their insight and expertise to make this process work for those we are supporting and realise this transformation fully.

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