Written Statements

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

Thursday 30 January 2025

Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals Process

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)]

In September 2024 the Secretary of State announced that the Government would be introducing an independent Horizon shortfall scheme appeals process. This will help ensure that all HSS claimants have the full opportunity to receive fair compensation and reflects a recommendation from the Horizon compensation advisory board.

During my December statement to the House, I promised that I would provide an update in the new year.

First, I can confirm that my Department is in the final stages of procuring a contract for its legal advisors on appeals cases, which will include an initial assessment of each postmaster’s case. We will also be appointing a separate firm as secretariat for the scheme’s independent panel and reviewer shortly, once the procurement process is complete.

My officials will shortly send to both appellants’ representatives and the advisory board a draft of detailed principles and guidance. These will ensure that the HSS appeals scheme is fit for purpose and provides a satisfactory outcome for affected postmasters, in line with the advisory board’s recommendation. They will also establish the eligibility criteria. We will continue to engage both groups on all aspects of the scheme.

I can also announce that this Government are committed to covering the reasonable costs of postmasters obtaining legal advice at each stage of the appeals process. As with appeals under the group litigation order and horizon convictions redress schemes, we will do this using a legal tariff. We strongly encourage potential appellants to take up this offer and only seek the advice of firms who have signed up to these tariffs. We are working with appellants’ legal representatives so that we can establish these tariffs as soon as possible.

Clarity about the principles of the scheme and our support for appellants’ legal costs will mean that legal representatives can begin to produce cases for appeal. We expect that the first cases will be ready for submission in the spring.

Eligible postmasters within Post Office’s HSS dispute resolution procedure will receive a letter in spring inviting them to transfer their case to HSS appeals. I will provide a further update to the House nearer to that time.

[HCWS399]

Humanitarian Medal: Eligibility

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)]

I have today placed in the Libraries of both Houses a copy of the Command Paper setting out updated eligibility for the Humanitarian Medal. The Humanitarian Medal will be awarded to those in public service, and members of organisations such as charities, who respond in support of human welfare during or in the aftermath of a crisis. The updated criteria ensure that individuals who assist with His Majesty’s Government’s response to humanitarian responses overseas are able to receive the medal, as was its original intention.

In addition, I am also announcing the first three eligible humanitarian incidents:

the earthquake in Morocco in September 2023;

the flooding in Libya in September 2023; and

the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Eligible individuals who assisted with His Majesty’s Government’s response to each of these humanitarian responses will receive the medal. My ministerial colleagues in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be responsible for determining which individuals will be eligible.

[HCWS402]

Higher Education Partnership Delivery: Strengthening Oversight

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State, Minister for Skills (Baroness Smith of Malvern) has made the following statement.

I am today announcing the publication of a consultation which sets out the Government proposals to strengthen oversight of partnership delivery in higher education. This consultation is one of the actions the Government are taking to protect public money. It was developed in response to the recommendations made by the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee last year about the regulatory oversight of student loan funding for study at franchised providers.

English higher education providers are amongst the most highly regarded in the world, supporting learners to succeed for themselves, their communities and our country, and driving the economic growth we need. They also play a key role in this Government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. Higher education can open the door to opportunity for many, but only where that education is good quality and subject to effective management and governance.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the regulator responsible for higher education in England. Higher education providers must register with the OfS for their courses to be designated for publicly funded student finance. Some registered providers subcontract or “franchise” delivery of courses to partners that are not subject to the same regulatory requirements. Whilst there are many good examples of franchised provision being used to expand access and participation and deliver high quality provision, franchised higher education is one area where we have seen too many examples of abuse of public money in recent years and some concerning indicators of poor quality.

Students make a significant investment in higher education and they deserve to have confidence that in return they will receive excellent teaching, strong support and value for money. Taxpayers too deserve to know that the public money invested in student loans to help students access higher education is properly protected from fraud and misuse.

The proposals we are consulting on aim to bring franchised providers under greater scrutiny to help safeguard against the risks of misuse of public money and low-quality provision. This consultation proposes a requirement that franchised providers with 300 or more students should be directly regulated by the Office for Students if they want their students to access student loan funding.

The Government are committed to supporting innovation and competition. We recognise that franchising can provide smaller, innovative providers with the opportunity to enter the higher education sector. Setting a size threshold will still allow new and smaller providers who may find registration disproportionately burdensome to access the higher education market.

Whilst the OfS has currently paused registration of new higher education providers to support the sector with financial sustainability concerns, we expect this pause to cease before the Department’s proposed changes would come into effect.

The Office for Students announced last September that it had opened formal investigations into some universities’ and colleges’ subcontractual arrangements and that their next cycle of quality assessments would largely focus on the academic experiences of students studying through subcontractual arrangements. The Office for Students is consulting on proposals to strengthen expectations on providers wishing to join its register. This includes strengthening requirements that protect student interests and ensure effective governance and management of higher education. It has also communicated plans to publish student outcomes for all subcontractual partnerships on an annual basis from this year.

As a whole, I believe that these proposals will bring about the changes that are necessary to ensure that student loan funding is protected from misuse and students studying at franchised providers can have confidence that their courses are subject to rigorous quality requirements.

[HCWS403]

UNFCCC: UK's 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution Target

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

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

Under the Paris agreement, all parties are required to communicate their nationally determined contributions to the United Nations framework convention on climate change every 5 years, nine to 12 months prior to the relevant COP. NDCs covering the period 2031 to 2035 are due by 10 February 2025, ahead of COP30 in Brazil.

The Prime Minister announced on 12 November 2024 at COP29, three months ahead of the deadline, the UK’s 2035 NDC target to reduce all 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. It is a clear progression on the UK’s previous NDC pledging to reduce emissions by at least 68% by 2030, which remains in place. It is informed by the outcomes of the global stocktake from COP28 and is aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. It is also aligned with the level of ambition in carbon budget 6 (2033 to 2037) on the pathway to net zero by 2050.

Today, the UK has submitted to the UNFCCC the information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding of the 2035 NDC, to aid interpretation of the headline emissions reduction target. The ICTU contains information about the scope, timing, sectors and greenhouse gases covered by the target, as well as some high-level information on policies and measures involved in delivering the NDC. It also includes information on how the NDC was created, how the NDC is considered fair and ambitious and informed by the aims of the Paris agreement, the convention, and the outcomes of the global stocktake.

Making Britain a clean-energy superpower is one of the five national missions of this Government. We will deliver an updated cross-economy plan to meet our climate targets in due course, with full detail of policy packages for all sectors. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver carbon budgets 4 to 6 and the 2030 and 2035 NDCs on the pathway to net zero by 2050.

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.

[HCWS404]

NHS England and NHS Operational Planning Guidance 2025-26

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

I am today laying in Parliament the Government mandate for NHS England, and NHS England is publishing the operational planning guidance for the NHS.

This Government won the election to deliver change. The mandate and operational planning guidance mark a significant step on a long journey to get the NHS back on its feet, and drive the reform that is needed to make it fit for the future.

The mandate and operational planning guidance address the urgent challenges facing the NHS, as highlighted by the Darzi investigation. They put the NHS on the road to recovery and reflect patient priorities: cutting waiting times, improving access to primary care and improving urgent and emergency care. They reflect the need for the NHS to live within its means, and ensure that investment in the NHS, against a challenging economic and fiscal backdrop, is matched with reform to the operating model and a sharp focus on improving efficiency and productivity.

Patients need high-quality elective care delivered in a timely fashion, and should have choice and control over their care. I am re-focusing the NHS on making progress towards the 18-week standard, and the steps to achieve this were set out in our elective reform plan. This mandate supports the modernisation of primary and community care that will help patients get timely access to a GP appointment. The mandate is the start of us delivering our manifesto commitment to provide 700,000 urgent dental appointments to address our dentistry crisis.

Right now, patients are not receiving urgent and emergency care when they need it. Today’s changes will put patients at the centre of delivery, focusing on safety, experience and outcomes, and we will tackle variation in services delivered across the country, bringing the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. These changes come ahead of publishing, in 2025, our strategy to fix urgent and emergency care.

Patients’ priorities will be delivered through a new operating model, which will devolve power closer to the frontline and allow the best performing providers and integrated care boards to earn more autonomy to provide services needed by their local communities—all while ensuring a focus on efficiency and productivity to support the NHS to live within its means.

This year’s operational planning guidance puts these objectives into practice with fewer targets, giving local systems greater control and flexibility over how local funding is deployed to best meet the needs of the people they serve. I am instructing the NHS to focus on the fundamentals and get back to basics. We are giving local leaders clear directions to prioritise cutting elective care waiting lists, improve A&E and ambulance wait times, improve access to GPs and urgent dental care, and solve the mental health crisis.

2025-26 must be a year of financial reset for the NHS. The budget settlement for the NHS is welcome and we will ensure it is spent wisely, through financial rigour, to deliver services for patients. NHS providers are being asked to undertake a 1 % reduction in cost base, while raising their productivity and efficiency by 4%.

Making decisions like these are never easy, but when I joined the Department, I pledged to make sure that every penny was spent in a way that provides the best value for the patients. Together we will bring reform to the NHS and get it back on its feet.

[HCWS400]

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)]

The Government have today introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill in the House of Commons.

Border security is fundamental to both national and economic security. Threats to the UK from serious and organised crime, including organised immigration crime, and from terrorism and hostile state actors are rapidly evolving. The first duty of a Government is to protect their citizens, and to not only keep up with but stay ahead of these threats. This requires a whole of state and legislative response.

The international and cross-border nature of these threats and challenges means that border security is an essential part of keeping our country safe. This is why strengthening our border security is one of the foundations of the Government plan for change.

Small boat crossings put these threats and challenges into sharp relief, they undermine our border security and put lives at risk. Organised by criminal smuggler and trafficking gangs, they are extremely dangerous with 78 reported deaths at sea last year, with people crowded into flimsy dinghies. Over the last six years, criminal gangs have been allowed to build a network of illegal and dangerous smuggling operations, taking hold along our border and across the continent, involving illegal supply chains, logistics, false advertising and illicit finance, underpinned by serious violence and exploitation.

The establishment of the Border Security Command in July 2024 spearheads the significant shift in strategy that this Government are taking, adopting a transformative approach to deliver stronger border security through strong leadership, effective partnerships and a long-term vision. Its initial focus is on dismantling smuggling networks, but its broader aims are to enable smarter, faster and more effective interventions across the entire system to strengthen the UK border.

Introduced today, the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill delivers on the manifesto commitment to provide law enforcement with the powers it needs to protect the integrity of the UK border, including earlier intervention to detect, prevent and prosecute people smugglers, thereby disrupting their ability to carry out small boat crossings.

The measures, which have the strong support of law enforcement agencies like the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and police, include:

Placing the Border Security Command on a statutory footing

The Bill places the Border Security Command on to a statutory footing so that the commander has the authority to be an effective system leader, cohering and driving cross-Government systems to improve the collective response to cross border threats. This will give the commander the power they need to drive changes across different agencies and departments, and to be able to work internationally as we draw up new agreements with neighbouring, transit and upstream countries to tackle organised immigration crime and to co-operate on strengthening border security.

New and enhanced powers to strengthen border security, including new powers and offences

The Bill sets out new, transformative measures to provide law enforcement agencies with stronger powers to pursue, disrupt and deter organised immigration crime, including:

Creating new offences for supplying, offering to supply or handling items suspected of being for use in immigration crime, for example the buying, selling and transporting of small boat parts, as well as for the possession and supply of articles for use in serious crime.

Creating a new preparatory acts offence for collecting information to be used by organised immigration criminals to prepare for boat crossings. This includes arranging departure points, dates and times, with clear links back to the gangs facilitating the dangerous crossings.

Creating new powers to enable the search for and the seizure of electronic devices to identify links with organised immigration crime. This will enable the review of any information relevant to facilitation offences and to gather intelligence linked to smuggler and trafficking gangs.

The Bill makes it an offence to endanger another life at sea, to act as a deterrent to boat overcrowding and reduce further tragic loss of life among those making the perilous channel crossings. Those involved in physical aggression, intimidation or coercive behaviour, including preventing offers of rescue while at sea, will face prosecution. This stricter law sends a clear message that we are ready to take action against all those who are complicit in fatalities in the channel.

The Bill introduces new interim serious crime prevention orders to place severe curbs and restrictions on people involved in activities related to organised immigration crime, before they are arrested, ensuring that court delays do not mean a gap in our agencies taking action. Alongside this, two new criminal offences have been introduced which criminalise the making, adapting, importing, suppling, offering to supply and possession of a specified list of articles for use in serious crime.

The Bill also amends the counter-terrorism port powers to allow the police to take DNA samples and fingerprints at a port in Scotland, strengthening border security by bringing Scotland into alignment with the position across the rest of the UK.

Expanded data-sharing capabilities to assist in the development of the intelligence picture of organised immigration crime

The Bill strengthens information sharing which will allow law enforcement to access Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data on UK registered trailers in real time, enhancing the detection of illegal entrants via lorry both in the UK and upstream.

A new, simplified and clearer provision for HMRC to share certain entire datasets it holds for custom functions with the Home Office and other Government Departments will be introduced, subject to data protection legislation. This will enable the identification of suspicious patterns, activity, or intelligence that would not be apparent if each dataset was considered in isolation.

Measures to support and strengthen the asylum and immigration system

Among other measures to support and strengthen the asylum and immigration system, the Bill repeals the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, delivering on the manifesto commitment to end the migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda which cost the taxpayer £700 million and sent four volunteers to Rwanda. The Government will be withdrawing separately from the UK-Rwanda treaty that underpinned that partnership.

The Bill also removes from the statute unworkable and counterproductive provisions from the Illegal Migration Act 2023, which allowed people to enter the asylum system but prevented asylum decision making, increased the backlog and put impossible pressure on asylum accommodation, driving up hotel use and costs. Many of those provisions were never enacted exactly because they were not workable.

Other measures in the Bill which seek to support the asylum and immigration system include introducing greater flexibility when taking biometric information, extending the trained cohort of those who can do so and creating a new power to take biometrics from foreign nationals outside of a visa process. The Bill also supports the disruption of professional enablers of abuse by amending governance structures to ensure the Immigration Services Commissioner can be an effective and more flexible regulator of immigration advice. Amendments to detention powers and creating the retrospective legal basis for fees to be collected in relation to the recognition of qualifications obtained overseas also work towards bolstering the immigration system.

Next steps

The Government are determined to strengthen UK border security and to tackle organised immigration crime. For too long the individuals behind this nefarious trade have been allowed to go unchecked. This legislation gives our law enforcement stronger tools than ever before to dismantle the gangs and provides the structure within which the full weight of the border security system can be brought to bear. These powers, alongside our work to ramp up returns, deportations, illegal working visits and action with the international community, transform the response to these threats and enable the step change needed.

[HCWS406]

Police Funding Settlement 2025-26

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)]

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has today laid before the House the “Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2025-26” (HC 621). The report sets out the Home Secretary’s determination for 2025-26 of the aggregate amounts of grants that she proposes to pay under section 46(2) of the Police Act 1996. Copies of the report are available from the Vote Office.

With this additional funding, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. Of this amount, funding available to police and crime commissioners (PCCs) for their local police force will be up to £17.5 billion—an increase of up to an additional £1.1 billion in 2025-26, a 6.6% cash increase and 4.1% real-terms increase. This includes an additional £100 million for neighbourhood policing above that announced at the provisional police funding settlement. This assumes PCCs make use of the full precept flexibility of £14 for English forces.

This settlement demonstrates the Government continued commitment to putting officers back on the beat in communities across the country, and giving forces the resources to keep the public safe. We look forward to working with officers and police staff across the country on our shared ambition to make our streets safer.

The tables document funding to PCCs for 2025-26, including precept can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2025-01-30/HCWS407/

[HCWS407]

Integrated Settlements

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

Today, I am pleased to announce that the Government have published details of the integrated settlements for Greater Manchester combined authority and West Midlands combined authority for the period covering the financial year 2025-26.

The Government’s primary mission is to drive economic growth and raise living standards. This can only happen if local leaders have the right tools to deliver for their residents and businesses. As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, we must rewire England and end the hoarding in Whitehall by devolving power and money from central Government to those with skin in the game. Above all we need to free mayors to direct funding to where it delivers the best outcomes and value for money.

These historic integrated settlements are the first of their kind and will consolidate funding across more than 20 different funding streams covering housing, regeneration, local growth, local transport, adult skills, retrofit, and employment support. This will give mayors greater flexibility when spending devolved funding and empower them to make the strategic policy decisions necessary to foster growth and deliver better value for money and outcomes for their residents.

Over the coming weeks, we will work with Greater Manchester and West Midlands to agree the outcomes that they will use these settlements to deliver, and which will form the basis of the single accountability framework, replacing the complex and fragmented reporting processes that have existed to date. As part of this framework, these authorities will have flexibility to move funding between policy areas, helping to deliver better value for money and improved outcomes for citizens.

The English Devolution White Paper set out our intention to extend the benefits of the integrated settlement to more areas. The Government are already working rapidly to bring these settlements forward for mayors in the North East, Liverpool City region, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire mayoral combined authorities from the ’26-27 financial year. The Government are also exploring how the settlement policy could be applied to the Greater London Authority.

[HCWS405]

Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme Levy 2024-25

Thursday 30th January 2025 Written Statements

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

The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Levy) Regulations 2014 require active employers’ liability insurers to pay an annual levy, based on their relative market share, for the purpose of meeting the costs of the diffuse mesothelioma payment scheme. This is in line with the insurance industry’s commitment to fund a scheme of last resort for persons diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma who have been unable to trace their employer or their employer’s insurer.

Today I can announce that the total amount of the levy to be charged for 2024-25, the 11th year of the DMPS, is £28.6 million. The amount will be payable by active insurers by the end of March 2025.

Individual active insurers will be notified in writing of their share of the levy, together with how the amount was calculated and the payment arrangements. Insurers should be aware that it is a legal requirement to pay the levy within the set timescales.

I am pleased that the DMPS has seen 10 successful years of operation, assisting many hundreds of people who have been diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma. The ninth annual report for the scheme, along with the annual statistics, was published on 27 November 2024 and is available on the gov.uk website. I hope that members of both Houses will welcome this announcement and give the DMPS their continued support.

[HCWS401]