Annual European Union Finances Statement
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
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The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Darren Jones)
I am today laying before Parliament “The European Union Finances Statement 2024 on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement” (CP 1296). This is an annual publication; this year’s edition covers the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. This publication is available on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eu-annual-statement
The publication sets out the Government’s updated estimate of the financial settlement on withdrawal from the EU. HM Treasury estimates that the current total net value of the financial settlement is £30.7 billion since the UK ceased to be an EU member state in February 2020. Of this, £25 billion has been paid up to the end of December 2024, and the forecast of future outstanding net liabilities is £5.7 billion.
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Varying the Leveson Order
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
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The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)
This is a joint statement made with the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
As Ministers with joint responsibility for the Leveson inquiry into the culture, practices, and ethics of the press, today under section 20(7) of the Inquiries Act 2005, we have decided to vary the restriction orders issued by Sir Brian Leveson on 2 December 2011 and 29 November 2012. This variation, at the request of Associated Newspapers Ltd, will enable Associated Newspapers Ltd to fulfil its preservation and disclosure obligations in relation to documents provided to the Leveson inquiry in its possession, obligations that come from claims brought against Associated Newspapers Ltd by Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, Elizabeth Hurley, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Sadie Frost Law.
The documents were prepared by the Information Commissioner’s Office and consist of spreadsheets of the materials seized from the private detective Steven Whittamore/JJ Services during the course of Operation Motorman, a 2003 investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office into allegations of offences under the Data Protection Act 1998 by the British press.
We have decided to vary the restriction orders so as to allow Associated Newspapers Ltd to retain the documents (previously retained in breach of the restriction orders) and disclose them solely for the purposes of the claims. In this case, in our judgement, the paramount public interest lies in enabling Associated Newspapers Ltd to meet its disclosure obligations, so that justice can be done.
A variation notice has been shared with the parties to the legal proceedings, and published on gov.uk. This decision makes no comment on the merits of the claims, which is wholly a matter for the courts to determine.
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Families First Partnership Programme
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)
Today, I am launching the programme guide for the families first partnership programme, which will begin delivery from April 2025. This represents a major milestone in the Government’s commitment to rebalancing the children’s social care system through earlier intervention—and ensuring that we break down barriers to opportunity and provide all children with the best start in life.
The publication of the programme guide confirms our expectations of statutory safeguarding partners—children’s social care, police and health—and relevant agencies, including education and childcare settings, when it comes to implementing reforms to family help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision-making. We are building on a body of evidence about what we know works to support families to stay together and thrive.
The programme guide is just one aspect of the wider implementation support offer we are providing through the programme. It includes sharing learning from the families first for children pathfinder, which has been testing reforms in 10 local areas, along with the best practice and best evidence from across children’s social care.
The families first partnership programme is backed by over £500 million of funding in financial year 2025-26, via the local government finance settlement—nearly doubling investment in preventative services. Over time, we expect this investment to safely reduce the number of looked after children.
Our ambition is for high-quality local services that place children and families at the centre of their design and provide meaningful and appropriate support and protection for families as their needs change over time. We will only achieve this if our journey of change is taken as a team, using a multi-agency approach to enact whole-system reform. We envision a transformed system where practitioners from social work, police, health, education and beyond collaborate to promote the wellbeing of children and keep them safe from harm.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff across children’s social care, police, health, and education for their tireless efforts in ensuring all children receive the support and protection they need.
Together, we can create a system which provides children and families with the right support at the right time, ensuring more children can grow up with the right love and support around them.
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Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences: Part 1 Report
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
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The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)
I am pleased to inform the House that the Home Office has today published Jonathan Fisher KC’s independent review of disclosure report, “Disclosure in the Digital Age”.
The review’s findings highlight the significant challenges caused by the exponential growth of digital material in criminal investigations, particularly in serious and complex cases. This has placed significant burdens on law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and criminal courts. The growing scale of the problem now impedes the ability of the Crown to swiftly bring criminals to justice.
In response, Jonathan Fisher KC has made 45 recommendations which mirror the disclosure regime’s impact on the full breadth of the criminal justice system. As published today, his key overarching recommendations for reform are:
to modernise existing legislation and reduce administrative burdens by utilising advanced technology.
to improve criminal court processes with consideration for an entirely new intensive disclosure regime court pathway, designed for the most complex criminal cases.
to enhance disclosure quality by designing a new national learning standard across all law enforcement agencies.
I thank Jonathan Fisher KC for his work in providing us with such a comprehensive review. The Government will now carefully consider all recommendations made in the report and will work at pace to provide a Government response later this year.
I am confident that we can work together to design a modern disclosure regime that can keep pace with the rising level of digital material, facilitate swifter justice for both victims and defendants and continue to build public confidence in the criminal justice system.
The report has been laid before parliament today (CP 1285) and it will also be available on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/independent-review-of-disclosure-and-fraud-offences
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EWS1 Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme: Contingent Liability Update
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)
In September 2022, the EWS1 professional indemnity insurance scheme launched for competent fire safety professionals undertaking EWS1 assessments—fire safety assessments for the external wall systems in residential buildings. The scheme aimed to enable competent professionals to access the indemnity cover they need to undertake external wall assessments.
On 27 June 2022, the Minister of State for Housing published a written ministerial statement notifying Parliament of an unlimited contingent liability, with the Government Actuary’s Department making a best estimate of expected losses of circa £100 million.
The scheme closed on 30 October 2023. Departmental research showed that assessors can access suitable insurance from the open market at a competitive premium and with a wider scope of coverage. The market has responded to the protection gap the Government were looking to address, which removes the requirement for the Government-backed scheme. Continuing with the scheme would no longer be a good use of public funds.
Government action has helped to get the market moving again and address this issue. The relevance of EWS1 forms is declining as wider Government interventions have taken effect that support lenders to reduce their reliance on EWS1 forms and instead use other forms of documentation to support mortgage lending decisions. The changes we have made have helped improve access to cover across the professional indemnity insurance market.
Policies sold under the scheme to date will continue to be insured under the original terms. Due to improving market conditions, fewer policies were sold than anticipated. The maximum possible loss from claims arising is £70 million. That may decline further, should policies be cancelled. The policies have a 15-year term, meaning that claims are possible until 2038. The risk is limited by the number of buildings, and number of EWS1 assessments. To further mitigate this risk, we only offered professional indemnity insurance cover for accredited professionals who have the requisite training, expertise and knowledge to undertake the EWS1 assessment. In addition, completed EWS1 assessments are subject to an audit process to ensure they are being completed in line with the British Standards Institution PAS 9980 methodology.
The Treasury approved the proposal to launch the scheme and have been informed of its closure. My Department will keep Parliament informed of any changes to this contingent liability on a regular basis.
A departmental minute will today be laid in Parliament, providing more detail on this contingent liability.
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Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Sarah Sackman)
I would like to inform the House that I am laying the draft Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025 by way of affirmative procedure.
Subject to approval by both Houses, the regulations will increase the fixed tariff for compensation for whiplash injuries lasting up to two years which occur on or after 31 May 2025. The regulations will implement the recommendations made by the Lord Chancellor in her report of the statutory review of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, published on 21 November 2024.
The whiplash tariff compensation figures will be around 15% higher than the original tariff, which was brought into force in 2021 by the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. This is both to account for the effects of inflation since 2021 (by measure of the consumer prices index) and to include a buffer for expected inflation until 2027. The uplift will ensure that claimants can continue to receive appropriate compensation for whiplash injuries that occur before the next statutory review of the tariff. The original whiplash tariff from 2021 will continue to apply to relevant whiplash injuries from road traffic accidents that occur before 31 May 2025.
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