Written Statements

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

Wednesday 1 July 2026

Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

On 25 and 26 June, the Foreign Secretary attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk, Poland, where she was joined by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The annual conference is the major international recovery and reconstruction event for Ukraine, and the most important non-military focused conference in the Ukraine calendar. It brings together Governments, international financial institutions, civil society and the private sector to mobilise support for Ukraine’s long-term recovery.

URC26 has come at a critical moment as Russia continues its illegal war with sustained attacks on Ukraine’s civilian and critical national infrastructure.

On Thursday, the Foreign Secretary set out a total package of half a billion pounds of support for Ukraine, made up of almost £290 million of bilateral assistance to bolster Ukraine’s recovery and energy security, and the signing of a £210 million UK Export Finance guarantee, previously announced by the Prime Minister at the G7, to help secure Ukraine’s nuclear energy supply.

The bilateral assistance of £290 million for this financial year will help meet Ukraine’s urgent energy and humanitarian needs as well as support longer-term economic and social recovery. This package was referenced in the Foreign Secretary’s written ministerial statement and oral statement on official development assistance programme allocations back in March.

Three projects were highlighted which form part of this package:

Up to £13 million to support British International Investment’s intention to commit to the EU flagship fund. The fund will provide long-term equity investments into key sectors including energy, infrastructure, and SMEs—all critical to rebuilding Ukraine’s economic foundations. The fund—backed by the European Union, and the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, alongside their development finance institutions—represents a flagship platform for collective UK-European action.

Up to £12 million for a new governance programme. This will include up to £2.4 million for the EU anti-corruption initiative to help Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies and key civil society actors prevent, spot, investigate and prosecute corruption. It will also include up to £1 million to deliver core judicial reforms so Ukraine’s justice system operates with integrity, meets EU accession requirements, and underpins wider objectives on anti-corruption, democratic governance, and post-war recovery.

Up to £763,000 to continue to support reforms to modernise Ukraine’s energy and climate sectors and to develop and promote decarbonisation policy, through support for the Green Transition Office and for the implementation of the recently adopted national energy and climate plan of Ukraine, key for the green transition, and unlocking EU markets.

The £210 million UK Export Finance guarantee will enable UK-based Urenco to supply nuclear fuel to Ukraine’s national power company Energoatom to enable nuclear power plants to continue supplying over 50% of the country’s electricity for the next two years. This deal is critical to Ukraine’s energy security, strengthening Ukraine’s resilience and ability to withstand Russia’s attacks on its energy infrastructure. The deal will also boost the British economy, as Urenco employs more than 650 people in the UK and its Chester site supports more than 4,500 jobs around the UK in the wider supply chain.

The UK also announced a series of additional measures for Ukraine, including:

the UK’s latest $1 billion tranche of fiscal support for Ukraine, approved by the World Bank, which, pooled with partners’ support, will provide more than $4 billion in additional funding for Ukraine. This support will keep hospitals, schools and essential public services operating across Ukraine and help unlock private sector investment, support economic growth and create skilled jobs.

new British International Investment investments of up to £65 million, utilising existing UK ODA funding, to co-finance projects that will expand lending to small and medium-sized enterprises through the Bank of Lviv and support construction of two new wind farms;

up to £200,000 to scale up support to Ukraine’s critical minerals sector through deploying British Geological Survey expertise to strengthen geological data, improve standards and unlock investment;

up to £1 million for the second year of the DBT’s project development programme to support British business participation in the early-stage planning of reconstruction projects across Ukraine following the successful delivery of projects in phase one, including feasibility and scoping studies of Lviv airport future expansion by British companies and modernisation of schools in Vinnytsia.

UK Export Finance and Ukraine’s export credit agency also signed a memorandum of understanding which will strengthen expertise sharing and support Ukraine’s export credit agency to help drive Ukraine’s private sector and exports.

These announcements bring total UK non-military support since the start of the invasion to £5.6 billion which includes:

up to £4.1 billion in fiscal support through World Bank loan guarantees to bolster Ukraine’s economic stability and support vital public services.

up to £1.5 billion in committed bilateral assistance to fund humanitarian, energy, stabilisation, reform, recovery and reconstruction programmes.

The UK remains a leading partner for Ukraine’s resilience, recovery and long-term prosperity. Our support fosters long-term political, security, economic and reform collaboration, anchored in the 100-year partnership, to help Ukraine endure now, recover at scale, and build the foundations for a secure Euro-Atlantic future.

[HCWS173]

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

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

I wish to provide an update regarding the Civil Service Pension Scheme administered by Capita.

Capita has been working to restore, to contractual levels, administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme following its failed transition in December last year, which left far too many scheme members facing severe delays in accessing their pensions, after many years of dedicated public service. Capita committed to restoring the service by the end of June.

The Government are now undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the latest data provided by Capita post the end of June commitment. We will complete a full evaluation of the actions, outcomes and figures provided by Capita.

Members and their constituents will rightly question the next steps the Government are taking and I intend to provide a comprehensive update to Parliament in the coming days.

We will continue to hold Capita to account, including using all commercial levers and we have been consistently clear that the Government will not hesitate to take firm action for continued underperformance.

[HCWS168]

National Lottery Good Causes

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

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

Today the Government are announcing a major call for evidence on national lottery good causes funding: “National Lottery Good Causes: Fund What Matters To You”. When John Major launched the national lottery in 1994 he promised that the new lottery would give

“anyone who has ever burned with the desire to change the face of their town, their village or the whole country a chance to do so.”

Since then, our national lottery has provided more than £53 billion across arts and culture, sport, heritage, and charity. Around 70% of adults in the UK now play the lottery in one form or another, every single year. Funded by the millions of ordinary people who take part every week, the national lottery is not just public money, it is literally the public’s money.



However, not since the brilliant Tessa Jowell in 2002 has anyone asked if we are spending the public’s money the way they actually want it to be spent.

Today’s call for evidence asks precisely that question, and for the first time in decades, brings the public back into the conversation after two decades—and puts people in the driving seat. They will write the next chapter in the story of the national lottery and of our country.

The national lottery has delivered some incredible things. Without it the Lowry would not exist, the People’s History Museum would not be able to thrive and our country would not have won so many record-breaking Olympic gold medals.

Instead, it is about being honest that the model—which sits largely unchanged from its launch over 30 years ago—is showing its age. It is rooted in a different era. Too often decisions are top-down, remote and made in distant rooms hundreds of miles away from the communities who know their needs and ambitions best.

Funding is concentrated in London and the south-east and is weighted to reflect populations, rendering too many towns and villages invisible to decision makers.

The majority of funding is spent on large grants to the detriment of smaller, community-led organisations. Smaller organisations face significant barriers—administrative burdens, digital exclusion and capacity constraints. The system favours those who have the ability to write grants that meet the needs of the system, rather than the system bending to the needs of communities.

It is time to address this and put the national lottery back in the service of all of our people and all of our communities.

As a consequence, our call for evidence will be guided by three simple principles.

First, this funding belongs to the public. The billions that the national lottery invests—£33 million a week—must reflect the modern priorities of the British people—in all communities.

Secondly, decisions must be made by the public. It is time to trust the people who know their streets, their community spaces, and their heritage best.

Thirdly, community ambition should not be met with red tape. We are determined to strip away the bureaucracy that acts as a barrier to community investment, making it easier for grassroots groups to access the funding they need.

We are also clear that this review will not tamper with the principle of additionality.



Heritage, arts, sport and culture belong to us all and it is for the people to determine what that is and what they treasure. They must be the authors of the story we tell ourselves about ourselves as a nation.

That principle will continue to be fiercely advocated by this Labour Government and we will not allow the national lottery to be used to plug day-to-day funding pressures.

Instead, we will equip it for the future, so that every time a player purchases a ticket and chooses their numbers, they will know that their money will go directly towards changing the face of their town, village, or city and living up to the ideal set out by John Major more than three decades ago.

The Government’s call for evidence can be found on www.gov.uk and we invite everyone to share their views on the future of good cause funding over the next 12 weeks.

[HCWS169]

Teacher Workforce

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

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

High quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes, breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child. Recruiting, retaining and supporting expert teachers across schools and colleges is central to delivering high and rising standards for all children and young people.

Despite a challenging financial context, progress is being made. We have made a record investment in schools, with the core schools budget increasing by £1.7 billion in 2026-27, and teacher pay has increased by almost 10% since this Government took power. Compared to 2023-24, there are 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools, 1,646 more teachers in colleges, and the number of trainee school teachers are up 13% on last year. Retention is also stronger across schools and colleges, with leaver rates in schools now at 8.5%—the lowest since at least 2010 (outside the pandemic years). More teachers are returning to state schools than at any point in the last 10 years.

There is still further to go. That is why our 6,500 delivery plan set out a comprehensive plan for the rest of this Parliament, and our recent White Paper “Every Child Achieving and Thriving” committed to go further to support and invest in the workforce, including:

Doubling the period of full maternity pay to eight weeks, and funding similar improvements for support staff and college staff.

Giving teachers the training they need through a new and improved teacher training entitlement, to ensure that every teacher and leader can access high-quality professional development, alongside more than £200 million over three years for our SEND CPD programme.

Supporting excellence in leadership, including through a new mentoring and coaching offer for headteachers as well as wellbeing support for up to 2,500 leaders annually, and piloting a new place-based headteacher retention incentive.

Working in partnership with the profession across our sectors, including through the improving education together agreement with unions and employers, so that policy works in practice.

This Government have prioritised teacher pay. Last year, I accepted in full the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendation of a 4% pay award, delivering an increase of almost 10% over two years. Alongside this, we provided an additional £190 million to colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to help them drive forward the recruitment and retention of excellent teachers, building the skills and opportunities our economy needs.

This year, I sought the STRB’s recommendations for pay awards for the next two years, as well as their indicative recommendation for 2028-29. Today, I am announcing that I am accepting in full the independent STRB’s recommendations for the next two years. From September 2026, teachers and leaders will receive a pay award of 3.5%, followed by a further 3% increase from September 2027. I am also accepting the STRB’s recommendation to uplift the bottom of the unqualified teacher pay range in the rest of England by 5%, supporting employment-based routes into teaching, including apprenticeships.

Taken together, this means school teachers will have seen a 17% increase in pay since this Government took office, delivering a real-terms increase (based on Bank of England CPI forecasts). By September 2027, starting salaries will exceed £35,000, helping to attract talented graduates, while the average schoolteacher salary is expected to rise to over £54,400, supporting retention and experience in the classroom.

I recognise the vital role that school support staff play, and I will continue to build on work already under way, such as establishing the new School Support Staff Negotiating Body. Most support staff have already been offered a 3.3% pay increase in ’26-27 through the National Joint Council for Local Government Services process, subject to agreement, and I thank them for their continued contribution to children and young people’s education.

I am also announcing that from 1 September 2026 executive pay must not rise faster than teacher pay. And for any new appointment where the pay exceeds £174,000, trusts will need to seek Government approval before they can even advertise the role in line with HM Treasury senior pay guidance. We want the best leaders running our schools— but executive pay must represent real value for money for pupils and parents.

Supporting schools and colleges

We recognise that the costs associated with the pay awards are higher than what was proposed to the STRB. The Department is providing £700 million additional funding for schools in this financial year to support them with the cost of staff pay awards, rising to £1,115 million in 2027-28, on top of the funding already provided in their existing budgets. This additional funding will come from DFE budgets. This significant additional investment, on top of funding increases announced at the 2025 spending review (including funding for SEND reform), will see the Department fund the majority of these above-inflation pay awards across both 2026-27 and 2027-28 at a national level. Put together, this investment demonstrates even in a tight fiscal environment that this Government are prioritising education.

Recognising the vital role that colleges and other FE providers play in building the skilled pipeline of workers to power our economy, the Department is also providing around £120 million of additional funding for further education in financial year 2026-27, rising to around £365 million in 2027-28, which will come from DFE budgets. This substantial investment will help ensure that young people receive the quality education they need regardless of their setting, furthering their opportunities and supporting economic growth.

As we have stated throughout the pay process, schools will need to continue to absorb a portion of the cost of pay awards over the next two years. This is in line with asks of the whole public sector to maximise the impact of every Government pound spent. We expect schools to absorb approximately the first 1% of pay awards in both 2026-27 and 2027-28 through implementing plans to realise and sustain better value from their existing spend. This is 1% on average, based on our affordability assessment set out in the schools’ costs technical note, and makes an assumption of equal pay awards for all staff in financial year 2027-28. The remaining costs of pay awards above the first 1% will be covered through funding as announced at the 2025 spending review, as set out in the 2026 schools’ costs technical note, and through the additional funding announced today. Additional funding for 2027-28 will be rolled into the national funding formula, which we will publish in the autumn. Taken together, the new funding, existing funding and the 1% absorbed through better value from existing spending are expected to cover the overall cost of pay awards over 2026-27 and 2027-28.

Building on the work schools have done last year to contribute towards the cost of pay awards, we are supporting schools to maximise existing resources to deliver this pay award and support every child to achieve and thrive with clear expectations on pay over a longer time horizon.

For too long schools and trusts have been left to negotiate commercial contracts alone, working with suppliers with significant resources, specialist teams, and a commercial interest in maximising what they charge. Government have a role to play and through our Maximising Value for Pupils programme https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maximising-value-for-pupils/maximising-value-for-pupils we are using the collective weight of the entire school system to push back through:

DFE Energy for Schools https://get-help-buying-for-schools.education.gov.uk/categories/energy/energy-for-schools which aggregates buying power across the sector and provides protection from market volatility and sudden price increases driven by global events. Benchmarking shows a typical primary school could save £4,900 per year on electricity and gas combined, and a typical secondary school could save £23,200.

The new supply teachers and education recruitment framework https://get-help-buying-for-schools.education.gov.uk/categories/recruitment-hr-training/supply-teachers which caps supplier margins and waives temporary-to-permanent fees after 12 weeks. Schools could save between 5% and 24% on the total cost of a supply teacher under the new framework.

Our free banking comparison tool https://banking-for-schools.education.gov.uk/site/LEUFJZNSINPDVTWF/index.html which makes it straightforward to compare options and unlock better returns without necessarily switching banks. A savings platform is also available. Bishop Hogarth Trust went from £16,000 to over £1 million a year in returns after reviewing their arrangements.

We have also started the process of establishing a national procurement framework for management information systems on behalf of every school in England to secure transparent pricing, consistent data security, and clear supplier accountability.

We expect all schools and trusts to use the new management information systems framework, agency supply framework and our new energy for schools service (or approved deals), unless schools and trusts have an alternative compliant agreement with rates which do not exceed those available through these deals. We will update the academy trust handbook by September to reflect these expectations.

As with schools, we ask colleges and other further education providers to continue to maximise value from their budgets. The comparable funding we are announcing today will help address immediate staffing pressures in the sector, but providers should continue to leverage opportunities from rising student numbers and effective commercial arrangements to ensure every pound counts in delivering high-quality outcomes for learners. Colleges will also continue to have access to a suite of support from the Further Education Commissioner to help them maximise value.

Alongside the additional funding in respect of pay and recruitment and retention in 2027-28, there will also be funding adjustments to reflect the valuation of teachers’ pensions contributions. From April 2027, schools and colleges will see the costs of their employer contributions to the teachers’ pension scheme decrease in line with the 31 March 2024 valuations published today. This change will not reduce the value of the defined-benefit teachers’ pension for current or retired teachers, and the TPS remains one of the best pension schemes available. When schools and colleges have faced increasing pension costs in recent years funding has been uplifted, so it is only right that funding is adjusted for this change. The funding will remain proportionate with contributions at a national level.

Building a modern profession

The teacher pay award is part of our comprehensive approach to building a system that enables every child to achieve and thrive, reforming education while valuing those who deliver it.

I am also committed to delivering on the ambitions of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act—ensuring every state school teacher can rely on a core pay offer, and building in additional flexibilities to enable all schools to innovate and attract and retain the top talent they need. This is part of my drive to reform working conditions which are fundamental to the quality of teachers’ and leaders’ professional experience.

I know that many teachers work significantly more than 1,265 hours. To be clear, the Department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1,265 directed hours limit. On the contrary, I want to build a comprehensive picture on how working hours arrangements interact with and impact on workload, which is why I remitted the STRB for their views on working hours arrangements and I continue to be committed to reducing teacher workload. I am pleased to announce changes to the school teacher pay and conditions that give schools more flexibility with inset days and clarify protections on leaders’ working time.

After careful consideration and further review of the evidence put forward by statutory consultees, I have decided not to reduce the salary safeguarding period at this current time and to retain the three year existing protection for teachers.

I am accepting the STRB’s recommendation to enable schools to offer non-consolidated payments/bonuses to teachers, so they too have the option to offer modest recognition schemes to reward their staff. This extends the flexibilities that academies have operated to maintained schools giving them the option to be innovative in their approach to rewarding staff.

Technical Annex: Further details on the STRB process and recommendations

STRB process, recommendations, and response

The 36th report of the School Teachers Review Body, responding to the remit issued on 22 July 2025, is being published today. The report will be presented to Parliament and published on gov.uk.

For 2026-27, the STRB recommended an increase of 3.5% to all teacher pay ranges and allowances and a 5% uplift to the bottom of the unqualified teacher range (rest of England). For 2027-28 the STRB recommended an increase of 3% to all teacher pay ranges and allowances. The STRB also recommended an indicative increase of 3% to all teacher pay ranges and allowances for 2028-29. This pay award applies to all teachers in maintained schools. The Government are accepting the recommendations for 2026-27 and 2027-28 in full.

Alongside the pay award, we have accepted the STRB’s recommendation to allow schools to have the option to offer modest recognition schemes to reward additional contribution beyond core duties. However, after careful consideration, we have decided to retain the existing salary safeguarding provision for teachers and leaders at this time.

The STRB also gave their views on working hours. We are implementing suggestions on inset flexibility and leaders’ working time protections and Department for Education officials will consider the full scope of the wider views and suggestions in future policy development.

The Department for Education will now consult all statutory consultees of the STRB on the Government’s response to these recommendations and on a revised school teachers’ pay and conditions document and pay order. The consultation will last for 12 weeks, and the STPCD will be published as soon as possible.

Further details on funding in 2026-27 and funding adjustments to reflect the valuation of teachers’ pension contributions

Funding for schools

We are providing schools with £700 million in additional funding in financial year 2026-27 rising to £1,115 million in 2027-28 to support them with their overall costs, including teacher and support staff pay awards. The additional funding for pre-16 schools and high needs providers will be distributed through the schools budget support grant 2026, with funding for eligible early years providers being distributed via the early years teacher pay grant 2026. Funding for 16 to 19 schools will be distributed via 16 to 19 allocations to support post-16 provision in schools and academies.

Through SBSG 26, we will provide £522 million for mainstream schools in respect of their provision for pupils aged 5 to 16; nearly £98 million for high needs providers; and nearly £14 million for centrally employed staff. Nearly £18 million will also be provided in respect of early years provision in schools provided through the EYTPG 26. We will provide around £49 million to 16 to 19 schools to support post-16 provision in schools and academies.

Further information for schools on the methodology, conditions of grant and per-pupil rates, as well as a calculator tool for the additional funding in respect of pay in 2026-27 will be published shortly. The overall design and distribution will reflect previous pay grants.

Funding for further education

The Department is making available additional funding of around £120 million in financial year 2026-27, rising to around £365 million in financial year 2027-28, to support colleges and other FE providers to address immediate staffing pressures and deliver our ambitious skills and qualifications reforms.

Taken together with the additional funding for post-16 provision in schools and academies which comes from within the overall schools funding envelope, around £170 million will be available for post-16 funding in financial year 2026-27, rising to around £535 million in 2027-28.

Funding adjustments relating to the valuation of teachers’ pension contributions

Funding for schools and colleges will be reduced to reflect the decreased cost at national level and thus be cost neutral for public sector employers as a whole. Schools and colleges will see the costs of their employer contributions to the teachers’ pension scheme decrease by £3 billion in 2027-28 following the valuation of teachers’ pension contributions. Funding for schools and colleges will decrease by the same amount.

For mainstream schools, the adjustment will be incorporated into the 2027-28 schools national funding formula which will be published in the autumn. This will incorporate the decrease into core school funding allocations from 1 April 2027 for maintained schools and 1 September 2027 for academies. A separate adjustment will be made to allocations for academies in respect of the period from 1 April to 31 August 2027. We will provide further details on how that will operate alongside details of the SBSG 26.

Equivalent funding reductions will also be made for special and alternative provision schools from 2027-28, through adjustments to local authorities’ high needs allocations within their 2027-28 dedicated schools grant. We will provide more detail on how those adjustments will be made and passed on to providers later in the year.

For colleges and post-16 schools, we will reduce payments accordingly through the teacher pensions scheme employer contribution grants. We will provide further detail on how these adjustments will be made in due course.

[HCWS171]

Flood Re: Reform

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

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

Please refer to the oral statement made earlier today.

[HCWS174]

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination: At-risk Groups

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)]

I am today announcing that the year-round respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme will be extended to include more adults at risk of severe illness. From 1 September 2026, individuals aged 65 to 74 years with specific chronic respiratory diseases—excluding well controlled asthma—or immunosuppression due to disease or treatment will become eligible for RSV vaccinations on the NHS.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that circulates each winter, but its impact is generally less well understood than other respiratory infections like covid-19 and flu. While many people who catch RSV only have mild, cold-like symptoms, it also causes more serious chest infections including pneumonia and bronchitis. RSV can cause major complications in infants and older adults, particularly those with certain underlying health conditions.

The decision to expand RSV vaccinations was based on the latest independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. In February 2026 the JCVI supported offering vaccination to people aged 65 to 74 who have chronic respiratory disease—excluding well controlled asthma—or who are immunosuppressed due to disease or treatment, as new evidence showed that these groups are at equivalent risk to older adults already eligible for vaccination.

His Majesty’s Government have accepted the JCVI’s advice, and work is underway to ensure that people in these groups can get vaccinated from 1 September 2026. This decision follows the Government introducing new RSV programmes for people aged 75 to 79 and pregnant women on 1 September 2024, and the expansion of the older adult programme on 1 April 2026 to also include adults aged 80 and older and all residents of care homes for older adults.

Individuals in these groups will be able to get vaccinated at their GP practice, or at a community pharmacy in some parts of England. The most recent analysis of the older adult programme by the four UK public health agencies, published in The Lancet’s European health journal, shows that a single dose of the vaccine cuts the risk of being admitted to hospital for RSV lung infection by 75%.

As with all programmes, the Department will consider any potential future advice provided by the JCVI, once it has reviewed new data on the impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccination in other specific groups with underlying health conditions.

[HCWS170]

Prison System: Independent Review

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr David Lammy)]

This Government inherited a prison system in crisis, with prisons on the verge of collapse. Dame Anne Owers’s independent review of prison capacity has set out that, shortly after the announcement of the 2024 general election, at one point there were fewer than 100 places available in adult male prisons, and that the system had been in crisis for over 18 months.

The immediate action had to be to stabilise the system to ensure sufficient prison places to hold offenders sentenced to custody. Considerable work has already been undertaken to this effect, including through implementation of the Sentencing Act. While the last Government added fewer than 500 net places overall to the prison estate in 14 years, we have already delivered c3,100 places and aim to deliver 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.

We have seen some early signs of progress made possible by that stabilisation: in the 12 months to December 2025, rates of assaults on staff and self-harm in custody decreased by 4.5% and 8% respectively. But we must be clear that the challenges facing the prison system are not only immediate but structural, evolving and long term in nature.

We are continuing to build on the progress made: we are investing a further £35 million this year in improving security across 17 of our most challenging establishments. This covers the installation of up to 13,000 new heavy duty steel grilles by spring 2027, preventing contraband—such as drugs and weapons—from being delivered into cells by drones. This builds on more than £40 million already invested in physical security improvements.

Prisons are facing significant and complex pressures. Technological change, serious and organised crime, and the demands of managing high-risk offenders are reshaping what is required to hold people safely, securely and decently in custody. Recent serious incidents, such as the horrific incident at HMP Frankland in spring 2025, underline the importance of ensuring that our prisons are safe, secure and capable of reducing reoffending.

We must ensure that our approach to the prison system keeps pace with these developments. The action this Government have already taken has provided an opportunity to look strategically at how we meet these challenges and the long-term future of prisons.

That is why I am today announcing the launch of the independent review of the prison system.

The purpose of the review is twofold.

First, it will provide a strategic, risk-based assessment of the key challenges facing the prison system, including security threats, maintaining safety and decency in the face of a long-term trend of a rising prison population, and of how our approach to managing risk needs to evolve over time.

Secondly, it will identify practical and deliverable options for reform to improve the resilience, performance and effectiveness of our prisons, ultimately focusing on how we can best protect the public. The review will build a robust evidence base to support long-term decision making and inform our future strategy for prisons, ensuring that we are equipped to meet both current and emerging challenges. The review will also consider the opportunities available to strengthen the system, including those arising from recent reforms and investment. It will ensure that we are making best use of the levers available to improve outcomes, deliver value for money, and support a more effective and sustainable prison system over the long term.

Today I am launching this review and it is anticipated to conclude by the end of the year. I will provide the House with a further update once the review has concluded and I have had opportunity to consider the findings. I will deposit a copy of the terms of reference for the review in the Library of the House, and they have also been published on gov.uk.

Given the need for a review that commands confidence across Parliament and supports delivery over the long term, it is important that the chair brings cross-party credibility and experience at the highest levels of Government. For that reason, I have chosen to appoint the right hon. Amber Rudd as the chair.

The pressures facing the prison system form part of a wider set of challenges across public services. As Deputy Prime Minister, I am determined that we take a whole-system approach—one that looks across Government, aligns policy with operational reality, and ensures that long-term decisions are grounded in evidence and deliver value for money.

That means improving not just prisons but the wider criminal justice system. We are increasing investment in probation and community services by a further £700 million by 2028-29 and onboarding at least 1,300 new trainee probation officers in 2026-27—on top of more than 2,300 new trainees already onboarded since 2024-25. We are also taking targeted action following the independent review of the criminal courts to reduce court backlogs, deliver swifter justice, and modernise our courts to improve efficiency and resilience across the criminal justice system.

This review will play a central role in our approach, providing a clear and independent assessment of the challenges we face, alongside credible and deliverable options for reform over the coming decade and beyond.

The review will not make recommendations on sentencing policy, as this has already been subject to thorough consideration as part of the independent sentencing review.

In the last 18 months we have taken decisive action to stabilise a system in crisis, and we are continuing to make immediate improvements. This review will provide a clear and independent assessment of the challenges we face, alongside credible and deliverable options for reform over the coming decade and beyond. It will help us chart the path to a prison system that works for the future—one that makes prisons and the public safer.

I am grateful to the dedicated work of our brilliant staff working across our prisons and the wider criminal justice system, who continue to deliver vital public services in challenging circumstances. Through this review, we will ensure that our approach is not only responsive to immediate pressures, but is designed to deliver a more sustainable, effective and resilient prison system for the future.

[HCWS167]

Permanent Civil Service: Review

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Written Statements

[The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)]

I am pleased to inform the House of the Government’s publication of the terms of reference for a review into the organisation, performance, and transformation of the permanent civil service.

This Government are committed to strengthening the delivery, accountability, innovation and productivity of the civil service, and to safeguarding its impartiality and core values, in order to enhance trust and confidence in the institutions of Government.

To this end, the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the civil service, Dame Antonia Romeo, will lead a wide-ranging review into the organisation, performance and transformation of the permanent civil service, with the aim of setting out a vision for the future civil service as a world-class institution.

The review will examine the full range of activities undertaken by the civil service, and will consider, among other things: the size, shape, and structure of the civil service; the impact of AI and technology on the service; the ability of the civil service to attract and retain the best talent from across the country; and the statutory footing of the service.

Recognising the essential role of Parliament in this work, the review will engage actively across both Houses, including with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and the Constitution Committee in the House of Lords.

The review will report before summer 2027 and the final report will be made available to the public.

Alongside this fundamental review, the Cabinet Secretary and permanent secretaries will continue to deliver urgent work to improve delivery and accountability, innovation and productivity, and pride and trust, in and across the civil service.

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