Baroness McGregor-Smith

We have noted this report and will take its findings into consideration. It is vital that women and all ethnicities are able to fully contribute across politics, public life and all business sectors. Progress is being made, but there is more to do. Companies with diverse workforces perform better and an inclusive economic policy is vital to the success of our Industrial Strategy.

We urge our largest companies to lead from the front on this issue, to reap the economic and social benefits, by taking up the recommendations of the Government commissioned and supported Hampton-Alexander and Parker Reviews, championing greater leadership diversity.

Women now hold a higher percentage of senior leadership positions than ever before, with over 30% female board members across the FTSE350 for the first time and no all-male boards in the FTSE100. We surveyed FTSE350 companies last year to take stock of the ethnic diversity of their boards and will be publishing the results early this year.

The Government ran a consultation from October 2018 to January 2019 on Ethnicity Pay Reporting and, we have met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers towards reporting and what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken. We have also run voluntary methodology testing with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation using real payroll data.

On the 14 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a new Commission on race and ethnic disparities which will examine continuing racial and ethnic inequalities in Britain and ways Government can address these and improve lives. Further information will be published in due course.

The Government ran a consultation from October 2018 to January 2019 on Ethnicity Pay Reporting and, we have met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers towards reporting and what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken. We have also run voluntary methodology testing with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation using real payroll data.

On the 14 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a new Commission on race and ethnic disparities which will examine continuing racial and ethnic inequalities in Britain and ways Government can address these and improve lives. Further information will be published in due course.

The Government ran a consultation from October 2018 to January 2019 on Ethnicity Pay Reporting and received over 300 detailed responses. BEIS Ministers and officials have met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers towards reporting and what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken. We have also run voluntary methodology testing with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation using real payroll data and will share next steps in due course.

The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism, without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity.

In its work, the GTT will seek to consult representatives from:

• the transport industry, to discuss shared challenges, the value of the sector to the economy, and the future of international travel;
• international partners, to discuss different approaches to health measures at the border, and what standards and practices are needed to maintain safe international travel;
• the tourism sector and local business leaders, to consider the economic impact on domestic tourism, and how international travel can support economic recovery;
• the private testing sector, to consider capacity constraints, pricing, and how quickly testing capacity can be rolled out;
• academia and policy institutes to provide insight and innovative solutions to the challenges the sector is facing.

The Taskforce will submit its recommendations to the Prime Minister in November.

The aviation sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry are able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures we have put in place during this time. This includes a Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility scheme and the job retention scheme, both of which have been used by the aviation sector.

In exceptional circumstances, where a viable company has exhausted all options and its failure would disproportionately harm the economy, the Chancellor has made clear, the Government may consider bespoke support on a ‘last resort’ basis. We will notify Parliament of the spend incurred as a result of any deal.

Throughout the pandemic, we have brought in the right measures at the right time based on scientific advice. Scientific advice can give us estimates of the incidence of coronavirus internationally and domestically, and Ministers decide how to respond to the risk of imported cases based on this advice.

The Government conducted an assessment of the impact before initial implementation and these measures are subject to review every 28 days and supported by an Impact Summary, to ensure they are in line with the latest scientific evidence and remain effective and necessary.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government has brought in the right measures at the right time, based on scientific advice. Scientific advice can give us estimates of the incidence of coronavirus internationally and domestically, and Ministers decide how to respond to the risk of imported cases based on this advice.

Self-isolation, if complied with, is an effective method of reducing imported cases of COVID-19, and is an important part of the Government’s international travel response to the pandemic.

Enforcement and compliance with border measures is a pivotal strand of this response. The Home Office has pressed ahead with improvements to enforcement and compliance, including increasing the number of contact tracing calls conducted by Public Health England.

The need for border measures is reviewed every 28 days, to ensure that they remain in line with the latest scientific evidence, and that they continue to be effective and necessary. Each review takes into account a range of factors and is guided by the scientific advice.

We believe the new regulations strike the right balance to take urgent action to stem the spread of the virus while also allowing essential retail to stay open and allowing the hospitality sector to remain open for delivery and takeaway.

Throughout this crisis, the Government and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, have provided robust scientific evidence and advice to guide decisions regarding the measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Indoor settings carry higher environmental risks, due to the close proximity of people and a longer duration of exposure. This evidence continues to be published online.

On 2 December, restrictions will expire, and we intend to return to a tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends.

Since the most recent national restrictions in January, the Government has continued to to ensure that NHS Test and Trace functions successfully. NHS Test and Trace has the capacity to respond to increases in demand and is able to test over 750,000 people a day.

Contact tracing services have also increased. The number of cases being transferred to the contact tracing system in the week 4 February to 10 February 2021 was 105,764, compared to 3,571 in the week 2 July to 8 July 2020.

The Department is running a series of workplace testing pilots across the United Kingdom. Early detection of positive cases is the most effective way to prevent operational shutdown in key industries, performing vital public services. These pilots will enable information gathering which will help towards the objective of gradually increasing the number of sectors participating in routine workplace testing.

We believe the new regulations strike the right balance to take urgent action to stem the spread of the virus while also allowing essential retail to stay open and allowing the hospitality sector to remain open for delivery and takeaway.

Throughout this crisis, the Government and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, have provided robust scientific evidence and advice to guide decisions regarding the measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Indoor settings carry higher environmental risks, due to the close proximity of people and a longer duration of exposure. This evidence continues to be published online.

On 2 December, restrictions will expire, and we intend to return to a tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies published their paper Impact of false-positives and false-negatives in the UK’s COVID-19 RT-PCR testing programme on 3 June. A copy is attached. This paper indicated that the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain reaction assays used for the COVID-19 testing programme have been verified by Public Health England and show over 95% sensitivity and specificity. The current tests are very specific and the risk of false positives, where the test is reacting to other viruses, is extremely low. Like any diagnostic test there is a possibility of a false negative or false positive result, but this is very small. Independent, confirmatory testing of positive samples indicates a test specificity that exceeds 99.3%, a false positive rate of 1%. Additional guidance has been provided to laboratories to reduce the rate even further.

The changes to the financial promotion exemptions that came into force on 31 January 2024 were subject to a public consultation which closed in March 2022. Impacts of the proposals were considered, and a consultation response and de minimis impact assessment were published alongside the final reforms. The changes made aimed to both reduce the risk of consumer detriment and preserve the ability of SMEs to raise finance under the exemptions.

However, the Government recognises the significant concerns that have been raised recently about these changes. The Economic Secretary met last week with the angel investing sector and listened carefully to the representations made, and the Government is working closely with the sector to address the concerns raised.

As the Chancellor said in his letter to the TSC on 4 November, HM Treasury does not prepare formal forecasts for the UK economy, which are the responsibility of the independent OBR. They will publish their next forecast on 25 November.

In addition, within their statutory mandates, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) produce analysis which reflect their independent judgements regarding the impact of Covid-19 on the likely path of the economy. They updated their projections in their Monetary Policy Report published on 5 November. This reflected UK restrictions announced up to 31 October, including “heightened England-wide measures for the period 5 November to 2 December”. In this scenario, GDP was revised downwards and is now expected to contract by 2% in Q4 reflecting the impact of stricter measures to control Covid-19.

The UK Government has signalled an intention to reduce health measure requirements for inbound passengers who have received two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

How evidence of this status is declared and shared by the individual is still being assessed.