Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Planning for COP26 is progressing in all areas and we are continuing to work closely with the venues and our delivery partners to ensure that we deliver the facilities and logistics needed for the event, in line with the requirements outlined by the UNFCCC.

Alongside summit preparations, the COP26 President, ministers and senior officials have been engaging with a wide range of UK and international partners.

Last month, COP President Designate Alok Sharma initiated a comprehensive round of consultations with the chairs of all UNFCCC negotiating groups to complement his ongoing informal engagement with international partners – which has included trips to Gabon, Ethiopia, Egypt and Nigeria already this year. And we continue to engage our international partners extensively at a technical level, as well as through our diplomatic network around the world.

The UK is committed to delivering an ambitious and inclusive COP26. We know that approaching our Presidency in a fair, inclusive and balanced way will lead to the most sustainable outcomes.

We will champion inclusivity throughout our COP Presidency and use our position as Presidency to empower and amplify the voices of those whose views are often most marginalised, addressing their needs and priorities in the run up to, and at the COP itself.

We are working with a diverse group of Friends of COP, leading figures from around the world who are sharing their expertise in support of a successful summit. This includes Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. We are also engaging regularly with the UNFCCC constituency focal points, which include the Trade Union non-governmental organisations.

The Government’s Race Disparity Audit (RDA) and its website, Ethnicity Facts and Figures, was launched in October 2017. The website is world first and has been welcomed internationally for its open and data-driven approach to highlighting inequalities of outcomes.

In response to its findings, Government has taken action to increase diversity in employment.

This includes launching the Race at Work Charter which aims to increase ethnic minority representation in all sectors, and providing targeted employment support in twenty areas around the country with high rates of ethnic minority unemployment to boost earning potential.

In 2018/19, the Government consulted on options for exploring possibilities for employer- level ethnicity pay reporting. Following the consultation, Government met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers to reporting. The Government is continuing to analyse this data and is committed to responding to the consultation by the end of the year.

In addition, this year the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was established and is examining all aspects of continuing racial and ethnic disparities in Britain. It is building on the work of the Race Disparity Unit. The Commission is carrying out a deeper examination of what the causes of these disparities are, and is seeking to establish what works to address them effectively, including in employment and enterprise.

We want transgender people to be free to live and to prosper in modern Britain. We have looked carefully at the issues raised in the consultation, including the impact of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 on trans people. It is the Government’s view that the balance struck in this legislation is correct, in that there are proper checks and balances in the system and also support for people who want to change their legal sex.

We will make the gender recognition certificate process kinder and more straightforward. We will cut bureaucracy by enabling applications via gov.uk and will reduce the fee from £140 to a nominal amount. We know from our research that improving healthcare support is a priority for transgender people. That’s why three gender clinics will become operational this year, which should see waiting lists cut by around 1,600 patients by 2022 and why the GEO is providing funding for Dr Michael Brady, the UK’s National LGBT Health Advisor, and working with him and the NHS to improve transgender people’s experience.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a world leading policy that places a proactive equality duty on public bodies, and those exercising public functions, to consider the potential effects of key decisions on groups with protected characteristics. Government departments are each individually responsible for ensuring their compliance with the PSED.

Assessments of significant policy and operational changes are routinely undertaken by Departments and other public bodies as part of PSED compliance. There is however no statutory requirement to publish assessments and decisions on publication are a matter for the public body concerned, given the particular circumstances.

The Government has implemented significant measures to reduce the spread of the virus in all communities, especially for people who may be at higher risk. This includes ensuring that those in high-contact professions get targeted testing and translating key public health messages into different languages.

The Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, is also leading cross-government work on the findings of the Public Health England Report “COVID-19: review of disparities in risks and outcomes”. This includes reviewing the effectiveness and impact of current actions being undertaken by government departments and their agencies to directly lessen disparities in infection and death rates of COVID-19. She will shortly be submitting her first quarterly report to the Prime Minister updating him on progress with this work.

The decision to charge suspects in England and Wales with criminal offences is made either by the police or by the CPS depending on the nature of the offence involved. The CPS make the decision to charge in serious cases but over the last five years the police have made the charging decision in 61% to 63% of the cases that are prosecuted by the CPS. In cases in which the CPS make the decision to charge, the CPS had a charging rate of between 74.5% and 77.7% over the last five years.

While the police and other investigators are responsible for conducting inquiries into any alleged crime and gathering evidence to inform a charging decision, prosecutors work closely with police during the investigation stage to assist with the building of strong cases. The recently introduced Director of Public Prosecution’s Guidance on Charging 6^th Edition (DG6) supports this work to ensure cases are robustly prepared by police and prosecutors pre-charge.

This reflects aspects of the revised Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure; both came into effect in England and Wales on the 31 December 2020.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

The government published the draft Border Target Operating Model in April. This sets out plans to phase in security and biosecurity controls from 31 October in a way which implements critical protections at the UK border, while ensuring these new controls are as simple as possible for businesses to comply with.

We developed the draft document alongside the Scottish and Welsh Governments and officials from the Northern Ireland Executive, and continue to work collaboratively to design and be able to implement a model for the whole of the UK.

We are also working closely with businesses to get this right. During the engagement period on the draft model we have spoken to UK and international businesses and their supply chains to help them understand the new requirements and gather their views on them. We have listened closely to the feedback we received from stakeholders and are carefully considering what more we can do to support business readiness for the introduction of new controls before the final TOM is published later this summer.

We have also been working through our embassies across the EU to ensure readiness in Member States. The final version of the model we publish will respond to the feedback we have had and will set out further detail to support supply chain readiness.

While businesses will need to prepare for new requirements, we will continue to take a pragmatic approach to the introduction of border controls to ensure trade is not disrupted.

The Government has engaged extensively with ports and carriers to ensure they are ready for the end of staged customs controls. We are confident that arrangements are in place to ensure the continued flow of trade over the Christmas period.

​The Government has invested £470 million for new infrastructure to carry out customs and biosecurity checks, including £200 million Port Infrastructure Fund grants for ports to build infrastructure onsite and £270 million for Inland Sites.

Parliamentary scrutiny is a key stage in the delivery of a Common Framework; Government officials remain in regular contact with relevant Parliamentary committees about this matter. The Government anticipates that frameworks will be made available for Parliamentary scrutiny in the Autumn and that the Devolved Administrations will follow a broadly similar timetable. The Government and the Devolved Administrations are committed to delivering Common Frameworks by the end of 2021. Following this, Common Frameworks will be kept under periodic review.

The majority of Common Frameworks intersect with the policy areas covered in Northern Ireland Protocol. Common Frameworks contain the governance structures needed to manage divergence arising as a consequence of new or amended EU law applied through the Protocol. Reporting on any divergence arising from the Protocol will be a matter for the relevant Common Framework-owning departments and their Devolved Administration counterparts to consider.

The Northern Ireland Executive has provided provisional confirmation for 21 Common Frameworks. Of the remaining 32 active areas in which a Common Framework is required, 28 Common Frameworks have now been provisionally confirmed and one has been fully implemented. Once sufficiently progressed, the Northern Ireland Executive will be sharing their Frameworks with the Northern Ireland Assembly to allow for Parliamentary Scrutiny in the same way colleagues across the UK Government will be sharing the provisionally confirmed Frameworks with the UK Parliament.

The majority of Common Frameworks intersect with the policy areas covered in Northern Ireland Protocol. Common Frameworks contain the governance structures needed to manage divergence arising as a consequence of new or amended EU law applied through the Protocol. Reporting on any divergence arising from the Protocol will be a matter for the relevant Common Framework-owning departments and their Devolved Administration counterparts to consider.

The Northern Ireland Executive has provided provisional confirmation for 21 Common Frameworks. Of the remaining 32 active areas in which a Common Framework is required, 28 Common Frameworks have now been provisionally confirmed and one has been fully implemented. Once sufficiently progressed, the Northern Ireland Executive will be sharing their Frameworks with the Northern Ireland Assembly to allow for Parliamentary Scrutiny in the same way colleagues across the UK Government will be sharing the provisionally confirmed Frameworks with the UK Parliament.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

Dear Lady Ritchie,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made on the level of (1) exports from the UK to the EU, and (2) imports from the EU to the UK, since 1 January (HL14230).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish monthly trade statistics[1]. The latest official estimates are for January 2021, the first month since the end of the UK’s transition period with the European Union (EU). It should be noted that monthly data are erratic and small movements in these series should be treated with caution. There were also a number of atypical economic and global factors[2] contributing to the falls seen in the January data, so it is too soon to draw conclusions from the data.

Data on exports of goods from the UK to the EU and imports of goods to the UK from the EU can be found in Table 1 below. Please note that data are in current prices and, as such, include the effect of inflation.

Services data for January 2021 are not currently available at a geographical level.

Table 1: UK Imports and exports of goods with EU excluding non-monetary gold and other precious metals, in £ billion, seasonally adjusted

Source: ONS

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/bulletins/uktrade/january2021

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/articles/impactofthecoronavirusandeuexitonthecollectionandcompilationofuktradestatistics/2021-03-08

Comprehensive guidance on what the Protocol means for people and businesses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland is available online. In particular, details of available support and of specific processes for different kinds of goods movements (whether by traders or individuals) is available at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/trading-and-moving-goods-in-and-out-of-northern-ireland.

The Joint Consultative Working Group briefly convened for a very short period on 29 January to adopt the Rules of Procedure. This was not a full meeting so was attended by limited delegations of only three officials from each side.

The Working Group will continue to meet at dates decided by the co-chairs.

The Joint Consultative Working Group briefly convened for a very short period on 29 January to adopt the Rules of Procedure. This was not a full meeting so was attended by limited delegations of only three officials from each side.

The Working Group will continue to meet at dates decided by the co-chairs.

There have been challenges in the operation of the Protocol since the beginning of the year but the invocation of Article 16 on 29 January compounded those issues and undermined confidence across Northern Ireland.

Urgent progress is required to address outstanding concerns about the Protocol and restore confidence on the ground in Northern Ireland. Our discussions continue in the Joint Committee framework to take that forward. To provide space for those discussions without the threat of significant disruption for day-to-day lives in Northern Ireland, last week the Government set out several temporary operational measures to provide more time for businesses, such as supermarkets and their suppliers, to adapt to new requirements. These measures are lawful as part of a progressive and good faith implementation of the Protocol.

As set out in our Command Papers, the UK Government has, at all times, taken forward a pragmatic and proportionate approach, drawing upon all available flexibilities to implement the Protocol without causing undue disruption to lives and livelihoods.

The EU’s actions on 29 January, however, profoundly undermined the operation of the Protocol and cross-community confidence in it. That is why it is now urgent for work to be taken forward to address all outstanding issues, to reassure all parties in Northern Ireland. The letter sent to Vice-President Sefcovic by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 2 February, sets out the baseline set of issues that the UK Government consider must be addressed in this regard. The Joint Committee co-chairs met again on 11 February as part of this work.

Further to the statement I made, and the answer given by my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy Lancaster, goods are moving effectively between GB and NI and there are no significant queues at NI ports. Freight levels arriving into and leaving Northern Ireland ports are now close to, or at, normal pre-Christmas levels.

The UK Government is working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive on the operationalisation of the requirements of the Protocol.

The Government is working with the electoral sector and Public Health England to identify and resolve challenges involved in delivering the May 2021 elections, including ensuring polling stations are safe and covid-secure places to vote. People will be able to participate in the polls safely and in a way of their choice, whether by post, proxy or in-person.

This was outlined in the Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution’s letter to Electoral Returning Officers, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-chloe-smith-mp-to-returning-officers

Requiring proof of identity to vote in a polling station will strengthen the integrity of our electoral system, and give the public confidence that our elections are secure and fit for the 21st century.

We will continue to work with the Electoral Commission, charities and civil society organisations, including those that represent Traveller and Roma communities, to make sure that reforms are delivered in a way that is inclusive for all voters.

As the legislation is brought forward the appropriate impact assessments will be provided for Parliament in the normal way.

Showing ID is something people of all backgrounds already do every day, for example, to take out a library book, claim benefits or pick up a parcel from the post office. Proving who you are before you make a decision of huge importance at the ballot box should be no different.

The list of approved photographic ID will not be limited to passports and driving licences, a broad range of commonly held photographic documents will be accepted. For any voter who does not have one of the required forms of photographic ID, a local elector ID will be available, free of charge, from their local authority. Everyone who is eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so.

The Government is committed to ensuring that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote and has been working with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to improve the voting process for blind and partially sighted people.

At the 2019 General Election, the Government encouraged Returning Officers to support voters with sight loss to use their own, familiar equipment, such as smartphones, with specially designed apps for reading documents, or video magnifiers to help them cast their vote. This was publicised by partner organisations such as the RNIB and supported the voting experience of people with sight loss. The Government has also worked with relevant organisations, such as the Electoral Commission, to improve disability related training for polling station staff.

We will continue to test further proposed interventions to improve accessibility for future elections.

We have been making significant preparations for the end of the transition period, and have been urging businesses and citizens to do the same, with the Government supporting them to do so.

The key actions that businesses and citizens need to take before the end of the Transition Period are set out on GOV.UK/transition which contains advice on a wide range of subjects.

Working effectively with the private sector is a vital part of our response to tackling the covid-19 crisis, allowing us to procure quickly and innovatively and to obtain specialist solutions to the myriad challenges that are facing us. The private sector is responsible for the miracle of vaccines being available in record time.

We have always made it clear that contracting authorities must use good commercial judgment and continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, and we have engaged in both internal and external audit to satisfy ourselves that that has been the case.

Through “The Outsourcing Playbook” we are also improving the decision making and quality of contracts that the Government place with industry, and we are building our internal civil service capability, as we believe it is important that we invest in our in-house capacity and expertise so that we rely less on external consultants and contractors

We recognise the important role that Government suppliers have played supporting the Government’s Covid-19 efforts in addition to delivering on their existing public sector contracts.The safety of all staff is paramount, and all suppliers must adhere to Health and Safety legislation, as well as specific departmental policy when staff are working at Government sites.

Working effectively with the private sector is a vital part of our response to tackling the covid-19 crisis, allowing us to procure quickly and innovatively and to obtain specialist solutions to the myriad challenges that are facing us. The private sector is responsible for the miracle of vaccines being available in record time.

We have always made it clear that contracting authorities must use good commercial judgment and continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, and we have engaged in both internal and external audit to satisfy ourselves that that has been the case.

Through “The Outsourcing Playbook” we are also improving the decision making and quality of contracts that the Government place with industry, and we are building our internal civil service capability, as we believe it is important that we invest in our in-house capacity and expertise so that we rely less on external consultants and contractors

We recognise the important role that Government suppliers have played supporting the Government’s Covid-19 efforts in addition to delivering on their existing public sector contracts.The safety of all staff is paramount, and all suppliers must adhere to Health and Safety legislation, as well as specific departmental policy when staff are working at Government sites.

Working effectively with the private sector is a vital part of our response to tackling the covid-19 crisis, allowing us to procure quickly and innovatively and to obtain specialist solutions to the myriad challenges that are facing us. The private sector is responsible for the miracle of vaccines being available in record time.

We have always made it clear that contracting authorities must use good commercial judgment and continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, and we have engaged in both internal and external audit to satisfy ourselves that that has been the case.

Through “The Outsourcing Playbook” we are also improving the decision making and quality of contracts that the Government place with industry, and we are building our internal civil service capability, as we believe it is important that we invest in our in-house capacity and expertise so that we rely less on external consultants and contractors

We recognise the important role that Government suppliers have played supporting the Government’s Covid-19 efforts in addition to delivering on their existing public sector contracts.The safety of all staff is paramount, and all suppliers must adhere to Health and Safety legislation, as well as specific departmental policy when staff are working at Government sites.

We have been making significant preparations for the end of the transition period, and have been urging businesses and citizens to do the same, with the Government supporting them to do so.

The key actions that businesses and citizens need to take before the end of the Transition Period are set out on GOV.UK/transition which contains advice on a wide range of subjects.

We have been working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive as implementation work proceeds, including in relation to agrifood movements into Northern Ireland, and where discussions with the EU have concerned devolved issues. The Northern Ireland Executive has also been closely involved in the work of the Northern Ireland Secretary’s Business Engagement Forum. Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive have attended meetings of the Joint Committee. This close working will continue to the end of the transition period and beyond.

The Intelligence and Security Committee published its Russia Report on 21 July 2020. The Government published its response to the report on the same day.

I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 16 July 2020 by the Foreign Secretary, which was repeated in this House (HLWS376).

The Government is working to ensure the UK is prepared for the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. We recently announced a significant investment in ports and borders infrastructure. We have also launched a major new campaign to communicate the steps we must all take to prepare for the end of the transition period. Details are available at gov.uk/transition.

Leaving the EU means we will be able to design our own rules, in our best interests, including regarding how we manage our response to crises like the covid-19 pandemic. For example, we will have greater control over our laws, our borders and our economy. The UK Government will of course continue to cooperate closely with the EU and its member states, alongside other international partners.

As with previous National Security Advisers, David Frost will be the principal adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on national security strategy, policy, capability and civil contingencies. I refer the noble Lady to the statement I made on 30 June 2020.

This Government was elected with an ambitious agenda. The Government keeps resourcing for the Civil Service continually under review, to ensure it has the resources to deliver Government priorities as we recover from COVID-19.

Regulation 24 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures on conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Regulation 24 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures on conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

The Government continues to provide a full range of support services for veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic, with appropriate adjustments to those services to take into account the requirement for social distancing and to keep people safe.

This support has included NHS mental and physical health support, access to Veterans UK services including its welfare and transition services and a helpline telephone call back service and support for those veterans within the criminal justice system. In addition to this, the Government has continued to take further steps to support the Armed Forces community, including improved access to social housing and a £6m COVID-19 fund which has provided grants to 100 Service sector charities, including veterans’ care and residential settings.

Government continues to work to ensure any new or changed support needs as a result of COVID-19 are identified and can be met. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has funded a new study with the King’s Centre for Military Health Research, part of King’s College London, exploring the impact of COVID-19 on veterans. This study will provide evidence about the impact of the pandemic on the veterans community and ensure any specific needs or impacts can be addressed.

The 34th British-Irish Council Heads of Administration Summit was due to take place in June 2020 hosted by the Scottish Government. In light of the unprecedented circumstances created by the Covid-19 situation, which has affected all eight of the Council’s Member Administrations, the Summit was postponed.

It is anticipated that the next summit will take place in late 2020, in keeping with the usual pattern. Discussions between the member administrations on the agenda, theme and form are ongoing. Arrangements will be informed by the latest public health advice at the time.

UK Government officials continue to remain active in progressing the work of the Council through remote working and virtual meetings across the 11 work sectors.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. Ministerial meetings with external individuals and organisations are published and available on GOV.UK.

The Race Disparity Unit (RDU) continues to collect and publish data and analysis about variances in treatment or outcome affecting people of different ethnicities.

For civil servants whose roles require them to be in the workplace, advice has been provided to support them in line with the government guidance on safer working during covid-19.

Departments are working closely with individual employees to take into account their personal circumstances.

Government advice remains that people should work from home where possible.

For civil servants whose roles require them to be in the workplace, advice has also been provided to support them in line with the government guidance on safer working during covid-19. In addition, a Workplace Incident Framework, developed with trade unions, sets out the activity that must take place when an individual develops Covid-19 specific to their employees, including for public-facing roles, in line with BEIS guidance and through close working with NHS England and Public Health England.

Departments are working closely with individuals to ensure their personal circumstances are fully factored into decisions about their working arrangements. This includes supporting ethnic minority individuals based on their particular circumstances and ensuring they have the right to challenge a proposed return to the workplace if they have concerns, to have those concerns properly considered and addressed and to not return where they feel this has not been done.

Measures to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading covid-19 for temporary agency workers have been put in place, including a payment scheme to support the pay of temporary agency workers who cannot work for reasons associated with covid-19 (up to the value of 80% of their salary to a cap of £2,500 per month) and the use of virtual pre-employment screening checks and interviews.

The Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment) Regulations 2019, made in October 2019, introduced comprehensive reform to the annual canvass. Canvass Reform has provided Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) with greater flexibility to target their resources in a way which best suits their local area, while at the same time reducing their overall administrative burden. The reforms also make the canvass more effective for citizens, as the initial data matching step means that many will no longer have to respond to the canvass each year.

Ensuring that the electoral register is both accurate and complete is the legislative responsibility of EROs and the Government is supporting EROs to be able to meet this requirement. Preparations to undertake the 2020 Annual Canvass under the reformed system are well underway and Cabinet Office officials have ensured a comprehensive package of training has been provided and direct support is in place.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to provide additional flexibility to EROs, the Government is also introducing legislation this summer to extend the publication date of the annual register from December 2020 to February 2021. This will provide EROs with greater flexibility and further time to produce a comprehensive and accurate record of the electorate.

The Government was elected on a manifesto commitment to retain the current franchise at 18 and therefore has no plans to extend voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds in England.

The Government continues to believe that the voting age should remain aligned with the age of majority, at 18. This is the point at which many other key rights and obligations as a citizen are acquired and is in line with international comparators.

The Prime Minister asked the Cabinet Office to establish the facts and that work is ongoing. The Prime Minister will make any decision on the matter public once the work has concluded.

The Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) is responsible for the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). For all risks included in the NSRA there is an established departmental risk owner. It is the responsibility of each risk-owning department to oversee the management of their portfolio of risks, to ensure their own preparedness and that of their relevant sectors. Departments and agencies can draw upon a wide range of stakeholder input, including Regulators and Local Resilience Forums to enact appropriate mitigation, response and recovery plans for their risks and sectors.

Coronavirus is the biggest challenge the UK has faced in decades. That is why the Government put in place strict social distancing to slow the spread of the virus so that the NHS would not be overwhelmed, and lives could be saved. With thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the British people, the UK slowed the spread of Coronavirus.

As set out in Our Plan to Rebuild, the Government will introduce a range of adjustments to current social distancing controls, timing these carefully according to both the current transmission rate of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety. The steps for modifying social distancing measures are set out in the plan, with strict conditions to safely move from each step to the next.

The Government continues to keep social distancing measures under constant review, with a statutory obligation to review progress every three weeks.

Negotiations on the future UK and EU relationship have continued despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

The UK and EU engaged in a full and constructive round of negotiations between 11 - 15 May. A Written Ministerial Statement was made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 19 May updated the progress of negotiations, which I repeated in this House (HLWS239).

Future relationship discussions are ongoing, and the next round of negotiations began on 1 June.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made a Written Ministerial Statement on 19 May, which I repeated in this House (HLWS239), to update Parliament on the third round of negotiations, which took place between 11 and 15 May.

As set out in Our Plan to Rebuild, the Government will introduce a range of adjustments to current social distancing controls for England, timing these carefully according to both the current transmission rate of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety. The steps for modifying social distancing measures are set out in the plan, with strict conditions to safely move from each step to the next.

Step One was implemented from 13 March. The Government's current aim is that the move to Step Two will be made no earlier than 1 June, subject to these conditions outlined in the document being satisfied. Proposed changes set out include a phased return for early years settings and schools; opening non-essential retail when and where it is safe to do so; permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast; and re-opening more local public transport in urban areas.

Step Three will also take place when the assessment of risk warrants further adjustments to the remaining measures. The Government's current planning assumption is that this step will be no earlier than 4 July, subject to the five tests, and further detailed scientific advice provided closer to the time, on how far we can go.

Work on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement continues despite the challenges posed by the UK and EU’s responses to COVID-19. This Government is overseeing a broad programme of activity which will ensure the UK is prepared for the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.

The Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee met for the first time on 30 March and will meet again on 12 June. The Specialised Committees are also progressing.

The Cabinet Office has published a Command Paper on the Implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. This is available on gov.uk and in the library of the House.

The Government was elected on a manifesto which made clear the transition period would end on 31 December 2020. This is now enshrined in primary legislation and it remains our policy.

Extending the transition period would simply prolong the negotiations, prolong business uncertainty, and delay the moment of control of our borders. Extending the transition period would mean we will have to make further payments into the EU budget. It would also keep us bound by EU legislation, at a point when we need legislative and economic flexibility to manage the UK response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Political Declaration (Section XIV) set out our commitment to discuss open and fair competition as part of negotiations on our future relationship with the EU and the Government are committed to doing so. The Government will of course keep Parliament and the public updated about the progress of negotiations.

The Withdrawal Agreement with the EU respects the territorial integrity of the UK.

It ensures that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK’s customs territory and Northern Ireland’s businesses will have unfettered access to the whole of the UK internal market.

I echo our European ally’s commitment to peace and stability across the island of Ireland. We are firmly committed to peace in Northern Ireland and to upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

The British Irish Council supports 11 work sector programmes, the members of whom meet regularly at official and ministerial level. These thematic policy groups include Social Inclusion, Housing and Collaborative Spatial Planning, Digital Inclusion and Misuse of Substances, which each cover aspects of mental health and social care. As part of the agenda for the next main Summit meeting the Council will be provided with an update on the 11 work sector programmes.

Ofcom has a statutory duty to promote media literacy under Section 11 of the Communications Act (2003). This covers services regulated under the Online Safety Bill. In December 2021, Ofcom published its ‘Approach to Media Literacy’ document, setting out its refreshed work programme to discharge its duty. This includes working with industry to publish best practice principles for platform-based media literacy interventions, and funding projects supporting children and their parents online.

The Online Safety Bill will strengthen Ofcom’s ability to discharge its existing duty, giving it new information-gathering and transparency-reporting powers to provide it with better visibility of industry efforts. It will also force regulated services to consider media literacy in their illegal content and children’s risk assessments.

Further, the government is delivering an expansive, non-legislative media literacy work programme through our Online Media Literacy Strategy. This includes providing £1 million in grant funding this year alone for new media literacy projects, including initiatives working with Local Authorities, and offering support to parents.

Our intention is to have the regime operational as soon as possible after Royal Assent, whilst ensuring the necessary preparations are completed effectively and service providers understand what is expected. We are working closely with Ofcom, who will be responsible for implementing the regime.

It is important that the timeframe for implementation leaves sufficient time and flexibility for Ofcom to produce, consult on, and publish codes of practice and guidance on protections for children which are fit for purpose. It is also critical that the relevant statutory consultees, including persons who represent the interests of children, have adequate time to provide their views.

In the event of non-compliance, Ofcom will have the necessary powers to take appropriate and proportionate enforcement action to secure compliance from all services in scope of the Online Safety framework, including operators of online pornography services. This includes the power to require companies to take certain steps, the power to issue large fines, and powers to disrupt the ability of companies to operate in the UK.

The Online Safety Bill has been designed to bring into scope services which pose the greatest risk of harm to users, and where there is a gap in existing policy responses. Hosting, sharing and discovery of user-generated content give rise to a range of online harms and the Bill is therefore focused on user-to-user services which facilitate this harm. Search services are also in scope as they play a significant role in enabling individuals to access harmful content online.

User-to-user and search services will be required to implement systems and processes to minimise the uploading and sharing of priority illegal content on their services. This includes priority offences relating to sexual images, for example, revenge pornography and extreme pornography. Priority offences reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against which companies must take proactive measures.

Publishers of online content are already directly liable for offences which relate to the possession or distribution of illegal material such as extreme pornography. The criminal law is therefore the most appropriate mechanism for dealing with these providers rather than a regulatory regime, as it is not appropriate for Ofcom to duplicate the role of law enforcement.

The Online Safety Bill will also address children’s access to legal pornography through the Bill. It will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video sharing platforms, forums and search engines. These services will need to prevent children accessing pornography or face enforcement action. This includes content classified as extreme pornography or pornographic content which has been refused a classification by the British Board of Film Classification.

The Online Safety Bill has been designed to bring into scope services which pose the greatest risk of harm to users, and where there is a gap in existing policy responses. Hosting, sharing and discovery of user-generated content give rise to a range of online harms and the Bill is therefore focused on user-to-user services which facilitate this harm. Search services are also in scope as they play a significant role in enabling individuals to access harmful content online.

User-to-user and search services will be required to implement systems and processes to minimise the uploading and sharing of priority illegal content on their services. This includes priority offences relating to sexual images, for example, revenge pornography and extreme pornography. Priority offences reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against which companies must take proactive measures.

Publishers of online content are already directly liable for offences which relate to the possession or distribution of illegal material such as extreme pornography. The criminal law is therefore the most appropriate mechanism for dealing with these providers rather than a regulatory regime, as it is not appropriate for Ofcom to duplicate the role of law enforcement.

The Online Safety Bill will also address children’s access to legal pornography through the Bill. It will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video sharing platforms, forums and search engines. These services will need to prevent children accessing pornography or face enforcement action. This includes content classified as extreme pornography or pornographic content which has been refused a classification by the British Board of Film Classification.

The Online Safety Bill will deliver comprehensive protections for children from online pornography. All sites that offer pornography will need to put in place measures such as age verification to prevent children accessing pornographic content on their services or face enforcement action.

In assessing compliance or the risk of non-compliance, Ofcom will have wide-ranging information gathering and investigation powers. This includes the power to require information from companies and relevant third parties, the power to audit companies and interview employees, as well as enter and inspect companies’ premises and seize equipment and/or documents with a warrant. These powers will ensure that Ofcom is able to effectively assess whether companies are fulfilling their regulatory requirements.

To ensure heat networks do not remain on fossil fuel systems, the Government has introduced the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF). The GHNF is a 3 year £288 million capital grant fund which helps heat networks install cost-effective low-carbon heat sources. The Government is also proposing to regulate heat networks through the Energy Security Bill, which would provide powers to set carbon emissions limits on heat networks as part of the move to net zero. Under the Bill, it is envisaged that Ofgem will be appointed as the regulator for heat networks and enforce carbon limits.

Following the success of the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) Demonstrator which was delivered in FY21/22 , we are now developing a multi-year scheme, the HNES Main. This scheme will be a key part of the Heat Network Transformation Programme in which we are investing £338 million from 2022-2025.

The HNES Main is likely to again offer both capital grants and revenue grants to existing district heating or communal heating projects to improve the efficiency of the communal network.

Alongside the improvements to network efficiency the government has announced more than £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings, including measure to improve the energy efficiency of properties.

Employment businesses are currently prohibited, by regulation 7 of the Conduct Regulations, from introducing or supplying temporary agency workers to a hirer to cover striking workers. Employers can already bring in extra staff to cover striking workers if they hire them directly. This change would allow more flexibility for employers when dealing with a strike by allowing them to use agency staff to continue functioning to some extent.

It does not change the requirements for businesses to comply with wider health and safety rules that keep both employees and the public safe. Employers would still have a responsibility to ensure agency workers had all the necessary skills and/or qualifications to meet those obligations.

Employment businesses are currently prohibited, by regulation 7 of the Conduct Regulations, from introducing or supplying temporary agency workers to a hirer to cover striking workers. Employers can already bring in extra staff to cover striking workers if they hire them directly. This change would allow more flexibility for employers when dealing with a strike by allowing them to use agency staff to continue functioning to some extent.

It does not change the requirements for businesses to comply with wider health and safety rules that keep both employees and the public safe. Employers would still have a responsibility to ensure agency workers had all the necessary skills and/or qualifications to meet those obligations.

I outlined in my letter of 23 May 2022 to the Chair of the Commons Committee for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Government’s initial views on this EU proposed directive, including its implications for UK businesses. I attach a copy of my letter, which has been published by the Committee.

The Government recently confirmed, following consultation, reforms for ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’. It has no plans to propose additional legislation for corporate accountability, for example along the lines of the EU’s recent draft directive for cross cutting corporate sustainability due diligence.

The Government supports the voluntary due diligence approaches by UK businesses to these issues, taking account of international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. The Government has not been persuaded that a blanket approach to mandatory due diligence in law is practical or proportionate.

The Government keeps under review policy approaches involving corporate due diligence, but it currently has no plans to propose cross cutting legislation to regulate corporate accountability and due diligence for human rights and environmental protection. The Government supports voluntary due diligence approaches by UK businesses to these issues, taking account of international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.

Training courses are available for existing heating engineers to learn to install heat pumps and can be completed in one week. Industry groups are confident that there will be enough training capacity to be able to meet demand for heat pump upskilling as heat pump deployment increases.

The Government is also updating the apprenticeship framework for heating and plumbing to ensure this offers the right skills to deliver Net Zero. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is working with an industry group to revise the existing Plumbing and Domestic Heating apprenticeship, and to develop a new Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Baroness.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Baroness.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Baroness.

Hybrid heating systems will not be supported through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme as funding will be directed towards the technologies that offer the greatest carbon savings, rather than those which would continue to involve the burning of fossil fuels for heating. Government will continue to consider the role that gas and electric hybrid systems may play in the longer-term decarbonisation of heat on the gas grid.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) currently has a committed budget of £450m over three years from 2022/23 to 2024/25. Any additional scheme budget or extension beyond this timeframe will be a matter for a future fiscal event.

Any additional budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme beyond the presently committed £450m over three years will be a matter for a future fiscal event. However, we want as many people as possible who want to have a heat pump installed this year to be able to have one, so will continue to keep uptake of the scheme under review.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme currently has a committed budget of £450m over three years from 2022/23 to 2024/25. Any additional scheme budget or extension beyond this timeframe will be a matter for a future fiscal event.

£1.1 billion has been allocated to the Home Upgrade Grant since 2020. This £67 million was an extension of £152 million allocated to successful local authorities under the Sustainable Warmth competition, bringing the first phase of HUG to a total of £219 million. BEIS are working across government and with key stakeholders to decide the final policy scope and delivery approach for future funding iterations until 2025.

The energy transition is not only an issue of decarbonisation, it is also an issue of national security. The Government’s strategy to generate more low-carbon energy in the UK will reduce reliance on imported gas, shield consumers from volatile international fossil fuel markets, and provide new opportunities to level up the economy and drive job creation.

By accelerating the deployment of cheap renewable power, and rolling out further energy efficiency measures, the Government’s decarbonisation policies will help household energy bills by ensuring that consumers are less exposed to international fossil fuel prices while driving progress towards its Net Zero targets.

As the Government produces more domestically sourced energy, families will be much better protected from energy price spikes caused by volatile international fossil fuel markets. At the same time, by getting ahead of the curve in driving down the costs of the latest clean technology, more consumers will enjoy more efficient cars and heating systems sooner.

The Government has allocated a total of £1.1 billion to the Home Upgrade Grant, with delivery taking place from early 2022 to March 2025. It will provide support to low-income families living off the gas grid to transition to low carbon heating, including heat pumps. The Home Upgrade Grant funds all energy efficiency and low-carbon heating measures that can be modelled by Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP).

Earlier this month, we announced the launch dates for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The scheme will open for installer account creation on 11 April, and voucher applications will open 23 May. All systems commissioned from 1 April will be entitled to support under the scheme. These dates were communicated directly to industry.

The Government has had, and continues to have, significant engagement with industry including manufacturers, installers, trade associations and industry standards bodies. Ofgem consulted at the end of last year to seek industry views on their administration of the scheme.

The UK already requires companies to undertake due diligence on sustainability matters under existing legislation on corporate transparency. UK listed companies are required to report on relevant environmental, social and governance aspects in their annual reports. Large businesses are also required to publish supply chain transparency statements on steps they have taken to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place in their business or through their supply chains. Both reporting requirements compel disclosure of a company’s due diligence arrangements where these are in place.

The UK has a strong record on human rights protection, much of which results from our framework of legislation. The UK already requires companies to undertake due diligence on sustainability matters under existing legislation on corporate transparency. UK listed companies are required to report on relevant environmental, social and governance aspects in their annual reports. Large businesses are also required to publish supply chain transparency statements on steps they have taken to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place in their business or through their supply chains. Both reporting requirements compel disclosure of a company’s due diligence arrangements where these are in place.

In certain circumstances, companies can already be held liable for breaches of duties of care to others where harm is suffered as a foreseeable consequence of the breach.

The Sustainable Warmth strategy, published in February 2021, sets out government’s approach to tackling fuel poverty in England. It is accessible here.

Energy efficiency improvements remain the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. Support for low income and vulnerable households is available through schemes such as the Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation.

Financial support to help toward energy bills is available through the Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment.

In addition, a new package of support to help households with their energy bills was announced on the 3^rd February which includes a £200 discount on household energy bills this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain; a £150 non-repayable rebate on Council Tax bills for all households in Council Tax Bands A-D in England; and an additional £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

There will be several routes to compliance with the 2021 uplift, and it is therefore not possible to produce a robust estimate of the number of annual heat pump installations that will result. Modelling from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities produced as part of their impact assessment in the case of domestic properties specifically, estimates that around 10% of new homes built in 2022 could include an air source heat pump.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy set out the range of policies that will combine to support the development of the heat pump market towards 600,000 per year by 2028.

This package includes: the Future Homes Standard, which will ensure that new homes are built zero carbon-ready without the need for costly retrofitting; targeted funding support, through the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund; and proposals currently out to consultation for a new market-based incentive, to be introduced from 2024, and to phase out new fossil fuel heating systems in off-gas grid buildings, starting with larger non-domestic buildings from 2024 and smaller buildings and homes from 2026.

The Government will be consulting on the exact technical specification of the Future Homes Standard in 2023. A robust estimate of the impact of the standard with regards heat pump installations will be possible once its technical specification is finalised.

We are clear however that when it is implemented in 2025, all new homes built to the Future Homes Standard will have low carbon heating, such as heat pumps. With that in mind, the Department’s impact assessment on our proposal to introduce a market-based mechanism for low carbon heat included an indicative estimate of up to around 200,000 heat pump installations per year from 2027, consistent with DLUHC estimates of around 250,000 annual net new-build completions from 2023 to 2029.

The policies announced in the Heat and Buildings Strategy combine targeted funding to kickstart market growth, with incentives and regulations to provide long-term policy clarity for industry. We expect these measures will rapidly drive down costs, in line with the Government’s ambitions to reduce the upfront costs of heat pumps by between a quarter and a half by 2025. We are encouraged that so many across the sector have already pledged to significantly reduce costs.

The recently published Heat and Buildings Strategy brings together work from across Government on energy efficiency and clean heat, delivering a consistent and coherent approach across different markets, buildings and occupancy types. The Government has taken action to ensure that decision-making across government is aligned to deliver net zero, including establishing two Cabinet Committees, chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the COP President, to co-ordinate action across government, strengthening official-level governance, and taking new approaches to embed net zero in spending decisions.

Alongside leading figures in industry and many suppliers, we are confident that the costs of heat pumps can reduce by 25-50% by 2025 and have set an ambition to work with industry to achieve further reductions towards overall cost parity with gas boilers by 2030 at the latest. The policies we are introducing, including a new £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Future Homes Standard, and a new market mechanism in the heating appliance market, will rapidly scale up the market to help deliver cost reductions.

We remain committed to working with industry to keep costs down and making sure energy prices are fair and affordable and incentivise consumers to make sustainable choices. We will launch a Fairness and Affordability Call for Evidence on options to help rebalance electricity and gas prices with a view to taking decisions in 2022.

As set out in the UK Hydrogen Strategy, the Government intends to provide further detail on its hydrogen production strategy in early 2022.

The Government plans to take decisions in 2026 on the role of hydrogen in heating buildings. In order to inform these decisions, the Government is working with industry and others on a range of projects that will help to assess the feasibility and impacts of using hydrogen in place of natural gas and the timescales required for industry to adjust.

The Government plans to take decisions in 2026 on the role of hydrogen in heating buildings. In order to inform these decisions, the Government is working with industry and others on a range of projects that will help to assess the feasibility and impacts of using hydrogen in place of natural gas and the timescales required for industry to adjust.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working closely with Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy and is committed to exploring options for Northern Ireland to join the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme – the UK’s main support mechanism for large-scale renewable generation. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State also recently met with the Northern Ireland Assembly's Minister for the Economy Gordon Lyons where, amongst other issues, there was a discussion around Northern Ireland and the CfD scheme. Current work is considering a range of issues, including impacts on consumer bills and wider implications for how the scheme operates currently in Great Britain.

The Government remains committed to its manifesto pledge to invest £9.2 billion in the energy efficiency of homes, schools, and hospitals, helping to decarbonising buildings to keep us on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

• The Government allocated £500 million funding to support the energy efficiency upgrades of homes of low-income households across England through the Phase 1 and 2 of the Local Authority Delivery Scheme. The Government announced a further £200m to a third phase of this scheme which will be delivered alongside an initial £150m of the Homes Upgrade Grant Scheme from early 2022 to March 2023.
• The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock. We announced up to £160m funding for the 2021/22 financial year, delivering up to January 2023.

In addition, the Energy Company Obligation has already installed 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes, and we are increasing the amount energy suppliers invest in energy efficiency measures for low-income households, recently consulted on a successor scheme ECO until 2026, and boosting its value from £640 million to £1 billion a year. This will help an extra 305,000 families with green measures such as insulation, with average energy bill savings of around £300 a year.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK and existing laws require that all consumer products, including toys sold online, must be safe before they can be placed on the UK market.

The national product safety regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to take action against manufacturers, importers or distributors who sell unsafe and non-compliant toys, including through online marketplaces. These regulators have access to a national Product Safety Database to share information and to help prioritise and target activity.

The Government recognises the scale of the challenge in regulating online sales and OPSS is taking forward a programme of work to help ensure the safety of products sold online. This includes actively identifying products available online that pose a serious risk and ensuring that non-compliant products being sold by third-party sellers are removed from sale. Since April 2021, OPSS interventions have led to the withdrawal of more than 10,000 unsafe products, including toys, previously listed and available in the UK, via online marketplaces.

The Government’s review of the UK’s product safety framework aims to ensure it remains robust and is future-proofed so that it continues to protect consumers while enabling businesses to safely innovate and grow. This includes reviewing the impact of eCommerce on the product safety framework to ensure appropriate accountability and clear responsibilities throughout the supply chain.

The Government has analysed submissions to the Call for Evidence and is currently finalising its response which will be published in due course. OPSS officials continue to engage with stakeholders as the review progresses and any proposals for legislative change would be subject to public consultation.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK and existing laws require that all consumer products, including toys sold online, must be safe before they can be placed on the UK market.

The national product safety regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to take action against manufacturers, importers or distributors who sell unsafe and non-compliant toys, including through online marketplaces. These regulators have access to a national Product Safety Database to share information and to help prioritise and target activity.

The Government recognises the scale of the challenge in regulating online sales and OPSS is taking forward a programme of work to help ensure the safety of products sold online. This includes actively identifying products available online that pose a serious risk and ensuring that non-compliant products being sold by third-party sellers are removed from sale. Since April 2021, OPSS interventions have led to the withdrawal of more than 10,000 unsafe products, including toys, previously listed and available in the UK, via online marketplaces.

The Government’s review of the UK’s product safety framework aims to ensure it remains robust and is future-proofed so that it continues to protect consumers while enabling businesses to safely innovate and grow. This includes reviewing the impact of eCommerce on the product safety framework to ensure appropriate accountability and clear responsibilities throughout the supply chain.

The Government has analysed submissions to the Call for Evidence and is currently finalising its response which will be published in due course. OPSS officials continue to engage with stakeholders as the review progresses and any proposals for legislative change would be subject to public consultation.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK and existing laws require that all consumer products, including toys sold online, must be safe before they can be placed on the UK market.

The national product safety regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to take action against manufacturers, importers or distributors who sell unsafe and non-compliant toys, including through online marketplaces. These regulators have access to a national Product Safety Database to share information and to help prioritise and target activity.

The Government recognises the scale of the challenge in regulating online sales and OPSS is taking forward a programme of work to help ensure the safety of products sold online. This includes actively identifying products available online that pose a serious risk and ensuring that non-compliant products being sold by third-party sellers are removed from sale. Since April 2021, OPSS interventions have led to the withdrawal of more than 10,000 unsafe products, including toys, previously listed and available in the UK, via online marketplaces.

The Government’s review of the UK’s product safety framework aims to ensure it remains robust and is future-proofed so that it continues to protect consumers while enabling businesses to safely innovate and grow. This includes reviewing the impact of eCommerce on the product safety framework to ensure appropriate accountability and clear responsibilities throughout the supply chain.

The Government has analysed submissions to the Call for Evidence and is currently finalising its response which will be published in due course. OPSS officials continue to engage with stakeholders as the review progresses and any proposals for legislative change would be subject to public consultation.

While we welcome progress made and new Nationally Determined Contributions and commitments made at the Climate Ambition Summit and since by many parties, we agree with assessments by the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Energy Agency, and the Climate Action Tracker that there remains a significant gap to achieving below 2°C and to 1.5°C.

The temperature goal of the Paris Agreement is just within reach, but to achieve it, further ambition is needed and must be acted on today. That is why we are asking all countries to come forward ahead of COP26 with enhanced and ambitious commitments to reduce emissions and scale up adaptation.

The UK is driving up global climate ambition and fostering a global, green, inclusive and resilient recovery from COVID-19 through our leadership in multilateral forum, our COP26 and G7 Presidencies, our international climate finance commitments and our International Energy Unit.

As part of the Government’s commitment to build back better from the pandemic, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out in his Ten Point Plan for the UK to lead the world into a Green Industrial Revolution. This innovative programme set out ambitious policies and £12 billion of government investment to support up to 250,000 green jobs across the UK, accelerate our path to reaching net zero by 2050 and lay the foundations for our green recovery by building back greener from COVID-19.

We are making real progress in delivering the Ten Point Plan while setting out plans for further climate action. Since last November, we have secured new investments in offshore wind, electric vehicles and battery manufacturing and supply chains, and rolled out schemes to decarbonise homes and buildings - supporting green jobs across the UK. We have also published our Energy White Paper, North Sea Transition Deal, Transport Decarbonisation Plan, Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Strategy and consultation on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) business models.

This November, the UK will host COP26 in Glasgow bringing together world leaders, climate experts, business leaders and citizens to agree ambitious action to tackle climate change. Ahead of COP26, we will bring forward further bold proposals, including a Net Zero Strategy, to cut emissions and create new jobs and industries across the whole country, going further and faster towards building a stronger, more resilient future and protecting our planet for this generation and those to come.

We will publish a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy. This will raise ambition as we outline our path to meet net zero by 2050, our Carbon Budgets and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

The current treatment in the UK ETS of carbon emissions from biomass provides continuity for participants.

The UK only supports biomass which complies with strict sustainability criteria, and electricity generators receive subsidies only for compliant biomass.

The sustainability criteria, amongst other things, take into account the greenhouse gas emissions from collecting, transporting and turning biomass into a viable energy source (for example wood pellets), whether that is in the UK or elsewhere, to ensure that biomass delivers a carbon saving compared to fossil fuels.

The UK only supports biomass which complies with strict sustainability criteria, and electricity generators receive subsidies only for compliant biomass.

The sustainability criteria, amongst other things, take into account the greenhouse gas emissions from collecting, transporting and turning biomass into a viable energy source (e.g. wood pellets), whether that is in the UK or elsewhere, to ensure that biomass delivers a carbon saving compared to fossil fuels.

Generators must report against these criteria under the Renewables Obligation and the Contracts for Difference schemes on a monthly basis to Ofgem.

Details of lenders accredited to deliver the Covid-19 Loan Schemes were published on the British Business Bank’s website while the schemes were in operation.

Providing a list would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department. Each lender’s regulatory status is available on the relevant regulator’s website.

In February 2021, the stock of total loans outstanding, and held by monetary financial institutions, to UK non-financial businesses (seasonally adjusted), was £528 billion, up from £487 billion in February 2020 (Source: BoE Bankstats).

Within this, the stock of total loans outstanding owed by UK SMEs was £215 billion in February 2021, up from £167 billion in February 2020.

UK Government Ministers and officials are in weekly discussions with the Devolved Administrations regarding the supply of vaccines. This is in addition to the UK Government sharing a rolling 13-week forecast with the four nations each week, as well as a 6-month forward look which is shared each month. This helps to ensure that deployment can be planned effectively and aligned to forecast supply.

Our forthcoming scheduled deliveries will fully support our target of offering a first vaccine dose to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority cohorts 1 to 9 by 15 April and all remaining adults by 31 July.

The UK Government is responsible for supplying vaccines to the Devolved Administrations. However, as health policy is a devolved matter, the vaccination programme in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the respective Devolved Administrations.

We have already made significant progress towards meeting our net zero target. We met our first and second carbon budgets that were established under the Climate Change Act 2008, and we are on track to meet the third.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan is the down-payment on meeting the fourth (2023-27) and fifth (2028-32) carbon budgets. Spanning clean energy, buildings, transport, nature and innovative technologies, the plan will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030; level up regions across the UK; and support up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs. It will also support our efforts to build back greener from the coronavirus, generating jobs and bolstering the economy, whilst continuing to drive down emissions both now and in the future.

Ahead of COP26, we will set out ambitious plans across key sectors of the economy to meet our carbon budgets and net zero. We have already published the Energy White Paper and the first phase of our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, and will publish further strategies, including on Heat and Buildings, in due course.

We will also publish a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy, making the most of new growth and employment opportunities across the UK.

As we rebuild, we must build back better, greener, and faster. This means supporting green jobs, levelling up, accelerating our path to net zero, and creating long-term advantage for the UK. The UK has shown that growing our economy and cutting emissions can be achieved at the same time - growing our economy by 78% while cutting emissions by 43.8% over the past three decades.

Spanning clean energy, buildings, transport, nature and innovative technologies, the Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030. This will support our efforts to build back greener from the coronavirus, generating jobs and bolstering the economy, whilst continuing to drive down emissions both now and in the future.

Ahead of COP26, we will set out ambitious plans across key sectors of the economy to meet our carbon budgets and net zero. We have already published the Energy White Paper and the first phase of our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, and will publish the Heat and Building Strategy in due course.

We will also publish a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy, making the most of new growth and employment opportunities across the UK. These will raise ambition as we outline our path to hit our 2050 target.

The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme opened for applications in September 2020.

As of 8th February, 22,165 vouchers have already been issued with more being issued every day.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of the voucher scheme, including a comprehensive analysis of scheme outcomes and evidence collected from scheme applicants and other stakeholders will be undertaken.

We continue to listen to and act upon feedback from stakeholders as we have done since the formation of the scheme.

We are listening to feedback from installers and are working closely with Trade Associations and Certification Bodies to ensure their members are fully informed of the requirements of the scheme.

We have provided guidance for quotes to both installers and homeowners, so they are clear on the information needed for the scheme administrator to approve an application and we have updated other aspects of the guidance available for installers, for example around payment processes. We have already made improvements based on feedback received and are working closely with the scheme administrator to identify further improvements and support increasing numbers of vouchers and payments to be issued.

BEIS officials will continue to work closely with ICF to identify areas where the process could be improved.

We engage regularly with industry stakeholders across a range of Certification Bodies, Trade Associations and Industry Groups including TrustMark and MCS. We are listening to their feedback and working closely with those bodies to ensure their members are fully informed of the requirements of the voucher scheme.

We have numerous channels for dialogue with the supply chain and consumer groups, including roundtables with certification bodies, trade bodies and representatives from the industry. In December, the Department held its first installer Webinar, taking questions and walking through the scheme details and processes with over 150 installers in attendance.

There will be an independent evaluation of the processes and effectiveness of the voucher scheme, including a comprehensive analysis of scheme outcomes and evidence collected from scheme applicants and other stakeholders.

Post Office Ltd has admitted it got things wrong in relation to the Horizon IT system and has apologised. The Government understands the serious impact that issues arising from faults with the Horizon IT system, and the Post Offices management of these issues, have had on affected postmasters’ lives and livelihoods. In order to ensure that there is a public summary of failings and that this situation will never be repeated, the Government launched the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry on 29 September 2020.

As stated in the answer I gave the noble Baroness on 23 November 2020 to Question HL10093, the next Contracts for Difference allocation round will take place later this year, in which we are aiming to deliver up to double the renewable capacity achieved in the last round. The Government has committed £160 million to support new port and manufacturing infrastructure, which is needed to achieve our 40GW offshore wind ambition and secure local jobs and benefits. We are also considering the responses received through our recent consultation on changes to supply chain plans for future allocation rounds and will respond shortly.

We have a long-term ambition for the UK to become the leading global hub for life sciences through the implementation of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy; the last year has accelerated and deepened that commitment. The UK is at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies: for example, we have launched genome sequencing of 500,000 Biobank participants; developed a national infrastructure for advanced therapy manufacturing; and establishing the Accelerated Access Collaborative to deliver a step change in the uptake of innovative treatments in the NHS.

We continue this work in collaboration with our life sciences partners in order to build back better, boosting resilience in the sector and strengthening our science base. This is supported by the Government’s target of public and private research and development investment to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Throughout the Covid-19 outbreak, we have engaged closely with manufacturing industry through sector roundtables and by talking directly to businesses. This has helped shape the Government’s unprecedented package of support which has included loan schemes, grant funding, tax deferrals and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all of which is designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors including manufacturing.

The Government maintains an ongoing programme of engagement with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and their Business Representative Organisations (BROs) in order to better understand the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and to support them in adapting to the UKs new trading relationship with the EU.

In recent weeks, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has hosted roundtables with SMEs and BROs to discuss a range of topical issues facing SMEs, including Covid-19 and EU trade.

My Hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business regularly meets with SMEs and BROs from a range of sectors across the UK and holds weekly calls with representatives from the hospitality and consumer goods sectors.

On the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to regular meetings with SMEs, BEIS Ministers conducted 25 regional business engagement roundtables, including nine roundtables with businesses in the Devolved Nations. Attendance at these events was made up of mainly SMEs, reaching over 1,000 attendees.

BEIS continues to deliver a rolling plan of engagement with UK SMEs, including through webinars and other events across the spectrum of our sectors to discuss the ongoing impact of Covid-19, the continued support Government is providing businesses and how we can Build Back Better as our economy reopens.

On the UK’s relationship with the EU, we communicate with a wide range of sectors and businesses about actions they can take to be ready for new opportunities now the transition period has ended. This includes a regular bulletin to BROs, with over 12,500 subscribers, and a weekly email from the Secretary of State to over half a million subscribers, including small businesses.

In the run up to the end of the Transition Period, the Government corresponded with over 4.7 million businesses, circulated frequent bulletins, and provided support to Trade Associations to communicate to their members.

There have been over 9.5 million views of information about UK transition and over 55,000 businesses have directly engaged with webinars, forums or through sector engagement since October 2020. Webinars have received over 16,000 views, and digital adverts have achieved over 47 million impressions.

As the backbone of our economy, we will continue to ensure that SMEs are engaged on Covid-19 and EU Trade, in addition to the wider issues that impact them.

Ministers and officials have engaged closely with business representative organisations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and we continue to do so.

BEIS Ministers hold regular sector calls with all the industries that BEIS covers, including but not limited to manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional services, retail and hospitality. The industry representatives include business organisations and trade associations. We use these ongoing engagements to collect direct intelligence on the impacts of Covid-19 on industries and sectors that informs the response from BEIS and other Government departments and ensures the effectiveness of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak and economic recovery.

Ministers and officials have engaged closely with business organisations throughout the negotiations with the EU and we continue to do so. BEIS Ministers hold regular calls with all BEIS sectors, including but not limited to manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional business services, retail and hospitality. We use these ongoing engagements to collect direct intelligence on the impacts of the Trade Co-operation Agreement (TCA) on industries and sectors that informs the response from BEIS and other Government departments, and ensures the effectiveness of Government’s advice and support to businesses. In addition, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster chairs the Brexit Business Taskforce comprising a wide group of businesses and business organisations that regularly meet to discuss the impacts and opportunities for businesses from the UK leaving the EU.

We know that businesses across all sectors have faced enormous challenges throughout this pandemic, that is why the Government has spent over £280bn to put in place an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and help businesses continue trading where possible.

We are also investing in the development, purchase, and deployment of vaccines in order to lift restrictions once the health data indicates it is prudent to do so.

Ministers and officials have engaged closely with business representative organisations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and we continue to do so.

BEIS Ministers hold regular sector calls with all the industries that BEIS covers, including but not limited to manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional services, retail and hospitality. The industry representatives include business organisations and trade associations. We use these ongoing engagements to collect direct intelligence on the impacts of Covid-19 on industries and sectors that informs the response from BEIS and other Government departments and ensures the effectiveness of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Using threats about firing and re-hiring as a negotiating tactic is unacceptable. If the employer changes an employee’s terms and conditions without their agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.

The Government has been working with ACAS on this issue, who are seeking insights and views from employer bodies and trade unions, as well as professional bodies with advisory contact with employers, such as employment lawyers, accountants, and payroll services.

This work is generating valuable information on the circumstances when fire and hire practices have been used and their impact on the workplace.

Planning for COP26 is ongoing and we are continuing to work closely with the venues and our delivery partners to ensure that we deliver the facilities and logistics needed for the event, in line with the requirements outlined by the UNFCCC.

Alongside summit preparations, the COP26 President, Ministers and senior officials have been engaging with a wide range of UK and international partners.

On 12th December, the fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement, the UK, UN and France co-hosted a Climate Ambition Summit alongside our partners Italy and Chile. Over 90 countries, businesses, sectors, cities, including 75 world leaders, attended and set out their ambitious plans and new commitments. This was a clear signal that climate change remains at the top of the global agenda despite the challenges of COVID-19. This marked a major milestone on the road to COP26, and we will build on this momentum to drive forward climate action and ambition in 2021.

The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in the new year, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings.

These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating as part of an ambitious programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings.

We have provided support and tools to help businesses prepare and understand the actions they need to take ahead of the end of the transition period. The Government, through HMRC, has provided £84 million to support small businesses adapt to new customs rules, and the Department for International Trade has established a £38m Internationalisation Fund for small businesses.

The Government has published comprehensive guidance and launched an online checker tool for businesses to tailor guidance to their needs via GOV.UK. BEIS has also undertaken a comprehensive programme of engagement with businesses, including my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State writing out to 4.7 million businesses across the country to inform them of how to prepare for the end of the transition period.

We have provided support and tools to help businesses prepare and understand the actions they need to take ahead of the end of the transition period. The Government, through HMRC has provided £84 million to support small businesses adapt to new customs rules and DIT has established a £38m Internationalisation Fund for small businesses.

The Government has published comprehensive guidance and launched an online checker tool for businesses to tailor guidance to their needs via GOV.UK. BEIS has also undertaken a comprehensive programme of engagement with businesses including the Secretary of State writing out to 4.7 million businesses across the country to inform them of how to prepare for the end of the transition period.

Planning for COP26 is ongoing and we are continuing to work closely with the venues and our delivery partners to ensure that we deliver the facilities and logistics needed for the event, in line with the requirements outlined by the UNFCCC.

Alongside summit preparations, the COP26 President, Ministers, and senior officials have been engaging with a wide range of UK and international partners.

COP26 presents an unprecedented opportunity to come together as a country to tackle the threat of climate change. That is why we have launched the ‘Together for our Planet’ campaign, to raise public awareness of COP26 and the UK’s Presidency.

The UK, UN and France will also co-host a Climate Ambition Summit alongside our partners Italy and Chile, on 12th December 2020 on the fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement. This will be an opportunity for countries to announce ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and net zero, finance and adaptation commitments.

The recent net zero commitments from China, Japan and South Korea have provided welcome momentum and we hope that the Ambition Summit provides impetus for further commitments by the end of the year.

Another key preparation that took place on Friday 27^th November was the first meeting of the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council. It was here that Ministers and representatives from some of the world’s largest and most progressive car markets came together to discuss how they can work together to make the transition cheaper, easier, and faster for all. Following the meeting, a joint statement of intent was released, see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-of-the-zero-emission-vehicle-transition-council.

The Government appreciates that news about redundancies and job losses will be distressing for many and employers should always treat employees fairly.

Despite the unprecedented package of support provided by this Government, some employers will need the flexibility to be able to offer different terms and conditions to ensure the sustainability of their business. However, using threats about firing and re-hiring as a negotiating tactic is unacceptable and if the employer changes any of the terms without the employee’s agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.

The Government appreciates that news about redundancies and job losses will be distressing for many and employers should always treat employees fairly.

Despite the unprecedented package of support provided by this Government, some employers will need the flexibility to be able to offer different terms and conditions to ensure the sustainability of their business. However, using threats about firing and re-hiring as a negotiating tactic is unacceptable and if the employer changes any of the terms without the employee’s agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.

The Government has just concluded a call for evidence in September on the potential of marine energy projects in Great Britain. This sought evidence on the scope for innovative marine energy technologies across Great Britain and we are currently considering responses to it.

Achieving our 2050 net zero target will require significant increases in renewable electricity generation, and we will continue to encourage deployment and support the UK sector.

The Contracts for Difference scheme has been very successful in delivering large-scale renewable generation whilst reducing costs through competitive allocation rounds. The next round will open in late 2021 and aims to deliver up to double the renewable capacity of last year’s successful round, potentially providing enough clean energy for up to 10 million homes. The Smart Export Guarantee, which was introduced in January 2020, gives small-scale generators, such as homes with solar panels, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid.

The UK is a major global market for renewables, and we want to harness the wider benefits of this market-leading position in terms of jobs and investment. We have already announced £160 million of funding for portside manufacturing infrastructure. The government is eager to strengthen how supply chain plans operate, as signalled in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on 6 October.? A government response and a further consultation on how we propose to strengthen supply chain plan requirements through the next Contracts for Difference allocation round will be published shortly.

The UK was the first major economy in the world to legislate for net zero and as we move to a low carbon economy, oil and gas will play a smaller role in meeting the demand for energy over time.

The oil and gas sector will play a crucial role in supporting the UK’s energy transition. We are working closely with the sector to agree a transformational North Sea Transition Deal, which we have committed to deliver within this Parliament. The focus of this deal will be on ensuring the sector can support the energy transition and anchoring the supply chain across the UK with a focus on new high-quality jobs and opportunities.

We are also conducting a review of policy on the future of the offshore oil and gas licensing regime, to ensure the government has the information needed to plan for future oil and gas production, in a way that is aligned with the government’s climate change objectives. Initial findings will be announced alongside the upcoming Energy White Paper.

On 29 September, we announced the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. The Inquiry aims to achieve the following:

• build on the findings of Mr Justice Fraser, by obtaining all available relevant evidence from Post Office Ltd, Fujitsu and BEIS to establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of the Horizon IT computer system over its lifetime.
• understand what went wrong in relation to Horizon and the impacts that the Horizon IT system caused;
• acknowledge the personal experiences of those who have worked with the Horizon system and were affected by it and identify what key lessons must be learned for the future;
• assess whether Post Office has learned the lessons and made good progress on the changes necessary to ensure a similar case does not happen again; and
• provide a public summary of the above through the publication of a report by Summer 2021 which will also make recommendations as the Inquiry chair, Sir Wyn Williams, sees fit.

The Post Office has also committed to a significant programme to fundamentally reform the organisation. Ministers and Officials regularly engage with Post Office management on the progress of this programme to ensure they deliver on their commitments from the settlement.

The UK has one of the strongest, most productive health and life sciences industries globally. The sector is a major component of the UK economy with a turnover of £80.7 billion, supporting 256,100 jobs.

The life sciences industry provides high quality, highly skilled jobs across all the regions of the UK and is powered by one of the world’s best research and science bases, underpinned by top class universities, globally renowned clinical research, and the NHS.

The UK has real advantages in life sciences, and the Government has worked closely with industry, academia, and charities to make rapid progress. In June 2020, the Government released the Life Sciences Recovery Roadmap, which includes a proposed plan for the healthcare system to get back on its feet, and for the sector to emerge from the pandemic in the strongest possible position.

The UK has one of the most vibrant and innovative technology sectors in the world, which has been highly resilient through the pandemic. This Government is fully committed to unleashing innovation and supporting priority technologies.

We are providing a wide range of support to high-tech industry, including through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and a £1.25 billion coronavirus package of support for innovative firms – which includes the Future Fund – together with our major commitment to increase public R&D spending to £22 billion by 2024-25.

Furthermore, we support specific priority technologies: combined public and private investment in the National Quantum Technologies Programme over its 10 year lifetime is set to pass £1bn and the Artificial Intelligence Sector Deal represents a £1bn commitment from industry and Government.

In September, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport launched the framework UK National Data Strategy to support further action to build the UK’s position as a world-leading data economy.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set out his ambitions Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution.

Spanning clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies this plan will enable the UK to forge ahead in delivering its target of net zero – ending its contribution to climate change by 2050 – and building back better.

The plan – which is part of the PM’s mission to level up across the country - will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to support up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs in the UK, and spur up to three times as much private sector investment by 2030. Over the past 30 years, the UK has been at the forefront of the transition to green – demonstrating that economic growth is aligned with protecting the climate and environment, with our GDP growing by 75% whilst emissions have fallen by 43%.

The Government knows that many areas of the economy face challenges, especially sectors that have closed under new national restrictions, such as hospitality. That is why we have extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to the end of March 2021 and provided an unprecedented support package, including grants, job support, loans, business rate holidays, VAT cuts and additional financial support through local authorities.

During the period of national restrictions, all areas of England will be provided with funding to support both closed and severely impacted businesses.

Areas that were subject to Local Covid Alert Level 2 (High) or equivalent restrictions for the period from the 1^st August will be allocated funding via the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) to run local discretionary grant schemes. This means that businesses most impacted by the restrictions can be supported: the appropriate level of grant is for Local Authorities to determine bearing in mind the size of business, its fixed costs and the severity of impact suffered.

Where areas were subject during this period to Local Covid Alert Level 3 (Very High) restrictions Local Authorities will receive an allocation of funding via the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) to provide grants of up to £3,000 per four week period to those businesses that have been required by local restrictions to close.

Information on these schemes is available in guidance to local authorities which was published on 3^rd November and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-restrictions-support-grants-lrsg-and-additional-restrictions-grant-arg-guidance-for-local-authorities.

Ministers and officials have engaged closely with business representation organisations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and we continue to do so.

BEIS Ministers hold regular sector calls, with all the industries that BEIS covers, including but not limited to manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional services, retail and hospitality. The industry representatives include business organisations and trade associations. We use these on-going engagements to collect direct intelligence on the impacts of Covid-19 on industries and sectors that informs the response from BEIS and other Government departments and ensures the effectiveness of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Manufacturing is a critical part of our economy,?and?the Department?continues to regularly engage with industry, suppliers, and trade associations to ensure that we can support our?manufacturing sectors?during and after the Covid-19 crisis. We have made £2 billion in Government-backed finance available to manufacturers through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and £2.3 billion through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme to help firms keep operating. We have also provided support totalling £4.78 billion through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended to March 2021 to protect people’s wages and manufacturing jobs across the UK.

The Government is also continuing to support growth in the sector through investments into: Made Smarter, to help manufacturers reap the benefits of industrial digital technology; the High Value Manufacturing Catapult network, to support manufacturers in commercialising innovation, and; innovation programmes such as the Automotive Transformation Fund to ensure the UK can unlock future markets and lead future industries. Through our Lifetime Skills Guarantee we are also making it easier for people to retrain for jobs of the future.

The Government believes that nuclear power will play a key role in our future energy mix alongside other technologies, such as renewables. Nuclear is the only technology that is currently proven that can be deployed on a sufficiently large scale to provide continuous low-carbon power, which will help us to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The forthcoming Energy White Paper will address changes to our energy system, promoting high-skilled jobs and clean, resilient economic growth as we deliver on our net zero target.

The Government recognises the impact that coronavirus is having on job security in the retail sector and we have put together a far-reaching package of support for businesses and for the economy.

We understand this will be a worrying time for Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group’s employees and their families and stand ready to support anyone affected in any way we can.

This is a commercial matter for the company and we hope the administrators will be able to secure as many jobs as possible.

The aerospace sector is being supported with over £8.5 billion support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for research and development, loan guarantees, and support for aerospace exports.

The Government works with industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership to deliver the UK’s strategy for aerospace. This includes a commitment of £1.95 billion of funding for research and development, matched by industry, over 13 years up to 2026. Funding of £125 million through the Future Flight Challenge will also support research on electric and autonomous flight technology, positioning the UK aerospace sector to transition to cleaner forms of aviation.

We are working closely with the devolved administrations, including through regular Ministerial calls. We are also inviting the devolved administrations to participate in the Aerospace Growth Partnership (the sector council) so they can hear first-hand the activities and priorities for the sector and will be able to contribute accordingly.

The aerospace sector is being supported with over £8.5 billion of support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for research and development, loan guarantees, and support for aerospace exports. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to the end of October, allowing aerospace employers to ensure they retain as many employees as possible. In addition, and the Chancellor launched the Job Retention Bonus, which will to help the sector to retain furloughed workers.

In addition, to support employment, the Government is investing a total of £1.6 billion to scale-up employment support schemes, training, and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job, including in the aerospace sector. The investment will include:

• A £2000 payment to businesses for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the Government already provides for new 16 to 18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
• £111 million funding to triple the scale of traineeships in 2020-21 ensuring more young people have access to high quality training.
• £17 million of funding to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements in 2020-21.
• Nearly £900 million to double the number of work coaches to 27,000.
• An extra £32 million investment in the National Careers Service benefiting over a quarter of a million more young people.

We are working closely with the UK’s aerospace industry, including at sector level through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, to help retain jobs and return the sector to growth as soon as possible.

The UK’s aerospace industry has been able to draw on the Government’s extensive Covid-19 business support measures, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. The Government is also providing the UK aerospace industry and its aviation customers with over £8.5 billion of support through the Coronavirus Corporate Financing Facility, research and development grants, loan guarantees, and support for exports.

The aerospace sector will be affected by a significant reduction in demand due to the global impact of Covid-19. We are supporting its long-term return to growth through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, with £1.95 billion of funding for research and development (R&D), matched by industry, over 13 years up to 2026.

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is also providing £125 million to the Future Flight Challenge for research on greener ways of flying through advances in electric and autonomous flight technology, which is expected to generate an additional £175 million of match-funding from industry.

We are also co-investing in aerospace productivity improvement and innovation programmes to support small and medium-sized businesses, backed with over £135 million of public funding.

In addition, the aerospace sector and its aviation customers are being supported with over £8.5 billion support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for R&D, loan guarantees, and support for aerospace exports.

We are actively monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market, including the impact on men and women.

We are continuing to analyse the ONS labour market statistics, with the latest edition released on the 16th of June which cover the 3-month period to the end of April. These statistics showed that compared to the previous month’s release, the economic activity rate has fallen more for men (0.4 percentage points) than it has for women (0.2 percentage points). The next ONS labour market statistics covering the 3-month period to the end of May will be released on the 16^th July.

It is still too early to make any firm conclusions of impacts, or provide any full estimates of the number of women who have left the workforce as a result of Covid-19, due to the lag in the official statistics. Impacts have not yet fully filtered through to headline indicators, including the number of those economically inactive.

We expect employers to do the right thing to support the wellbeing of their staff generally, and to pay particular attention to those who may be more vulnerable during the COVID-19 outbreak, including pregnant women.

If employers cannot provide a safe working environment for pregnant women, they will be able to access a range of government support: this includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for employees who have previously been furloughed for a full three-week period prior to 30 June, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the £8bn that has been injected into our welfare system to improve the safety net.

The Department continues to have close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to help us understand where support is most needed for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak and the economic recovery. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, meetings and discussions with leading organisations such as Trade Associations, and cross-sector organisations.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has instigated a series of regular calls with BROs and other Trade Associations during the coronavirus outbreak to discuss government support measures, including the suite of Coronavirus business support schemes.

BROs and Trade Associations are also invited to join regular sector specific calls led by relevant Ministers, and engagement forums around Safer Working Environments led by the Secretary of State, where they provided the views of their members to support Her Majesty'd Government in developing guidance for the working environments most relevant to their membership.

The Secretary of State is also creating 5 new business-focused groups to unleash Britain’s growth potential and create jobs, as part of the government’s plans to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. This will engage both business representative organisations and SMEs.

The Department continues to have close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to help us understand where support is most needed for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak and the economic recovery. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, meetings and discussions with leading organisations such as Trade Associations, and cross-sector organisations.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has instigated a series of regular calls with BROs and other Trade Associations during the coronavirus outbreak to discuss government support measures, including the suite of Coronavirus business support schemes.

BROs and Trade Associations are also invited to join regular sector specific calls led by relevant Ministers, and engagement forums around Safer Working Environments led by the Secretary of State, where they provided the views of their members to support Her Majesty'd Government in developing guidance for the working environments most relevant to their membership.

The Secretary of State is also creating 5 new business-focused groups to unleash Britain’s growth potential and create jobs, as part of the government’s plans to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. This will engage both business representative organisations and SMEs.

The Department continues to have close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to help us understand where support is most needed for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak and the economic recovery. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, meetings and discussions with leading organisations such as Trade Associations, and cross-sector organisations.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has instigated a series of regular calls with BROs and other Trade Associations during the coronavirus outbreak to discuss government support measures, including the suite of Coronavirus business support schemes.

BROs and Trade Associations are also invited to join regular sector specific calls led by relevant Ministers, and engagement forums around Safer Working Environments led by the Secretary of State, where they provided the views of their members to support Her Majesty'd Government in developing guidance for the working environments most relevant to their membership.

The Secretary of State is also creating 5 new business-focused groups to unleash Britain’s growth potential and create jobs, as part of the government’s plans to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. This will engage both business representative organisations and SMEs.

The Government has established the Vaccines Taskforce to coordinate the work going on across government, academia and industry to accelerate the development and manufacture of a COVID-19 vaccine. The development of a vaccine is at the early stages but progressing rapidly.

Funding for the development of vaccines has been provided for in line with the guidance set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book. Due to the commercial sensitivity of the contracts, it would not be possible to comment on individual elements.

The Government will be setting out dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021, hosted in Glasgow by the UK in partnership with Italy, in due course.

The UK has shown that growing our economy and cutting emissions can be achieved at the same time. We have grown our economy by 75% while cutting emissions by 43% over the past three decades. The UK has over 460,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains and many of the actions we need to take to reach our target of net zero emissions by 2050 will support the future growth of our economy.

As we recover from COVID-19, the Government intends to deliver a UK economy which is stronger, cleaner, more sustainable and more resilient.

The UK continues to be a prime destination for life sciences. Sustained Government and industry investment in life sciences research across the UK has provided a strong foundation for this work to flourish.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, the Government is engaging with the life sciences sector to understand how it can best respond to issues, such as developing and producing testing supplies.

The Government’s long-term objectives for research and development are clear: to invest in the science and research that will deliver economic growth across the UK, for decades to come. As part of the Government’s £1.25 billion Covid-19 support package, Innovate UK is investing £750 million to support innovation in the country’s most research-intensive businesses during and afterthe pandemic.

As of 6 May, in total over £5.5 billion worth of loans have been issued under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to 33,812 businesses. Lenders have received 62,674 completed applications.

In order to minimise administrative burden and therefore facilitate the issuing of as many loans as possible, the British Business Bank’s system only gathers data from lenders when loans are offered and drawn. Decisions on whether to capture information relating to rejected loans are at the discretion of the lender.

We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and the lenders on providing transparent and regular data publication going forward.

This Department continues to work closely with the British Business Bank on the design and implementation of the CBILS loan schemes. This includes discussions on monitoring the take-up of the loans across the UK. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy keeps in regular contact with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to monitor implementation to ensure that companies receive the full benefits of the support being provided.

The Department maintains close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to understand where support is needed most for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, the Federation for Small Businesses, the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce, MAKE UK - the Manufacturers Organisation, UK Finance, and the Institute of Directors.

The Secretary of State and my Hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business conduct calls with a range of BROs to discuss feedback from businesses on government support measures; and additional calls have been initiated to announce developments to the suite of COVID19 business finance.

The Minister for Small Business has attended and answered questions at 4 public webinars in April and May including one hosted by Merton Chambers of Commerce. All were joined by a large number of SMEs.

This Department has hosted a series of?free, live webinars for business and industry, week commencing 4 May, to help businesses understand the support available?during the COVID19 outbreak. Over 4,000 attendees joined the 5 May webinar. Officials presented updates on the CBILS scheme and tax issues and answered questions online.

The webinars included:

• Tuesday 5 May – loans for small businesses, tax deferral
• Wednesday 6 May -?COVID-19: Impacts and changes to International Trade
• Thursday 7 May -?Managing your business during coronavirus: reporting, regulations, and tax.

This Department continues to work closely with the British Business Bank on the design and implementation of the CBILS loan schemes. This includes discussions on monitoring the take-up of the loans across the UK. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy keeps in regular contact with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to monitor implementation to ensure that companies receive the full benefits of the support being provided.

The Department maintains close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to understand where support is needed most for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, the Federation for Small Businesses, the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce, MAKE UK - the Manufacturers Organisation, UK Finance, and the Institute of Directors.

The Secretary of State and my Hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business conduct calls with a range of BROs to discuss feedback from businesses on government support measures; and additional calls have been initiated to announce developments to the suite of COVID19 business finance.

The Minister for Small Business has attended and answered questions at 4 public webinars in April and May including one hosted by Merton Chambers of Commerce. All were joined by a large number of SMEs.

This Department has hosted a series of?free, live webinars for business and industry, week commencing 4 May, to help businesses understand the support available?during the COVID19 outbreak. Over 4,000 attendees joined the 5 May webinar. Officials presented updates on the CBILS scheme and tax issues and answered questions online.

The webinars included:

• Tuesday 5 May – loans for small businesses, tax deferral
• Wednesday 6 May -?COVID-19: Impacts and changes to International Trade
• Thursday 7 May -?Managing your business during coronavirus: reporting, regulations, and tax.

This Department continues to work closely with the British Business Bank on the design and implementation of the CBILS loan schemes. This includes discussions on monitoring the take-up of the loans across the UK. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy keeps in regular contact with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to monitor implementation to ensure that companies receive the full benefits of the support being provided.

The Department maintains close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to understand where support is needed most for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, the Federation for Small Businesses, the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce, MAKE UK - the Manufacturers Organisation, UK Finance, and the Institute of Directors.

The Secretary of State and my Hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business conduct calls with a range of BROs to discuss feedback from businesses on government support measures; and additional calls have been initiated to announce developments to the suite of COVID19 business finance.

The Minister for Small Business has attended and answered questions at 4 public webinars in April and May including one hosted by Merton Chambers of Commerce. All were joined by a large number of SMEs.

This Department has hosted a series of?free, live webinars for business and industry, week commencing 4 May, to help businesses understand the support available?during the COVID19 outbreak. Over 4,000 attendees joined the 5 May webinar. Officials presented updates on the CBILS scheme and tax issues and answered questions online.

The webinars included:

• Tuesday 5 May – loans for small businesses, tax deferral
• Wednesday 6 May -?COVID-19: Impacts and changes to International Trade
• Thursday 7 May -?Managing your business during coronavirus: reporting, regulations, and tax.

The Government has introduced important social distancing measures for all types of business to consider in order to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace. The Government has been clear that it is vital that all employers follow this guidance, which is clinically led and based on expert advice.

The Government has stated that vulnerable people who are increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 need to be particularly stringent about social distancing measures. Additionally, the Government guidance sets out that workers who are vulnerable or extremely vulnerable should be supported by their employers as they follow the required social distancing and shielding measures.

If the business is not operating in line with Government guidance, there is a role for the relevant health and safety enforcing authority – the Health and Safety Executive (HSC) or a Local Authority. Where the enforcing authority identified employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks – for example, employers not taking appropriate action to socially distance or ensure works in the shielded category can follow NHS advice to self-isolate for the specified period – the enforcing authority will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. These actions include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements.

The self-employed play an important role in the UK economy and the Government is supporting them through an unprecedented package of measures during this period of disruption.

These include a temporary relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) for self-employed claimants who are sick or self-isolating according to Government guidance. This has already come into effect: on 20 February the Government extended this to all self-employed claimants not just those directly impacted by the virus, ensuring those affected by the economic impact of the outbreak are supported.

Self-employed people unable to work because they are directly affected by Covid-19 or self-isolating will also be eligible for Contributory Employment and Support Allowance. As announced at Budget, this is now payable from the first day of sickness, rather than the eighth.

Furthermore, on 26 March, the Chancellor announced world-leading scheme to support the UK’s self-employed affected by the coronavirus outbreak. he Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

All details of Government support for business during the coronavirus outbreak can be found on the Government’s Business Support website.

The Online Safety Bill will go further than the Digital Economy Act 2017, protecting children from a broader range of harmful content on a wider range of services. The Digital Economy Act was criticised for not covering social media companies, through which a considerable quantity of pornographic material is accessible, and which research suggests children use to access pornography. The online safety framework will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video-sharing platforms, fora and search engines.

HM Government has commissioned research to build the evidence base on harms to children online. This will review the prevalence and impact of a wide range of harmful content online, including pornography, to ensure that the Online Safety Bill provides comprehensive protections for children.

A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low incomes or who receive specific benefits. BT, for example, recently launched a Home Essentials package which will provide fibre and voice services to those on Universal Credit starting at £15 per month. Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar packages to assist households on low incomes. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.

The Government continues to encourage more fixed-line providers to introduce a social tariff and we will continue to monitor the provision in the market. We will also continue to work with Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, to do this.

In December, the Government strengthened Ofcom's consumer protection rules, to ensure that consumers can access the right information to make informed decisions about new services, have stronger contract rights, and switch providers more easily. Ofcom also published its Vulnerability Guide in July 2020, setting out how the sector should support vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills.

A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low incomes or who receive specific benefits. BT, for example, recently launched a Home Essentials package which will provide fibre and voice services to those on Universal Credit starting at £15 per month. Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar packages to assist households on low incomes. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.

The Government continues to encourage more fixed-line providers to introduce a social tariff and we will continue to monitor the provision in the market. We will also continue to work with Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, to do this.

In December, the Government strengthened Ofcom's consumer protection rules, to ensure that consumers can access the right information to make informed decisions about new services, have stronger contract rights, and switch providers more easily. Ofcom also published its Vulnerability Guide in July 2020, setting out how the sector should support vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills.

The Government’s 10 Tech Priorities include building a tech savvy nation where everyone has a base level of cyber and digital skills.

Training is available for adults wishing to acquire digital skills. The Government has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge.

The Government is tackling the digital divide for adults with learning disabilities through our £2.5m Digital Lifeline fund. This fund is providing tablets, data and free digital support to over 5,000 people with learning disabilities, enabling them to connect with friends and family, and access services and support groups, promoting overall well being.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital connectivity. It has been an important component in allowing children to learn remotely. Over 1.3 million laptops and tablets have been distributed to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £400 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services.

Government has worked closely with industry throughout the pandemic and agreed a set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support consumers during the Covid-19 period. Providers have committed to working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19 to ensure that they are treated fairly and appropriately supported. There are also social tariffs in place that provide low cost landline and broadband services for those on means tested benefits.

The Government launched the independent review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in England, led by Nick de Bois, in March. The review will examine how best to structure and support DMOs at a local and regional level in order to deliver the Government’s tourism policy priorities and support economic growth.

The first phase of the review included a public consultation, stakeholder conversations, and a survey of DMOs. The review's second phase was formed of regional roundtables, taking place across England in June.

Nick de Bois will evaluate his findings and submit a written report, including recommendations, to the DCMS Secretary of State in Summer 2021.

The creative industries contributed approximately £116bn to the UK economy in 2019. The Government has recognised the sector as one of the key sectors to drive growth across the country in the Chancellor’s Plan for Growth.

We are actively supporting the creative industries through a range of initiatives such as:

• £4m towards the Creative Scale-Up programme which seeks to help creative businesses expand their operations.

• £39m towards the Creative Clusters programme through UKRI which connects businesses and academia to take advantage of the most recent research and innovations so they can grow.

• £33m towards the Audience of the Future which encouraged creative businesses to use innovative new technologies to reach new audiences.

• £20m towards the first round of the Cultural Development Fund to support business growth and productivity through investment in cultural and creative infrastructure via five projects in places like Wakefield and Worcester, in addition to a further £18.5m for a second round as part of the landmark Cultural Investment Fund, launched in May 2021.

• HMG committed over £2m to the Creative Careers Programme which aims to address aspirational and informational barriers to entry amongst young people and their carers. To date over 115,000 young people have engaged with the programme at over 1500 schools in England and Wales.

• Continuing to work with industry through the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board to increase exports in the creative industries.

• The Government supports trade promotion in the CIs through DIT’s export hubs, the Internationalisation Fund, the Export Academy. All this support will feature in the Creative Industries Export Campaign which will encourage both new exporters and companies wanting to look at new export markets to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to the UK as an independent trading nation.

• The Government is also looking carefully at options for an Export Office.

On 12 May 2021, we published the draft Online Safety Bill, which sets out new expectations on companies to keep their users safe online. Companies will have to enforce their promises to users, remove criminal content from their sites, and protect children from harmful content including misinformation. The biggest companies will have duties on legal content that may cause significant physical or psychological harm to adults, including mis/disinformation such as anti-vaccination content and falsehoods about COVID-19.

The Bill will strengthen Ofcom’s existing duty to promote media literacy to build audience resilience to mis/disinformation and support users’ critical thinking skills. Ofcom will also be required to set up an advisory committee to build understanding and technical knowledge on how to tackle mis/disinformation.

The government is currently tackling mis/disinformation through the Cross-Whitehall Counter-Disinformation Unit, which develops a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope and the reach of mis/disinformation, and works with social media platforms to ensure appropriate action is taken in line with their terms of service.

The government has provided a multi-billion-pound package of support for Britain's charities to continue their vital work, and mitigate the risks created by the pandemic.

Charities continue to benefit from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and many will have benefited from government grants where they have been required to close non-essential retail. This support is in addition to the £750 million targeted support package that was made available to support charities and social enterprises to maintain and reshape vital services.

Guidance has been made available on a range of activities that will be relevant to charities and social enterprises, including organised events and grassroots sport and sports facilities. We have also worked with the Institute of Fundraising and Fundraising Regulator to support the development of guidance on the safe return to fundraising activities.

We continue to monitor sector health closely. The government is working with charity sector representatives to support a strong and resilient charity sector.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people have the best opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity. We work closely with Sport England to review and increase children’s participation in sport and physical activity. We also regularly engage with a wide range of sport sector organisations on this issue.

The Government hosted school sport roundtable meetings in March and June of this year. Both meetings were attended by Sport England and a number of sport sector organisations, including national governing bodies. These discussions focused on getting our children and young people active again as we recover from the pandemic, as well as developing a long term strategy for school sport and physical activity.

As part of its ongoing strategic review of the UK’s system of public service broadcasting, the Government launched a public consultation on the future of Channel 4, including its ownership model and remit, on 6 July 2021 .

The broadcasting landscape has changed beyond recognition since Channel 4’s creation almost 40 years ago, and it continues to change apace. Increased global competition, changing audience habits, the decline of linear advertising revenue, and a wave of consolidation in the sector all pose challenges.

The Government’s consultation seeks views and evidence on whether stakeholders agree that a new ownership model would give Channel 4 the broadest range of tools to continue to thrive as a public service broadcaster in the face of these new challenges.

The digital sector contributed £151bn to the UK economy in 2019 and accounts for 7.6% of UK GVA. It supports 1.6 million jobs and around 232,000 businesses of which almost all are SMEs. The Government is taking great strides to support this growth, championing the digital sector across Whitehall and supporting it through EU Exit and the pandemic.

As many companies struggled due to the pandemic, HMG introduced unprecedented support for the sector, including the Future Fund, Bounce Back Loans and Coronavirus Business Loans. The Future Fund alone has disbursed £1,066m in convertible loans to 1,055 innovative companies facing difficulties, including digital businesses.

Throughout the EU Exit process, HMG engaged regularly with the sector to understand their concerns, providing bespoke guidance for the sector throughout the Transition Period.

Last year DCMS introduced the UK Gigabit Programme and the Shared Rural Network programme to develop the country’s broadband infrastructure; introduced a Digital Markets Taskforce, an Online Harms White Paper response and a Digital Identity Call for Evidence to ensure people remain safe online. We ran an entirely digital London Tech Week to show our support for the sector. This event was a resounding success, with initial figures suggesting 2,500 unique viewers attended each day, with 24,000 registering for the entire event. DCMS also delivers support through Tech Nation and our Digital Trade Network.

The UK and EU have unilaterally decided not to impose visas on short-stay visitors. For short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to and within the Schengen Area to undertake a limited range of activities, such as tourism, or attending business meetings, or cultural and sports events. However, Member States can require a visa for what they regard as “paid activity”.

Therefore, UK cultural professionals, including musicians, seeking to tour within the EU will be required to check domestic immigration and visitor rules for each Member State in which they intend to tour. Although some Member States may allow touring without a visa or work permit, others will require musicians and other creative professionals to obtain a visa or work permit, in the same way that they are required for other international artists.

We recognise that this means there will be some additional processes for those in cultural and creative industries working across the EU. However this does not mean our sectors will not be able to work in the EU nor that our position has changed on being as welcoming as ever to talented EU artists and musicians wishing to perform in the UK.

We are delivering an extensive programme of engagement with the industry to assess impacts and support these sectors in understanding new requirements. The Secretary of State had a very productive discussion with representatives from across the creative and cultural sectors on the issue on Wednesday 20th January. We have also published guidance online, signposting to official information provided by EU countries about their business travel routes, which is regularly updated.

We will also look at whether we can work with our partners in EU Member States to find ways to make life easier for those working in the creative industries in our respective countries.

Local news coverage provides a vital service - supplying information about local public affairs, holding local decision-makers to account, and providing a forum for community discussion. The Government’s manifesto recognises their role, committing to “support local and regional newspapers, as vital pillars of communities and local democracy”.

It has been an absolute priority to ensure we do all we can to support local news outlets during this crisis, as well as supporting commercial and community radio. This includes bringing forward the commencement of zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers to May 2020, and reaching agreement with Arqiva, the UK’s TV and radio transmission provider, to provide six months discount charges which has benefited small local commercial radio stations.

Government also worked to ensure local media could operate during the Covid-19 lockdown period. We designated journalists and other key media ancillary staff as ‘key workers’; issued guidance to local authorities on the importance of newspaper delivery; took steps to ensure the use of ‘keyword blocklisting’ technology was not disproportionately limiting news publishers’ online advertising revenues for Covid-19 related stories; and implemented a significant public information campaign, using local and national press and commercial radio to extend the reach of these campaigns.

We continue to work closely with local news organisations to assess the effectiveness of our media support measures and the impact of Coronavirus-related government policy, including the current tiered restrictions, on their ability to continue supporting their communities.

From Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December, new national restrictions will be in force in England to control the spread of coronavirus. During this period, performing arts venues can continue to operate under Stages 1 and 2 of the performing arts roadmap. This means performing arts professionals may continue to rehearse and train, and perform for broadcast or recording purposes. Other than for this purpose, theatres, concert halls and entertainment venues must close.

We have consistently stated that further reopening would be dependent on the public health context at the time. We will continue to work with the sector and have convened a Venues Steering Group which includes representatives from leading sector organisations as well as Public Health England and other experts to develop an action plan for maximising activity under Stages 3 and 4 when it is permitted and for how we safely proceed to stage 5.

DCMS will continue to work with the sector to establish an appropriate pilot process for testing the return to stage 5 activity when appropriate. We are committed to exploring new technologies to minimise these risks, which is why in parallel the government is exploring innovative ways to keep these sectors open.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we made sure that people could exercise at least once a day even during the height of lockdown - and why we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.

As announced by the Prime Minister on Saturday from Thursday until Wednesday 2 November there will be significant restrictions on some sectors of the economy including the closure of indoor and outdoor leisure. Outdoor gyms and playgrounds will remain open. Exercise and recreation outdoors will be allowed with your household or on your own with one person from another household.

It is not possible to isolate the specific impact of swimming pool and gym closures on physical activity levels because people can substitute this with other activities such as running and cycling.

Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.

Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. An income scheme announced in July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aims to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for. On 22 October, the Government announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres. In addition, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.

We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.

The Government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Our ambition is to deliver this by 2025. We recognise that this is a challenging ambition. We support industry’s plans to deliver gigabit broadband to the most commercial parts of the UK (c.80% of the country) and will continue to take action to remove barriers to deployment to help them deliver this by 2025.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is currently in the process of mobilising the new £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme which was announced in the Spring Budget. Procurements will commence in 2021.

According to Thinkbroadband (https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/) as of 27 October, coverage at UK premises for different broadband speeds is currently:

• Superfast (30Mbps) = 96.50%

• Ultrafast (100Mbps) = 63.27%

• Gigabit (1,000Mbps) = 27.52%

• Full Fibre (Gigabit+) = 17.49%

Virgin Media are in the process of activating gigabit services across their entire network by the end of 2021, and this currently covers over 52% of the UK. BT Openreach and CityFibre also have multi-billion pound fibre rollout programmes underway so a leap in gigabit coverage during 2021 is anticipated. This planned build predominantly covers urban areas so DCMS’s focus is on stimulating build in the more rural and disadvantaged areas of the UK where the commercial market will not build unaided.

The government has invested significant amounts in digital infrastructure over the last decade. The DCMS portfolio of active projects is currently c.£4 billion (detailed below) and in the Spring Budget, a further £5 billion of investment was announced for the hardest to reach areas of the UK. More details regarding the programme will follow in the Autumn Spending Review.

The future of the over 75s concession is the responsibility of the BBC, not of the government. The government is disappointed with the BBC's decision to restrict the over 75 licence fee concession to only those in receipt of pension credit. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC. The BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision and we expect it to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

More broadly, the government remains committed to working with partners across society to tackle loneliness, including for people over 75. Earlier this year we announced new action to support social connection during the Covid-19 pandemic, including new funding for loneliness charities, guidance for the public, and the new Tackling Loneliness Network.

Charities play an invaluable role in this country, which is why we have committed an unprecedented £750 million in targeted funding so that they can continue their vital work through the coronavirus outbreak. This included £60 million which was distributed via the Barnett formula to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support charities on the frontline of the response.

The Government also matched public donations to the BBC’s “Big Night In” charity appeal, with over £70 million being distributed by Comic Relief, Children In Need and the National Emergencies Trust to charities on the frontline. Our £85 million Community Match Challenge has secured an additional £85m of match funding from charities, funders and philanthropists for good causes.

An additional £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts has been unlocked to help charities, social enterprises and individuals in vulnerable financial circumstances during the coronavirus outbreak.

Charities, social enterprises and other types of civil society organisations, have benefited from wider Government support such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and are eligible for the new Job Support Scheme.

Government is addressing the impact of loneliness this winter by providing millions of pounds in funding, inspiring organisations to take action and encouraging people to reach out through our campaign ‘Let’s Talk Loneliness’.

As part of the £750 million charity funding package announced in the spring, £18 million has been provided to charities at the forefront of tackling loneliness. This funding is directly benefiting people at increased risk of loneliness, including young carers, veterans, new parents, people living with disabilities and many more.

We have set up a new Tackling Loneliness Network that brings together over 65 private, public and voluntary organisations. These organisations are sharing expertise and developing innovative ways to tackle loneliness.

The ‘Let’s Talk Loneliness’ campaign continues to share practical tips and signpost support via social media and through our website, so that no one needs to feel lonely this winter.

We are aware that many tourism businesses’ trade has been restricted by Government measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

We have taken a number of steps to support tourism businesses through this period, including the significant cut to VAT for tourism and hospitality activities until the end of March. Businesses can continue to make use of the Government’s broader support package, including the Bounce Back Loans scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Job Support Scheme.

We have expanded the Job Support Scheme to provide support to businesses whose premises have been legally required to close as a direct result of Covid-19 restrictions set by one or more of the four governments of the UK.

We have also announced grants of up to £2,100 per month, primarily for businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector who may be adversely impacted by the restrictions in high-alert level areas in England.

We are continuing to engage across Government and with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the recovery of tourism across the UK.

We continue to take steps to roll out gigabit capable broadband to every home and business in the UK, including a £5bn investment ensuring the whole of the UK benefits from a world class broadband infrastructure. Current gigabit coverage is over 27% of the UK and growing quickly, this is compared to under 5% just two years ago. Mobile coverage is also improving, thanks to our landmark Shared Rural Network agreement with the mobile network operators - the first of its kind in the world - 95% of the UK will have 4G coverage by the end of 2025.

The introduction of the Digital Entitlement means that adults with no or low digital skills can undertake new digital qualifications up to Level 1 free of charge. The Government also supports the Future Digital Inclusion Programme. Since 2014, the programme has helped over 1.4 million people to gain the digital skills they need for life and work.

In response to Covid-19 the Government invested over £195 million to support remote education. Part of this included delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets over the summer term for vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access. We are also making available 250,000 additional laptops and tablets (100,000 of these have been delivered since September) for disadvantaged children to supplement this in the event face-to-face schooling is disrupted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Government is firmly committed to making the UK the safest place to be online, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, as well as the Home Office are working at pace to introduce this legislation. We will publish a Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation later this year, and we will follow this with legislation, which will be ready early next year.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, on a variety of issues, including online abuse targeted at women. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.

The new online harms regulatory framework will require companies to put effective systems and processes in place to protect UK users from harm online. Further details will be included in the full government response to the consultation, which we will publish later this year.

The department is committed to providing all young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) with good opportunities to allow them to transition from education into a fulfilling adult life.

On 2 March 2023, we published the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, in response to the SEND and AP Green Paper published in March 2022. This outlines the government’s mission for the SEND and AP system to fulfil children and young people’s potential, build parents’ trust, and provide financial sustainability.

In the Improvement Plan, the department committed to developing good practice guidance to support consistent, timely, high-quality transitions for children and young people with SEND and in AP. This will ultimately look at transitions between all stages of education and will focus initially on transitions into and out of post-16 settings, including into employment.

We are also supporting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to develop and pilot an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs.

Schools and colleges are expected to develop and improve their careers provision for young people in line with the world-class Gatsby Benchmarks, addressing the individual needs of each pupil, and seeking to raise the career aspirations of students with SEND.

Supported internships are a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, want to move into employment and need extra support to do so. All young people completing a supported internship have an EHC plan. We are investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the Supported Internships Programme and support more young people with EHC plans into employment.

The department also wants to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can undertake apprenticeships that offer excellent career development and progression opportunities. In recent years, we have seen an improved representation of learners who have declared a Learning Difficulty or Disability (LDD) starting apprenticeships. We have improved our ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service to allow people to identify Disability Confident Employers offering opportunities. Training providers will conduct an assessment for people with an LDD to identify if they require a reasonable adjustment to undertake and continue with their apprenticeship.

To ensure that employers are supported to create new apprenticeship opportunities, the department provides targeted financial support directly to training providers to help remove barriers for people with a LDD. Employers could receive £1,000 towards the costs of workplace support when they take on an apprentice aged 16-18 or 19-25 with an EHC plan, as well as help to cover the extra costs working individuals may have because of their disability, through the DWP’s Access to Work scheme.

The department is committed to providing all young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) with good opportunities to allow them to transition from education into a fulfilling adult life.

On 2 March 2023, we published the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, in response to the SEND and AP Green Paper published in March 2022. This outlines the government’s mission for the SEND and AP system to fulfil children and young people’s potential, build parents’ trust, and provide financial sustainability.

In the Improvement Plan, the department committed to developing good practice guidance to support consistent, timely, high-quality transitions for children and young people with SEND and in AP. This will ultimately look at transitions between all stages of education and will focus initially on transitions into and out of post-16 settings, including into employment.

We are also supporting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to develop and pilot an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs.

Schools and colleges are expected to develop and improve their careers provision for young people in line with the world-class Gatsby Benchmarks, addressing the individual needs of each pupil, and seeking to raise the career aspirations of students with SEND.

Supported internships are a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, want to move into employment and need extra support to do so. All young people completing a supported internship have an EHC plan. We are investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the Supported Internships Programme and support more young people with EHC plans into employment.

The department also wants to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can undertake apprenticeships that offer excellent career development and progression opportunities. In recent years, we have seen an improved representation of learners who have declared a Learning Difficulty or Disability (LDD) starting apprenticeships. We have improved our ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service to allow people to identify Disability Confident Employers offering opportunities. Training providers will conduct an assessment for people with an LDD to identify if they require a reasonable adjustment to undertake and continue with their apprenticeship.

To ensure that employers are supported to create new apprenticeship opportunities, the department provides targeted financial support directly to training providers to help remove barriers for people with a LDD. Employers could receive £1,000 towards the costs of workplace support when they take on an apprentice aged 16-18 or 19-25 with an EHC plan, as well as help to cover the extra costs working individuals may have because of their disability, through the DWP’s Access to Work scheme.

In March 2022, the department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, which sets out our proposals to ensure that every child and young person has their needs identified quickly and met consistently.

In the green paper, the department proposed to introduce a standardised and digitised Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan process and template to minimise bureaucracy, deliver consistency and improve the experiences for families and professionals.

The green paper consultation closed on 22 July 2022. We are currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with families, professionals, and other SEND system stakeholders, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families. This includes those steps set out on EHC Plans.

The department is committed to publishing a full response to the green paper in an improvement plan early this year. We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

In March 2022, the department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, which sets out our proposals to ensure that every child and young person has their needs identified quickly and met consistently.

In the green paper, the department proposed to introduce a standardised and digitised Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan process and template to minimise bureaucracy, deliver consistency and improve the experiences for families and professionals.

The green paper consultation closed on 22 July 2022. We are currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with families, professionals, and other SEND system stakeholders, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families. This includes those steps set out on EHC Plans.

The department is committed to publishing a full response to the green paper in an improvement plan early this year. We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

In March 2022, the department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, which sets out our proposals to ensure that every child and young person has their needs identified quickly and met consistently.

In the green paper, the department proposed to introduce a standardised and digitised Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan process and template to minimise bureaucracy, deliver consistency and improve the experiences for families and professionals.

The green paper consultation closed on 22 July 2022. We are currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with families, professionals, and other SEND system stakeholders, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families. This includes those steps set out on EHC Plans.

The department is committed to publishing a full response to the green paper in an improvement plan early this year. We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

Key stage 4 destination measures published by the department show the activity of young people in the academic year after leaving key stage 4 (usually aged 16), including pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The latest data for state-funded mainstream and special schools shows that 1.5% of pupils with an EHC plan had a sustained employment destination after leaving key stage 4 in 2020, compared with 3.4% of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) support and 2.3% of pupils with no identified SEN.

The attached table includes data on employment destinations as well as other types of activity (education, apprenticeships, not sustained, unknown).

Destination data is also published for students that reached the end of 16 to 18 study in 2020, but it does not include a specific breakdown by EHC plan. In this data, information on SEN eligibility status is based on data recorded by state-funded mainstream schools during 16 to 18 study only, and does not cover the entire cohort of young people studying at post-16, which includes further education colleges. This data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9ffa5c63-983f-43fd-8160-08daf87133b7.

Sustained participation in employment was counted if there was some participation in at least 5 of the 6 months between October and March of the 2020/21 academic year.

The department publishes figures on the proportion of pupils permanently excluded or suspended from schools in England. The most recent full academic year figures, covering academic years up to 2020/21, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england/2020-21. The table attached shows the proportion of permanent exclusions and suspensions at state-funded schools which were of pupils who had special educational needs.

Off-rolling (the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without using a permanent exclusion, when the removal is primarily in the best interests of the school, rather than the best interests of the pupil) is unlawful and unacceptable in any form and we continue to work with Ofsted to tackle it.

Ofsted considers the records of children taken off roll and their characteristics and strengthened the focus on this in the revised framework in September 2019. Where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report and, where appropriate, could lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.

A pupil’s name can lawfully be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the grounds prescribed in Regulation 8 as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register.

The Department’s resource and capital budgets from the 2015/16 to 2022/23 financial years are set out in the table below.

Capital budgets vary between years, reflecting large capital programmes that spend at different rates across their lifetime and at different delivery stages.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education statutory guidance clearly sets out the content that should be covered in the topics of basic first aid and health and prevention, at both primary and secondary school. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education. The subjects have been designed to build knowledge and support the development of pupils’ self-control and their ability to self-regulate, as well as providing strategies for doing so.

Health education covers aspects of self-care such as dental hygiene and personal hygiene. It also has a strong focus on mental wellbeing, including a recognition that mental wellbeing and physical health are linked. The aim is to give pupils the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, including self-care, and to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health.

To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department has produced teacher training modules which are free to download from GOV.UK. These modules can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health#train-teachers-on-relationships-sex-and-health-education.

While the government fully recognises the benefits of international educational opportunities, the government has decided that it was not in the UK's interests to seek continuing participation in the Erasmus+ programme.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to participate fully in the 2014-2020 Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. This means that the projects successfully bid for during the current programmes will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project, where certain projects may continue up to 2024.

The UK has introduced the Turing Scheme, a new international mobility scheme that has a global reach. The Turing Scheme provides funding for UK education providers and organisations in the schools, higher education, further education, vocational education, and training sectors to offer international opportunities across the world for their pupils, students, and learners. Funding has been allocated for over 41,000 individual placements to over 150 destinations across the 2021/2022 academic year.

In response to the department's assessment of the extra demands on the high needs budget, which covers children and young people with more complex special educational needs (SEN), there have been increases to high needs funding allocations to local authorities in England in the last five years, as shown in the table below. Furthermore, the department was able to announce last December that overall high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing in this financial year by £1 billion to over £9 billion. This includes a small amount of funding that is not allocated to local authorities.

Local authorities have also increased the notional amounts allocated to mainstream schools for their pupils with lower level SEN, and to meet costs up to £6,000 per pupil for those with high needs, and these are also included in the table below.

Building on the government’s £400 million investment in devices, connectivity, training and support for remote access to education and children’s social care services during the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is developing an evidence-based and strategic approach for technology use in the education sector. We will explore options that create a more resilient, digitally enabled system. This approach will include consideration of devices and the infrastructure and capability required to make the best use of these devices. The department will take into account the recommendations of the UNICEF report in developing this strategy. We may need to prioritise our interventions and will take an evidence based and user-centred approach in collaboration with industry and experts.

The department’s strategy will align with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s top ten priorities for technology. We continue to work closely with them as the lead department on digital inclusion, and through their relationship with Ofcom for data on availability of technology in homes in England.

Building on the government’s £400 million investment in devices, connectivity, training and support for remote access to education and children’s social care services during the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is developing an evidence-based and strategic approach for technology use in the education sector. We will explore options that create a more resilient, digitally enabled system. This approach will include consideration of devices and the infrastructure and capability required to make the best use of these devices. The department will take into account the recommendations of the UNICEF report in developing this strategy. We may need to prioritise our interventions and will take an evidence based and user-centred approach in collaboration with industry and experts.

The department’s strategy will align with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s top ten priorities for technology. We continue to work closely with them as the lead department on digital inclusion, and through their relationship with Ofcom for data on availability of technology in homes in England.

Building on the government’s £400 million investment in devices, connectivity, training and support for remote access to education and children’s social care services during the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is developing an evidence-based and strategic approach for technology use in the education sector. We will explore options that create a more resilient, digitally enabled system. This approach will include consideration of devices and the infrastructure and capability required to make the best use of these devices. The department will take into account the recommendations of the UNICEF report in developing this strategy. We may need to prioritise our interventions and will take an evidence based and user-centred approach in collaboration with industry and experts.

The department’s strategy will align with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s top ten priorities for technology. We continue to work closely with them as the lead department on digital inclusion, and through their relationship with Ofcom for data on availability of technology in homes in England.

As part of the three year increase to core funding, the biggest in a decade, schools have received a £2.6 billion increase in funding in financial year 2020/21 and will receive a further £4.8 billion increase in 2021/22, compared to 2019/20. The Department has also provided a range of funding and support to schools since March 2020 to help with the challenges of responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes making available:

• Exceptional costs funding. The Covid Exceptional Costs fund was established to reimburse schools for costs such as additional cleaning. Schools have been paid £139 million for all claims within the published scope of the fund across both application windows.
• £1 billion catch-up funding announced in June 2020, including a one off £650 million catch-up premium and £350 million to support tutoring across the National Tutoring Programme and 16 to 19 tuition fund, which will go to schools, colleges and other 16 to 19 providers.
• A further £700 million recovery package announced in February 2021, including a new one off £302 million Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools in academic year 2021/22, £200 million for summer schools, and a further £200 million expansion to tutoring including support for early language development.
• Free school meals support. Schools have been able to use either the national voucher scheme, where costs were met centrally, or claim back additional funding to provide meal parcels or locally arranged vouchers for children who would be eligible for free school meals while children were educated from home. This funding has been in addition to the free school meals and universal infants free school meals funding that is with schools. As well as this, the free school meals supplementary grant was extended into 2020/21. This grant provides schools with extra funding to meet the costs of providing meals for newly eligible students before the lagged funding system catches up. The Department has made available over £760 million to support this.
• Remote education support. The Department has invested over £400 million to support access to technology and online social care services, including delivering 1.3 million laptops.
• Mass testing support. The Department has made over £100 million available on costs relating to the initial roll out of rapid mass testing.

My right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education, have appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner to advise on the approach for education recovery, including to consider how schools and the system can use evidence and more effectively target resources and support at pupils and areas in greatest need.

The Department is committed to supporting schools to deliver high quality teaching of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (RSHE) which includes teaching about online safety and is compulsory in all state-funded schools in England.

Health Education includes specific content about online safety and harms and includes being taught what positive, healthy and respectful online relationships look like, the effect of online actions on others and knowing how to recognise and display respectful behaviour in an age appropriate way. As with all curriculum teaching, schools have the flexibility to tailor their teaching to specific cohorts and to the needs of their pupils.

The RSHE statutory guidance sets out that at primary school, pupils will be taught about online relationships and being safe in an online context. At secondary school, pupils will be taught about online and media and internet safety and harms. A full breakdown of content can be found in the RSHE statutory guidance and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

To further support this, the department published Teaching Online Safety in School which highlights potentials harms and risks and suggests how they might be addressed through the curriculum. The risks include how content can be used and shared, grooming, pornography and live streaming: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.

Guides for parents and carers of primary and secondary age pupils that schools and parents can use to help them with teaching about RSHE can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.

The new RSHE subjects complement the embedded computing curriculum, which covers the principles of online safety at all key stages, including teaching on how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, how to keep personal information private, and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

The department wants to ensure that a wide range of opportunities are available to people of all ages. Anyone who becomes unemployed for whatever reason can access a range of provision to meet their future skills needs, and funding for this will depend on age and prior attainment.

Adult skills are key in supporting the economy and tackling disadvantage and so we are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in the 2020/21 academic year). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to Level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning and training up to Level 2 for unemployed people aged 19 and over.

In July, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a £500 million package of support to ensure young people can access the training, and develop the skills they will need, to go on to high-quality, secure, and fulfilling employment including: incentive payments for employers to take on apprentices; tripling the number of traineeships; and an additional £17 million in the 2020/21 financial year to support an increase in the number of sector-based work academy programme placements. This additional funding will enable unemployed individuals acquire the skills needed for local jobs.

Starting this year, the government is investing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations) in the National Skills Fund. This is a significant investment and has the potential to deliver new opportunities to generations of adults who may have been previously left behind.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £375 million for the National Skills Fund at the Spending Review in November 2020. This includes £95 million funding for a new Level 3 adult offer and £43 million for Skills Bootcamps, as part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.

From April 2021, any adult aged 24 and over who is looking to achieve their first full Level 3, which is equivalent to an advanced technical certificate or diploma, or two full A levels, will be able to access a fully funded course which will give them new skills and greater prospects in the labour market. Currently, adults between the ages of 19 to 23 are eligible for full funding for their first full Level 3. This offer will ensure that adults aged 24 and over are now able to access their first full, fully funded, Level 3 qualification.

We have also introduced the Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer. Skills Bootcamps have the potential to transform the skills landscape for adults and employers.

The Skills Bootcamps are open to all adults aged 19 or over, who are either in work or recently unemployed. Further to this, we have now opened an Invitation to Tender to extend Skills Bootcamps to more areas, and to cover not only digital skills but also technical skills training including engineering and construction. This will enable us to assist employers across England to fill their in-demand vacancies and we anticipate training upwards of 25,000 individuals.

The government plans to consult on the National Skills Fund in spring 2021 to ensure that we develop a fund that helps adults learn valuable skills and prepares them for the economy of the future.

Also, as part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has announced a lifelong loan entitlement. This will make is easier for all adults to study more flexibly, allowing them to space out their studies across their lifetimes, transfer credits between colleges and universities, and enable more part-time study.

Department officials have discussed the flexible scope of the history curriculum, and the opportunities there are to teach black history within it, with a number of organisations such as the Runnymede Trust, The Black Curriculum and the Historical Association. We welcome the profile given to the importance of teaching black history by bodies such as the Runnymede Trust, The Black Curriculum, Fill in the Blanks and many other groups and individuals over the years, and the support and resources on teaching they provide to teachers.

The government is taking steps to close the attainment gap for disabled and disadvantaged children.

We have announced £780 million additional funding in 2020-21 for children and young people with the most complex needs, bringing the total funding for high needs to £7.2 billion.

Since 2018, we have commissioned a programme of work to embed special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) into school improvement practice and to equip the workforce to deliver high-quality teaching across all types of SEND. The department provided funding of £3.9 million for the first 2 financial years and have extended the contract until March 2021 for a further £2.18 million.

On 19 May, the government announced that the Family Fund will receive funding of £37.3 million in the financial year 2020-21 to provide grants to families on low incomes who have disabilities or severe medical conditions. This funding includes £10 million which has been allocated to help families in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. More details are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/37-million-to-support-children-with-complex-needs.

To help close the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils, our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package will provide additional funding to schools to support pupils whose education has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Part of this package includes the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which is providing £350 million of targeted support focused on disadvantaged pupils. This will give schools access to subsidised tuition and in-house academic mentor to help disadvantaged pupils make up for lost learning time. The NTP sits alongside our £650 million universal catch-up premium funding for the current academic year, which will enable schools to prioritise support for specific groups of pupils in line with their level of need.

The ongoing provision of pupil premium funding, which is worth £2.4 billion this financial year, aims to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. It allows school leaders to tailor the support they provide, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, with the aim of accelerating their progress and improving their attainment.

To help schools support pupils with particular characteristics, including ethnicity, we have commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to consider catch-up needs and monitor progress over the course of the year, to help us target support across the system. This research will make use of existing assessments that schools already choose to use and are typically taken by over a million children each year. This will allow the department to assess how a range of groups are performing over this year, including the most disadvantaged and those with historically poor outcomes.

The government funds a generous package of free and subsidised childcare. Parents can find out more about the support they can get at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The government recognises the importance of childcare to families. Early years was one of the first sectors in which COVID-19 restrictions were eased. Since 1 June, early years providers have been able to open to all children, and since 20 July, they have been able to return to their normal group sizes.

We are providing extra security to nurseries and childminders that are open by ‘block-buying’ childcare places for the rest of this year at the level we would have funded before the COVID-19 outbreak, regardless of how many children are attending. We have also made temporary changes to ensure that eligible parents who experienced a reduction or increase in income as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak retain their eligibility for the entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare a week.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient childcare places during the COVID-19 outbreak. Parents who are experiencing difficulties in obtaining childcare should contact their local authority directly.

My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, and departmental officials have been working closely with the higher education sector, through the Higher Education Taskforce, to review developments in the admissions cycle taking place in the current complex circumstances, including the reliance on centre-assessment grades. The taskforce continues to examine patterns of admissions, with expert input and information from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. This ongoing analysis and dialogue with the sector includes consideration of financial implications of the way in which the admissions cycle is operating in practice. My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, will continue to listen to the views raised through the taskforce.

The government understands that the sector is facing significant financial challenges and we are working closely with the sector, with the Office for Students (OfS), and across the government to understand these challenges. We will work closely with any provider affected. Providers with concerns about their financial viability or sustainability have been encouraged to contact the OfS at the earliest opportunity. They are now also able and encouraged to contact the Department for Education’s Restructuring Unit directly.

The government has already put a number of financial support measures in place. We have announced a package of measures which combines different ways to give further support to providers at this time of financial pressure. We have pulled forward an estimated £2.6 billion worth of forecast tuition fee payments to ease cashflow pressure this autumn. We are also bringing forward quality-related research funding for higher education providers in England in the current academic year by £100 million.

To ensure that providers are able to offer increased capacity, the government will provide additional grant funding to support this provision which is vital to our economy and public services, as well as providing additional teaching grant funding to increase capacity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and other high-cost subjects. The OfS will consult the sector on the details of how the allocations are made in due course.

Providers will also be eligible to bid for a share of up to £10 million of funding to support capital expenditure. This funding will be used to support the infrastructure required to accommodate additional students recruited as a result of the changes to policy on A level grades. The fund will be administered by the OfS, and providers will be eligible to bid for projects which support expansion in 2020/21.

The government has also announced a further package of support to universities and other research organisations to enable them to continue their research and innovation activities. This includes £280 million of taxpayer funding as well as a package of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants. In sharing responsibility for the future of science and research with our world-leading university system, from the autumn the government will cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 2020/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, also announced further information about the Higher Education Restructuring Regime on 16 July. This may be deployed as a last resort, if a decision has been made to support a provider in England, when other steps to preserve a provider’s viability and mitigate the risks of financial failure have not proved sufficient.

The Department for Education is in regular contact with representatives of the higher education system throughout the United Kingdom and has weekly interactions with Universities UK and the Office for Students (OfS).

We have also recently established a Higher Education Taskforce, which is looking at the admissions processes following recent changes to exam results. This taskforce includes representatives from UCAS, the OfS and a wide range of university groups. Following these changes, my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, has also had bilateral calls with the Vice Chancellors of many universities in England.

The Department has also had regular contact with its counterparts – both at ministerial and official level – in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland throughout the summer.

Officials from the department have weekly calls with colleagues from the devolved administrations on a number of policy areas, including on the COVID-19 response and higher education admissions.

At a ministerial level, there are both bilateral discussions on a regular basis and quadrilateral meetings between my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, and her counterparts in the home nations.

These are all supplemented with ad hoc discussions on emerging policy. To give an example, there were discussions regarding the recent results day and subsequent move to centre-assessed grades in England, which also led to the removal of student number controls, an area of interest to each of the devolved administrations.

We are also working directly with representatives of the higher education sector throughout the UK. An example of this is a recent conversation my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, had with the Vice Chancellors of Queens University, Belfast, the University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University.

The department is committed to an inclusive education system which recognises and embraces diversity and supports all pupils and students to tackle racism and have the knowledge and tools to do so.

The national curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what the department expects schools to cover in each subject. The curriculum does not set out how curriculum subjects, or topics within the subjects, should be taught. The department believes teachers should be able to use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach.

As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain, and this can include the voices and experience of Black people. The flexibility within the history curriculum means that Black British history can already be included in the teaching of the curriculum.

In 2019, we ran a call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics, to which stakeholders were invited to contribute.

Special Advisers also recently met with members of the Compostable Coalition on 1 March 2023.

In 2019, we ran a call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics, to which stakeholders were invited to contribute.

Special Advisers also recently met with members of the Compostable Coalition on 1 March 2023.

UK Government officials regularly engage with UK Research and Innovation to discuss projects under the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge.

There are 199 composting facilities in England. There are 143 anaerobic digestion facilities with a permit to treat organic waste in England. 142 of these anaerobic digestion sites are wet AD sites which generally do not accept materials that need to be composted in an industrial composting process and one of these sites is a dry AD plant that may be able to treat compostable materials.

Under Extended Producer Responsibility, producers who collect and recycle consumer packaging waste at their own cost, where it is not commonly collected by local authorities for recycling, will be able to reduce their obligation to pay fees to cover the costs of managing household packaging. This is intended to support our transition to higher recycling rates as we invest in improved collection, sorting and recycling systems for hard to recycle packaging, or transition to using packaging that is already widely recyclable.

In April 2021 we published our response to the call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics The Government has no plans to mandate making tea bags, caddy lines and food contaminated packaging compostable. Government measures focus on extracting maximum value from plastic materials by making sure we keep it in circulation for longer, moving away from a take, make, throw model and shifting towards a circular economy.

Work on the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable nappies is nearly complete and peer review of the work is being finalised. No date has been set for publication, but we are working to get things finished as soon as possible.

Work on the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable nappies is nearly complete and peer review of the work is being finalised. No date has been set for publication.

HM Government is committed to upholding standards on environmental health and food safety.

Defra is in the process of analysing its retained EU law (REUL) stock and determining what should be preserved as part of domestic law, as well as REUL that should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill and therefore inform assessments of the Bill’s impact, including in relation to the above. HMG catalogued and published the ‘retained EU law dashboard’ on 22^nd June which includes REUL covering environmental health and food safety.

The independent Food Standards Agency, working with Food Standards Scotland, is playing a full part in the review of all REUL within their areas of responsibility and will advise Ministers, Welsh Ministers and the Northern Ireland Executive (when operational) as appropriate. They will not compromise consumer safety or business’s ability to trade during this review.

While we accelerate efforts to end our contribution to climate change, we must continue to take robust action to ensure the country is well prepared to face the challenges the changing climate is bringing.

The Government has extensive plans in place and underway to adapt to and mitigate the risks of climate change, including through our National Adaptation Programme. The next programme (NAP3) will set out the policies the Government will implement to build climate resilience, in light of the latest evidence in the Climate Change Committee's Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk, and will address the risks caused by a warmer climate.

To mitigate further climate change, the UK has driven down emissions by 44% over the past three decades, the fastest reduction of any G7 country. In October 2021 we published our Net Zero Strategy which sets out a comprehensive set of measures to support and capitalise on the UK's transition to net zero by 2050.

Defra regularly engages with a wide range of businesses and industry bodies including the food industry via various forums, to understand the impacts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Our weekly NI-GB Food Supply Chain Forum regularly attracts over 150 businesses and, during the week commencing 13 June, we held eight distinct engagements with multiple sectors of the food supply chain via dedicated roundtables, forums and 1:1 engagements.

The UK continues to take a leading role in working with global partners to halt and reverse forest loss. At COP26, the UK led the way in securing an agreement from over 140 world leaders, representing over 90% of the world’s forests, to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. This was backed by almost £14 billion of public and private funding, including $1.5 billion to protect the forests of the Congo Basin, an area of critical importance to global efforts to address climate change.

In February 2021, the UK and Indonesia established the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, bringing together major producer and consumer countries of agricultural commodities to protect forests while promoting development and trade. At COP26, 28 governments including Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, the EU, UK and USA launched the FACT Roadmap, committing to advance sustainable production and trade, and outlining actions to incentivise sustainability, support smallholder farmers, improve transparency of supply chains and drive innovation.

The UK has introduced ambitious due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to help tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. This new law is one part of a wider package of measures to improve the sustainability of our supply chains and will contribute to global efforts to protect forests and other ecosystems. It will make it illegal for larger businesses operating in the UK to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used.

We have also doubled our international climate finance to £11.6 billion, of which at least £3 billion will be spent on nature, including solutions that protect, restore and sustainably manage forests. FCDO, BEIS and Defra share the forests portfolio which aims to specifically reduce emissions from deforestation and land use change and help forest communities adapt to climate change through sustainable farming and land use practices.

In the Net Zero Strategy, we committed to aim to restore approximately 280,000 ha of peatland in England by 2050, with the Nature for Climate Fund providing funding for the restoration of approximately 35,000ha of peatland by 2025. In the England Peat Action Plan, published last year, we set out the steps we will take to protect and restore our peatland.

In 2021, Defra established the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force to explore ways of preserving the carbon stored in our lowland farmed peatlands, both to reduce emissions and to safeguard productive agriculture, and we look forward to receiving its recommendations later this summer.

The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 prohibits burning on deep peat in protected sites without a licence and the accompanying guidance sets out the very limited circumstances where burning will be seen as a permissible activity conducted in the right place for the right reasons. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders to encourage sustainable land management practices that reflect our ambitions to restore and protect our peatlands.

Through the England Peat Action Plan, we are encouraging landowners and land managers to adopt or create good quality wildfire management plans and use sustainable land management practices to reduce fuel loads - making the land more resilient to and mitigating the risk of wildfire. Last April we supported the development of a new training program, to consolidate knowledge, skills and understanding of vegetation fires including wildfire incidents. Defra has committed further funding for the next three years and we continue to share learning and good practice with the devolved administrations.

We have consulted on measures to end the use of peat and peat containing products in horticulture, including a ban on the sale of peat in the retail sector by the end of this Parliament. We continue to engage with the industry on making the transition to peat-free alternatives as seamless as possible and will publish our formal response to the consultation in due course.

We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. The Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement have an “ecosystem objective” which includes an objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive marine species.

Since 2020, Defra has funded Clean Catch UK, a research programme which is developing and trialling a range of bycatch monitoring and mitigation measures in Cornwall (a known high-risk area for sensitive species bycatch). This programme has developed a bycatch self-reporting mobile application validated by observers and electronic monitoring and an online ‘Bycatch Mitigation Hub’ with information on different approaches to reduce bycatch. In addition, we are working with the fishing industry to trial various innovative technologies to reduce cetacean bycatch. The government will continue to build on the work of Clean Catch to improve our understanding of bycatch and implement effective mitigation measures to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch.

The UK Government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch. The programme focuses primarily on gear types with a high expected or known risk of sensitive species bycatch. A new contract for the bycatch monitoring programme is expected to begin in April 2022.

We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. Defra officials are working closely with the Devolved Administrations to finalise the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI).

The BMI will identify policy objectives and potential actions to achieve part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive marine species. The actions include improving our understanding of where and how much bycatch occurs and implementing effective mitigation measures to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch.

This initiative will set out a joint vision for bycatch across the UK. Each administration will be responsible for developing solutions that are tailored to local needs.

The objectives in the Fisheries Act 2020 underline the UK's commitment to addressing the root cause of discarding. In particular, the bycatch objective looks to avoid or reduce the catching of fish that are below the minimum conservation reference size and other bycatch. The Government is committed to ending the wasteful practice of discards and to increasing the level of accountability for fishing activities at sea, while building the confidence we have in our seafood products. We are currently consulting on the Joint Fisheries Statement which sets out further detail about this and we will be considering this further in the development of fisheries management plans.

In addition to this, the landing obligation forms part of retained EU law and continues to be in force in the UK. However, there are challenges to implementing this. That is why Defra is developing a domestic catching policy for England which is tailored to our marine environment and industry needs. We are engaging with industry and other stakeholders about this.

We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. Defra officials are working closely with the Devolved Administrations to finalise the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI).

The BMI will identify policy objectives and potential actions to achieve part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catch of sensitive marine species. This initiative will set out a joint vision for bycatch across the UK. Each administration will be responsible for developing solutions that are tailored to local needs.

We are committed to working collaboratively with the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to finalise the Defra-OEP Framework Document as soon as possible. The Framework Document will be published in due course, once a final version has been agreed between Defra and the OEP.

The Defra-funded environmental assessment of washable and disposable nappies is nearing completion. Peer review is expected to commence shortly and we aim to publish the research in the spring.

The Government is committed to establishing the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) with sufficient funding to fulfil its statutory functions. The OEP will be given a five-year indicative budget, which will be ring-fenced by Defra within the spending review period. The OEP’s budget for financial year 22/23 and an indicative five-year budget will be announced before it comes into effect at the start of the next financial year.

We will publish the environmental principles draft policy statement as soon as possible, following the consultation we carried out last year.

The policy statement will then undergo parliamentary scrutiny and a final version will be published. There will be an implementation period to allow Government departments to prepare for the new duty. Defra has already been working with departments by providing training and ensuring the new duty is clearly captured by existing Government policy guidance documents, such as HM Treasury’s Green Book.

Pet dogs, cats and ferrets are strictly defined within the pet travel legislation as Canis lupis familiaris (domestic dog), Felis silvestris catus (domestic cat) and Mustela putorius furo (ferret). Movements of these pet animals must be accompanied by documentation verifying identification, valid rabies vaccinations, a rabies blood test (if required) and, if relevant, treatment against the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis.

Under the current legislation, documentation can only be issued to domestic dogs, cats and ferrets. Other species are not permitted to travel under the pet travel or commercial import rules. We consider that the legislation governing these movements is fit for purpose.

Animals other than domestic animals must be entered into a zoo-approved quarantine premises and an import licence is required.

The commercial sale of cats as pets is regulated under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The 2018 Regulations set out clear requirements for those who breed and sell cats commercially, including their importation and distribution. For example, licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Any licensee advertising animals for sale will need to include their licence number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the animal for sale must be displayed along with a recognisable photograph.

Additionally, the keeping of dangerous wild animals is regulated by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. Keepers of dangerous wild animals listed in the Schedule to the 1976 Act must get a Dangerous Wild Animals licence from their local authority. Licences must be obtained by keepers prior to the acquisition of such animals. All cats are listed in the Schedule to the Act, although several species – such as the domestic cat – are exempted. Cat hybrids having a domestic cat, or other exempted species, as one parent and a non-exempted cat as the other parent would require a Dangerous Wild Animals licence. Subsequent generations, involving a domestic or other exempted cat as one parent and a hybrid cat as the other parent would not require a licence.

Licences can only be granted when the authority is satisfied that it would not be contrary to public interest on the grounds of safety or nuisance; that the applicant is a suitable person; and the animal's accommodation is adequate and secure. The effect of the 1976 Act is to restrict the purchase of dangerous wild animals to those who can keep them safely and provide them with suitable accommodation and diet.

Influencer marketing is not a new phenomenon, however, the pace and change on social media platforms has led to a rapidly growing market. This has created opportunities for users to become influencers, and they in turn can bring positive impacts to society through campaigning or advocacy. At the same time, there is evidence of problems in this market. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has programmes of work on Online Safety and on Online Advertising to ensure the regulatory framework remains appropriate. However, it is the responsibility of all actors in the supply chain - from brands to talent agencies, platforms and influencers themselves - to ensure that this is a market that uploads the highest standards and best practice is improved.

The Government is considering whether advertising regulation online should be strengthened, recognising the rapid growth of online advertising. DCMS will be consulting on the Online Advertising Programme this spring, which will look at whether the current regulatory regime is equipped to tackle these challenges.

The commercial sale of cats as pets is regulated under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The 2018 Regulations set out clear requirements for those who breed and sell cats commercially, including their importation and distribution. For example, licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Any licensee advertising animals for sale will need to include their licence number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the animal for sale must be displayed along with a recognisable photograph.

Additionally, the keeping of dangerous wild animals is regulated by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. Keepers of dangerous wild animals listed in the Schedule to the 1976 Act must get a Dangerous Wild Animals licence from their local authority. Licences must be obtained by keepers prior to the acquisition of such animals. All cats are listed in the Schedule to the Act, although several species – such as the domestic cat – are exempted. Cat hybrids having a domestic cat, or other exempted species, as one parent and a non-exempted cat as the other parent would require a Dangerous Wild Animals licence. Subsequent generations, involving a domestic or other exempted cat as one parent and a hybrid cat as the other parent would not require a licence.

Licences can only be granted when the authority is satisfied that it would not be contrary to public interest on the grounds of safety or nuisance; that the applicant is a suitable person; and the animal's accommodation is adequate and secure. The effect of the 1976 Act is to restrict the purchase of dangerous wild animals to those who can keep them safely and provide them with suitable accommodation and diet.

Influencer marketing is not a new phenomenon, however, the pace and change on social media platforms has led to a rapidly growing market. This has created opportunities for users to become influencers, and they in turn can bring positive impacts to society through campaigning or advocacy. At the same time, there is evidence of problems in this market. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has programmes of work on Online Safety and on Online Advertising to ensure the regulatory framework remains appropriate. However, it is the responsibility of all actors in the supply chain - from brands to talent agencies, platforms and influencers themselves - to ensure that this is a market that uploads the highest standards and best practice is improved.

The Government is considering whether advertising regulation online should be strengthened, recognising the rapid growth of online advertising. DCMS will be consulting on the Online Advertising Programme this spring, which will look at whether the current regulatory regime is equipped to tackle these challenges.

Where any animal is subject to inappropriate breeding practices, whether for commercial activity or not, their welfare may suffer. To combat this all animals are protected under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act requires those in charge of animals to protect them from harm and to ensure they have five key welfare needs provided for. Those in charge of animals who fail to protect them from harm, or fail to provide for their welfare needs may be prosecuted and face penalties including a custodial sentence or an unlimited fine, or both.

Additionally, the keeping of dangerous wild animals is regulated by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. Keepers of dangerous wild animals listed in the Schedule to the 1976 Act must get a Dangerous Wild Animals licence from their local authority. Licences must be obtained by keepers prior to the acquisition of such animals. All cats are listed in the Schedule to the Act, although several species – such as the domestic cat – are exempted. Cat hybrids having a domestic cat, or other exempted species, as one parent and a non-exempted cat as the other parent would require a Dangerous Wild Animals licence.

Licences can only be granted when the authority is satisfied that it would not be contrary to public interest on the grounds of safety or nuisance; that the applicant is a suitable person; and the animal's accommodation is adequate and secure. The effect of the 1976 Act is to restrict the purchase of dangerous wild animals to those who can keep them safely and provide them with suitable accommodation and diet.

Where breeding does lead to poor outcomes for the animals involved it is right for us to be concerned. Currently, there is only very limited evidence that the breeding of exotic and domestic cats causes harm to the animals involved. Any revision of the applicable licensing schemes or new regulation would require strong and verifiable evidence of a significant welfare issue which, despite our relationships with representatives and organisations from across the animal welfare spectrum, has not been forthcoming. Nevertheless, we will continue to work with the sector to identify any issues and agree and implement improvements where they are necessary.

Where any animal is subject to inappropriate breeding practices, whether for commercial activity or not, their welfare may suffer. To combat this all animals are protected under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act requires those in charge of animals to protect them from harm and to ensure they have five key welfare needs provided for. Those in charge of animals who fail to protect them from harm, or fail to provide for their welfare needs may be prosecuted and face penalties including a custodial sentence or an unlimited fine, or both.

Additionally, the keeping of dangerous wild animals is regulated by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. Keepers of dangerous wild animals listed in the Schedule to the 1976 Act must get a Dangerous Wild Animals licence from their local authority. Licences must be obtained by keepers prior to the acquisition of such animals. All cats are listed in the Schedule to the Act, although several species – such as the domestic cat – are exempted. Cat hybrids having a domestic cat, or other exempted species, as one parent and a non-exempted cat as the other parent would require a Dangerous Wild Animals licence.

Licences can only be granted when the authority is satisfied that it would not be contrary to public interest on the grounds of safety or nuisance; that the applicant is a suitable person; and the animal's accommodation is adequate and secure. The effect of the 1976 Act is to restrict the purchase of dangerous wild animals to those who can keep them safely and provide them with suitable accommodation and diet.

Where breeding does lead to poor outcomes for the animals involved it is right for us to be concerned. Currently, there is only very limited evidence that the breeding of exotic and domestic cats causes harm to the animals involved. Any revision of the applicable licensing schemes or new regulation would require strong and verifiable evidence of a significant welfare issue which, despite our relationships with representatives and organisations from across the animal welfare spectrum, has not been forthcoming. Nevertheless, we will continue to work with the sector to identify any issues and agree and implement improvements where they are necessary.

Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 anyone exhibiting wild animals (other than in a pet shop or a static circus) for seven or more days in a year requires a licence. Wild animals are defined in the Act as any animal not normally domesticated in Great Britain, and therefore covers any ‘exotic’ animal or any animal where one of the parents is not normally domesticated in Great Britain. Zoos licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 are required to have regard to the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. The Standards include detailed requirements in respect of the management of zoos and the animals within them. Under the current Standards, where a hybrid animal is transferred to another collection, if practical, the animal should be permanently sterilised prior to transfer.

We want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British and are delivering on our commitment to drive export growth.

We have recently announced an export package to boost export capability and deliver on growing demand for our high-quality UK produce across the world. This includes an expansion of our agrifood attaché network and the establishment of an Export Council that brings industry and government together to increase exports.

The new attachés will broaden export opportunities for UK farmers and producers, break down technical barriers and support UK companies to capitalise on growing demand in global markets and deliver on the opportunities created by new trade agreements.

The UK wide Export Council will deliver a strategic approach to boosting exports through increased capability, strengthened market intelligence and an enhanced provision of tailored advice and support for companies of all sizes.

We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain (GB) on approved routes (every route other than the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers.

To enter GB pets must have been implanted with a microchip or have a legible tattoo imprinted prior to 3 July 2011. A pet’s identity is checked by ensuring that the microchip or tattoo details correspond to the details in the pet’s documentation, which includes the date of birth of the pet animal. Carriers can refer suspected non-compliances to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), including cases where any dog appears underage. APHA staff are highly trained to deal with intercepted shipments.

Animal welfare legislation requires that when animals are transported their transportation must comply fully with legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare, such as: they must be fit for the intended journey; they must be transported in the appropriate conditions; and, when transportation is for a commercial purpose, the transporter must hold a GB authorisation.

APHA works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

Carriers work closely with operational colleagues at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Border Force and are committed to preventing illegal imports of pet animals. Authorised pet checkers are trained by APHA prior to being granted approval and receive annual audits of their checking and processing to ensure they uphold our requirements. APHA regularly reviews its border enforcement work against known travel trends of those that seek to illegally import puppies to the UK, to keep pace with this rapidly evolving criminal activity. Part of this work includes intelligence-led targeting of suspected smugglers, alongside partner agencies, including Border Force. Border Force operates a 24-hour service seven days per week and alerts APHA to suspected non-compliant dogs and puppies. Targeted intelligence-led work often takes place outside of normal working hours as needed. The Government is satisfied with the workings of these current arrangements.

The Government is in regular contact with the waste sector and local authorities to ensure we have up to date information about current waste collection vehicle staffing levels.

The Government recently announced a significant package of measures, including plans to streamline the process for new drivers to gain their HGV licence, and increased capacity for HGV driving tests. As driver shortages across Europe demonstrate, this is a widespread problem caused by a range of factors, including an ageing workforce.

We are moving to a high wage, high skilled economy and the Government is encouraging all sectors to adapt and make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options and wage increases. The waste sector is already making good strides in this, highlighting that many rounds can be conducted close to home with defined hours, promoting a healthy work/life balance.

More information about the measures we are taking to tackle the haulier shortage is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-support-to-help-people-to-become-hgv-drivers-among-package-of-government-measures-to-ease-risk-of-shortages

The independent analysts carrying out the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable absorbent hygiene products have taken into consideration the recent YouGov survey to establish current ages for potty training. The sources of the information used in the study, as well as an explanation of the methodology and assumptions made, will be included in the final report which will be published later this year following peer review.

The independent analysts carrying out the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable absorbent hygiene products have taken into consideration the recent YouGov survey to establish current ages for potty training. The sources of the information used in the study, as well as an explanation of the methodology and assumptions made, will be included in the final report which will be published later this year following peer review.

In line with the 25 Year Environment Plan, and our Resources and Waste Strategy, we are considering the best approach to minimise the environmental impact of a range of products, including nappies, taking on board the environmental and social impacts of the options available.

Potential additional policy measures include standards, consumer information and encouraging voluntary action by business. We are seeking powers, through the Environment Bill, that will enable us to, where appropriate and subject to consultation, introduce ecodesign and consumer information requirements. This could include labelling schemes that provide accurate information to consumers, to drive the market towards more sustainable products. We are also seeking powers through the Bill to enable us to put in place extended producer responsibility schemes, where required, that relate to the efficient use of resources for a wide range of products, which could include nappies.

We are also funding an environmental assessment of disposable and washable absorbent hygiene products with the primary focus on nappies. This is looking at the waste and energy impacts of washable and disposable products, disposal to landfill or incineration, and recycling options. The research will be published later this year, following peer review, and will help inform possible future action on nappies by the Government and industry, including any work with local authorities.

In line with the 25 Year Environment Plan, and our Resources and Waste Strategy, we are considering the best approach to minimise the environmental impact of a range of products, including nappies, taking on board the environmental and social impacts of the options available.

Potential additional policy measures include standards, consumer information and encouraging voluntary action by business. We are seeking powers, through the Environment Bill, that will enable us to, where appropriate and subject to consultation, introduce ecodesign and consumer information requirements. This could include labelling schemes that provide accurate information to consumers, to drive the market towards more sustainable products. We are also seeking powers through the Bill to enable us to put in place extended producer responsibility schemes, where required, that relate to the efficient use of resources for a wide range of products, which could include nappies.

We are also funding an environmental assessment of disposable and washable absorbent hygiene products with the primary focus on nappies. This is looking at the waste and energy impacts of washable and disposable products, disposal to landfill or incineration, and recycling options. The research will be published later this year, following peer review, and will help inform possible future action on nappies by the Government and industry, including any work with local authorities.

As a core part of our commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it, we have amended the Environment Bill to require a new, historic legally binding target for species abundance for 2030 to be set, aiming to halt the decline of nature.

Tackling the long-term decline of nature will be challenging but through this new target we are committing ourselves to that objective. A domestic 2030 species target will not only benefit our species but the actions necessary will also help to drive wider environmental improvements.

Our focus is now on the detailed work to develop a fully evidenced target. We are developing the scientific and economic evidence to underpin this target. The duty to set this target is in addition to the existing requirement to set at least one long-term legally binding biodiversity target. Interventions should not be made, or targets set, in isolation. We are taking a system-based approach to the setting of targets, as far as possible, so that we consider the targets collectively and understand their interdependencies. We will continue to work with stakeholders and independent experts to ensure policy action furthers the objective of halting a decline of species.

We will refine the 2030 species target following the agreement of global targets expected to be agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity's COP15.

The details of the 2030 target will be set in secondary legislation, in the same manner as the other long-term targets. We expect to publish a public consultation in early 2022 on all proposed legally binding targets. This would include a rationale for the proposed targets and a summary of the evidence used to inform targets.

There is no requirement in the Bill for a footprint target. However, this does not preclude the Government from setting one if it is judged to be the best way to deliver long-term environmental outcomes, building on progress made in delivering the 25 Year Environment Plan.

The Bill framework allows for long-term targets to be set on any aspect of the natural environment, or people’s enjoyment of it. The Government is committed to setting targets through a robust, evidence-led process that seeks independent expert advice, provides a role for stakeholders and the public, as well as scrutiny from Parliament.

We have commissioned the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to develop a global environmental footprint indicator to help us understand the UK’s global footprint. The first phase of this work was published in May 2021, with further development currently underway. The outcomes of this work will help inform our future thinking on the most appropriate approach to drive change in this area.

I am the Minister responsible for security of the food chain, working with industry to make sure food is available to buy. Defra officials continue to work with other relevant Departments on food policy and food insecurity, including on school meals (DfE), local authority provision (MHCLG) and the welfare system (Department for Work and Pensions) (DWP).

Since the start of the pandemic, government departments have come together to coordinate support for the most vulnerable. Defra, DfE, DWP and DHSC worked together on the COVID Winter Support Package in November 2020 - ensuring that support was provided to those impacted by the pandemic throughout the winter period. Departments are continuing to work together to deliver a number of key cross-cutting outcomes linked to the 2020 Spending Review.

This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of COVID-related welfare policy measures.

The Government continues to have discussions with all levels of the food supply chain to understand how industry and the Government can work together to ensure families that live in low-income households continue to have access to affordable, nutritional food.

During the pandemic collaboration between the Government and the food industry was key in putting into place policies to support vulnerable individuals, which included wholesalers leading on the delivery of the Food Box scheme, supermarkets putting in place priority delivery slots to support those shielding and food manufacturers donating free breakfasts to school children following school closures.

The Department for Education will shortly be launching a £24 million contract to support over 2500 schools with a National Breakfast Clubs programme, with the aim of ensuring pupils have a healthy start to their day.

The United Kingdom proposed in the TCA negotiations last year that there could be an equivalence arrangement between the UK and the EU. Unfortunately, the EU was not open to such a suggestion. We continue to be open to such an equivalence arrangement, if the EU is interested in it. However, this cannot be on the basis of any dynamic alignment with EU rules, as this would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws and impact our ability to strike trade deals or agree trade facilitations with non-EU countries.

The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement puts in place a framework that allows the UK and the EU to take informed decisions to reduce their respective SPS controls, with a commitment to avoid unnecessary barriers. It is in both Parties’ interests for this framework to reduce the rate of SPS checks required. We are open to discussion with the EU on an agreement that goes further in reducing trade frictions between us, but it cannot be on the basis of alignment with EU rules as this would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws.

In 2019, the Government made a manifesto commitment to maintain the current annual budget to farmers. This was honoured in the 2021/22 Spending Review.

The commitment is being achieved through a combination of Exchequer funding and remaining EU funding. We have adopted a consistent approach across the UK, topping up EU receipts with Exchequer funding to the level of the manifesto commitment. This ensures that the manifesto commitment is met in each nation.

The Government has been clear that in all of our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.

Legal protections for our standards are in place. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains standards on environmental protection, animal welfare, animal and plant health and food safety. This includes the prohibition on the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported meat products and that no products, other than potable water, are approved to decontaminate poultry carcases.

The Government has recently taken steps to give Parliament a greater role in scrutinising trade agreements. In the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government established a duty for the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on whether, or to what extent, measures in new Free Trade Agreements, relating to trade in agricultural goods, are consistent with maintaining UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare and the environment.

In July we established the Trade and Agriculture Commission, an independent board set up to advise and inform the Government’s trade policies on environmental and animal welfare standards in food production. We have since moved to put it on a statutory footing in the Trade Bill and the Commission will directly feed into the Agriculture Act reporting process.

In March 2020, the Government published its response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s 2018 review of England’s bovine TB (bTB) eradication strategy. Sir Charles’ review set out a number of potential options for the future.

The Government response sets out our top priorities for the next five years. The steps we have taken in 2020 to start to deliver this next phase of the strategy include:

• Accelerating our cattle vaccination work by appointing a Clinical Research Organisation to run cattle vaccination field trials. The aim of these trials is to support applications for UK marketing authorisations of the vaccine and a test to detect infected animals among vaccinated animals.

• Evolving our badger control policy, including tendering for a farmer-delivered project in East Sussex to vaccinate badgers against TB, and publishing a map showing the estimated distribution of TB infection in badgers in England’s bTB Edge Area.

• Improving our TB testing programme, through awarding £500,000 funding for innovative research to diagnose bTB more quickly, and starting to increase the default frequency of mandatory surveillance TB testing of cattle across England’s bTB High Risk Area from annual to every six-months, with some exceptions for lower risk herds.

• Evolving and strengthening partnership working though recruiting for a new Bovine TB Partnership to replace the existing Bovine TB Eradication Advisory Group for England.

Work is ongoing and we plan to announce further steps in due course.

My department constantly keeps under review the financial health of Defra-related sectors, including in relation to how sectors are faring in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Environmental charities and their partners are able to apply to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, with the first successful applicants announced in December. The Government has committed a further £40m to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund in 2021/22, and my department will be announcing further details of a second round in the coming weeks.

Environmental charities have also been able to benefit from wider government financial support for businesses during Covid-19, including the Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended to the end of April 2021.

Our Clean Air Strategy sets out an ambitious programme of action to reduce air pollutant emissions from a wide range of sources. We have also put in place a £3.8 billion plan to tackle roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

We have also implemented the Medium Combustion Plant Directive which will help to reduce air pollution by bringing in emission controls for plant used to generate heat and power for large buildings and industrial processes, as well as for power generation

Together these measures will significantly reduce the impact of emissions from pollution sources on the environment and public health.

The Environment Agency (EA), as the waste shipments regulator for England, is proactively engaging with the authorities in Sri Lanka about containers of waste illegally exported to Sri Lanka in 2017 and is leading the response on this matter.

The containers were found by Sri Lankan authorities to contain illegal materials, described as mattresses and carpets, which had been exported for recycling. The 21 containers queried arrived back in England on Wednesday 28 October 2020 and are part of a shipment totalling 263 containers which are being returned. The Environment Agency estimate that by February 2021, 133 containers will have been returned to England in total. The Environment Agency will continue to work with the Sri Lankan authorities to expedite the return of the remaining waste.

Environment Agency enforcement officers are working to confirm the types of waste shipped, who exported it and the producer of the waste. Those responsible could face a custodial sentence of up to two years, an unlimited fine, and the recovery of money and assets gained through the course of their criminal activity. Despite media reports suggesting that medical waste was illegally shipped from England to Sri Lanka, the EA has not received any indication or evidence from the Sri Lankan authorities to corroborate those reports.

The Discover Water website publishes up to date records of water company performance on leakage. Details can be found in the PDF attachment and at the following link: https://discoverwater.co.uk/leaking-pipes.