Lord Bishop of Norwich

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

In the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses and community organisations with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The Government published a summary of consultation responses earlier this month, and a Government response will follow in due course.

Since 19 December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees have been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards.

For domestic customers, we recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

More than £1 billion in public sector decarbonisation funding is still being invested through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and Integrated Settlements with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities through to 2028. Additionally, the government and Great British Energy committed approximately £80 million to support around 200 schools in England to install rooftop solar panels and complementary technologies. Each school on average could save up to an estimated £25 000 per year.

11 schools have already installed solar panels which is estimated to save £175 000 on their total energy bills. Great British Energy also awarded £10 million in grant funding to mayoral strategic authorities to roll out clean energy projects at the centre of communities. A significant proportion of this will be used for solar panels for schools across England.

As unabated gas generation is displaced and transitions to a reserve role, wholesale electricity prices will increasingly decouple from the price of gas. Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the frequency with which gas sets the marginal price, helping to rapidly decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements. This will in turn reduce consumer exposure to volatile international gas prices.

Charities may access various forms of energy efficiency support, including funding for energy-saving upgrades, tailored advice. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) continues to provide grants up to £7,500, to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon heating systems for domestic and small non-domestic buildings, including charitable organisations. The maximum capacity for a single system installation under the BUS remains 45kWh.

Charitable organisations use a diverse range of buildings, thus there is no one-size-fits-all solution for how they decarbonise their buildings. In high-density urban areas, heat networks are often the lowest-cost, low-carbon heating solution.

The Government has a number of schemes to support the development and growth of heat networks, including the Green Heat Network Fund, which provides funding to develop new and existing low carbon heat networks across England.

We are working across Government and with the National Wealth Fund to explore further funding opportunities for the heat networks sector that will catalyse more private investment and support more connections.

Safety Valve agreements were only entered into if the local authority and the department’s expert advisers agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) whilst enabling local authorities to meet their statutory obligations. Safety Valve agreements do not in any way release local authorities from their obligation to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND.

The department is also conducting a research project into the impact of Safety Valves in local areas. This will help us further understand the experience of children, parents, carers and schools.

The department has confirmed that it will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements for councils that have financial deficits, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control. We will will continue to work with local authorities that have Safety Valve agreements with the department, to deliver their plans.

Safety Valve agreements were only entered into if the local authority and the department’s expert advisers agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) whilst enabling local authorities to meet their statutory obligations. Safety Valve agreements do not in any way release local authorities from their obligation to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND.

The department is also conducting a research project into the impact of Safety Valves in local areas. This will help us further understand the experience of children, parents, carers and schools.

The department has confirmed that it will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements for councils that have financial deficits, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control. We will will continue to work with local authorities that have Safety Valve agreements with the department, to deliver their plans.

Forest schools provide children with frequent opportunities for outdoor play and exploration.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life.

The EYFS framework states that providers must provide access to an outdoor play area. If that is not possible, they must ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis, unless circumstances make this inappropriate, for example unsafe weather conditions. The EYFS framework also specifies that young children should develop positive values towards the environment and the natural world.

By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, such as in larger parks and spaces in the local area or through forest schools, adults can support children to develop in a number of areas, including core strength, stability, balance and spatial awareness.

The department is committed to supporting all early years settings to deliver the EYFS well, for the benefit of all children.

The UK Government works closely with producer countries bilaterally and through key international platforms, such as the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue. FACT convenes 28 major producers and consumers of globally traded agricultural commodities to agree collective actions that protect forests and other vital ecosystems, while promoting sustainable trade and development. A core focus of FACT is the inclusion of smallholder farmers in international value chains - an issue that was central to recent meetings we convened with the Government of Malaysia.

The UK also provides direct support to smallholder farmers through its Overseas Development Assistance. For example, we are co-funding the National Initiatives for Sustainable and Climate Smart Oil Palm Smallholders programme alongside the Netherlands. This helps smallholders improve the sustainability of the palm oil sector. We also support the Living Income Community of Practice, an alliance of partners developing data and tools aimed at lifting smallholders out of poverty.

We will set out our approach to addressing UK consumption of forest-risk commodities in due course.

This Government is working hard to both understand the impacts of climate change and deliver the support needed to communities in the UK most impacted. For example, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this Government is investing record levels of flood protection. We are investing a record £2.65 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26) for the construction of new flood schemes, and the maintenance and repair of existing ones. With this fresh funding, 1,000 flood schemes have been or will continue to be supported, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026.

In addition, the Government is strengthening the capability of local authorities to protect businesses and communities from the impacts of climate change through the Local Authority Climate Services (LACS). Developed through the collaborative efforts of Defra and the Met Office, the LACS provides local authorities with targeted data on climate change impacts to their local areas to help guide the decisions made in response to climate risks and support climate adaptation planning. The UK Government Emergency alerts are also in place to warn businesses and communities of dangerous weather conditions which may impact on their affairs.

The Flood Re scheme also supports local communities. Flood Re is a joint Government and industry scheme that provides reinsurance in such a way as to promote affordability and availability of insurance for UK households at high flood risk. Flood Re does not deal directly with homeowners but instead allows insurance companies to pass the flood risk element of home insurance policies over to Flood Re for a set premium based on council tax bands.

This Government has no current plans to introduce mandatory extended producer responsibility to the tobacco industry or ban single-use cigarette filters.

Tobacco litter remains a concern for Defra, with cigarette filters consistently scoring as the most littered item in surveys. Local authorities already have powers to punish those who litter them including through prosecution.

Defra believes the best way to tackle littering of filters is through reductions in smoking rates. We therefore continue to support all initiatives to encourage people to quit smoking or prevent them from starting smoking. Through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the Government is committed to creating a smoke-free generation, gradually ending the sale of tobacco products across the country and breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.

We will continue to monitor the available evidence on the prevalence of littered cigarette filters before considering further action.

The Chalk Stream Recovery Pack was announced by the previous government, but delivery was paused due to the General Election. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.

Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.

Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats.

Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.

We recognise the importance of these global risks highlighted by the World Economic Forum. No society can thrive without protecting the environment on which we rely. That is why this Government is committed to ambitious action on climate and biodiversity. The UK is providing global leadership to end poverty on a liveable planet.

Climate change and biodiversity loss are key elements of the Government’s National Risk Register.

Internationally, we work closely with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, who provide the best available science to assess these risks. We are building global environmental ambition by accelerating delivery of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement, including through our domestic actions.

Domestically, our independent Climate Change Committee is working on the 4^th Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). We are building global environmental ambition – accelerating delivery of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement, including through our domestic actions. Defra is responsible for coordinating requirements set out in the UK Climate Change Act 2008, including preparing a National Adaptation Programme every five years, informed by the CCRA. The State of Natural Capital report shows how to mitigate risks from biodiversity loss. We have also launched a rapid review environmental improvement plan to deliver on our legally binding environment targets.

There are no plans to introduce a floor of this nature. However, the Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty.

Universal Credit customers can approach their local authority to be considered for a Discretionary Housing Payment. These can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their rental costs.

The Government announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.

An additional £421 million has been provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

As has been done for previous schemes, the Fund is available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials.

The Household Support Fund scheme guidance and individual funding allocations for Local Authorities have been published on Gov.uk and can be found here.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Claimants in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance regardless of the contractual rent paid.

LHA rates were restored to the 30th percentile of local market rents from April 2024 for one year.

Decisions on LHA for future years will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, housing priorities, and the fiscal context.

It remains our ambition to deliver £11.6 billion of International Climate Finance between April 2021 and March 2026, of which £1.5 billion should be Adaptation and Resilience finance for 2025 to support to the most vulnerable communities who are experiencing the worst impacts of climate change. We are working with our partners to ensure that Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries - among the most climate vulnerable - are able to access the climate finance they need from the global system for adaptation and resilient growth. We are also championing locally led approaches and the meaningful engagement and involvement of marginalised people in climate resilience action.

The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

At the Budget, the Government took a number of decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to restore economic stability, fix the public finances, and support public services. The Government has done so in a way that makes the tax system fairer and more sustainable.

At the Budget, the Government set out that, from 6 April 2026, in addition to existing nil-rate bands and exemptions, the 100% rate of relief will continue for the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business assets, and the rate of relief will be 50% thereafter.

Almost three-quarters of estates each year claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim business property relief, are expected to be unaffected.

The Government is committed to supporting farmers and agricultural workers in accessing the support that they need as they undertake the vital work of producing food and looking after the environment. For example, through its Farming and Countryside Programme, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) already works with a range of farming charities, including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the Yellow Wellies charity, which have highlighted mental health challenges for farming communities.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at GOV.UK.

It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Alongside these tax reliefs, the Government has also confirmed that the existing scope of agricultural property relief will b extended from 6 April 2025 to land managed under certain environmental agreements.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at GOV.UK.

It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Alongside these tax reliefs, the Government has also confirmed that the existing scope of agricultural property relief will b extended from 6 April 2025 to land managed under certain environmental agreements.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at GOV.UK.

It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Alongside these tax reliefs, the Government has also confirmed that the existing scope of agricultural property relief will b extended from 6 April 2025 to land managed under certain environmental agreements.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) updates their website on the condition of sites in challenging locations around the world. The Commission reports that as a result of the recent conflict in Gaza, both the Gaza War Cemetery and the Deir al Balah War Cemetery have suffered extensive damage, including to approximately 10% of the headstones.

A more detailed assessment cannot be carried out until the current situation subsides. The CWGC will, however, restore those sites to a befitting standard as and when circumstances allow. Until then, the locally employed maintenance team remain temporarily relocated outside Gaza.