Lord Kamall

The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund was designed as a one-year programme to understand what works in digital inclusion, and how best practice or innovative approaches can be scaled to maximise local impact across the UK.

We remain committed to building a digitally inclusive society where no one is left behind, and plans for future support for digital inclusion are still in development.

We know that digital inclusion works best when it's delivered in local places by trusted people and organisations. The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is about backing local communities to close the digital divide, and grassroots organisations are fundamental to that process.

The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund had 85 successful applications in England: a mix of charities, research organisations and local and combined authorities.

Around 73% of the organisations funded by the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund are charities, many of which are local, grassroots voluntary organisations. We don't hold specific data on the annual income of organisations.

The GOV.UK app is in public beta with expenditure met from within the overall budgets of the Government Digital Service (GDS) as part of the wider GOV.UK modernisation activity.

In 25/26 c.£6.2m has been attributed to GOV.UK app and related programme of personalisation and modernisation - this relates to spend on design, build, test and running. There has been no significant spend on marketing of the app, with less than £2k related to reaching private beta testing audiences.

The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is about testing new ideas, learning what works, and supporting the best approaches so they can grow and benefit more communities across the UK. The Fund received 1016 applications from organisations across the country, amounting to a total request of over £170m for the £11.9m available.

Payment-in-arrears is the standard Government approach for grants. However, we recognise some stakeholders were concerned about payments-in-arrears and the short delivery window of the Fund. These issues are considerations we are taking forward as we continue policy development in this area.

Despite this, projects are continuing to deliver important outcomes for the people they support, such as supporting people to access the internet and building their digital skills.

We have appointed external evaluators who are working with grant recipients to understand the impact of the Fund. This will also involve assessing the process, including grant management and deliverability within the timescale.

We expect to receive their report in April 2026.

As of 16 March 2026, the GOV.UK App has an estimated total of over 230,000 active users. Analytics tracking captures only those who opt in, so this figure is higher than the number of users providing consent. To date, approximately 135,000 users have consented to analytics tracking, averaging around 23,000 consented users per month.

While the Government has not set formal numerical targets for 2026–27, the strategic aim is to drive sustained growth by making the GOV.UK App the most convenient and trusted way for people to access government services. Growth is expected as new features and services are introduced, alongside improvements in personalisation and ongoing focus on user needs, in line with the Government Digital Service’s roadmap for modern digital government.

The Government is also committed to addressing digital exclusion. The GOV.UK App has been designed to be simple and accessible, informed by user research conducted during its public beta and in line with GOV.UK accessibility standards. Alongside this, the Government will continue to assess the digital skills support needed, including understanding barriers faced by digitally excluded groups and working with departments, local authorities and delivery partners to provide assisted digital support and signposting to digital skills training. Services will continue to be available through multiple channels, ensuring that those who are unable to use digital services can still access government support.

While no such assessment has been made, this Government recognises the importance of exploring innovative approaches to tackle loneliness, whilst protecting people's safety and wellbeing.

Collaboration and partnership are at the heart of the Civil Society Covenant which was launched by the Prime Minister in July at a major civil society summit. To inform the development of the Civil Society Covenant, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport engaged with over 1,200 organisations and worked closely with the Civil Society Advisory Group, including representatives from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) alongside a wide range of other civil society organisations.

At the launch we announced the Joint Civil Society Covenant Council which will be central to the delivery of the Covenant, setting direction and providing strategic oversight for its implementation. It will have cross-sector membership comprising senior leaders from civil society and senior representatives from government departments. We also announced a Local Covenant Partnerships Programme to support collaborative working between civil society organisations, local authorities and public service providers to deliver services that better meet the needs of their communities.

We will continue working in the spirit of partnership as we establish and develop both the Joint Civil Society Covenant Council and the Local Covenant Partnerships Programme.

Collaboration and partnership are at the heart of the Civil Society Covenant which was launched by the Prime Minister in July at a major civil society summit. To inform the development of the Civil Society Covenant, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport engaged with over 1,200 organisations and worked closely with the Civil Society Advisory Group, including representatives from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) alongside a wide range of other civil society organisations.

At the launch we announced the Joint Civil Society Covenant Council which will be central to the delivery of the Covenant, setting direction and providing strategic oversight for its implementation. It will have cross-sector membership comprising senior leaders from civil society and senior representatives from government departments. We also announced a Local Covenant Partnerships Programme to support collaborative working between civil society organisations, local authorities and public service providers to deliver services that better meet the needs of their communities.

We will continue working in the spirit of partnership as we establish and develop both the Joint Civil Society Covenant Council and the Local Covenant Partnerships Programme.

Swimming and water safety are vital life skills that are compulsory elements of the PE National Curriculum at key stages 1 and 2. In addition, the changes made to the department’s statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance will ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water. To support schools, Oak National Academy offers swimming and water safety units as part of its PE curriculum, developed in partnership with Swim England.

In June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced a new national approach to PE and school sport as part of which we will establish a PE and School Sport Partnership Network, designed to build stronger links between schools, local clubs, and National Governing Bodies. It will identify and remove barriers to participation in PE and school sport, including swimming.

The department is also providing a grant of up to £300,000 to deliver Inclusion 2028, a programme which upskills teachers to deliver high quality, inclusive PE, including swimming and water safety, to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Skills England, and its predecessor the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), has worked with employers to develop apprenticeships covering a range of occupations in the care services sector. These are designed to enable an individual to acquire full competence in an occupation whilst undertaking paid work and provide a progression route in the sector. These products are available for both public and private sector employers to use, with funding to support the training from the Growth and Skills Levy.

In addition, a Health and Social Care foundation apprenticeship has been developed and will be available for delivery from autumn this year. This is specifically aimed at young people who are not yet ready for work, and will provide the individual with a mix of employability and sectoral skills designed to provide a good grounding for a career in the health or adult social care sector.

To support the awareness of careers in adult social care, the National Careers Service, a free, government funded careers information, advice and guidance service, uses a range of labour market information to support and guide individuals. The Service website gives customers access to a range of digital tools and resources, including ‘Explore Careers’ which includes more than 130 industry areas and more than 800 job profiles including a range of construction and health and social care roles, describing what the roles entail, qualifications needed and entry routes.

As part of the UK-EU SPS Agreement currently being negotiated, the Government is making a sovereign choice in the national interest to align in some areas where it makes sense to do so, as set out in the Government’s recently published announcement on legislation in scope. This includes Regulation 1925/2006 on the addition of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances to foods and Directive 2002/46/EC relating to Food supplements. While those negotiations are ongoing, we cannot comment further on the SPS agreement.

The Government is committed to working with industry, particularly those impacted on the above, on preparing for implementation, noting that the precise detail and timing of this process – including legislative arrangements are subject to discussions with the EU.

The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, and helping to reduce the pressure on prices and increase choice in the shops.

We are working closely with businesses to assess the implementation impacts of the Agreement.

We have begun negotiations with the EU on an SPS agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing barriers to trade for British producers and retailers. While negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement are underway, we will not be providing a running commentary of discussions.

The size of the probiotics market in the United Kingdom was £1.07 billion in 2024 (table 1, Euromonitor International*). The UK market value for probiotic products grew by 19% between 2019 and 2024 (in 2024 prices) and 41% by sales volumes. Recent growth in the probiotic market has been attributed to the increasing popularity of probiotic dairy products like Kefir.

Table 1 – UK probiotic product retail sales (GBP million, Euromonitor)

Euromonitor have considered growth in the wider UK diary and dairy alternatives market and forecast that the value of probiotic dairy market will grow by 14% up to 2029, to £1.2 billn. There is no forecast for the overall probiotics market, but as probiotic dairy products make up 99% of the market by volume, this forecast is sufficient for the market overall.

*Although Euromonitor aims to correct inaccuracies of which it is aware, it does not warrant that the Intelligence will be accurate, up-to-date or complete as the accuracy and completeness of the data and other content available in respect of different parts of the Content will vary depending on the availability and quality of sources on which each part is based. Euromonitor accepts no liability in regard to the derived data which has been presented here and furthermore, Euromonitor does not warrant that the Intelligence will be/is fit for any particular purpose(s) for which they are used as Euromonitor does not have any knowledge of, nor control over, those purposes.

Responsibilities for water safety sit with various Government departments, agencies, local authorities, and other public bodies. These include regular safety messaging and guidance to ensure people have the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe, as well as provision of safety/lifesaving equipment at water bodies. Water sports national governing bodies are responsible for providing advice and guidance for how to participate in their sports safely. Inland waterway navigation authorities conduct risk assessments to inform the provision of appropriate lifesaving equipment on their networks. In conjunction with other services, HM Coastguard provides safety advice and guidance about the coastal environment.

The National Water Safety Forum brings together a wide range of national groups, including some 80 local authorities, to create a ‘one-stop shop’ for the prevention of drowning and water safety harm in the UK. The Forum launched the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy 2016-2026 (copy attached), which aims to reduce the number of accidental drownings in the UK by 50% by 2026. The Local Government Association has developed a water safety toolkit (copy attached) for local authorities for use inland and on the coast.

Through the next phase of Keep Britain Working we will work with businesses of all sizes to design solutions which support the health and wellbeing of employees across the UK. Through employer-led sprints, we are developing a Healthy Working Lifecycle Standard, tailored workplace health support, and stronger evidence on the business benefits of investing in employee wellbeing.

Our Vanguard group includes over 120 employers of varying sizes to ensure the approaches developed reflect the needs and realities of both large employers and SMEs. We are also working closely with regional authorities and leadership to connect the programme to smaller employers across the country.

During the Keep Britain Working review, we heard that employers are already bearing the cost of sickness absence and employees leaving the workforce and are therefore highly incentivised to support the health and wellbeing of their employees. Through the next phase of Keep Britain Working we will grow the evidence for what works and where additional incentives could have the greatest impact, ensuring that support is targeted in ways that encourage employers to take-up effective workplace health measures.

Community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service and in supporting self-care, as the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan brings healthcare to high streets as part of a shift in care to the community.

In March 2026, the Neighbourhood Health Framework was published to empower local leaders to develop and scale neighbourhood health. The framework is designed to support joined-up partnership between integrated care boards and local authorities, as they work together through health and wellbeing boards, and with their partners, to develop locally led neighbourhood health plans.

Local areas will have flexibility to design their plans to meet the needs of their local communities, including integrating community pharmacy and self-care into neighbourhood health services.

Work is ongoing to ensure that local neighbourhood teams continue to have access to standard, quality training for personal care roles.

Community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service and in supporting self-care, as the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan brings healthcare to high streets as part of a shift in care to the community.

In March 2026, the Neighbourhood Health Framework was published to empower local leaders to develop and scale neighbourhood health. The framework is designed to support joined-up partnership between integrated care boards and local authorities, as they work together through health and wellbeing boards, and with their partners, to develop locally led neighbourhood health plans.

Local areas will have flexibility to design their plans to meet the needs of their local communities, including integrating community pharmacy and self-care into neighbourhood health services.

Work is ongoing to ensure that local neighbourhood teams continue to have access to standard, quality training for personal care roles.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for keeping its guidelines up to date in light of new evidence. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework as opposed to fixed points.

NICE has a large suite of mental health guidelines with mental health being included as one of its priority topics for 2026/27. Details of the guidelines that are currently under review or being actively updated in NICE’s mental health topic suite are published on NICE’s website in an online-only format.

We will report on National Cancer Plan commitments related to clinical trials through the reformed National Cancer Board which will be accountable for the overall delivery of the National Cancer Plan.

We expect to report on access to clinical trials involving teenagers and young adults using data collected by the Department on research participation through National Institute for Health and Care Research funded infrastructure. Although these data are not reported routinely, relevant information will be shared with the National Cancer Board as needed.

The National Cancer Board will comprise of cancer experts who will be responsible for tracking the progress of the plan, providing regular updates to ministers and monitoring the plan’s impact. This includes tracking progress on our national approach to cancer research and innovation prioritises children and young people, including ensuring access to clinical trials by requiring clinical justifications for age limits.

We will report on National Cancer Plan commitments related to clinical trials through the reformed National Cancer Board which will be accountable for the overall delivery of the National Cancer Plan.

We expect to report on access to clinical trials involving teenagers and young adults using data collected by the Department on research participation through National Institute for Health and Care Research funded infrastructure. Although these data are not reported routinely, relevant information will be shared with the National Cancer Board as needed.

The National Cancer Board will comprise of cancer experts who will be responsible for tracking the progress of the plan, providing regular updates to ministers and monitoring the plan’s impact. This includes tracking progress on our national approach to cancer research and innovation prioritises children and young people, including ensuring access to clinical trials by requiring clinical justifications for age limits.