Lord Kempsell

We are always looking at ways to reduce barriers to trade - within our clear red lines - because having a smooth trading relationship with European partners is essential to driving growth at home.

This is one of the options we are open to looking at to reduce barriers, and it’s right and responsible that we are looking at it to determine what is in the UK’s national interest. But we do not currently have any plans to join PEM.

On 24 July 2024, the Prime Minister announced via a Written Ministerial Statement that responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the EU, including co-chairing the ministerial structures under the UK’s treaties with the EU, would move to the Cabinet Office.

The EU Relations Secretariat was established in the Cabinet Office to give effect to the Government's manifesto commitments to reset the relationship with the EU, deliver on our commitments in the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and implement the Windsor Framework in good faith and protect the UK's internal market.

The EU Relations Secretariat brings together civil servants who were already working on EU relations from across the government. The data on this headcount will be published in 2025. The next update to the Cabinet Office organogram with a breakdown of grades will be published on 30 January 2025.

The latest Cabinet Office organisational chart is due for publication on the 30th of January as part of gov.uk transparency publications. This will contain all organisational units, including 10 Downing Street, and headcount. I will arrange for a copy of the organisational chart to be deposited in the house libraries upon publication.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Minister Gould, 31 October 2024, Official Report, PQ 8943.

As when the noble Lord was a special adviser under the previous administration, the number of special advisers will be published in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.

Boosting trade abroad is essential to deliver a strong economy at home. That is why we are committed to delivering a Free Trade Agreement with India, which is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by2028.

The Business and Trade Secretary is reviewing progress in our talks with India, and when ready we intend to restart negotiations towards a deal in the best interests of the British people and the economy, supporting jobs and communities across the UK.

The United States is the UK’s largest single country trading partner, and we are exploring multiple avenues to strengthen trade ties across the country.

Alabama imported £411 million of goods from the UK, and exported £312 million of goods to the UK, in 2023. Alabama’s single largest category of goods imports from the UK in 2023 was aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof, valuing £130.5 million.

We therefore welcome the participation of a delegation from Alabama in the recent Farnborough International Airshow, encouraging the growth of commercial ties between the UK and Alabama in the aerospace sector.

The U.S. is our largest single country trade partner, with trade totalling over £300bn in 2023. Supporting UK-U.S. trade and investment is a vital part of our mission to deliver economic growth. There are huge opportunities to build on this relationship, and ensure that we are working together to address the challenges of the modern economy.

Implementing a long-term solution for plutonium is essential to dealing with the UK’s nuclear legacy and leaving the environment safer for future generations.

The material in its current form presents a significant and costly burden. DESNZ and NDA has considered re-use options and found that immobilisation is more likely to put the material into a safe, stable and disposable form soonest and with greatest delivery confidence.

All current and planned UK reactors use uranium fuel. We will continue to take wider strategic factors and technologies into account in making the final investment decision.

The UK makes a significant contribution to human space exploration via investment through the European Space Agency (ESA). Rosemary Coogan is now training with NASA in Houston ahead of a long-term mission to the International Space Station. John McFall and Meganne Christian, who are both in the ESA astronaut reserve, are currently training at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany to prepare them for future space missions. These missions are not yet identified.

The UK Space Agency is also working with Axiom Space to explore the potential for a first of-a-kind commercially sponsored UK astronaut mission to the ISS. We have not made a specific estimate of when a British mission will visit the moon or Mars.

The AI opportunities Action Plan has been published and in response, the government has accepted all 50 recommendations. The digital centre within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, has been established to bring together central digital, data, technology and AI teams and act as a catalyst for technology adoption and service transformation across government.

The digital centre is leading the response to public sector AI adoption and working across departments to drive the use of AI within government, and the wider public sector, to improve citizens’ lives and make government more efficient. This includes adopting a ‘scan, pilot, scale’ approach to rolling out AI tools, building on the work of the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence.

At the start of the year, Departments were sent a commission to submit initial returns on their plan for AI adoption: 17 Departments responded. Workshops were then held with a smaller number of prioritised departments to understand their AI adoption opportunities and challenges in detail, ahead of an expected spending review. This work was paused due to the general election.

The new government is fully committed to harnessing AI and other technologies to deliver the government’s five missions and improve citizens’ lives. However, rather than being bound by the commitments of the previous government, the government will instead set out revised plans for accelerating the adoption of AI in public services, in due course.

HM Government has a strong commitment to all forms of music, including choral music.

Between 2019/20 and 2023/24 Arts Council England funded activity with a choral focus or element by nearly £200 million. This funding has supported the development, touring and promotion of choral music throughout England. Organisations supported by this funding include Ex Cathedra, a nationally recognised choir with a repertoire that reaches from the 12th to the 21st centuries.

Within the Music and Dance Scheme, the Department for Education continues to fund bursaries for training choristers through the Choir Schools’ Association.

High and rising school standards, including in mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances. The department is committed to ensuring all students have opportunities to study mathematics after the age of 16, including increasing participation in core mathematics qualifications for students who wish to continue studying mathematics but do not want to study A or AS level mathematics. A level mathematics continues to be the most popular A level, since 2014, with almost 100,000 entries in 2024 (98,066), which is up 11% from 2023. A level further mathematics also saw significant increases of 20% in 2024 (16,816).

In the 2024/25 academic year, we introduced the core mathematics premium of £900 per year per student to support students’ participation in programmes with core mathematics qualifications. The department’s guidance on the core mathematics premium can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-funding-core-maths-premium/16-to-19-funding-core-maths-premium.

The Advanced Maths Support programme remains a government-funded programme and includes support to the expansion of core mathematics by providing online and face-to-face teacher continuous professional development for new and existing core mathematics teachers, to ensure they have the capacity and capability to confidently teach advanced mathematics.

The study of classical languages can teach valuable lessons in history that are as relevant in the 21st century as they were for the ancient world. All schools can choose to teach classical subjects if they wish at any stage in a child’s education and can support this provision from their core funding.

Mainstream schools and young people with high needs are receiving £2.3 billion more in the 2025/26 financial year compared to 2024/25. This means core schools funding will total almost £63.9 billion next year.

This government is committed to ensuring both learners and employers have access to crucial digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skills that have the potential to increase productivity and create new high value jobs in the UK economy. To achieve this, the department will build a responsive skills system, coordinated through Skills England, to deliver on the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade.

The department will remain committed to ensuring all children and young people have a strong foundation in mathematics to thrive in the modern economy, regardless of background and socioeconomic status. The Advanced Maths Support programme remains a government-funded programme that continues to provide high quality teaching to increase participation and attainment in level 3 maths, to support student career progression and economic growth in technological advances.

The department also funds a national network of Maths Hubs, which is supported by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. This network aims to raise the standard of mathematics education from reception to age 18 and enhance the quality of mathematics teaching through a collaborative national network of mathematics educational professionals.

The information requested can be found in the attached spreadsheet and at the links below. Due to the amount of data requested, it is provided as an attachment rather than within the main body of the answer.

The numbers of entries by students aged 16 to 18 in England for A level pure mathematics, mathematics, further mathematics and statistics from the 2015/16 to 2023/24 academic years are published by the department in the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results’ statistical release is attached and can be found at the following links:

• 2019/20 to 2023/24: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b657f845-0723-4060-7981-08dd3ba46a29.
• 2018/19: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e26d67ded915d1f26a741fa/2019_revised_National_tables.xlsx. (Table 2a)
• 2017/18: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4887c2ed915d38b21c50d3/2018_revised_national_tables.xlsx. (Table 2a)
• 2016/17: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a82bb13e5274a2e8ab590e5/SFR03_2018_National_Tables.xlsx. (Table 2a)
• 2015/16: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f27d540f0b6230268dc62/SFR05_2017_National_tables_1_to_8.xlsm. (Table 2a)

Data relating to Core Mathematics have been published on the Compare School and College Performance website since 2021/22 is attached and can be accessed at the following links:

• 2022/23: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data?currentstep=datatypes&regiontype=all&la=0&downloadYear=2022-2023&datatypes=ks5underlying. (see “Qualification” column in “National data” tab)
• 2021/22: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data?currentstep=datatypes&regiontype=all&la=0&downloadYear=2021-2022&datatypes=ks5underlying. (see “Qualification” column in “National data” tab)

Core Mathematics qualifications were introduced in 2014 to provide students who achieved a grade 9-4 in mathematics at GCSE, but are not taking AS or A level mathematics, with the opportunity to continue the subject within 16-19 study. The qualifications focus on the use and application of mathematics and statistics in real life scenarios and aims to prepare students for the mathematical demands of university study.

The Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) remains a government funded programme that continues to positively impact mathematics education across England. Due to financial challenges, the department has made the difficult decision to reduce the funding for AMSP for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years. The department has worked with the AMSP supplier, Mathematics Education Innovation, to ensure high quality professional development and support remains available to schools and colleges to continue rising standards in level 3 mathematics.

The department remains committed to ensuring all children and young people have a strong foundation in mathematics to thrive in the modern economy, regardless of background and socioeconomic status. Our Plan for Change will ensure every child gets a rich education that helps them achieve and thrive.

Agriculture is a devolved area, and Wales’s Sustainable Farming Scheme is therefore a matter for the Welsh Government.

Defra and devolved administration officials meet routinely to share experiences and insight regarding our respective agricultural policies.

We remain committed to the statutory target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover in England to 16.5% by 2050. We have announced a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan and will introduce a new, statutory plan to protect and restore our natural environment and to deliver our ambitious targets to save nature.

The Water Minister and I know the devastating impact flooding and coastal erosion can have on communities. That is why we are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future. We will work to improve resilience and preparation across central government and local authorities to better protect communities across the UK.

The Government’s investment plan includes defences for the coast where it is sustainable and affordable to defend the coastline. In areas where it is not, other approaches such as managed realignment or transition may be needed.

This Government will not roll out new smart motorways. The safety of everyone travelling on our roads is the Government’s priority, which is why we are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. In addition, we have asked the Office for Rail and Road to report on the effectiveness of safety systems in place on smart motorways, including the performance of stopped vehicle detection technology and operational technology performance. Their next report is due in Spring 2025.

The Government is clear that traffic management measures such as low traffic neighbourhoods are a matter for local authorities as they know their areas best. Traffic management schemes should always be developed through engagement with local communities.

Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of the government’s top priorities and we know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The Department for Transport is looking at the future of the £2 fare cap as a matter of urgency, and is considering the most appropriate and affordable approach for the future of the scheme.

The feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance. Only where a paper-based review is not possible, will the claimant then be invited to an assessment.

The contracts between Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its assessment suppliers’ state that 80% of assessments should be carried out remotely (via telephone or video) and 20% carried out face-to-face, including home visits.

DWP remains committed to enabling a multi-channel assessment approach. Any future decisions will be evidence-based and to ensure this we will draw on existing evidence, as well as continuing to build our understanding via research and analysis.

Available information on Access to Work claimants by employment status is in the following table:

Table 1. Proportion of individuals who received a payment for an Access to Work element within each financial year, by employment status.

Notes

• These figures exclude Pre-Employment (Scotland), Engage to Change (Wales), Supported Internships (England), and Traineeships (England) and customers with missing employment status records.
• The ‘Unemployed’ category may include interns, temporary workers, people waiting to start a job and people who started their job in the last 6 weeks.
• Although we do collect data on employment status at the point of application, this data can be updated throughout the customer journey. Therefore, these figures show the employment status of customers at the end of each financial year, as we do not robustly have data which would show the employment status at the point of application.
• Figures for 2024/25 are not yet available as the financial year is incomplete.

The SR 2021 settlement included baseline funding c£140m per annum. The forecast expenditure for 2024/25 is £290m.

The table below shows Access to Work outturn expenditure for 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Source: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1000 and data for 2024/25 is not yet available. These figures also include expenditure on the Mental Health Support service but do not include expenditure on the Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG)¹, therefore are not directly comparable with SR settlement figures to be able to determine a shortfall.

The forecast expenditure for Access to Work grants for 2024-25 is £290m.

The SR 2021 settlement included baseline funding for Access to Work of c£140m.

The percentage of successful claims for Personal Independence Payment at initial decision by financial year and assessment channel is provided in the table below:

¹ The data provided does not include Scottish claimants.

² The percentage of ‘successful claimants’ is calculated as the volume of clearances awarded out of the volume of clearances which were either awarded or were disallowed post-assessment due to failing the assessment.

The percentage of claimants recommended to be successful during their Work Capability Assessment for Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit by financial year and assessment channel is provided below:

¹ Percentages are based on recommendations made by assessment providers for claimants undergoing ESA or Universal Credit work capability assessments. Recommendations are then considered, along with other evidence, by DWP Decision Makers when making a final decision. Outcome data is currently not available in a form that can be analysed within the cost limit.

² We have assumed 'successful claimants' to be those recommended for the 'Support Group' or 'Work Related Activity Group' for ESA or the 'Limited capability for work and work-related activity' or 'Limited capability for work' groups for Universal Credit Health.

We recognise that there are questions that need to be answered about the origin and spread of COVID-19 to ensure that we can better prevent and prepare for future pandemics. The United Kingdom continues to support the World Health Organization in its ongoing expert study of the origins of COVID-19 and seeks a robust, transparent, and science-led review. This study remains open to testing all hypotheses that they deem reasonable. The Government has noted the Central Intelligence Agency’s assessment and will continually review our own assessment of the origins of the virus, considering any new intelligence. We will update the House of Commons and the House of Lords as and when there is anything new to say.

There are no COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom. Whilst the UK Health Security Agency supports local authorities through the provision of public health guidance, the placement and removal of signs in public places is a matter for individual local authorities.

The Government is actively promoting the UK's interests in the Arctic and High North. in my recent visit to Norway and Iceland, including to the Arctic Circle Assembly, I set out the Government's commitment to a secure, stable, and sustainable region that protects our longstanding and enduring interests, guided by the UK's Arctic Policy Framework. I also met with representatives of Arctic States and Indigenous People to discuss shared challenges and opportunities to deepen collaboration. I have established a cross-Government Ministerial Group on the Polar Regions to help co-ordinate and deliver UK policy. I regularly engage with counterparts from across the Arctic region to discuss our shared commitments on security, defence, science, climate change and nature.

A financial element was crucial to securing the agreement between the UK and Mauritius on 3 October. It is not normal practice to release costs of overseas bases. Further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny, after signature and before ratification, in the usual way.

On 20 December, the UK and Mauritian governments released a joint statement reiterating their commitment to finalising a treaty as quickly as possible. The timetable for treaty ratification has not yet been confirmed. However, following signature, the Treaty will be laid before Parliament in the usual way, consistent with the Constitutional Reform and Governance (CraG) Act 2010. The Government also intends to bring forward a Bill to implement the Treaty in domestic law.

The Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories met with members of the Chagossian community twice between 5 July and 3 October 2024. Officials also routinely speak to Chagossians. Discussions covered a range of issues. There are a large number of Chagossian groups with a wide spectrums of views in the UK and internationally. We will continue efforts to engage all groups or representatives with an interest.

There are a large number of Chagossian groups with a spectrum of views. Ministers and officials have sought to engage a range of Chagossian groups or representatives with an interest on a range of issues, including implementation of the agreement. We will continue to do so. We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure this agreement reflects their interests.