Lord Leong

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), established in August 2022, works with government departments to help public bodies understand and reduce the impact of fraud and error against the public sector. The support provided includes monitoring compliance against the Government Counter Fraud Functional Standards GovS013. These standards are referenced within the Government Commercial Functional Standards GovS008 to signpost counter fraud best practices to commercial colleagues across government. The Procurement Bill will strengthen the counter fraud response in procurement and contracts by extending the grounds for exclusion and establishing a debarment list.

In 2021/2022 government departments detected c£224m in fraud related to public procurement and contracts (outside of tax and welfare). This figure is an increase on previous years (£169m in 2019/20 and £125m in 2020/21).

Information on how many external management consultants have been contracted by departments since 2019 is not held centrally.

The pension scheme administrator (MyCSP) is unable to provide the requested information as there are no markers or indicators on member records which signifies that a member is classed as a ‘Senior Civil Servant’.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK economy. That is why we are making sure the power of Government spending supports this vital sector.

We are increasing opportunities for SMEs in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying bidding processes and strengthening prompt payment measures.

We are also introducing a duty for contracting authorities to have regard to reducing and removing barriers to SME participation in procurement, and removing unnecessary obstacles relating to audited accounts and insurance in the conditions of participation.

The new procurement regime we are putting in place will create a simpler and significantly more transparent system that will further open up public procurement to SMEs so that they can compete for and win more public contracts.

Honours recipients are asked to anonymously complete a diversity monitoring form when they are offered their honour. The information collected is only used for statistical purposes to improve the diversity of the honours system.

As per the data collected, the below table outlines the number of nominees who received an honour in the last three years who declared themselves as Asian. There is a further breakdown of the numbers of nominees who declared their ethnic group listed on the diversity monitoring form (using the agreed list of ethnic groups from the 2021 census).

The Cabinet Office is unable to provide the data for all honours nominations received from nominees of East and Southeast Asian origin as honours are submitted to respective departments who carry out initial sifting ahead of submitting to the Cabinet Office. Therefore we do not hold the data for all nominations received.

The Cabinet Office maintains a constant dialogue with departments on their security and data concerns. Departments are required to manage all applications and services on their networks, taking into account security and data protection risks.

Specific information on the use of any individual application is not routinely held centrally.

With regards to the threat to national security His Majesty’s Government does not comment on these matters.

We consider the OBRs forecasts in the context of our commitment to drive forward export growth and achieve our ambition to reach £1 trillion exports by 2030.

UK exports increased by 16% in current prices to £849bn in the 12 months to July 2023, compared to the previous 12 months.

This growth won't stop there, as my Department continues to support companies to export through our Export Support Service, International Trade Advisers and the Export Academy. Through Government and Business working together, we can continue to grow and achieve our ambitions.

We have been working with the U.S. on the Inflation Reduction Act including through negotiations on a Critical Minerals Agreement.

UK firms are already part of U.S. supply chains, and we are a net exporter of raw materials for batteries to the U.S. This agreement will support UK based firms to continue to supply the large U.S. market for these materials.

The creation of the Department for Business and Trade from the Business groups of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Department for International Trade is being implemented through Machinery of Government changes. High-level indicative budgets for the Department for Business and Trade can be found in the published Spring Budget and officials continue to work closely with HM Treasury to finalise these as soon as possible.

In October 2021, the Government published the Greening Finance Roadmap, which set out its intention to deliver new Sustainability Disclosures Requirements for companies, pension schemes and the financial services industry. These requirements will ensure that investment decisions take better account of sustainability matters. Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 already requires directors to have regard to the environment (among other matters), and directors of large companies must make an annual statement on how they are meeting their Section 172 duty.

The Help to Grow schemes have supported over 5,000 businesses so far. We will release details on the uptake and costs of both the Help to Grow schemes in due course after Help to Grow Digital has fully closed.

We are recognised across the world for the quality and openness of our higher education (HE) system, and we encourage the sector to collaborate with international partners. To be open, we must also be secure. Universities must be security-minded in their approach and safeguard our values.

The government’s International Education Strategy and its recent update make clear that the internationalisation of the HE sector cannot come at any cost. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation, or a single nation.

That is why the department has introduced measures like the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will address concerns about the possible influence of overseas funding in England, to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions. This is in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE.

The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level. The role of the OfS is not to direct how HE providers manage themselves or to limit their recruitment from a particular country of origin, but to ensure they understand where there is greater reliance and how any risks are being managed, and to take action to protect students from the consequences of unmanaged financial risk, if necessary.

We are recognised across the world for the quality and openness of our higher education (HE) system, and we encourage the sector to collaborate with international partners. To be open, we must also be secure. Universities must be security-minded in their approach and safeguard our values.

The government’s International Education Strategy and its recent update make clear that the internationalisation of the HE sector cannot come at any cost. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation, or a single nation.

That is why the department has introduced measures like the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will address concerns about the possible influence of overseas funding in England, to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions. This is in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE.

The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level. The role of the OfS is not to direct how HE providers manage themselves or to limit their recruitment from a particular country of origin, but to ensure they understand where there is greater reliance and how any risks are being managed, and to take action to protect students from the consequences of unmanaged financial risk, if necessary.

The government is committed to supporting academia to engage with international partners in a way that reflects the UK’s values and takes account of national security concerns and wider risks.

We have strengthened sector support considerably in recent years, launching the National Protective Security Authority’s ‘Trusted Research’ campaign, and supporting Universities UK to develop guidelines on tackling security risks. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology also provides the Research Collaboration Advice Team, which gives tailored advice to research institutions to help them manage the risks in international collaboration.

The Department continues to talk to universities to ensure advice and measures on tackling security risks when engaging internationally remain relevant and proportionate. This helps to promote safe, sustainable, and legally compliant international collaboration.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will give the Office for Students powers to monitor the overseas funding of registered higher education (HE) providers in England, their constituent institutions, members, and staff in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE.

The department is taking action to review funding arrangements, but does not currently directly or indirectly fund Confucius Institutes, nor is the department planning to enter financial arrangements in the future with any Confucius Institute.

The department does not currently directly or indirectly fund Confucius Institutes, nor are we planning to enter financial arrangements in the future with any Confucius Institute.

The Government has negotiated a balanced agreement that maintains our high standards, secures access to new and growing markets and includes strong protections for the UK’s farmers and other agricultural producers, particularly in regard to our sensitive sectors. For example, increased access to the UK market for sensitive agricultural produce will be staged over a significant period of time – in most cases over 10 years – allowing our producers to adjust to any new trade flows from CPTPP members. We have also secured permanent annual limits on the amount of beef, pork, chicken, milled rice, and sugar that can be imported tariff-free from the biggest CPTPP producers, offering further protection to UK producers in these sensitive sectors.

Additionally, in line with our commitments following the signing of bilateral free trade agreements with both Australia and New Zealand, we have not provided those countries with any further market access on sensitive agricultural products as part of our CPTPP accession. Finally, a general transitional safeguard mechanism on eligible products will provide a temporary safety net for industry if they face serious injury, or threat of serious injury, from increased imports from any CPTPP member as a result of the agreement. The Government is clear that this represents a strong package of protections for our farmers and agricultural producers.

The Kickstart Scheme has not declared any losses.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report on the Kickstart Scheme was published in November 2021. This report contains details on spend as of the end of September 2021. You can access the NAO report here.

Two studies on Lyme disease are being undertaken in association with National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Emerging and Zoonotic Infections Health Protection Research Unit. One is focussing on studying the evolution of disease in patients, and the second is examining the evidence of exposure to the Lyme disease bacteria in the English population by region, using blood samples from the NHS Blood Transfusion & Transplant Service.

Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics and patients typically recover quickly and fully. Guidance accords with best practice used in the US and across Europe and is based upon the available evidence. A number of private clinics offer expensive and complex treatment regimens, caution should be exercised when accessing these services as treatments may not be supported by scientific evidence.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) share Lyme disease messaging through theirour social, media and stakeholder channels at a national and regional level, most recently publishing the Tick awareness leaflet in March 2023.

The ‘Tick awareness’ leaflet informs the public about the risks associated with ticks including Lyme Disease and tick-bite prevention behaviours. A copy is attached.

UKHSA, along with local authority partners, have also developed a Tick awareness toolkit which includes resources and materials that can be used by local authorities and other organisations to deliver tick awareness campaigns. A copy is attached.

The Department commissioned four reviews on Lyme disease published by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information group in December 2017. This was followed by definitive advice on treatment, testing and diagnosis of Lyme disease developed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in April 2018. Most cases are diagnosed on clinical signs by general practitioners, but laboratory testing is widely available through the National Health Service for more complicated cases. NHS testing follows the international best practice on Lyme disease tests and accords with European and US best practice. Some private clinics and laboratories offer their own tests which are not recognised by national health authorities, and for which little literature exists to support their veracity.

As we note in our latest Six-Monthly Report, freedom of speech and assembly continue to be curtailed in Hong Kong as was witnessed on 4 June. The right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly were both promised to Hong Kongers under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and enshrined in the Basic Law. Marking the anniversary of the massacre, the Foreign Secretary said "we will never forget those who stood up for democracy and will always stand by those who defend human rights in China". The Foreign Secretary made plain our views on Hong Kong with Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on 5 May and at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 February.

HMG Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is reported by calendar year. Spend in China was £51.7 million in 2021, £64.1 million in 2020, and £68.3 million in 2019, supporting UK policy objectives including on human rights, health and climate. Full details are available on the gov.uk page for Statistics on International Development in 'Data Underlying the SID.' FCDO cut aid programming in China by 95 per cent in Financial Year 21/22 and focused on open societies and human rights. Additional ODA that year met contractual exit costs of former programmes. Total ODA spend in China also includes non-programme activity, such as the ODA-eligible portion of the costs of UK diplomatic staff in China, Chinese Chevening scholars and the British Council's ODA-eligible activity.

The Government does not hold data on the number of UK citizens working as judges in Hong Kong.

The decision to withdraw serving UK judges from Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal (CFA) was made by the President of the UK Supreme Court in March 2022.

We are aware that 6 retired UK judges remain as non-permanent judges on the CFA. As private citizens, it is for the individual legal practitioners to decide on their service overseas; the UK judiciary and legal profession are independent from the Government.

Foreign Lawyers are permitted to practice in Hong Kong, provided they complete the relevant registration and entrance requirements. We are watching closely how the Chief Executive and Hong Kong authorities act to implement the 30 December interpretation of the National Security Law.

The Mutual Recognition of Funds arrangement between the UK and Hong Kong is the responsibility of financial regulators in each jurisdiction. The Government is therefore not involved in its implementation.

Specifically in 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Recognition of Funds (MoU), which allows eligible Hong Kong public funds and United Kingdom retail funds to be distributed in each other’s market through a streamlined process.

The details requested by the Noble Lord are published annually in the HMRC Annual Reports and Accounts, copies of which are in the library and also online at GOV.UK. HMRC also publishes quarterly performance data which includes the debt balance at the end of each quarter.

Where customers don’t engage, refuse to pay, or where businesses have little chance of recovery, we have a responsibility to take prompt enforcement action to collect the tax due. It is in no one’s interests to allow unsustainable debt to build up unchecked.

We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable.

As the Security Minister stated to the House on 1 November, the Home Office works closely with departments across Whitehall and with devolved administrations to ensure that our national security is protected and that, in particular, those who have chosen to settle here are free to engage in our democratic society without fear of the regimes that they have tried to leave behind.

The Government takes the protective security of the Indian High Commission extremely seriously. The Government remains committed to protecting the security of missions throughout the UK, including preventing and rapidly and robustly responding to incidents such as this.

The criminal damage and assaults on staff from the India High Commission at the incident on the weekend of the 18^th March was unacceptable. The police have powers to deal with such acts. However, the use of these powers is an operational matter for the police, and decisions on possible criminal proceedings will be made in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service.

It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on diplomatic security arrangements. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals and locations concerned.

We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.

Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable.

The Security Minister made a statement on the issue of transnational repression to the House on 1 November. As he said to the House, reports of undeclared ‘police stations’ in the UK are of course very concerning and are taken extremely seriously. Any foreign country operating on UK soil must abide by UK law. This Government is committed to tackling this challenge wherever it originates. An internal review into transnational repression is underway and the House will be updated on progress in due course.

More broadly, we are driving forward work to protect the democratic integrity of the UK, including from threats of foreign interference, through the Defending Democracy Taskforce.

The Government is committed to tackling corruption. Our Anti-Corruption Strategy 2017 - 2022 provides a framework to guide government anti-corruption policies and actions. As we finalise an updated Strategy we are reviewing and consulting on priority areas for UK action.

The Joint Anti-Corruption Unit (JACU), is a cross-Whitehall unit that sits in the Home Office.

As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not comment on the detail of security assessments, however, we continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.

As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and DLUHC as well as other government departments in ensuring that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for all who choose to settle here.

In 2021/22, 941 Hong Kong BN(O)s were supported to access English language provision at a total cost of £811,000. In 2022/23, 4694 Hong Kong BN(O)s were supported at a cost of £3 million.

In April 2021, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched a new UK-wide Welcome Programme to support BN(O) status holders. In November 2022, DLUHC published a letter to BN(O)s and prospective employers on Certificates of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) from the Hong Kong Police. The letter outlines a revised guidance on how to obtain a CNCC and gives sectoral examples on alternative methods when one cannot be obtained. This letter is available in English and Cantonese and is available on the GOV.UK landing page. We are working closely with FCDO officials to keep the guidance under review to help BN(O)s overcome the barriers they face when seeking employment.

The UK-wide Hong Kong Welcome Programme was launched in April 2021, providing a comprehensive support package with an easily accessible universal offer as its foundation, progressing to targeted support for those most in need.

£30.7 million was provisionally allocated in 2021/22 as funding for local authorities in England that provided British National (Overseas) visa holders with support to improve their English language or because they were destitute or at risk of destitution. The funding is demand-led with claims being made by local authorities on a retrospective basis after the support has been provided. No local authorities submitted claims in 2021/22 for support to BN(O)s who were destitute or at risk of destitution.

Funding for 2022/23 has continued to be available on a demand-led basis for local authorities that provide BN(O) visa holders on the same basis as 2021/22. The amount of funding accessed to date in 2022/23 to support Hong Kong BN(O)s who were destitute or at risk of destitution is so small that disclosing this information could lead to individuals being identified.

The British National (overseas) (BNOs) Welcome Programme was launched in April 2021, providing a UK-wide support package that comprises an easily accessible universal offer and targeted support for those most in need. The universal offer is open to all BN(O) visa holders in the UK and includes a network of 12 virtual Welcome Hubs across the UK, funding for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to deliver national and regional projects and a comprehensive Welcome Pack on GOV.UK.

The Programme also funds targeted support, provided by local authorities, on a demand-led basis for individuals requiring additional assistance in English language provision and destitution support. Although, the BN(O) visa has the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) condition attached, any BN(O) visa holder who finds themselves destitute or at risk of destitution may apply for their NRPF status to be lifted to allow them to access financial assistance.

The Programme also funds VCSE organisations at a national and regional level to provide employability support for BN(O)s visa holders. VCSE organisations have facilitated seminars, one to one coaching sessions and entrepreneur networking events to boost skills, confidence and provide interview practice to help BN(O) visa holders obtain employment in line with their experience. Furthermore, estimates are that over 60,000 individual instances of support by our funded VCSE organisations have been delivered over the first 5 months. The list of VCSE organisations funded by HMG can be found (attached) here.