Alex Ballinger

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.

DBT funds Citizens Advice to provide consumer advice in England and Wales. Citizens Advice run an annual Scams Awareness campaign on behalf of the Consumer Protection Partnership to raise awareness about scams: how to spot a scam, prevent becoming a victim and report scams.

The next campaign will run from 20 October-2 November. The Citizens Advice website has detailed advice on that how to report a scam to the Citizens Advice consumer service and additionally to Action Fraud. There is also advice to consumers about checking to see whether they can get their money back if they have been scammed.

All businesses are required to comply with consumer law, which aims to protect consumers from poor conduct by traders. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods sold by traders must be as described, of a satisfactory quality, and fit for a particular purpose. Traders are required to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill, and where the timeframe is not specified in the contract, within a reasonable time.

DBT has strengthened consumer protections through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

DBT also funds Business Companion, who publish free guidance for businesses on complying with consumer law.

The UK has a range of measures in place to promote RBC across the economy. In the Trade Strategy, the Government also launched a review into the UK's approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains.

The review will be a neutral, objective appraisal of policy, led by departmental officials. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices. To complement the review, the FCDO is conducting a National Baseline Assessment (NBA) on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK's approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains. Throughout the review, we will harness the insights and expertise of businesses and investors from across the economy, as well as trade unions, academia and civil society.

Stakeholders will also be given the opportunity to feed into the National Baseline Assessment on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which will run in parallel and inform the review.

HMRC are responsible for the conduct of origin verification checks on imported goods. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. Data on imports from Israel is available on uktradeinfo.com/trade-data.

For Energy Intensive Industries overall, our Clean Power 2030 target is the key to long-term sustainable price reductions. From 2027, the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 electricity-intensive businesses in manufacturing sectors. Eligibility will be determined following consultation, which will open shortly, with a review point in 2030. The government is also increasing support through an uplift for our most energy-intensive industries eligible for the British Industry Supercharger, with an uplift of the Network Charging Compensation (NCC) scheme to 90% from 2026. The government will set out further details on its plans to decarbonise industry, in its Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan in October.

The origin and profile of biomass used by Drax is monitored by Ofgem. The Government requires that all biomass used by Drax be compliant with strict sustainability criteria. This requires that biomass must be legally and sustainably harvested and includes requirements around protecting biodiversity and maintaining forest productivity.

We have strengthened sustainability requirements in our recently announced deal with Drax. In the agreed low carbon dispatchable Contract for Difference, we will explicitly exclude material sourced from primary forests and old growth forests from receiving support payments. There will be substantial penalties on Drax if sustainability criteria are not met.

We are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Gambling Commission assesses information gathered from multiple sources and works closely with partner agencies to prevent access to illegal websites by consumers in Great Britain.

In the past year, the Commission has significantly increased its disruption activity and has a renewed focus on finding innovative ways to tackle the illegal market. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will also grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

The Gambling Commission has been clear that sports organisations must diligently and continuously ensure that they are not advertising illegal gambling. Under current rules, sports organisations who engage in sponsoring and advertising arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators are at serious risk of committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling under Section 330 of the Gambling Act 2005. The Commission has warned relevant club officials that they may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain. Sports organisations engaging in such arrangements with an unlicensed brand must ensure that online gambling activity for that unlicensed brand is blocked and inaccessible to consumers in Great Britain.

In such instances, the Commission will seek assurance from clubs that they have carried out due diligence on their gambling partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed websites. The Commission will also take steps to independently verify effective blocking measures are in place.

The government recognises the importance of the UK’s copyright regime to the economic success of the creative industries, one of eight growth-driving sectors as identified in our Industrial Strategy. We are committed to supporting rights holders by ensuring they retain control over and receive fair payment for their work, especially as technology advances to include AI. We are actively working with stakeholders to ensure copyright protections remain robust and fit for purpose.

On the impact of AI, our next step is a 10-week consultation, published on Tuesday 17 December and closing 25 February, to engage AI and creative industries stakeholders widely on the impact of AI on the copyright regime.

Consultation responses will inform our approach to the design and delivery of a solution to the current dispute over the use of copyrighted material in AI training. Our aim is to clarify the copyright framework for AI – delivering certainty through a copyright regime that provides creators with real control, transparency, and helps them licence their content, while supporting AI developers' access to high-quality material.

Following the consultation we will continue to develop our policy approach in partnership with creative industries, media and AI stakeholders - supporting our brilliant artists and the creative industries to work together with the AI sector to harness the opportunities this technology provides.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Funding made available in the dedicated schools grant for the early education childcare entitlements for children aged from 9 months up to school age, cannot be claimed by, or spent on, any type of childcare providers who provide childcare for related children.

This restriction for local authorities funding relatives is set out in the Childcare Act 2006. Section 18(4)(c) the 2006 Act specifically excludes care provided for a child by a parent or other relative and section 18(8)(c) of the 2006 Act states that a relative, in relation to a child, means “a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister, whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership”.

Successive governments have taken the view that people should not receive funding for looking after related children that they may already look after on an informal basis for free. This is on the basis that it would not be an effective use of public money. For this reason, the department has no plans to change this long-standing position at this time.

Keeping children safe from multiple forms of abuse and harm is the foundation of giving every child the best start in life, ensuring they can achieve and thrive as they grow up. In our Plan for Change, this government set out its ambition to ensure every child is kept safe, regardless of their background or where they live across the country.

The Children Act 1989 is the legislative framework for local authorities in terms of investigating child protection concerns (under section 47 of the Act) and providing support and services for children in need (under section 17 of the Act). The statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children' (2023) is clear that local authorities and their partners should publish a threshold document for support and services under section 17.

As a child-centred government, keeping children safe is a priority. The department has made £500 million available this year to support the national rollout of the Families First Partnership Programme. We envision a transformed system, where practitioners from social work, police, health, education and beyond work together to promote the wellbeing of children and keep them safe from harm. Through this end-to-end system reform, families will receive the help and support they need, at the earliest opportunity and more children will be protected at the right time.

Local government children’s services provide vital support and protection to society’s most vulnerable children. The department is grateful for the work that children’s social care workforces do every day.

In November, we published ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’ setting out our strategic vision to children’s social care reform. The department is confident these reforms will result in a more effective system that more people will want to work and stay in.

The department is directly supporting the recruitment and retention of child and family social workers, including training around 850 new social workers annually through our fast-track programmes and has also provided funding to support up to 461 new social work apprenticeship places. We are working with local authorities to improve working conditions through our ‘Support for social workers’ platform and are reviewing the National Workload Action Group’s report on reducing unnecessary workload.

On 20 March, we also launched a public consultation on new post-qualifying standards for child and family social workers and a new social work induction programme to strengthen early career support and improve retention.

On 30 September 2024, there were 34,300 full-time equivalent child and family social workers in post, which is the highest number since data collection began. This reflects the combined efforts of local authorities, and departmental investment, to improve recruitment and retention in children’s services.

Children and young people are taught about the importance of online safety and the risks associated with it as part of the statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.

The statutory RSHE guidance sets out that that young people should be taught about the risks related to online gambling, including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online. These subjects support young people to develop their ability to self-regulate, as well as providing strategies for doing so. Young people are also taught how to seek help and support if they have concerns.

The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum for primary and secondary pupils and is analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence before setting out next steps, including whether any additional content is needed on the risks associated with online gambling.

Childminders are an important part of the early education sector. They provide flexible and affordable care which can be tailored to the specific needs of parents and children.

Primary legislation does not permit funding care that is provided by a relative under the early years entitlements. Successive governments have taken this same approach to avoid creating an incentive for adults to register to become childminders and being paid to look after related children that they are already looking after on an informal basis. For this reason, the department currently has no plans to change this long-standing position. A local authority can choose to fund a childminder providing childcare for a related child. However, this would have to be from local authority funds that are independent of the dedicated schools grant.

Although childminders cannot receive entitlements funding for related children, flexibilities within staff to child ratios can be used to allow childminders who are caring for related children to avoid limiting the income they can earn. This clarification, which aims to provide more flexibility and remove burdens for childminders while maintaining quality and safety standards, is part of our wider changes to the early years foundation stage.

A value for money assessment was made in the Simpler Recycling impact assessment available here: The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025, published in December 2024. The effectiveness of weekly food waste recycling collections by local authorities will be made in the Resources and Waste Policy Programme Evaluation, which we expect to be published around 2029.

There are two native species of grouse in England, red and black grouse. Black grouse are of conservation concern because of a long-term decline in their numbers due to a combination of factors including predation, climate change and changes in agricultural practices.

As with all wild birds, red and black grouse are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. The Game Act, 1831 applies a close season to both species to ensure hunting is sustainable. However, there is a long-standing voluntary moratorium on the hunting of black grouse due to their long-term decline.

Typical habitat for both species is peatland, heathland and moorland. We are committed to protecting these nature-rich habitats through promoting sustainable land management and restoration practices. These habitats are included in the Government commitment to deliver our legally binding biodiversity target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042. The Government’s Nature for Climate Fund is also enabling peatland restoration and native woodland planting which will provide benefits for both species of grouse.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, whether that be mandatory or voluntary, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.

The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible, and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information.

Additionally, if a prepacked or prepacked for direct sale food contains one of the 14 major allergens as an ingredient then this must be emphasised in the ingredients list so that it clearly stands out from the other ingredients.

This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

We are considering a range of policies under the new strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as reporting and failure to stop and report road traffic collisions.

More details will be published in due course.

This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

We are considering a range of policies under the new strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as reporting and failure to stop and report road traffic collisions.

More details will be published in due course.

This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

We are considering a range of policies under the new strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing motoring offences, such as reporting and failure to stop and report road traffic collisions.

More details will be published in due course.

We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.

We are considering measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety - the first in over a decade.

The Government recognises the importance of accessible streets and public transport to enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity, including ensuring they can access and sustain employment opportunities. As part of our broader mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure transport is accessible to all. The Government welcomed the findings of the Transport Select Committee’s report on improving accessibility across the transport network, and we are committed to driving change.

Local authorities are responsible for the design, management and maintenance of their streets. It is for them to ensure they carry out these functions in a way which takes account of the needs of everyone, and complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Department has published good practice guidance on this in ‘Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians.

In December last year, the government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local bus services. We have also confirmed over £1 billion for 25/26 to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable, including £712 million for local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including improving the accessibility of bus infrastructure.

The government also has ambitious plans to reform the rail sector, unifying track and train under one organisation. The cornerstone of the Government’s plan for rail reform is to establish Great British Railways (GBR), a publicly owned arm’s length body charged with running Britain’s railways in the public interest. Accessibility is one of the Government’s six priorities for the railway and will be central to GBR. To support this, the Railways Bill includes legal requirements relating to accessibility that will ensure that the interests of passengers, including those with accessibility needs, will be a fundamental part of decision-making on the railways. We will shortly publish an Accessibility Roadmap for rail that sets out the actions we are taking to deliver a more accessible railway.

We are also committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will aim to set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys and what to do when standards aren’t met, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers.

All of these measures and many more projects and policies within the Department are aimed at making the journeys of disabled people more accessible and allowing them to travel as they need.

This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by unpaid carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends with disabilities.

When we came into government, it became clear that there were far too many cases where hard-working carers had been left with large overpayments to be repaid, sometimes worth thousands of pounds. As a result, we commissioned an independent review of earnings-related overpayments of Carer’s Allowance to understand exactly what has gone wrong and make the necessary improvements needed. We expect to receive the report from the Independent Review shortly. We will then publish the report, and our initial response, as soon as is practicable thereafter. The review is not a substitute for legal proceedings, and the existence of the review does not prejudice any business-as-usual activity by DWP.

The government has not been treading water while waiting for the review. We have already taken steps to address the problem carers have been experiencing. For example, we have introduced the largest increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976. The earnings limit is now 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels and over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30.

We carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments with safeguards in place to manage repayments fairly. Carers have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award. Support remains in place with DWP’s Debt Management Service who are available to speak to anyone who has had an overpayment about the terms of their repayment.

To help prevent overpayments building up in the first place, we want to make it as easy as possible for carers to tell us when something has changed in their life which could affect their Carer's Allowance. That is why we will continue to review and improve communications, including some trials during 2025, so customers are more aware of what changes they need to report and are regularly reminded to do so and in a way that suits them.