Alex Brewer

Ministers continue to meet with train operating companies to hold them to account. Since the start of 2025, the Secretary of State has held meetings with Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains regarding the operators' performance. The Rail Minister also held meetings with Northern Trains, Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry in January to discuss their performance in depth. Other topics, including drivers’ salaries, have been discussed at previous meetings between Ministers and train operating companies.

It is vitally important that babies are diagnosed as early as possible, so treatment can be provided. Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends measuring the head circumference of babies in the first week, at approximately eight weeks old, and at other times only if there are concerns. The baby’s general practitioner, or nominated primary care examiner, has a responsibility for ensuring the six-to-eight-week newborn infant physical examination screen, where head size is measured, is completed for all registered babies. The Department is seeking advice from the NICE and the royal colleges on the value of a clinical review of the current guidelines surrounding infant head circumference.

The Healthy Child Programme sets out the requirements for health visiting services, including five mandated reviews where the child’s health and development is assessed. This includes when the baby is 10 to 14 days old and at six-to-eight-weeks old, and additional contacts depending on need, providing an opportunity to identify any health or development concerns and to make the appropriate referrals.

It is vitally important that babies are diagnosed as early as possible, so treatment can be provided. Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends measuring the head circumference of babies in the first week, at approximately eight weeks old, and at other times only if there are concerns. The baby’s general practitioner, or nominated primary care examiner, has a responsibility for ensuring the six-to-eight-week newborn infant physical examination screen, where head size is measured, is completed for all registered babies. The Department is seeking advice from the NICE and the royal colleges on the value of a clinical review of the current guidelines surrounding infant head circumference.

The Healthy Child Programme sets out the requirements for health visiting services, including five mandated reviews where the child’s health and development is assessed. This includes when the baby is 10 to 14 days old and at six-to-eight-weeks old, and additional contacts depending on need, providing an opportunity to identify any health or development concerns and to make the appropriate referrals.

The Soft Power Council will advise the Government on the development of a Soft Power Strategy, including how to support the UK's soft power assets, and how to harness them through international interventions in support of foreign policy priorities.

The Soft Power Council does not have a formal role in respect of British Council funding.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index) shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to supportpublic services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs).

The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 13 November which sets out the impact of the employer NICs changes.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) sets out key measures to fix buildings faster, identify remaining buildings still at risk and ensure that residents are supported through the remediation process.

No leaseholder in a high-rise residential building should wait a day longer for remediation than necessary, and under our plan by the end of 2029 all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government funded scheme will have been remediated. In addition, every building of 11m+ with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a completion date, or the landlord will be liable for severe penalties. Our plan will drive the pace of remediation through new proposed legal duties and powers, new funding, new resources and new partnerships.

By July 2024, we had moved 124 buildings (18m+) from the Building Safety Fund to the Cladding Safety Scheme. All 124 buildings now have a signed Grant Funding Agreement.