Alex Brewer

The Online Safety Act places new duties on both user-to-user and search services. The strongest protections in the Act are for children, who will be protected from both illegal content, and legal content which is nonetheless harmful to children (including content which is AI generated) Ofcom has set out steps providers can take to fulfil their child safety duties, which will be in force in the Summer.

The vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, and the UK’s existing expert regulators are best placed to do this. We remain committed to introducing targeted rules on companies developing the most powerful AI models to ensure we can realise the benefits of these systems safely.

The Department has not been approached by sport clubs on this issue.

Under current legislation it is against the law to sell a bladed article to a person under the age of 18 and this includes swords. If the sale occurs online it is necessary for the retailer to carry out age verification at the point of sale and, if using a delivery company to deliver a bladed product, to ensure that the delivery company has arrangements in place to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18. Many delivery companies offer age verified delivery.

Outside of mandatory requirements, decisions on items that delivery operators accept in their networks are for the company themselves.

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 have 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.

Our 10-week consultation, which was published on Tuesday 17 December and closed on 25 February, engaged AI and creative industries stakeholders widely on the impact of AI on the copyright regime. The aims of the consultation were to seek views on how the copyright framework should apply in the context of AI. Key topics under review include text and data mining, transparency and labelling, computer generated works and digital replicas.

The consultation was published alongside an accompanying options assessment. The consultation sought to gather further evidence on the potential impact on the creative industries of any change to the copyright regime in the context of AI training. We will now consider the full range of responses we have received through our consultation to determine the most effective next steps. If legislative changes are needed, a full economic impact assessment will be undertaken.

The department is committed to ensuring that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. There are a number of ways in which we support their educational and mental health needs.

From September 2024, the department expanded the role of virtual school heads on a non-statutory basis to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school. The department is now mandating this through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This will ensure that all children in kinship care, regardless of whether they spent time in local authority care, will ensure they receive consistent support to improve their educational outcomes. This will also give kinship carers better access to and understanding of educational resources and support, which will increase visibility of these children in education and ensure they are not overlooked.

In addition, the department is providing over £2.9 billion of pupil premium funding to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England, including looked after and previously looked after children. Schools can direct pupil premium spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils, such as on high quality teaching.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education. The government will deliver on this commitment through providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.

As of April 2024, NHS-funded mental health support teams covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England, and are expected to cover at least 50% by the end of March 2025. The department will also be putting in place new young futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.

To support education staff, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. For example, a resources hub for mental health leads, and a toolkit to help schools choose evidence-based early support for pupils.

The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund also helps adoptive and special guardianship order children and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.

Department officials are in regular conversation with South Western Railway regarding its service provision in response to demand. When reviewing train services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations.

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.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.

The additional funding available to Hampshire in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 6.7% in cash terms.

The 1,001 days from conception to two years old is a time of rapid development in which babies are shaped by their experiences, particularly the relationships with their caregivers.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. Through the Plan for Change we have committed to ensuring every child is set up for the best start in life through delivering accessible, integrated maternity, baby and family support services through the 1,001 days from conception to two years old. As a first step, in January 2025, we announced £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support in 75 local authority areas with high levels of deprivation.

Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services are also available to all women throughout England with or at risk of mental health conditions, who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant or have a baby up to two years old. This care includes increased access to evidence-based psychological therapies that support parent-infant relationships.

We have not made an assessment on the proportion of babies and families who require specialist parent-infant relationship support. We will continue to evaluate the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme and assess evidence to support wider rollout, including bespoke parent-infant relationship support services, in future financial years.

The 1,001 days from conception to two years old is a time of rapid development in which babies are shaped by their experiences, particularly the relationships with their caregivers.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. Through the Plan for Change we have committed to ensuring every child is set up for the best start in life through delivering accessible, integrated maternity, baby and family support services through the 1,001 days from conception to two years old. As a first step, in January 2025, we announced £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support in 75 local authority areas with high levels of deprivation.

Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services are also available to all women throughout England with or at risk of mental health conditions, who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant or have a baby up to two years old. This care includes increased access to evidence-based psychological therapies that support parent-infant relationships.

We have not made an assessment on the proportion of babies and families who require specialist parent-infant relationship support. We will continue to evaluate the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme and assess evidence to support wider rollout, including bespoke parent-infant relationship support services, in future financial years.

Oral tobacco, otherwise known as snus, has been banned in the United Kingdom and the European Union since 1992. All tobacco products are harmful to health, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that smokeless tobacco is carcinogenic to humans. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill re-enacts the existing ban in a way that is more comprehensive, clearer, and more accessible for the relevant parties, such as retailers and enforcement agencies. We have no intention of allowing a banned and harmful product into the UK market.

There is currently limited research and evidence into the harms of nicotine pouches. However, they are never recommended for children. Nicotine, the active ingredient in pouches, is a highly addicted drug, and we have a duty to protect children and young people from future harm and addiction. Advice on the health impacts of nicotine can be found on the Talk to Frank website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/nicotine

That is why, through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we are banning the advertisement and sponsorship of these products, introducing age of sale restrictions to 18 years old for nicotine pouches, banning free samples, and providing powers to restrict packaging, flavours, and point of sale displays.

Whilst the use of nicotine pouches is currently low among adults, it is increasingly popular with younger male audiences. We will continue to monitor the use of these products and will update public health guidance and messaging accordingly.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, enabling the Spending Review settlement of £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The employer National Insurance contribution rise will be implemented in April 2025, and planning guidance published on 30 January 2025 sets out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding providers in the next financial year. It considers a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on the providers of secondary healthcare, including charitable hospices.  Further information on the planning guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2025-26-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance/

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April 2025.

In addition, I recently met the major palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.

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.

Following the end of the wine easement on 1 February some administrative work will be required for small wine companies, due to the need to make different calculations for wines of different strengths between 11.5% and 14.5% ABV to establish the level of duty. This extra step is one that was considered in detail during the consultation period. 

To reduce small wine companies burdens, HMRC will accept the ABV on the label of the bottle for the calculation of duty. Whilst the new system of wine labelling allows product labelling to 0.1 per cent ABV, this is optional, and wine can still be labelled to the nearest 0.5 per cent ABV.

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 Government provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows individuals with a form of protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to stay with or join them here, provided they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin to seek protection.

We recognise that family members of those with protection status in the UK may be particularly vulnerable. Where the applicant is an unaccompanied child, under the age of 18, we may write to them to obtain any further information which may be required. Such applicants do not need to make a request for prioritisation.

Furthermore, immediate family members of British nationals and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes. Fee waivers are available for those unable to afford the fee.

Where someone cannot reasonably be expected to prepare for or pass the test on medical grounds, the requirement can be waived by request at Knowledge of language and Life in the UK Test exemption: long term physical or mental condition - GOV.UK.

If a candidate needs assistance to access the test or needs special adjustments at a test centre, candidates can contact the provider of the tests, PSI, to make arrangements at no extra cost. These adjustments include extra time, closed sessions, BSL interpreters, monitor screen colour/contrast adjustments and height adjustable desks.

The test for severely visually impaired or blind candidates is offered with extra time, with a reader and a scribe, and the test is delivered in a separate room. Assistance dogs are also allowed. All test centres are wheelchair accessible.

Please note statistics on the number of exemptions made are not currently recorded or held centrally.

Victims of unauthorised bank fraud (for example when a customer’s card is used without their permission) are automatically entitled to reimbursement in virtually all cases. Additionally, mandatory reimbursement for Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams (when a victim makes a payment themselves to a fraudster on false pretences) came into effect in October 2024, requiring all payment service providers to reimburse all victims of APP fraud.

The National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit (NECVCU) is a focussed and targeted service, providing victims of fraud and cybercrime with not only a consistent and high-quality response, but also with a national standard of care and support. Currently NECVCU supports all 43 forces in England and Wales at Level 1 (non-vulnerable victim care), and 38 forces at the enhanced Level 2 service (for vulnerable victims).

This Government is committed to ensuring there are consistent, high standards for training in the police. This will help to maintain public confidence in the police and ensure the workforce is equipped to respond to the crime challenges they face every day, including in rural communities.

Rural and wildlife crimes can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife or rural settings should face the full force of the law.

Under our Safer Streets Mission, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping. We are also committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to fend off the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

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.