Alex Cunningham

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 June 2023 to the hon Member for East Lothian to Question UIN 189401.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 June 2023 to the hon Member for East Lothian to Question UIN 189401.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 June 2023 to the hon Member for East Lothian to Question UIN 189401.

Neart na Gaoithe’s strike price was increased in April in accordance with the annual strike price adjustment exercise undertaken by the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) in its role as Contracts for Difference (CfD) Counterparty. Strike prices are adjusted annually for all current CfD generators using a formula set out in the contract terms and conditions. The Government does not have a role in this process and has not discussed this case with EDF Renewables or the LCCC. The CfD Register, published on the LCCC’s website, indicates that Neart na Gaoithe expects to start generating on 1^st June 2024.

The Government provides grants for fuel switching through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund and Industrial Fuel Switching Competition, which includes support for industrial heat pumps, electric boilers and other electrification technologies. This year, the Government will publish a Call for Evidence on enabling industrial electrification, looking at the specific barriers and how these may be overcome.

The Government is supporting research that will identify opportunities for the chemicals sector to become more circular, delivering resource efficiency and waste reduction objectives throughout the chemicals supply chain. This includes support for the UKRI-funded National Interdisciplinary Centre for the Circular Chemical Economy. UKRI is also providing grants to support the use of sustainable feedstocks.

The Government has commissioned further research exploring barriers and opportunities around improving resource efficiency across UK industry, including the chemicals sector and related downstream products. This research will be published in due course, and will inform an assessment of policy options to support increased circularity.

The Government is supporting research that will identify opportunities for the chemicals sector to become more circular, delivering resource efficiency and waste reduction objectives throughout the chemicals supply chain. This includes support for the UKRI-funded National Interdisciplinary Centre for the Circular Chemical Economy. UKRI is also providing grants to support the use of sustainable feedstocks.

The Government has commissioned further research exploring barriers and opportunities around improving resource efficiency across UK industry, including the chemicals sector and related downstream products. This research will be published in due course, and will inform an assessment of policy options to support increased circularity.

Over 90% of households eligible for a Warm Home Discount rebate this year were identified through data matching and received their rebates automatically from their energy supplier.

The Government is aware of delays affecting some households’ rebates. This primarily affects customers who submitted their claim for a rebate via correspondence or where additional information was needed about a customer’s claim. These claims are being processed as quickly as possible.

The Government does not collect data which would allow it to make such an estimate.

The Government does not collect data which would allow it to make such estimates.

The Government has not estimated future demand for workers in the offshore oil and gas industry over the next two years.

The sector’s trade body Offshore Energies UK produces an annual Workforce Insight Report that includes some analysis and discussion of future demand for offshore oil and gas workers. Their 2021 report can be found here : https://oeuk.org.uk/product/workforce-insight-report-2021/.

No recent discussions have been held with the North Sea Transition Authority on local content in decommissioning projects in the offshore oil and gas industry.

The Offshore Wind Industry Council committed to explore qualification passporting between different offshore sectors, as part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

In March 2022, a significant agreement was reached between the three organisations that oversee training and qualifications for the offshore wind sector – the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation, the Global Wind Organisation and the International Contractors Association - to align training standards enabling workforce mobility.

The Department does not currently assess levels of commercial pressure on contractors on the UK Continental Shelf.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) works with industry, governments and trade associations to facilitate and promote effective collaboration with the supply chain to meet the voluntary commitments outlined in the North Sea Transition Deal, and develop a globally competitive, capable and innovative supply chain. ​These objectives are driven through the NSTA Stewardship Expectation 12, Supply Chain Action Plans (SCAPs), Energy Pathfinder, and formal supply chain stewardship reviews with operators. See weblink for more:

https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/supply-chain/overview/.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him today to Questions 32527 and 32528.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him today to Questions 32527 and 32528.

The Life Sciences Vision aims to build upon the UK’s geographic diversity of the Sector, by supporting clusters of excellence like the Northeast.

The Government has supported Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies in bringing a £400m investment to Billingham; and awarded a grant to Piramal Healthcare to upgrade facilities in Northumberland.

In March, we launched the £60m Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to support businesses investing in UK life sciences manufacturing projects. The fund received a large number of applications, including companies in the Northeast. Applications are now under review. We expect to announce the first wave of successful applicants in Autumn.

In April 2021, the Government launched the £20m Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund (MDMTF). Five companies were awarded funding through the MDMTF, including Piramal Healthcare, which will undertake a facilities upgrade at their Morpeth site in Northumberland.

In March 2022, the Government launched the £60m successor Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) to support businesses investing in life sciences manufacturing projects in the UK. This received many Expressions of Interest and approximately 5% were from companies in the North East. It is expected that the announcement of the first wave of successful applicants will take place in Autumn 2022.

The smart meter rollout is making good progress, with 27.8 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across Great Britain as of the end of December 2021.

The Government’s official statistics on the rollout of smart meters are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics.

These statistics, based on data from energy suppliers, cover all smart meter installations from 2012 onwards.

Smart meters are modernising the energy system, bringing an end to estimated bills and manual meter reads, which reduces costs and improves service for consumers.

Energy suppliers are responsible for managing their workforce and the provision of metering and billing services. They have adopted a number of approaches to their changing workforce requirements, including re-training meter readers for other roles such as smart meter installers.

The North Sea will play an important role in enabling Government to meet the UK’s Carbon Budget 6 and net zero targets whilst delivering low-cost electricity for consumers. 11.3GW of offshore wind is already operating in the UK, the majority of which is in the North Sea with around a further 32GW under construction, or in earlier stages of development in UK waters. Further seabed leases totalling around 25GW were awarded to wind projects in the North Sea in the recent ScotWind leasing round. The Government has since published the British Energy Security Strategy, which sets out how the UK will become more self-sufficient, bolstering our energy security.

UK Emissions Trading Scheme legislation establishes the legal requirement that the annual deadline for surrendering allowances is 30 April. This deadline is not discretionary and will not be delayed. This clarity regarding the timelines of the compliance cycle enables operators to plan ahead with confidence and ensure that they are able to meet their compliance obligations.

Through both free allocation and auctions, a total of 194 million allowances will have been released before the compliance deadline on 30 April, meaning that the UK ETS is well supplied to meet compliance demand.

On 25 March 2022, a UK ETS consultation was launched, fulfilling the Government’s commitment to align the scheme with the UK’s net zero ambitions and consulting on options to introduce the necessary changes to the scheme. In doing so, businesses will be given the confidence to invest in the transition to cheap, clean homegrown energy, which is significantly reducing reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile oil and gas prices on global markets.

The consultation “Developing the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS)”, which includes sections relating to free allowances, was published on 25 March 2022 and will run until 17 June.

The Government is committed to protecting industry from carbon leakage as the UK economy decarbonises. A proportion of allowances under the UK ETS, worth several billion pounds a year at current prices, are consequently allocated for free to businesses at risk of carbon leakage.

The Government is currently conducting a review into free allocation policy. These proposals were included in the “Developing the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS)” consultation, published on 25 March 2022, which will run until 17 June 2022.

Onshore wind is an important part of the energy mix, accounting for around a quarter of installed renewable capacity in the UK, but as one of the cheapest electricity generating technologies, we know that we will need more.

As set out in the Government’s Energy White Paper and Net Zero Strategy, a low-cost net zero system of the future will be comprised predominantly of wind and solar and to achieve this, we will require a sustained increase of locally supported onshore wind in the 2020s and beyond.

The Government recognises this is still a worrying time for businesses facing pressures due to the significant increases in global gas prices.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met representatives of the UK’s high energy-using sectors frequently in recent months in order to better understand the impact on their business, and extensive engagement with industry continues across government at both a ministerial and official level. The Government’s priorities are to ensure supplies of energy are maintained.

In order to help ensure our industry remains strong and competitive, between 2013 and 2020, total relief to energy intensive industries for electricity policy costs of over £2billion was provided. This has so far helped over 270 businesses across the UK. In 2020 alone, the Government provided relief to Energy Intensive Industries for electricity policy costs worth over £470million.

In 2018, the Government announced £315 million of funding for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, which is supporting businesses with high energy use to cut their bills until 2024.

We are currently undertaking a review of the schemes which will enable decisions to be taken on their future format.

The standing charge is a daily flat rate that E.ON and other suppliers charge their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply regardless of how much energy they use. It includes charges from network companies for using pipes and power lines to carry gas and electricity supplies, the maintenance and installation of meters, billing and accounting. A small proportion of the standing charge also goes towards Government initiatives that help vulnerable households and reduce carbon emissions. Ofgem requires energy suppliers to separate out the standing charge from a tariff’s energy unit rate so consumers can see what the different charges amount to.

For millions of households the level of standing charge is protected by the energy price cap rate set by Ofgem. While the setting of tariffs is a commercial matter for individual supply companies, the energy unit rate and the standing charge together for a supplier’s default and standard variable tariffs must not exceed the level of the price cap. For consumers looking for a new fixed deal for their energy, suppliers can offer a range of tariffs including some with a low or even a zero standing charge and a higher energy unit rate to attract low energy users.

The standing charge is a daily flat rate that E.ON and other suppliers charge their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply regardless of how much energy they use. It includes charges from network companies for using pipes and power lines to carry gas and electricity supplies, the maintenance and installation of meters, billing and accounting. A small proportion of the standing charge also goes towards Government initiatives that help vulnerable households and reduce carbon emissions. Ofgem requires energy suppliers to separate out the standing charge from a tariff’s energy unit rate so consumers can see what the different charges amount to.

For millions of households the level of standing charge is protected by the energy price cap rate set by Ofgem. While the setting of tariffs is a commercial matter for individual supply companies, the energy unit rate and the standing charge together for a supplier’s default and standard variable tariffs must not exceed the level of the price cap. For consumers looking for a new fixed deal for their energy, suppliers can offer a range of tariffs including some with a low or even a zero standing charge and a higher energy unit rate to attract low energy users.

No significant impacts on North Sea oil and gas workers or operations have been reported as a result of recent storms. The UKs offshore oil and gas sector is accustomed to weather events, and offshore installations are designed to remain in production in a wide range of weather conditions. Exposed activities, such as maintenance, may be temporarily paused and logistical operations such as workforce transportation may be affected, but operators remain resilient and plan accordingly.

No significant impacts on North Sea oil and gas workers or operations have been reported as a result of recent storms. The UKs offshore oil and gas sector is accustomed to weather events, and offshore installations are designed to remain in production in a wide range of weather conditions. Exposed activities, such as maintenance, may be temporarily paused and logistical operations such as workforce transportation may be affected, but operators remain resilient and plan accordingly.

The Government is monitoring the significant increases in wholesale energy prices closely, and meeting regularly with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer groups to understand the future impact on consumers as well as to discuss potential mitigations.

The Government is committed to protecting energy customers, especially the most vulnerable. The Government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes a £200 discount on their energy bill this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years. There will be a £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England. Additionally, the Government announced £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

The Energy Price Cap will continue to protect consumers, ensuring they pay a fair price for their energy this winter. Low income and fuel poor households will continue to be supported with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, which provides eligible households with a £140 discount. Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments will ensure that the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes through the winter. The £500 million Household Support Fund will support vulnerable households with essentials over the coming months.

The Government is monitoring the significant increases in wholesale energy prices closely, and meeting regularly with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer groups to understand the future impact on consumers as well as to discuss potential mitigations.

The Government is committed to protecting energy customers, especially the most vulnerable. The Government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes a £200 discount on their energy bill this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years. There will be a £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England. Additionally, the Government announced £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

The Energy Price Cap will continue to protect consumers, ensuring they pay a fair price for their energy this winter. Low income and fuel poor households will continue to be supported with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, which provides eligible households with a £140 discount. Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments will ensure that the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes through the winter. The £500 million Household Support Fund will support vulnerable households with essentials over the coming months.

The Government is working with the Health and Safety Executive, Ofgem and industry to understand safety, operability and value for money for blending hydrogen into the grid, including following emerging evidence from industry trials such as HyDeploy. The Government will make a decision once there is sufficient evidence on both technical safety and financial viability. The Government will be prioritising the economic assessment of hydrogen blending and will make a decision at the end of 2023 at the earliest.

The Government is working with the Health and Safety Executive, Ofgem and industry to understand safety, operability and value for money for blending hydrogen into the grid, including following emerging evidence from industry trials such as HyDeploy. The Government will make a decision once there is sufficient evidence on both technical safety and financial viability. The Government will be prioritising the economic assessment of hydrogen blending and will make a decision at the end of 2023 at the earliest.

The Government consultation on a Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard closed on 25 October. The Government intends to publish its response, confirming the design of the standard, in early 2022.

The Cluster Sequencing process will bring forward the UK’s first full-chain carbon capture and storage proposals. The Track-1 decision has identified the HyNet and East Coast Cluster proposals as those with the potential to pioneer this technology in the UK, including through the deployment of CCS-enabled low carbon hydrogen capacity. Phase-2 of this process, which opened in November, focuses on individual projects. It is open to submissions from any hydrogen production project based in the UK provided they can demonstrate they have a CO2 transport solution, access to a Track-1 or reserve cluster CO2 store and meet the eligibility criteria.

In the Heat and Building Strategy, the Government committed to consulting shortly on the case for enabling, or requiring, new gas boilers to be readily convertible to hydrogen (‘hydrogen-ready’) by 2026, to prepare homes for a potential hydrogen conversion.

I refer the Hon. Member to answer I gave my Hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley on 10th December 2021 to Question 86217.

Alongside its world-leading Hydrogen Strategy, the Government has consulted on a business model to provide revenue support to low carbon hydrogen production plants. Revenue support is needed to close the cost gap, between producing low carbon hydrogen and counterfactual higher carbon fuels, to unlock investment in hydrogen projects.

The Government is analysing stakeholder responses to the consultation and aims to publish the Government response in Q1 2022, alongside indicative Heads of Terms for the business model contract. The Government aims to finalise the business model in 2022.

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of workers employed on offshore oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf. However, industry does compile statistics on the offshore workforce and these figures are provided in the Oil and Gas UK Workforce and Employment Insight Report 2021 (https://oguk.org.uk/product/workforce-insight-report-2021/), which shows the total number of offshore oil and gas workers (personnel on board) at approximately 10,000 in July 2021. This is an increase from around 7,000 offshore oil and gas workers in April 2020.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is responsible for assessing the risks and benefits of mergers and acquisitions in relation to competition in the UK, is a non-ministerial department which works independently from BEIS.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is responsible for assessing the risks and benefits of mergers and acquisitions in relation to competition in the UK, is a non-ministerial department which works independently from BEIS.

The Government welcomes the Law Commission’s report on Employment Law Hearing Structures, and the detailed consideration the Commission has given to this important topic.

The Government is considering these recommendations and expect that the full responses will be available on the Law Commission website in due course.

For the UK to keep options open to accommodate the different potential outcomes in 2050, then by 2035 BEIS whole system modelling suggests that for any given level of the sixth carbon budget there should be deployment of low carbon hydrogen, CCS and greenhouse gas removal technologies at scale.[1] This assessment is supported by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) who in their Sixth Carbon Budget advice classified the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a “critical and cost-effective means of meeting the UK’s 2050 Net Zero target”. [2]

[1] Impact Assessment for the sixth carbon budget

[2] CCC (2020) The Sixth Carbon Budget - The UK's path to Net Zero, Chapter 2, page 90

In the Net Zero Strategy published on the 19^th October, the Government reaffirmed the commitment to supporting Carbon Capture Usage & Storage (CCUS) via the £1 billion CCUS Infrastructure Fund. This will provide industry with the certainty required to deploy CCUS at pace and at scale and will form part of a package of government support, which will also include the Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Support (IDHRS) scheme and the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund supporting both CCS-enabled ‘blue’ and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen.[1]

[1] CCC (2020) The Sixth Carbon Budget - The UK's path to Net Zero, Chapter 2, page 126

As outlined within the recently published Net Zero Strategy, carbon, capture, usage and storage will be an exciting new industry to capture the carbon we continue to emit and revitalise the birthplaces of the first industrial revolution. It has the ability to capture CO₂ from power generation, hydrogen production and industrial processes to store it underground or reuse it. In addition, carbon, capture, usage and storage could help support up to 50,000 jobs in 2030, split across industry, power and the transport and storage network.

As highlighted in the Government’s Net Zero Strategy, investing in carbon, capture, usage and storage will create transformative ‘SuperPlaces’ in areas such as the Humber, North East, North west and southern England, as well as in Scotland and Wales, bringing with it a range of financial benefits.

The deployment of CCUS clusters from the mid-2020s will also be a strong enabler for UK exports globally, building UK CCUS expertise and driving international demand for UK CCUS goods and services.

A claim to an Employment Tribunal must usually be made within three months. For certain claims, redundancy pay or equal pay, the claim must be made within six months. The Employment Tribunals already have the discretion to allow claims submitted out of time, on a case by basis.

The Government is working closely with industry to address sector challenges, which are being faced by countries around the world.

We have expanded the Seasonal Workers Pilot to 30,000 visas for workers to come to the UK for up to six months; and have introduced measures to help tackle the HGV driver shortage.

We have expanded the roles which now qualify for our new Skilled Worker Route: senior care workers, healthcare practice managers, telecommunications engineers, construction and building trades not elsewhere classified and veterinary nurses are now eligible.

The Government wants to see employers make long term investments in the UK domestic workforce and make employment more attractive through offering training, careers options and wage increases.

We are investing in our Plan for Jobs because supporting people into work, ensuring they get the skills they need to get good jobs and helping businesses fill their vacancies is the best way to secure our economic recovery.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend the Home Secretary on a range of issues, including making sure businesses have appropriate access to talent from across the world so that we can build back better from the pandemic and support the national economic recovery.

We have taken action on this issue. We have expanded the Seasonal Workers Pilot to 30,000 visas for workers to come to the UK for up to six months; and have introduced measures to help tackle the HGV driver shortage.

We want to see employers make long term investments in the UK domestic workforce and make employment more attractive through offering training, careers options and wage increases.

We continue to work closely with industry to address sector challenges and our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work.

The evidence collected by the Green Jobs Taskforce, and its recommendations, is now being considered by the Government as part of the development of the Government’s ambitious Net Zero Strategy, due to be published ahead of the UN’s climate summit COP26 in Glasgow this November. This will be the first step in responding to the Taskforce’s report.

Through the North Sea Transition Deal, the offshore oil and gas sector committed to appointing an industry supply chain champion to co-ordinate business opportunities with other energy sectors. Good progress has been made on this and an announcement is expected soon.

I met with a Skills Body for the energy workforce, Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation, in March to discuss re-skilling and future skills needs. OPITO is engaging with the oil and gas and offshore wind industries through the Energy Skills Alliance to address cross-industry priorities.

The offshore wind sector has, as part of the Sector Deal, committed to cross-industry collaboration to support workers transitioning between the oil & gas and offshore renewables sectors. This is being led by the Offshore Wind Industry Council.

The offshore wind sector is leading work to facilitate job-mobility between industries as part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal People & Skills workstream. The release of a Joint Statement on Collaboration in 2020 reflects an active commitment to create good working practice and mutual recognition of standards across sectors. Industry have developed Merit Assessment, a system which allows for existing training, qualifications and certification to be converted to an industry recognised Global Wind Organisations qualification.

Industry is in the advanced stages of forming an agreement between offshore wind and oil and gas stakeholders committing them to work collaboratively for the benefit of the workforce across sectors and to avoid duplication of training where possible. Moreover, industry is in the final stages of developing a Wind Energy Access Portal which will provide the knowledge necessary for workers to transition to the offshore renewable industry with minimum friction.

The UK Government, and the Oil and Gas Authority, consider the development of the industrial supply chain as a key priority. The objectives of the Sector Deal apply to the offshore wind sector as a whole.

Through the North Sea Transition Deal, we committed to identifying potential funding opportunities for early-stage offshore electrification studies and are making good progress on this. We continue to work with regulators and industry on addressing strategic barriers to electrification of offshore oil and gas installations.

A Government and Regulators Electrification Group has been established with the purpose of addressing barriers to electrification at a level of ambition consistent with Carbon Budget 6 and the North Sea Transition Deal. To date the group has been attended by representatives from across the Department, as well as The Health and Safety Executive, The Crown Estate, Crown Estate Scotland, Marine Scotland, Ofgem and the Oil and Gas Authority, membership is kept under review to ensure we are able to address the strategic barriers to electrification.

The Government published its response to ‘Contracts for Difference (CfD): proposed amendments to the scheme 2020’ on 24 November 2020. The Government will publish responses to ‘CfD: changes to Supply Chain Plans and the CfD contract’ and ‘CfD for low carbon electricity generation: new Supply Chain Plan questionnaire’ shortly. The Government has discussed and will continue to discuss these policy changes with representatives of the Low Carbon Contracts Company. The Government responses and guidance on supply chain plans will be published ahead of the commencement of the Contracts for Difference Fourth Allocation Round to ensure that stakeholders have time to review policy changes before submitting applications.

The Government did not set the 60% target, however, as part of the negotiations to agree the ambitious Offshore Wind Sector Deal in 2019, the industry conducted it’s own analysis and agreed to increase the target from 50% to 60% and published this year a Memorandum on UK Offshore Wind Supply Chain Development in February this year which sets out the strategic approach to delivering against their target.[1]

[1] https://www.owic.org.uk/documents

The methodology for measuring the UK content of offshore wind farms was developed by industry via the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) in 2015. Under the framework, the owners of all UK offshore wind farms achieving final investment decision (FID) report their UK content through the trade association RenewableUK.

The methodology for measuring the UK content of offshore wind farms was developed by industry via the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) in 2015. Under the framework, the owners of all UK offshore wind farms achieving final investment decision (FID) report their UK content through the trade association RenewableUK.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961. The Government has not made any assessment on the effectiveness of the bidding process used by Crown Estate to lease seabed development rights for offshore (a) wind and (b) other renewable energy projects on the UKCS. The latest Round 4 seabed leasing round has resulted in six new potential offshore wind projects totalling nearly 8GW.

BEIS was not involved in the design of the bidding process for the Round 4 seabed leasing.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961. The Government has not made any assessment on the effectiveness of the bidding process used by Crown Estate to lease seabed development rights for offshore (a) wind and (b) other renewable energy projects on the UKCS. The latest Round 4 seabed leasing round has resulted in six new potential offshore wind projects totalling nearly 8GW.

BEIS was not involved in the design of the bidding process for the Round 4 seabed leasing.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961. The Government has not made any assessment on the effectiveness of the bidding process used by Crown Estate to lease seabed development rights for offshore (a) wind and (b) other renewable energy projects on the UKCS. The latest Round 4 seabed leasing round has resulted in six new potential offshore wind projects totalling nearly 8GW.

BEIS was not involved in the design of the bidding process for the Round 4 seabed leasing.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961.

The rate of return for the shareholders of the companies who were successful in Round 4 are a matter for the companies concerned.

The Department was not involved in the leasing process. The Crown Estate published information about criteria to be assessed at the pre-qualification and the Invitation to Tender stages, which applied to all bidders.

We will agree a transformational North Sea Transition Deal to deliver new business opportunities, high-quality jobs and skills, as well as protect the wider communities most affected by the move away from oil and gas production.

Regarding the annual options fees, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are both in agreement that the results are a sign of confidence both in the UK as an attractive place to invest and in our offshore wind market.

I am aware the Crown Estate will be happy meet the Green Jobs Taskforce, on which trade unions are represented.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961.

The rate of return for the shareholders of the companies who were successful in Round 4 are a matter for the companies concerned.

The Department was not involved in the leasing process. The Crown Estate published information about criteria to be assessed at the pre-qualification and the Invitation to Tender stages, which applied to all bidders.

We will agree a transformational North Sea Transition Deal to deliver new business opportunities, high-quality jobs and skills, as well as protect the wider communities most affected by the move away from oil and gas production.

Regarding the annual options fees, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are both in agreement that the results are a sign of confidence both in the UK as an attractive place to invest and in our offshore wind market.

I am aware the Crown Estate will be happy meet the Green Jobs Taskforce, on which trade unions are represented.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961.

The rate of return for the shareholders of the companies who were successful in Round 4 are a matter for the companies concerned.

The Department was not involved in the leasing process. The Crown Estate published information about criteria to be assessed at the pre-qualification and the Invitation to Tender stages, which applied to all bidders.

We will agree a transformational North Sea Transition Deal to deliver new business opportunities, high-quality jobs and skills, as well as protect the wider communities most affected by the move away from oil and gas production.

Regarding the annual options fees, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are both in agreement that the results are a sign of confidence both in the UK as an attractive place to invest and in our offshore wind market.

I am aware the Crown Estate will be happy meet the Green Jobs Taskforce, on which trade unions are represented.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961.

The rate of return for the shareholders of the companies who were successful in Round 4 are a matter for the companies concerned.

The Department was not involved in the leasing process. The Crown Estate published information about criteria to be assessed at the pre-qualification and the Invitation to Tender stages, which applied to all bidders.

We will agree a transformational North Sea Transition Deal to deliver new business opportunities, high-quality jobs and skills, as well as protect the wider communities most affected by the move away from oil and gas production.

Regarding the annual options fees, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are both in agreement that the results are a sign of confidence both in the UK as an attractive place to invest and in our offshore wind market.

I am aware the Crown Estate will be happy meet the Green Jobs Taskforce, on which trade unions are represented.

The Government has not made any assessment of the effect of the Crown Estate’s Round 4 Offshore Wind Leasing process on either the Offshore Wind Sector Deal’s target for 60 per cent UK content by 2030 or on developers’ supply chain plans.

It will be a number of years before any projects from this latest leasing round will be preparing a supply chain plan in order to bid into a Contract for Difference Allocation Round. We will work with all developers to see how we can increase UK economic benefit.

The Government has not made any assessment of the effect of the Crown Estate’s Round 4 Offshore Wind Leasing process on either the Offshore Wind Sector Deal’s target for 60 per cent UK content by 2030 or on developers’ supply chain plans.

It will be a number of years before any projects from this latest leasing round will be preparing a supply chain plan in order to bid into a Contract for Difference Allocation Round. We will work with all developers to see how we can increase UK economic benefit.

BEIS have been in regular discussion with Ofgem regarding their assessment of the proposals to introduce a short-haul tariff to the new gas transmission charging regime introduced in October 2020. BEIS will continue to work closely with Ofgem whilst respecting its responsibility as an independent regulatory authority.

Hydrogen could provide a clean source of fuel and heat for our homes, transport and industry and, working with industry, we are aiming for the UK to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. To support this, work is on-going to consider options for policy support for hydrogen production as well as blending of hydrogen into the gas transmission grid. This is alongside additional work on the long-term future of the gas grid and potential conversion to hydrogen.

Hydrogen could provide a clean source of fuel and heat for our homes, transport and industry and, working with industry, we are aiming for the UK to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. To support this, work is on-going to consider options for policy support for hydrogen production as well as blending of hydrogen into the gas transmission grid. This is alongside additional work on the long-term future of the gas grid and potential conversion to hydrogen.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Oil and Gas Authority and other partners on this project. The recommendations and actions set out in the final report of the project are part of the wider government policy under consideration across a full range of relevant areas including electrification, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen, which could play a significant role in achieving the UK net zero target.

We welcome the Oil and Gas Authority’s UKCS Energy Integration final report from August 2020. Its recommendations are under consideration across the full range of relevant policy areas within the Department and form part of the discussions around the North Sea Transition Deal, the focus of which will be on ensuring the oil and gas sector can support the energy transition and anchor the supply chain across the UK.

On 6 October, the Government set out new plans to make the UK the world leader in clean wind energy – creating jobs, slashing carbon emissions and boosting exports. The Government also announced a commitment to 40GW of offshore wind capacity in the UK by 2030 alongside £160 million being made available to upgrade ports and infrastructure; supporting up to 2,000 construction jobs and enabling the offshore wind sector to support up to 60,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030 in ports, factories and the supply chains. The Government also announced a new target for floating offshore wind to deliver 1GW of energy by 2030, which is over 15 times the current volumes worldwide.

The Government recently sought views on strengthening Supply Chain Plan Policy for future CfD rounds, as part of the AR4 consultation. Government is considering the responses to the consultation before considering implications for policy.

These commitments are the first stage outlined as part of the Prime Minister’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which will be set out fully later this year. This is expected to include ambitious targets and major investment into industries, innovation and infrastructure that will accelerate the UK’s path to net zero by 2050.

Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) will be essential to meeting our 2050 net zero target, playing a vital role in levelling up the economy, supporting the low carbon economic transformation of our industrial regions, creating new high value jobs.

Our new CCS Infrastructure Fund will provide at least £800m to support the establishment of CCS in at least two UK sites: the first by the mid-2020s; the second by 2030.

The Government is committed to having a strong, industrialised UK supply chain. We are working with industry to understand how we can build a thriving UK supply chain, drive growth, and seize the commercial opportunities in the UK and abroad.

Low carbon hydrogen is one of a handful of critical options needed to deliver net zero and presents an opportunity to deliver against our clean growth goals – meeting our decarbonisation needs while capturing commercial opportunities.

DfT-commissioned analysis supporting the Government’s Clean Maritime Plan set out that hydrogen and ammonia, a hydrogen carrier, are expected to play a significant role in decarbonising the maritime sector. The global market for elements of alternative fuel production technologies like hydrogen and ammonia, in which the UK has a strong competitive advantage, could rise to up to £11bn per year by 2050, generating economic benefits to the UK of up to £0.5bn per year by the middle of the century

The proximity of the local port to the Net Zero Teesside industrial project, which aims to produce and use significant quantities of low carbon hydrogen, as well as the recently announced ambition for Tees Valley to become a trailblazing Hydrogen Transport Hub, position the area well to realise significant local benefits.

BEIS ministers and officials continue to work closely with colleagues in the Department for Transport (DfT) in developing our approach to hydrogen, including in end uses such as maritime.

Low carbon hydrogen is one of a handful of critical options needed to deliver net zero and presents an opportunity to deliver against our clean growth goals – meeting our decarbonisation needs while capturing commercial opportunities for UK firms. In November 2019 we published the Energy Innovation Needs Assessment (EINA) for hydrogen and fuel cells which identified that the future market for all hydrogen technologies could yield around £5.3bn of GVA and create nearly 50,000 jobs by 2050. This document is under review to reflect increased ambition from our move to a net zero target.

We are developing new policy to help realise these opportunities, including investible business models to support deployment, announcing the £100 million Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund to stimulate capital investment, and investing up to £121 million (between 2015 and 2021) in hydrogen innovation across the value chain.

We intend to publish a UK hydrogen strategy the strategy early in 2021 which will set out our strategic approach to hydrogen, and how we work with industry to build a robust UK supply chain capable of delivering low carbon hydrogen at scale to meet our net zero needs.

We recognise this is an important issue. I am in regular dialogue with Ofgem and understand they are examining five industry proposals on the short-haul tariff, with varying impacts on different consumers groups.

My colleagues and I are in regular contact with the Tees Valley Mayor to discuss many issues, including Sirius Minerals. The Mayor is a passionate advocate for the area and we support him.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, has responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging and has made their decision in accordance with their statutory duties, including Ofgem’s principal objective to protect the interests of GB’s energy consumers. It is their responsibility to undertake this assessment independently and manage the trade-offs between different users of the National Transmission System (NTS).

The National Transmission System (NTS) is designed to offer a secure gas supply, for the benefit of all users. Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, have responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging. Ofgem’s assessment of the potential bypass of the NTS by users can be found within their impact assessment carried out for Uniform Network Code (UNC) modification 0678A, which can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/amendments-gas-transmission-charging-regime-decision-and-final-impact-assessment-unc678abcdefghij.

Ofgem have set out in their decision letter that they will carry out an impact assessment to further explore the impacts of four shorthaul proposals and whether the proposals address the inefficient bypass of the gas network. More information on Ofgem’s decision to carry out an impact assessment can be found here:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/uniform-network-code-728abcd-urgent-introduction-conditional-discount-avoiding-inefficient-bypass-nts.

BEIS have been in regular discussion with Ofgem regarding?their Gas (Transmission) Charging Review, including their decision to carry out an impact assessment to further explore the impacts of the four shorthaul proposals put forward by industry.

BEIS officials will continue to work closely and engage with Ofgem on all matters, whilst respecting Ofgem's responsibility as an independent?regulatory?authority.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, has responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging. Ofgem have made their decision in accordance with their statutory duties and powers provided for under the Gas Act 1986, which includes Ofgem’s principal objective to protect the interests of GB’s current and future energy consumers.

The framework which governs the relationship between BEIS and Ofgem is reviewed every three years. For more information on the framework which sets out the relationship between BEIS and Ofgem, please visit: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/framework-document-setting-out-our-relationship-beis.

BEIS have been in regular discussion with Ofgem regarding the impact of its decision to implement a new charging regime. BEIS will continue to work closely and engage with Ofgem on all matters, whilst respecting Ofgem's responsibility as an independent?regulatory authority.

Ofgem have said that they will consider proposals to introduce a gas short haul charge that seeks to address inefficient bypass of the gas network when they are brought forward by industry.

The Government is currently in discussion with the industry about our manifesto commitment to deliver a transformational oil and gas Sector Deal. This recognises that the sector has an important role to play as the UK moves to a net zero economy and is already strongly focussed on being part of the solution to the challenges that the transition will bring. I expect this Deal to focus on supporting jobs and maintaining skills, as well as new technologies and approaches that can help us decarbonise our economy.

On 11 June, I attended the Oil and Gas Authority’s Maximising Economic Recovery Forum with industry leaders to discuss first proposals from the oil and gas industry for a Sector Deal, as well as the challenges posed by COVID-19, and the sector’s recovery.

The Oil and Gas Authority as the regulatory body for the UK’s upstream oil and gas industry meets during the year with trade union leaders and are in regular contact with them outside of these meetings.

BEIS Ministers and officials have had no direct meetings with trade unions on these issues since 1 March. However, I will be attending the virtual MER UK Forum on 11 June to which trade union leaders are also invited to participate. This forum allows for an open exchange of information on the challenges facing the industry and its workforce stemming from the COVID-19 crisis and the low oil price.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, has responsibility for matters relating to the charging regime for gas transportation and has made their decision in accordance with its statutory duties, including Ofgem’s principal objective to protect the interests of GB’s energy consumers.

BEIS have been engaging closely with Ofgem to understand their assessments of the potential effects. Ofgem expect that overall GB consumers will benefit from lower gas and electricity bills each year when the new policy is in operation.

BEIS have been in regular discussion with Ofgem regarding the impact of its decision to implement a new gas charging regime. BEIS will continue to work closely with Ofgem whilst respecting its responsibility as an independent regulatory authority.

The Government is fully committed to minimising industrial energy costs in the UK to ensure our industries remain strong and competitive. We continue to progress a range of measures to deliver an efficient and effective gas system that benefits all GB consumers.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, has responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging and has made their decision in accordance with its statutory duties, including Ofgem’s principal objective to protect the interests of GB’s energy consumers.

The introduction of a new UK charging regime for gas transportation was driven by the requirement to be compliant with EU legislation (Regulation (EU) 2017/460 (“the EU Tariff Code”). The Tariff Code places obligations on Ofgem, as the UK’s national regulatory authority, to implement changes to the arrangements governing domestic gas transmission charges to meet the Tariff Code’s objectives. Ofgem remains accountable for compliance with EU law during the transition period.

Domestically, Ofgem is an independent regulator and is accountable for the exercise of its powers to Parliament. It is subject to Treasury financial control and it is regularly called to give evidence to Parliamentary select committees, including the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

The Government has welcomed the recovery plan produced by the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, which sets out a plan to ensure the sector can increase activity, work safely, and maximise its contribution to our economic recovery.

We will continue to work with the Task Force, which includes firms, business representative organisations, and representatives of the professional institutions, to support the recovery of the construction sector.

In order to ensure that workplaces are safe for workers in the construction sector, the Government has worked with Public Health England (PHE), business representatives, and trade unions to develop guidance on safer working in outdoor environments, including how to undertake risk assessments and implement social distancing.

This guidance includes advice on cleaning and sanitising the workplace, such as maintaining a good handwashing technique as well as providing signage, hand sanitiser, hand drying facilities, and waste facilities. It also states that, when managing the risk of Covid-19 on construction sites, additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) beyond that which is usually worn is not beneficial and should not be encouraged by workplaces. However, PHE is continually reviewing its guidance in line with emerging evidence.

The Safer Workplaces guidance is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/construction-and-other-outdoor-work.

The Government has also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures, which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement PHE’s guidance.

Organisations must have effective arrangements in place to monitor and review their compliance with Government and industry guidance.

The Government recognises concerns about the effects of Covid-19 on construction projects, and the resultant inability of some parties to perform their contracts in accordance with agreed terms. We are also aware of the potential for legal disputes to arise from this.

That is why we have published guidance on contractual behaviour, which clearly states that responsible and fair behaviour is strongly encouraged in performing and enforcing contracts where there has been a material impact from Covid-19. A copy of that guidance is attached.

The Construction Leadership Council’s Covid-19 Task Force has supplemented this, by publishing further practical guidance for all companies involved in the construction supply chain on how to minimise potential disputes.

The Government is closely monitoring developments related to potential impacts on the upstream oil and gas sector from the collapse in the oil price and COVID-19 and is in regular contact with industry and the Oil and Gas Authority. I have held telephone meetings with representatives from the sector including business leaders, trade associations and the Oil and Gas Authority to discuss these issues.

In response, Government has announced an unprecedented financial package to support businesses and has committed to do whatever it takes to get our nation through the impacts of this coronavirus pandemic. This includes a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, as well as a host of measures to help businesses in this period with £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK. Additionally, responding to feedback from business, a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme will ensure that more firms are able to benefit from government-backed support during this difficult time. It will provide a government guarantee of 80% to enable banks to make loans of up to £25 million to firms with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million.

We know that the offshore oil and gas sector and particularly its supply chain has a key role to play as we move to a net zero economy and we have committed to supporting this energy transition with a transformational Sector Deal.

The Government is closely monitoring developments related to potential impacts on the upstream oil and gas sector from the collapse in the oil price and COVID-19 and is in regular contact with industry and the Oil and Gas Authority. I have held telephone meetings with representatives from the sector including business leaders, trade associations and the Oil and Gas Authority to discuss these issues.

In response, Government has announced an unprecedented financial package to support businesses and has committed to do whatever it takes to get our nation through the impacts of this coronavirus pandemic. This includes a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, as well as a host of measures to help businesses in this period with £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK. Additionally, responding to feedback from business, a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme will ensure that more firms are able to benefit from government-backed support during this difficult time. It will provide a government guarantee of 80% to enable banks to make loans of up to £25 million to firms with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million.

We know that the offshore oil and gas sector and particularly its supply chain has a key role to play as we move to a net zero economy and we have committed to supporting this energy transition with a transformational Sector Deal.

BEIS, the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England are working in collaboration to tackle cold homes.

The Fuel Poverty Strategy for England includes a vulnerability principle and Government has consulted on updating this principle so that it focuses specifically on households that are most at risk to the impact of living in a cold home. This intends to ensure that energy efficiency schemes can support those in the greatest need.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the main domestic energy efficiency scheme in Great Britain, is worth £640m per year and is focused on low income and vulnerable households, including those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Carers Allowance.

Additionally, under ECO measures can be installed in the homes of people referred by their local authority, with ill health being an eligibility criterion many use.

Improving energy efficiency is the best long-term solution to tackle fuel poverty.

More than one quarter of fuel poor households in England include a resident over 60. Government is taking steps to ensure low income, vulnerable households, including older people, are protected from living in a cold home.

The Energy Company Obligation Scheme provides support for low income and vulnerable households. Since ECO launched it has delivered energy efficiency measures to more than 2 million households. ECO, or a successor scheme, will continue to drive at least £640 million investment per year in home energy efficiency until 2028.

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards now require landlords spend up to £3500 improving their properties to energy efficiency Band E before renting them out. We intend to consult later this year on a long-term trajectory for improving Private Rented Sector homes to Band C.

In addition to receiving energy efficiency support, pensioners receive financial support to ensure they can keep their homes warm. Winter Fuel Payments provide pensioners with between £100 and £300 to keep their homes warm during the winter. Those on Pension Credit also receive a £140 Warm Home Discount rebate.

Our 2020 Fuel Poverty Strategy will detail our future plans to tackle fuel poverty.

As part of the impact assessments of our policies, we include the benefits to a household’s health from improving their homes’ thermal performance.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the lead department for standards in buildings.

The current threshold for participation in the Energy Company Obligation and Warm Home Discount is 200,000 domestic customer accounts and this is changing to 150,000 customer accounts from 1 April this year.

In the final stage impact assessment for ECO3, published in October 2018, we estimated that suppliers over the 200,000 threshold covered 96% of the market and those over 150,000 covered 99%. While the number of energy suppliers in the market and their customer numbers fluctuate, we expect the current market coverage to be similar now.

How energy suppliers pass on their costs depends on their individual pricing decisions.

The costs for identifying suitable homes has been estimated at around £257m for the three and a half year duration of ECO3 (2018 – 2022). That would be around 11% of the total estimated cost of the scheme.

These costs include finding suitable homes whose residents are eligible and willing to have energy efficiency measures installed.

In the Clean Growth Strategy, Government set an aspiration for as many homes as possible to be Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. We are developing policies and measures that will help to build a sustainable market for energy efficiency.

The Energy Company Obligation Scheme provides support for low income and vulnerable households. Since ECO launched it has delivered energy efficiency measures to more than 2 million households. ECO, or a successor scheme, will continue to drive at least £640 million investment per year in home energy efficiency until 2028.

A total of 793 energy efficiency measures were installed through the Energy Company Obligation’s trading route (ECO Brokerage) from the start of January 2019 to the end of December 2019.

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and wales) Regulations 2015 require that, subject to certain exemptions, domestic and non-domestic private rented sector landlords improve their properties to a minimum energy efficiency rating of E by: April 2020 for domestic property; and April 2023 for non-domestic property.

The Department has published detailed guidance to assist landlords in complying with their obligations under the existing regulations, and is conducting enforcement pilots with Local Authorities to develop best practice around enforcement of the regulations. The Department has also launched a landlord exemptions register, a requirement of the Regulations, which is used by enforcement authorities to help target their enforcement activities.

On 15 October 2019, the government published a consultation on the future target for the non-domestic private rented sector regulations alongside the government’s response to the Committee on Climate Change Progress Report. The consultation, which closed on 7 January 2020, set out that the government’s preferred target was for all non-domestic rented buildings to achieve an EPC Band B by 2030, where cost-effective. A government response is due to be published later this year. The government will also consult in due course on options for tightening the standards required of domestic private rented properties over time.

The Government has schemes worth nearly £2 billion operating, or in development, supporting our vital energy intensive industries to decarbonise. These schemes include the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to help companies reduce their fuel bills and transition to low carbon technologies, the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge to support industry with the deployment of low-carbon technologies in industrial clusters, and the ISCF Transformation Foundation Industries competition to improve the resource and energy efficiency of foundation industries.

Officials in the Department have not met with representatives of the Global Wind Organisation.

In the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, published on 7 March 2019, the sector made a commitment to continue to collaborate in order to deliver a strong, sustainable and continually improving culture, promoting and maintaining the highest possible standards of health and safety through the life cycle of projects both in the UK and around the world.

Maintaining quality jobs benefitting from the skills and experience of the UK’s oil and gas sector will be a key focus as the UK moves to a net zero economy. The industry is already strongly focussed on its role to support net zero by using the skills and expertise developed in the North Sea to become part of the solution to the challenges that the transition to a net zero economy will bring.

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of jobs on offshore oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf, but figures provided in the Oil and Gas UK Workforce Report 2019, suggest a recent stabilisation in the total number of offshore oil and gas workers (not broken down into oil and gas separately) at approximately 49,000. See the following weblink:

https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/workforce-report/

The Department has not made an assessment of trends in the level of those jobs in each year from 2020 to 2030, but the offshore industry skills body OPITO has published two recent reports on future trends in the level of jobs supported by the UK Continental Shelf oil and gas industry up to 2035. See the following weblinks:

https://www.opito.com/policy-and-research/research/ukcs-workforce-dynamics-review

https://www.opito.com/policy-and-research/research/the-skills-landscape

Future employment levels are subject to a wide range of factors, not least the oil price, and we are supporting the sector on several fronts, as we recognise that a successful offshore industry will continue to generate and protect jobs.

The Government is currently in discussion with industry about supporting the energy transition with a transformational oil and gas Sector Deal, recognising that the offshore oil and gas sector has a key role to play as the UK moves to a net zero economy.

The UK’s offshore oil and gas industry, which supports an estimated 270,000 jobs, is already very focussed on its role to support net zero by using the skills and expertise developed in the North Sea to become part of the solution to the challenges that the transition to a net zero economy will bring.

The Government supports the measures undertaken by the sector to diversify its workforce into other areas of the economy such as offshore wind. For example, OPITO, the offshore industry skills body, is working with Government and representatives from the oil and gas, renewables and nuclear sectors to identify common qualifications for a range of technical job roles to enable workers to move more freely between energy sectors. The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board has also developed a Connected Competence programme which helps equip the oil and gas workforce with transferable engineering skills that are in demand across industry sectors. This standardises competence and training requirements and makes proof of competence, training and qualifications easily transferable.

The Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) Survey direct and indirect estimates of employment, UK, 2014 to 2018 can be found in the link below.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/adhocs/11120lowcarbonandrenewableenergyeconomylcreesurveydirectandindirectestimatesofemploymentuk2014to2018

In the Offshore Wind Sector Deal published last year the Offshore Wind sector estimated that it could support 27,000 jobs across the UK by 2030, covering all aspects of a wind farm; project management, construction and operations and maintenance.

Through the Faraday Battery Challenge, run by Innovate UK and funded by the Department, we have facilitated work with a leading UK train manufacturer to develop battery technology for use on trains.

Harnessing technology to drive innovation is one of the aims of the Rail Sector Deal, launched by BEIS and the Department for Transport in December 2018. The Rail Sector Deal is a partnership between the Government and the rail industry to help address the Grand Challenges we face. This includes maximising the advantages for UK industry from the global shift to clean growth and positioning the UK as a world leader in shaping the future of mobility.

The Committee on Climate Change is an independent advisory body and so it is for the Committee to decide how to take into account any evidence it deems relevant in the development of its advice to Government on the sixth carbon budget.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy works closely with the Department for Transport regarding the current review of the UK’s railways, independently chaired by Keith Williams.

Our work with DfT, through the Rail Supply Group Council and the Rail Sector Deal, brings the industry and government together to shape investment in our railways and encourage improvements to sustainability, digitalisation, use of data, productivity, skills and diversity, and a boost to exports.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

On Monday 4 January the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown and instructed people to stay at home to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. The National Restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions. Therefore, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including ice rinks, must close.

Previously, outdoor skating rinks could stay open across all tiers and indoor skating rinks could open in Tiers 1 and 2. Ice rinks were closed in tier 3 and 4 as they are primarily used for the purpose of entertainment. This is consistent with other venues used for entertainment purposes across the economy which were also closed. To allow those who need to access ice rinks, in tier three, exemptions were made for sport for educational purposes, people with disabilities, supervised activity for under-18s and elite athletes.

The BBC and TV Licensing are responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, not the government.

The government is therefore not involved in how TV Licensing processes payments, including cheques, or how and when it issues reminder letters.

However, the government expects TV Licensing to collect the licence fee in an efficient and proportionate manner, and to ensure particularly sensitive handling for those aged 75 and over who may be affected by the BBC’s changes to the over 75 concession.

Listed places of worship represent some of the nation’s finest heritage. The Government recognises the very significant impact that Covid-19 has had on places of worship to continue to operate and on the ability of congregations to maintain them.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has announced significant cross-sector support to deal with the impacts and aid recovery. This includes a £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund announced earlier this year aimed at helping key cultural and heritage organisations, including listed places of worship. The Fund has and will continue to provide grants to cover operating costs, support organisations become financially viable again and finance stalled capital projects. In addition, many places of worship have been eligible for other Covid-19 funding schemes including the emergency grant schemes run by Historic England and the National Lottery earlier this year.

The Government is committed to supporting places of worship and will continue to monitor both the impacts of the pandemic and the wider challenges that places of worship face.

The Government is aware that the coronavirus outbreak has caused a series of economic challenges to charities at a time where they are seeing an increased demand. The £750m funding package announced by the Chancellor is specifically aimed at supporting those who need to continue providing their services as part of the national coronavirus response.

£360 million will be directly allocated by government departments to charities providing key services and supporting vulnerable people during the crisis.

A further £310m will be granted to charities through the National Lottery Communities Fund (NLCF) in England and £60m via the Devolved Administrations. We expect the application system for the National Lottery Community Fund grant pot in England to be operational shortly.

Unfortunately, we cannot match every pound of funding charities expected to receive this year. Many charities will have to assess whether they can access cross-cutting support measures announced by HM Treasury. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; access to a Business Interruption Loan, and schemes to defer VAT bills to the end of June, and pay no business rates for charity shops next year.

All pupils attending state funded schools are subject to the standard criteria for free school meals (FSM), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities. Equivalent funding is delivered to maintained schools and academies via the dedicated schools grant and general annual grant respectively.

Non-maintained special schools have a duty to provide FSM to eligible pupils under the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015. The latest statistics indicate that 39.7% of pupils with an education, health and care plan, and 36.4% of pupils with special educational needs support, were eligible for FSM in 2022. More information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22.

The Government spends over £1 billion annually delivering FSM to pupils in schools. Around 1.9 million disadvantaged pupils are eligible for FSM, as well as an additional 1.25 million infants who receive a free meal under the universal infant FSM policy. Together, this provides support to over one third of all pupils in schools.

In addition to this, the Department is funding up to £30 million in the national school breakfast programme until the end of the 2024 summer term. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free, nutritious breakfasts. The Department is also funding over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which provides free holiday club places with healthy meals and enriching activities to children from low income families.

All pupils attending state funded schools are subject to the standard criteria for free school meals (FSM), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities. Equivalent funding is delivered to maintained schools and academies via the dedicated schools grant and general annual grant respectively.

Non-maintained special schools have a duty to provide FSM to eligible pupils under the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015. The latest statistics indicate that 39.7% of pupils with an education, health and care plan, and 36.4% of pupils with special educational needs support, were eligible for FSM in 2022. More information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22.

The Government spends over £1 billion annually delivering FSM to pupils in schools. Around 1.9 million disadvantaged pupils are eligible for FSM, as well as an additional 1.25 million infants who receive a free meal under the universal infant FSM policy. Together, this provides support to over one third of all pupils in schools.

In addition to this, the Department is funding up to £30 million in the national school breakfast programme until the end of the 2024 summer term. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free, nutritious breakfasts. The Department is also funding over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which provides free holiday club places with healthy meals and enriching activities to children from low income families.

39.7% of pupils with an education, health and care plan and 36.4% of pupils with special educational needs support were eligible for free school meals (FSM) in 2022. More information can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22.

The Department spends over £1 billion annually delivering FSM to pupils in schools. Around 1.9 million disadvantaged pupils are eligible for FSM, as well as an additional 1.25 million infants who receive a free meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy. Together, this provides support to over one third of all pupils in schools.

The Department is investing up to £30 million in the national school breakfast programme until the end of the 2024 summer term. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free, nutritious breakfasts. The Department is also investing over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides free holiday club places with healthy meals and enriching activities to children from low-income families.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.

The primary school curriculum includes financial education within mathematics, which provides young people with the knowledge to make important financial decisions. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. The mathematics curriculum also includes specific content on financial education, such as calculations with money.

Primary schools can teach financial education through citizenship. Although this is not part of the National Curriculum until Key Stage 3, the Department has published a non-statutory citizenship curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2, to support schools to ensure that pupils are taught how to look after their money and realise that future wants and needs may be met through saving. There is also a wide range of resources available for schools, including the Money and Pension Service’s (MaPS) financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England. This can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Department does not monitor financial education in primary schools but continues to work with MaPS and HM Treasury to consider the evidence and explore opportunities to promote the importance of financial education to schools.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.

The primary school curriculum includes financial education within mathematics, which provides young people with the knowledge to make important financial decisions. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. The mathematics curriculum also includes specific content on financial education, such as calculations with money.

Primary schools can teach financial education through citizenship. Although this is not part of the National Curriculum until Key Stage 3, the Department has published a non-statutory citizenship curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2, to support schools to ensure that pupils are taught how to look after their money and realise that future wants and needs may be met through saving. There is also a wide range of resources available for schools, including the Money and Pension Service’s (MaPS) financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England. This can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Department does not monitor financial education in primary schools but continues to work with MaPS and HM Treasury to consider the evidence and explore opportunities to promote the importance of financial education to schools.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information where needed.

Financial education is included in the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 but can be taught by all schools at all Key Stages. Pupils should be taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management, and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils should be educated on income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and the need to understand financial risk, including any emerging financial trends. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum.

The mathematics curriculum includes a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England in November 2021, to support school leaders to enhance their financial education provision. The guidance is available at: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/. This guidance includes links to quality assured resources for schools, including content and activities on cryptocurrencies and buy now, pay later schemes. It also sets out the knowledge pupils need to protect their personal data, critically evaluate online content and identify scams.

The Department is working with MaPS on a series of joint financial education webinars during the 2022/23 academic year to help both primary and secondary schools, to improve pupils’ knowledge and build teachers’ confidence in this area.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information where needed.

Financial education is included in the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 but can be taught by all schools at all Key Stages. Pupils should be taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management, and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils should be educated on income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and the need to understand financial risk, including any emerging financial trends. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum.

The mathematics curriculum includes a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England in November 2021, to support school leaders to enhance their financial education provision. The guidance is available at: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/. This guidance includes links to quality assured resources for schools, including content and activities on cryptocurrencies and buy now, pay later schemes. It also sets out the knowledge pupils need to protect their personal data, critically evaluate online content and identify scams.

The Department is working with MaPS on a series of joint financial education webinars during the 2022/23 academic year to help both primary and secondary schools, to improve pupils’ knowledge and build teachers’ confidence in this area.

The Further Education (FE) Capital Transformation Programme is delivering the £1.5 billion manifesto commitment to upgrade FE college estates.

Through this programme, £200 million was allocated to all FE colleges and designated institutions to undertake immediate remedial work and upgrade the condition of their estates. The Education Training Collective, which incorporates the FE colleges in Stockton-on-Tees received an allocation of £960,000 of capital funding, to improve their estate in August 2020.

The next stage of the programme of investment to upgrade the FE estate is due to be announced later this year.

The Department does not hold information on Tuition Partners or Academic Mentors at constituency level.

School-led tutoring grant allocations by school and local authority have been published. Information relating to the academic year 2021 to 2022 is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071234/School_Led_Funding_Publication_File_flat_values_v1.ods.

Information relating to the academic year 2022 to 2023 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-ntp-allocations-for-2022-to-2023-academic-year.

Payment information relating to School-Led Tutoring for the academic year 2021 to 2022, will be published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency once the reconciliation process has been completed for that period.

Between November 2020 and June 2022, over 2 million tuition courses were started. The Government has committed more than £1 billion to support tutoring over academic years 2020 to 2023/24, during which we aim to offer up to six million tutoring courses.

The Department plans to publish remediation costs to bring schools back into good condition based on data collected in the Condition Data Collection programme (CDC) by the end of the year. This will include the schools in Stockton North constituency.

The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme, were published in May 2021 in the report ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’.

The report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

The Department has no plans to make a statement.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.

The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable, at 1.3 million places since August 2015. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics.

The department also discusses sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any substantial sufficiency issues, and we have not seen a substantial number of parents unable to secure a childcare place.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We collect data on the main characteristics of childcare and early years provision in England, and fees data can be broken down to local authority level. The latest data for Stockton-on-Tees local authority shows that the mean hourly fee band for two-year-old children in 2021 is £5.75, and £5.50 for three and 4-year-olds.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.

The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable, at 1.3 million places since August 2015. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics.

The department also discusses sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any substantial sufficiency issues, and we have not seen a substantial number of parents unable to secure a childcare place.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We collect data on the main characteristics of childcare and early years provision in England, and fees data can be broken down to local authority level. The latest data for Stockton-on-Tees local authority shows that the mean hourly fee band for two-year-old children in 2021 is £5.75, and £5.50 for three and 4-year-olds.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.

The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable, at 1.3 million places since August 2015. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics.

The department also discusses sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any substantial sufficiency issues, and we have not seen a substantial number of parents unable to secure a childcare place.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We collect data on the main characteristics of childcare and early years provision in England, and fees data can be broken down to local authority level. The latest data for Stockton-on-Tees local authority shows that the mean hourly fee band for two-year-old children in 2021 is £5.75, and £5.50 for three and 4-year-olds.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.

The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable, at 1.3 million places since August 2015. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics.

The department also discusses sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any substantial sufficiency issues, and we have not seen a substantial number of parents unable to secure a childcare place.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We collect data on the main characteristics of childcare and early years provision in England, and fees data can be broken down to local authority level. The latest data for Stockton-on-Tees local authority shows that the mean hourly fee band for two-year-old children in 2021 is £5.75, and £5.50 for three and 4-year-olds.

Supported internships are part of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, which is designed to address the needs of children and young people up to the age of 25. Extending the Supported Internships programme to people over the age of 25 is not current government policy.

Young people who have previously had an education, health and care plan and have reached the age of 25, may also be eligible for funding through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above, including those learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

For young people, including those with SEND, apprenticeships can be the first step on the ladder that leads to fulfilling careers and further learning. For apprentices of all ages, they can provide a route to career progression, reskilling, and upskilling. The department has improved our Find an Apprenticeship service to allow people to identify Disability Confident Employers offering opportunities.

I refer the hon. Member for Stockton North to the answer I gave on 19 July 2022 to Question 32529.

The department has worked with Universities UK, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Institute of Student Employers, the Office for Students (OfS), and across the sector to understand what more we can do to support graduates looking to enter the labour market. This includes supporting graduates to work in life sciences.

We have also developed the graduate employment and skills guide, which was published on 10 May 2021 on the OfS’ website. The guide signposts graduate to public, private, and voluntary sector opportunities to help them build employability skills, gain work experience, or enter the labour market.

Additionally, the Medical Research Council targets around £85 million each year towards developing research careers, supporting around 1,600 PhD students. Many students are based within North East Universities, including Newcastle University.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department allocates capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities provide school places, based on their own forecast data.

Local authorities can use Basic Need funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools. Where a local authority thinks there is a demographic need for a new school in its area, it must seek proposals to establish an academy. This is known as the free school presumption process.

Stockton-on-Tees was allocated just under £61.6 million of basic need grant funding between 2011 and 2021. It has not been allocated funding in subsequent allocations because its data indicates need for mainstream places up to September 2025 had already been funded in previous years.

The department also funds new schools through the central free schools route. Under this process the department has recently approved a new primary school in Hartlepool that will also serve the Wynyard area of Stockton-on-Tees.

Through the proposals set out in the SEND and AP green paper, it is our aim to provide parents and carers with a clearer understanding of the support that should be available to meet their child’s needs, regardless of where they live.

Where specialist provision is required, the department is consulting on proposals for a simplified process where parents will be supported to express an informed preference for a suitable placement from a tailored list of settings that are appropriate to meet their child’s needs.

This aims to give parents and carers clarity on what is available locally which may still include mainstream, special, independent, or out of borough provision where appropriate in order to meet their child’s needs.

The expectation is that all schools on the list will be settings that can meet the child’s special educational needs as identified in their education, health and care needs assessments, therefore reducing the need to appeal and improving the choice offered to parents.

As the SEND and AP green paper sets out, the new national system will be designed to minimise uncertainty and disagreements throughout the system and improve parental confidence. The department recognises, however, that disputes around decision-making may still occur.

The government’s proposals seek to resolve issues earlier and improve relationships locally by strengthening mediation, including consulting on making it mandatory. Appeals to the tribunal should only need to be made in cases where parents feel that their child’s needs or proposed provision arrangements are not in line with the new national SEND standards, and mediation has not resolved the dispute. Mediation helps to maintain and improve relationships between providers, local authorities and families which is important for long-term collaborative working and supports better outcomes for children and young people.

This will reduce the need for cases to escalate to tribunal. The department will make sure there is appropriate support available to parents to help them understand the mediation process and how best to engage with it. However, parents will still be able to go to tribunal if necessary.

The green paper is now out for public consultation on its proposals until 22 July.

Throughout the SEND Review, parents and carers told the department how lengthy, stressful, and often expensive, the tribunal process can be.

In the current system, in most cases, families must secure a mediation certificate before registering an appeal with the tribunal, but they do not have to participate in the mediation itself. If the parent or young person does decide to proceed with mediation then the local authority must ensure that a mediation session takes place within 30 days. There were 4,100 mediation cases held during 2020. Of these, only 1,100 (27%) were followed by appeals to the tribunal.

Waiting for a SEND tribunal hearing can take significantly longer - the tribunal has a performance measure that 75% of appeals should be brought to hearing and the decision issued within 22 weeks.

This government’s proposals seek to resolve issues earlier and improve relationships locally by strengthening mediation, including consulting on making it mandatory. Parents will still be able to go to tribunal if necessary.

The Green Paper is now out for public consultation on its proposals until 1 July.

Throughout the SEND Review, parents and carers told the department how lengthy, stressful, and often expensive, the tribunal process can be.

In the current system, in most cases, families must secure a mediation certificate before registering an appeal with the tribunal, but they do not have to participate in the mediation itself. If the parent or young person does decide to proceed with mediation then the local authority must ensure that a mediation session takes place within 30 days. There were 4,100 mediation cases held during 2020. Of these, only 1,100 (27%) were followed by appeals to the tribunal.

Waiting for a SEND tribunal hearing can take significantly longer - the tribunal has a performance measure that 75% of appeals should be brought to hearing and the decision issued within 22 weeks.

This government’s proposals seek to resolve issues earlier and improve relationships locally by strengthening mediation, including consulting on making it mandatory. Parents will still be able to go to tribunal if necessary.

The Green Paper is now out for public consultation on its proposals until 1 July.

Most children start school in the September following their 4^th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.

In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.

Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.

Most children start school in the September following their 4^th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.

In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.

Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.

Most children start school in the September following their 4^th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.

In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.

Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.

Most children start school in the September following their 4^th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.

In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.

Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.

Most children start school in the September following their 4^th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.

In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.

Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.

The department is aware that UK nationals studying in Ukraine, many of whom were studying medicine, have had their studies disrupted. The government will look to support these students as they reassess their options in the UK and the department has asked universities to treat these students sensitively.

The department recognises that, for a variety of reasons, many of these students cannot be accommodated on medicine courses. Therefore, we are encouraging universities to consider alternative options to allow these students to continue their studies. These include related courses in the biological sciences or subjects allied to medicine.

The department is also looking into how the higher education (HE) sector can support Ukrainian HE providers should it be appropriate or feasible for elements of the course or exams to be delivered remotely.

Whilst HE providers are autonomous and independent from government, we are encouraging them to be as flexible as possible for all students impacted by the situation in Ukraine and where they are facing challenges, to ensure support is given where it is most needed.

The department will continue to work closely with key representatives to explore how the HE sector can collectively support Ukrainian students.

The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme until July 2023. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment and wellbeing.

The enrolment process is still underway for schools that wish to sign up to the programme. As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools had signed up and 847 schools had placed food orders. We will work with our supplier Family Action to monitor the data and consider suitable opportunities to share more information on the programme as it progresses, including in relation to the number of children and young people that are benefiting from the programme.

In 2019, the department commissioned research about the use and effects of teaching assistants in primary and secondary mainstream schools. The research was published in June 2019 and is available on the government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-deployment-of-teaching-assistants-in-schools.

The research explores models of deployment in a range of primary and secondary mainstream schools in England, including the factors that affect deployment and reasons for changes to deployment.

Schools have the freedom to make decisions about the recruitment, training, use and pay for teaching assistants, according to their own circumstances.

Information on the number of staff, including teaching assistants and other support staff, employed in state-funded schools in England is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

In 2020/21, the full-time equivalent of 271,370 people were working as teaching assistants in state-funded schools in England. This figure is 49,889 (equivalent to 22.5%) higher than in 2011/12.

'Teaching Assistants' comprises those support staff based in the classroom for learning and pupil support, for example higher level teaching assistants, teaching assistants, special needs support staff, nursery officers/assistants, minority ethnic pupils support staff and bilingual support assistants.

Special support assistants are included in the teaching assistant totals and special educational needs coordinator assistants are included in the administrative staff totals.

Information on the number of school-based support staff trained to aid children with special educational needs and disabilities is not collected centrally.

Information on the number of staff, including teaching assistants and other support staff, employed in state-funded schools in England is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

In 2020/21, the full-time equivalent of 271,370 people were working as teaching assistants in state-funded schools in England. This figure is 49,889 (equivalent to 22.5%) higher than in 2011/12.

'Teaching Assistants' comprises those support staff based in the classroom for learning and pupil support, for example higher level teaching assistants, teaching assistants, special needs support staff, nursery officers/assistants, minority ethnic pupils support staff and bilingual support assistants.

Special support assistants are included in the teaching assistant totals and special educational needs coordinator assistants are included in the administrative staff totals.

Information on the number of school-based support staff trained to aid children with special educational needs and disabilities is not collected centrally.

The department is undertaking a range of monitoring and evaluation activities to assess COVID-19 catch-up activity, including for the additional £1.8 billion allocated in the autumn Budget 2021.

The department has commissioned Renaissance Learning, and their subcontractor, the Education Policy Institute, to collect data from a sample of schools. This will provide a baseline assessment of lost education and catch-up needs for pupils in schools in England, and to monitor progress over the course of the academic year 2020/21 and Autumn term 2021. We are seeking commercial agreements for further academic years which will help the department understand the impact of the additional £1.8 billion.

The department has a contract with Ipsos MORI, in consortium with Sheffield Hallam University and the Centre for Education and Youth to undertake a mixed-methods study design (including surveys of school leaders, interviews, and case studies) to examine how schools are tackling the issue of lost education. Results from the study will be used to understand how the catch-up premium funds have been spent and how best to support schools to tackle lost education.

The department is also undertaking evaluations of specific education recovery programmes to understand their effectiveness.

I refer the hon. Member for Stockton North to the answer I gave on 20 October 2021 to Question 56976.

I refer the hon. Members for the City of Durham, Bath, and Stockton North to the answer I gave on 2 June 2021 to Question 7328.

The Department appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner to oversee our long-term recovery plan. Sir Kevan will speak with parents, pupils, and teachers whilst developing this, and will review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact COVID-19 has had on education. We will share further details in due course.

In June 2020, we announced a £1 billion catch-up package including a National Tutoring Programme and a Catch-up Premium for this academic year, and in February 2021 we committed to further funding of £700 million to fund summer schools, the expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. Funding will support pupils across early years, schools, and colleges.

The Department appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner to oversee our long-term recovery plan. Sir Kevan will speak with parents, pupils, and teachers whilst developing this, and will review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact COVID-19 has had on education. We will share further details in due course.

In June 2020, we announced a £1 billion catch-up package including a National Tutoring Programme and a Catch-up Premium for this academic year, and in February 2021 we committed to further funding of £700 million to fund summer schools, the expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. Funding will support pupils across early years, schools, and colleges.

As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families I am responsible for policy on special educational needs and disabilities and on disadvantaged children more broadly.

The government is committed to supporting disabled children and as part of this we will be publishing a new national strategy for disabled people this year. I work closely with my hon. Friend, the Member for North Swindon, as Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, and with Ministerial Disability Champions across Whitehall to ensure that our policies are joined up effectively. Our priority here is ensuring that the needs of disabled children are recognised and appropriately met, which is what the current ministerial arrangements are already working to achieve.

The Department does not hold data on the rate of employment or the income of supply teachers.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has released estimates of the number and value of claims made to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). This outlines the number of companies, and employees who have been supported by the CJRS by employment sector, including education. However, the statistical release does not provide data on specific job roles within a sector. The information is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-december-2020

If supply staff employed via employment agencies are unable to find work, their employment agency can place them on furlough and use the CJRS to claim for 80% of their wages, including during school holiday periods, provided that the eligibility criteria. are met. Information on the CJRS is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme. Information on the eligibility criteria is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-employees-you-can-put-on-furlough-to-use-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

Schools will continue to receive their budgets for the coming year as usual, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure. Schools have autonomy over these budgets and their employment arrangements and decisions on staffing are made at the local level.

If supply staff employed via employment agencies are unable to work due to COVID-19, their employment agency can place them on furlough and use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to claim for 80% of their wages, including during school holiday periods, provided that the eligibility criteria are met. Information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme. Information on the eligibility criteria is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-employees-you-can-put-on-furlough-to-use-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

Employers can now flexibly furlough their employees for the hours the employee would usually have worked in that period, whilst also being able to work outside of the hours they are furloughed. Employees can work for any amount of time, and any work pattern but they cannot do any work for their employer during hours that employers record them as being on furlough. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#flexible-furlough-agreements.

The decision to furlough an employee, fully or flexibly, is entirely at the employer's discretion as it is dependent on a range of factors that the employer is best placed to determine, for example, the amount of work available for employees.

The Government has provided additional financial support for those who are unable to work because they have COVID-19, or are self-isolating, which is outlined here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-what-to-do-if-youre-employed-and-cannot-work?priority-taxon=5ebf285a-9165-476c-be90-66b9729f50da#if-someone-you-live-with-has-symptoms-of-coronavirus.

It is critically important to ensure that all children and young people continue to learn during the national lockdown. The Department has updated the remote education guidance for schools and colleges to clarify and strengthen expectations while on-site attendance is restricted, drawing on our evolving understanding of best practice in remote education. The guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950510/School_national_restrictions_guidance.pdf.

Schools are expected to provide a set number of hours of remote education for pupils, increased from the Government’s previous minimum expectations. This includes time for independent study and recorded or live direct teaching. The Department recognises that different expectations are appropriate for younger and older age groups when learning remotely. The minimum number of expected hours therefore vary by Key Stage: 3 hours for Key Stage 1, on average across the cohort with less for younger pupils; 4 hours for Key Stage 2; and 5 hours for Key Stages 3 and 4. Schools are also expected to provide daily check ins on pupil engagement.

The Department also recognises that younger children in Key Stage 1 or Reception often require high levels of parental involvement to support their engagement with remote education, which makes digital provision a particular challenge for this age group. We therefore do not expect that solely digital means will be used to teach these pupils remotely.

To provide further clarity for pupils, parents, and carers about what they can expect, schools are expected to publish information about their remote education provision on their website by 25 January 2021. An optional template is available to support schools with this expectation. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-remote-education-information-to-parents-template. Colleges were also expected to publish information about their remote education provision on their websites by 18 January.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people, 800,000 of which were delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities by 17 January. All schools have been invited to order devices. Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.

The Department has partnered with the UK’s leading mobile network operators, such as EE, Three, O2, and Vodafone, to provide free data to disadvantaged families, which will support access to education resources, including Oak National Academy, and other websites. Families will benefit from this additional data until July 2021. Schools will be able to request free mobile data uplifts via the Get Help with Technology service.

In addition, the Department has already provided 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continue to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education.

The Department recognises the challenges faced by schools, teachers, and students, and is aware that disruption has been felt differently across the country and between schools and colleges in the same area and between students within individual institutions.

The Department collects data from early years settings, schools and colleges detailing absences related to COVID-19. We are also conducting research to understand the learning lost by school aged pupils as a result of disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department has also confirmed the launch of an expert advisory group to consider the differential impacts of the pandemic on students and recommend mitigations for these impacts. Furthermore, Primary assessments in 2021 will be focused on those most important for schools, pupils and parents. The assessments that are going ahead will help assess the impact of lost time in education and ensure pupils receive the teaching that will best enable them to address any impact.

In recognition of the challenges faced by students, the Department has announced a package of measures that will ensure students have a fair chance of showing their knowledge and understanding of a subject in exams. The announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-support-the-summer-2021-exams.

These include grading that is more generous than previous years and adaptions to exams, such as giving students advance notice of topic areas and exam support materials. These adaptations will allow students to use the remaining time before the exams more effectively, which will be of particular benefit to those most affected by learning loss.

?The Department does not hold live data on the number of supply teachers available to schools although officials continue to engage with suppliers on the Department and Crown Commercial Service’s supply teacher framework to monitor market capacity.

?The Department has published guidance for schools for reopening which gives advice on how they can meet their workforce challenges, including advice on engaging supply teachers. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#school-workforce.

The Department appreciates the continued and significant efforts by schools and their staff to keep schools open this term. Returning to school full time has been vital for children’s education and wellbeing, and has rightly been a national priority. The latest published figures show that, on average, 99% of schools are open on a daily basis. The Department published guidance to support schools to welcome back all children full-time. The guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools have continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year compared to 2019-20.

The Department has also announced a new Covid workforce fund to support schools that are eligible with some of the costs of covering staff absences in schools, including employing supply staff to cover these absences. Relevant information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-funding-to-support-schools-and-colleges-during-covid-pandemic.

Ministers and officials continue to engage regularly with school leaders and their representatives on a wide range of issues around COVID-19, including discussions in relation to costs faced by schools at this time. The Department will continue to review the pressures schools are facing into next term.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector about a range of matters, including Ofsted’s inspection approaches and programmes. On 3 December, the Secretary of State for Education confirmed the intention that routine, graded school inspections would not resume until the summer term, and that in the meantime, Ofsted would carry out monitoring inspections in schools most in need of support.

The Department will continue to engage with Ofsted as it implements its inspections in the spring term, and prepares for the resumption of routine, graded inspections.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and associated school closures, the Department made the decision to cancel key stage 2 national curriculum assessments in the 2019/20 academic year. As a result, there were no formal assessment and reporting requirements for that year. The Department recognises the gap in information this creates on pupils’ attainment for the year 7 cohort of pupils in the 2020/21 academic year. Schools must continue to share pupils’ common transfer files with secondary schools and make arrangements to share additional information as required.

The Department works closely with relevant partners such as the Joint Bio Security Centre, Public Health England, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Office for National Statistics to understand regional trends in COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, our regional REACT teams gather information about the challenges facing individual schools and supports them to respond to their local circumstances.

The Department collects data from schools, nurseries, and colleges detailing absences related to COVID-19. We are also conducting research to understand the learning lost by school aged pupils as a result of disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department recognises that pupils, including those due to sit exams and assessments next year, will have experienced disruption to their education due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The measures announced on 3 December are the best way to ensure pupils have a fair chance of showing their knowledge and understanding of a subject in exams. These include grading that is more generous than previous years and adaptions to exams, such as giving pupils exam support materials and advance notice of topic areas.

Information on school spending is found in the schools financial benchmarking tool which contains local authority maintained schools’ Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) returns and academies’ accounting returns (AARs). The tool is found here: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/Help/DataSources.

The CFR and AAR results publish spending by schools on supply teachers. The latest information available is for the 2018/19 financial year for maintained schools, and 2018/19 academic year for academies.

Local authority maintained schools have submitted their 2019/20 financial year data which is due to be released shortly. This will include the period up to 31st March 2020. The Department will not have the school financial data for the last 8 months until the 2020/21 financial data is released in late 2021.

Schools have continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020/21 financial year compared to 2019/20.

The Department has announced a new COVID-19 workforce fund to support schools that are eligible with some of the costs of covering staff absences in schools, including employing supply staff to cover these absences. The announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-funding-to-support-schools-and-colleges-during-covid-pandemic.

The Department appreciates the continued and significant efforts by schools and their staff to keep schools open this term. Returning to school full time has been vital for children’s education and wellbeing and has rightly been a national priority. The latest published figures show that, on average, 99% of schools are open on a daily basis. The Department published guidance to support schools to welcome back all children full-time. The guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools have implemented a range of protective measures to minimise risk of transmission. The measures set out in the Department’s guidance has been endorsed by Public Health England.

Schools have also continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020/21 financial year compared to 2019-20. As stated in our guidance, schools should use their existing resources, including these funding increases, when making arrangements to support children this term, including on public health measures associated with COVID-19 where appropriate.

To further support schools with some of these costs, the Department has been providing additional funding to schools, on top of existing budgets, to cover unavoidable costs incurred between March and July due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of this, schools were able to claim for additional cleaning costs, over and above existing arrangements, for confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. The first window for schools to claim funding back for exceptional costs due to the COVID-19 outbreak incurred between March and July closed on 21 July. Payments against claims made within the published scope of the fund were made to schools and academies in September. Schools received £16 million for additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases. Schools now have a second opportunity to claim for any costs in the approved categories, for which they did not claim during the first window. This second claims window launched on 4 December, along with details on how to make a claim, and will remain open until 22 December.

Ministers and officials continue to engage regularly with school leaders and their representatives on a wide range of issues around COVID-19, including discussions in relation to costs faced by schools at this time. The Department will continue to review the pressures schools are facing into next term.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions, and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study.

We also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study.
The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stages 1 to 4.

In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education such as calculations with money.

The Department trusts schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular school, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.

For the longer term, the Department will continue to work closely with The Money and Pension Service and Her Majesty's Treasury, to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.

Last year, we commissioned Ecorys to carry out an independent evaluation of our 2019 Holiday Activities and Food programme.

The report has been delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak but it is now in the final stages and is being prepared for publication. We will continue to work with Ecorys on this and we expect their report to be published in the near future.

This summer, our £9 million Holiday Activities and Food programme worked across 17 local authority areas, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities, building on the success of the programme in 2018 and 2019.

Future policy and spending decisions will be set following completion of the current Spending Review.

Last year, we commissioned Ecorys to carry out an independent evaluation of our 2019 Holiday Activities and Food programme.

The report has been delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak but it is now in the final stages and is being prepared for publication. We will continue to work with Ecorys on this and we expect their report to be published in the near future.

This summer, our £9 million Holiday Activities and Food programme worked across 17 local authority areas, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities, building on the success of the programme in 2018 and 2019.

Future policy and spending decisions will be set following completion of the current Spending Review.

The department has undertaken a new Vulnerable Children and Young People Survey which has collected data from local authorities in England since May 2020. It includes data on contact with children supported by children’s social care, workforce, cost and system pressures. The report includes the number of referrals to children’s social care and referral source. Findings from the survey are published monthly and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vulnerable-children-and-young-people-survey.

The attached table shows the data we have collected from the survey on the number of referrals to children’s social care services between May and August. The survey collects data fortnightly and asks for the number of referrals received over a one-week period, meaning there are gaps in the data. The total number of referrals to children’s social care received over a full month is not held.

Figures on the number of referrals and referral source are also published annually in the characteristics of children in need statistical release. The latest published data relates to the period up to 31 March 2019. The statistics are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need.

The department has been working closely with local authorities to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, setting up dedicated regional teams that are in frequent contact. Bringing together expertise from across the department, these teams monitor the challenges that local authorities are facing, including any increases in demand, and can provide support and guidance where appropriate.

The department wants to give parents the freedom, support and choice to look after their children in the way that works best for them. That is why from 2021, the government will be investing up to £1 billion to help create more high-quality wraparound and holiday childcare places. We will announce further details on this new investment in due course.

Our Holiday Activities and Food programme is integral to our approach to provide healthy food and activities to children over the summer. We have announced 17 local authority areas that will benefit from this programme, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities, and build on the success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes. Grant funding was allocated based on a competitive bidding process.

We have worked with our Holiday Activities and Food coordinators to ensure that the programmes will support children and families through the disruption caused by COVID-19. We will set our future plans for this area in due course.

Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, we fully understand that children and parents face an unprecedented situation over the summer. To reflect this, we will be providing additional funding for a Covid Summer Food Fund. This will support families with children who are eligible for free school meals to receive food vouchers covering the 6-week holiday period. The department’s guidance on providing free school meals during the COVID-19 outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

We have also recently announced a £1 billion Covid catch-up package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time. £650 million will be shared across state primary, secondary and special schools over the 2020-2021 academic year. Schools are best placed to decide how this money is spent, but that can include, where appropriate, running summer schools.

Following the confirmation from my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, that holiday clubs will now be allowed to reopen during the summer holidays, we have published guidance on community activities, holiday and after-school clubs, as well as other out-of-school provision for children over the age of 5. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Our Holiday Activities and Food programme is integral to our approach to provide healthy food and activities to children over the summer. We have announced 17 local authority areas that will benefit from this programme, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities, and build on the success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes. Grant funding was allocated based on a competitive bidding process.

We have worked with our Holiday Activities and Food coordinators to ensure that the programmes will support children and families through the disruption caused by COVID-19. We will set our future plans for this area in due course.

Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, we fully understand that children and parents face an unprecedented situation over the summer. To reflect this, we will be providing additional funding for a Covid Summer Food Fund. This will support families with children who are eligible for free school meals to receive food vouchers covering the 6-week holiday period. The department’s guidance on providing free school meals during the COVID-19 outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

We have also recently announced a £1 billion Covid catch-up package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time. £650 million will be shared across state primary, secondary and special schools over the 2020-2021 academic year. Schools are best placed to decide how this money is spent, but that can include, where appropriate, running summer schools.

Following the confirmation from my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, that holiday clubs will now be allowed to reopen during the summer holidays, we have published guidance on community activities, holiday and after-school clubs, as well as other out-of-school provision for children over the age of 5. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Our Holiday Activities and Food programme is integral to our approach to provide healthy food and activities to children over the summer. We have announced 17 local authority areas that will benefit from this programme, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities, and build on the success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes. Grant funding was allocated based on a competitive bidding process.

We have worked with our Holiday Activities and Food coordinators to ensure that the programmes will support children and families through the disruption caused by COVID-19. We will set our future plans for this area in due course.

Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, we fully understand that children and parents face an unprecedented situation over the summer. To reflect this, we will be providing additional funding for a Covid Summer Food Fund. This will support families with children who are eligible for free school meals to receive food vouchers covering the 6-week holiday period. The department’s guidance on providing free school meals during the COVID-19 outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

We have also recently announced a £1 billion Covid catch-up package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time. £650 million will be shared across state primary, secondary and special schools over the 2020-2021 academic year. Schools are best placed to decide how this money is spent, but that can include, where appropriate, running summer schools.

Following the confirmation from my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, that holiday clubs will now be allowed to reopen during the summer holidays, we have published guidance on community activities, holiday and after-school clubs, as well as other out-of-school provision for children over the age of 5. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education and social care services, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers. We are providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 4G wireless routers.

The Department has ordered over 200,000 laptops and tablets, and allocated devices to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices. The Department has invited all local authorities and academy trusts to order laptops and tablets and 4G wireless routers. As of the end of June, over 200,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers have been delivered to local authorities and academy trusts.

The Department has delivered the following number of devices to local authorities across the North East for children with a social worker, care leavers and disadvantaged year 10s. The Department continues to deliver devices as orders are received.

The Government has committed over £100 million to support children in England to access remote education and social care services, including by providing vulnerable and disadvantaged children with laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers. We have provided laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections, we have provided 4G wireless routers.

The Department has provided over 200,000 laptops and tablets to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device. These estimates were based on the proportion of disadvantaged children, an estimate of private devices ownership and an estimate of existing devices held by schools which could be loaned out to meet the needs of these children. Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices. Local authorities and academy trusts could request additional devices, if required.

As of the end of June, over 200,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers had been delivered to local authorities and academy trusts. This included 755 laptops and tablets and 160 4G wireless routers to Stockton-on-Tees local authority for children with a social worker and care leavers and year 10 pupils in local authority maintained schools.

The Department has delivered the following number of devices to local authorities for children with a social worker, care leavers and disadvantaged year 10s across the North East. The Department continues to deliver devices as orders are received.

Devices have also been delivered to academy trusts which have schools in the North East for disadvantaged year 10 pupils.

The Department has launched a service to provide children and young people free access to BT wifi hotspots until the end of December. 10,000 families will initially be able to access the scheme. We are currently working with BT to expand this offer to allow more children to access the internet through their network of BT wifi hotspots.

We are working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. For families who rely on a mobile internet connection, mobile network operators are working to provide access to free additional data while COVID-19 requires children to learn from home and more social care services are online.

For those in rural areas or without a connection, schools are able to draw on support from the BBC which is broadcasting lessons on television. Some of the BBC educational content is offline, via the red button.

Schools may also choose to draw on the many resources offers which have been made by publishers across the country. The Department has published an initial list of high quality online educational resources, which have been identified by some of the country’s leading educational experts to help pupils learn at home.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has provided over £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures including on children’s services. We will keep this under very close review over the coming weeks and months.

The department has set up dedicated regional teams that are in frequent contact with local authorities. Bringing together expertise from across the department, these teams monitor the challenges local authorities are facing and can provide support and guidance where appropriate. To assist in this, Ofsted has suspended routine inspections of children’s care services and only urgent inspections for specific concerns will go ahead so that children’s safety is prioritised. Ofsted inspectors have been deployed to support our regional teams and local authorities to provide their expertise.

We have recently set up a fortnightly data collection from local authorities to capture timely intelligence on referrals. This will allow the department to support local authorities to respond to any changes as the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted.

The department has committed over £100 million to support access to social care services and remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to vulnerable and disadvantaged children. We are also in continual discussions with charities on the support they provide and currently need. We have committed additional funding worth £26.4 million directly to support them, including £1.6 million to expand NSPCC’s helpline.

We are working closely with local authorities to ensure workforce capacity is sufficient to cope with any potential spike in referrals. This includes weekly discussions between the Chief Social Worker and practice leaders.

Through emergency legislation and with Social Work England, we have reinstated the professional registration of 8,000 former social workers so that they can re-join the profession, providing additional resource where it is required.

We have also developed The Social Work Together online tool in partnership with Social Work England and the Local Government Association, so those social workers who have registered are available to support their local community if needed.

Early help plays an important role in promoting safe and stable families. It is about supporting and intervening with the right families, at the right time, and, most importantly, in the right way. It is right that local authorities are free to decide how to use their children’s social care budget to manage local priorities and deliver the best services for children. The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children is clear that local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address assessed needs early.

The government has provided over £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures. We will keep this under very close review over the coming weeks and months. The government also announced at the Local Government Finance Settlement that English councils' core spending power is rising by over £2.9 billion this financial year. This includes £1 billion of new grant funding that can be used flexibly by local authorities to deliver adult and children’s social care services, including early intervention services. Longer term funding considerations are a matter for the next spending review.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has provided over £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures including on children’s services. We will keep this under very close review over the coming weeks and months.

The department has set up dedicated regional teams that are in frequent contact with local authorities. Bringing together expertise from across the department, these teams monitor the challenges local authorities are facing and can provide support and guidance where appropriate. To assist in this, Ofsted has suspended routine inspections of children’s care services and only urgent inspections for specific concerns will go ahead so that children’s safety is prioritised. Ofsted inspectors have been deployed to support our regional teams and local authorities to provide their expertise.

We have recently set up a fortnightly data collection from local authorities to capture timely intelligence on referrals. This will allow the department to support local authorities to respond to any changes as the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted.

The department has committed over £100 million to support access to social care services and remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to vulnerable and disadvantaged children. We are also in continual discussions with charities on the support they provide and currently need. We have committed additional funding worth £26.4 million directly to support them, including £1.6 million to expand NSPCC’s helpline.

We are working closely with local authorities to ensure workforce capacity is sufficient to cope with any potential spike in referrals. This includes weekly discussions between the Chief Social Worker and practice leaders.

Through emergency legislation and with Social Work England, we have reinstated the professional registration of 8,000 former social workers so that they can re-join the profession, providing additional resource where it is required.

We have also developed The Social Work Together online tool in partnership with Social Work England and the Local Government Association, so those social workers who have registered are available to support their local community if needed.

Early help plays an important role in promoting safe and stable families. It is about supporting and intervening with the right families, at the right time, and, most importantly, in the right way. It is right that local authorities are free to decide how to use their children’s social care budget to manage local priorities and deliver the best services for children. The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children is clear that local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address assessed needs early.

The government has provided over £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures. We will keep this under very close review over the coming weeks and months. The government also announced at the Local Government Finance Settlement that English councils' core spending power is rising by over £2.9 billion this financial year. This includes £1 billion of new grant funding that can be used flexibly by local authorities to deliver adult and children’s social care services, including early intervention services. Longer term funding considerations are a matter for the next spending review.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Our latest guidance on national voucher scheme is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

During this period, we are asking schools to speak to their catering team or food suppliers to arrange meals or food parcels for pupils who are eligible for free school meals while they are staying at home. Where this is not possible, the department has developed a national voucher scheme as an alternative to support schools with this provision.

We are working very closely with our national voucher scheme supplier, Edenred, to ensure schools, as administrators ordering the vouchers for families, receive regular updates and advice regarding the scheme. There are also a number of online resources specifically aimed at schools and parents, including the following:

• parent and carer FAQs, which are available here:
  https://www.edenred.co.uk/Documents/DfE/DfE_FreeSchoolMeals_ParentCarerFAQs.pdf;
• a school user guide, which is available here:
  https://www.edenred.co.uk/Documents/DfE/DfE_FreeSchoolMeals_AdminUserGuide.pdf; and
• guidance from the department, which is available here:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance.

Edenred has reported that over £101.5 million worth of voucher codes has been redeemed into supermarket e-gift cards by schools and families through the scheme as of Friday 22 May.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G routers.

We are providing laptops and tablets to vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examination in Year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver.

The Department has ordered over 200,000 laptops and tablets. Local authorities and academy trusts are best place to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices. The Department is agreeing the number of devices allocated to each local authority and academy trust based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device.

The Department is working to provide these devices in the shortest possible timeframe; deliveries to schools and Local Authorities will start this month and continue in June.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.

Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Schools are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate free school meal (FSM) arrangements for eligible pupils during this period. In the first instance, we are asking schools to speak to their catering teams and food suppliers about making food parcel arrangements for children staying at home as we believe that this is the best way to ensure that children are continuing to receive healthy meals. Where this is not possible, schools can use our national voucher scheme or alternatively can also set up their own voucher arrangements where the national scheme is not suitable. We have not put forward an approach that would involve direct payments to parents.

Schools and local authorities continue to accept FSM applications from parents or pupils. The department provides an Eligibility Checking System to support schools and local authorities in verifying and awarding FSM and we have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.

Our Holiday Activities and Food Scheme will ensure that thousands of disadvantaged children have access to healthy meals this summer. On 16 March, we wrote to all bidders to let them know whether or not they were successful in their applications for funding and offered feedback to unsuccessful bidders. We will shortly announce the successful areas publicly.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.

Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Schools are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate free school meal (FSM) arrangements for eligible pupils during this period. In the first instance, we are asking schools to speak to their catering teams and food suppliers about making food parcel arrangements for children staying at home as we believe that this is the best way to ensure that children are continuing to receive healthy meals. Where this is not possible, schools can use our national voucher scheme or alternatively can also set up their own voucher arrangements where the national scheme is not suitable. We have not put forward an approach that would involve direct payments to parents.

Schools and local authorities continue to accept FSM applications from parents or pupils. The department provides an Eligibility Checking System to support schools and local authorities in verifying and awarding FSM and we have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.

Our Holiday Activities and Food Scheme will ensure that thousands of disadvantaged children have access to healthy meals this summer. On 16 March, we wrote to all bidders to let them know whether or not they were successful in their applications for funding and offered feedback to unsuccessful bidders. We will shortly announce the successful areas publicly.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.

Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Schools are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate free school meal (FSM) arrangements for eligible pupils during this period. In the first instance, we are asking schools to speak to their catering teams and food suppliers about making food parcel arrangements for children staying at home as we believe that this is the best way to ensure that children are continuing to receive healthy meals. Where this is not possible, schools can use our national voucher scheme or alternatively can also set up their own voucher arrangements where the national scheme is not suitable. We have not put forward an approach that would involve direct payments to parents.

Schools and local authorities continue to accept FSM applications from parents or pupils. The department provides an Eligibility Checking System to support schools and local authorities in verifying and awarding FSM and we have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.

Our Holiday Activities and Food Scheme will ensure that thousands of disadvantaged children have access to healthy meals this summer. On 16 March, we wrote to all bidders to let them know whether or not they were successful in their applications for funding and offered feedback to unsuccessful bidders. We will shortly announce the successful areas publicly.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.

Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Schools are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate free school meal (FSM) arrangements for eligible pupils during this period. In the first instance, we are asking schools to speak to their catering teams and food suppliers about making food parcel arrangements for children staying at home as we believe that this is the best way to ensure that children are continuing to receive healthy meals. Where this is not possible, schools can use our national voucher scheme or alternatively can also set up their own voucher arrangements where the national scheme is not suitable. We have not put forward an approach that would involve direct payments to parents.

Schools and local authorities continue to accept FSM applications from parents or pupils. The department provides an Eligibility Checking System to support schools and local authorities in verifying and awarding FSM and we have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.

Our Holiday Activities and Food Scheme will ensure that thousands of disadvantaged children have access to healthy meals this summer. On 16 March, we wrote to all bidders to let them know whether or not they were successful in their applications for funding and offered feedback to unsuccessful bidders. We will shortly announce the successful areas publicly.

As indicated in my previous answer, the provision of free school meals is ordinarily term time only. The department met the cost of this provision for eligible pupils during the Easter holidays, and this was to reflect the immediate circumstances schools and families were facing as a result of school closures that had only recently been introduced.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

As my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

The government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy published on 11 May sets out a cautious roadmap to ease existing measures in a safe and measured way. The strategy allows for certain necessary travel if people take precautions.

In light of this, we are developing guidance on students travelling to and from student accommodation and this will be published as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, we have made clear that we do not believe that students should be fined for failing to collect their belongings if this is the case because they are complying with the government’s travel advice.

As my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

The government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy published on 11 May sets out a cautious roadmap to ease existing measures in a safe and measured way. The strategy allows for certain necessary travel if people take precautions.

In light of this, we are developing guidance on students travelling to and from student accommodation and this will be published as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, we have made clear that we do not believe that students should be fined for failing to collect their belongings if this is the case because they are complying with the government’s travel advice.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, during the Easter holidays the department met the costs of offering free school meals to eligible pupils not attending school during term time weeks. This was in recognition of the unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty for schools during this time. We currently have no plans to extend the scheme into future holiday periods.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

While schools are closed to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, they will be able to provide meals or vouchers for supermarkets or local shops for families. The government has confirmed that the total value of vouchers offered to each eligible child per week will exceed the rate it pays to schools for free school meals.

In addition to this, we are working to consider options to support children who receive a free breakfast through our contracts with Family Action and Magic Breakfast.

This government has announced a programme of research and pilots to explore ways of supporting disadvantaged families during school holidays. Following the success of our previous programmes, we now understand more about how best to support disadvantaged families. We are targeting this support where it is needed during the 6-week summer holidays.

We awarded £2 million of funding to 7 organisations to deliver free healthy food and activities to children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country during the 2018 summer holidays. The organisations informed us that with this money they were able to support around 280 clubs and reach around 18,000 children.

In summer 2019 we invested £9 million in 11 local authority areas reaching around 50,000 children. The assessment process for bids for the 2020 summer programme remains ongoing and we will announce the outcome of the process shortly, alongside the areas that we will be working in and the number of children that we expect to benefit.

We have also commissioned an independent evaluation of the 2019 programme, which will report on the number of disadvantaged eligible children who accessed the clubs across the country, including our work in the North East, and which will be published in 2020.

Further funding of this programme after 2020 will be considered as part of the three-year Spending Review and we will set out our plans in due course.

This government has announced a programme of research and pilots to explore ways of supporting disadvantaged families during school holidays. Following the success of our previous programmes, we now understand more about how best to support disadvantaged families. We are targeting this support where it is needed during the 6-week summer holidays.

We awarded £2 million of funding to 7 organisations to deliver free healthy food and activities to children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country during the 2018 summer holidays. The organisations informed us that with this money they were able to support around 280 clubs and reach around 18,000 children.

In summer 2019 we invested £9 million in 11 local authority areas reaching around 50,000 children. The assessment process for bids for the 2020 summer programme remains ongoing and we will announce the outcome of the process shortly, alongside the areas that we will be working in and the number of children that we expect to benefit.

We have also commissioned an independent evaluation of the 2019 programme, which will report on the number of disadvantaged eligible children who accessed the clubs across the country, including our work in the North East, and which will be published in 2020.

Further funding of this programme after 2020 will be considered as part of the three-year Spending Review and we will set out our plans in due course.

This government has announced a programme of research and pilots to explore ways of supporting disadvantaged families during school holidays. Following the success of our previous programmes, we now understand more about how best to support disadvantaged families. We are targeting this support where it is needed during the 6-week summer holidays.

We awarded £2 million of funding to 7 organisations to deliver free healthy food and activities to children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country during the 2018 summer holidays. The organisations informed us that with this money they were able to support around 280 clubs and reach around 18,000 children.

In summer 2019 we invested £9 million in 11 local authority areas reaching around 50,000 children. The assessment process for bids for the 2020 summer programme remains ongoing and we will announce the outcome of the process shortly, alongside the areas that we will be working in and the number of children that we expect to benefit.

We have also commissioned an independent evaluation of the 2019 programme, which will report on the number of disadvantaged eligible children who accessed the clubs across the country, including our work in the North East, and which will be published in 2020.

Further funding of this programme after 2020 will be considered as part of the three-year Spending Review and we will set out our plans in due course.

This government has announced a programme of research and pilots to explore ways of supporting disadvantaged families during school holidays. Following the success of our previous programmes, we now understand more about how best to support disadvantaged families. We are targeting this support where it is needed during the 6-week summer holidays.

We awarded £2 million of funding to 7 organisations to deliver free healthy food and activities to children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country during the 2018 summer holidays. The organisations informed us that with this money they were able to support around 280 clubs and reach around 18,000 children.

In summer 2019 we invested £9 million in 11 local authority areas reaching around 50,000 children. The assessment process for bids for the 2020 summer programme remains ongoing and we will announce the outcome of the process shortly, alongside the areas that we will be working in and the number of children that we expect to benefit.

We have also commissioned an independent evaluation of the 2019 programme, which will report on the number of disadvantaged eligible children who accessed the clubs across the country, including our work in the North East, and which will be published in 2020.

Further funding of this programme after 2020 will be considered as part of the three-year Spending Review and we will set out our plans in due course.

This government has announced a programme of research and pilots to explore ways of supporting disadvantaged families during school holidays. Following the success of our previous programmes, we now understand more about how best to support disadvantaged families. We are targeting this support where it is needed during the 6-week summer holidays.

We awarded £2 million of funding to 7 organisations to deliver free healthy food and activities to children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country during the 2018 summer holidays. The organisations informed us that with this money they were able to support around 280 clubs and reach around 18,000 children.

In summer 2019 we invested £9 million in 11 local authority areas reaching around 50,000 children. The assessment process for bids for the 2020 summer programme remains ongoing and we will announce the outcome of the process shortly, alongside the areas that we will be working in and the number of children that we expect to benefit.

We have also commissioned an independent evaluation of the 2019 programme, which will report on the number of disadvantaged eligible children who accessed the clubs across the country, including our work in the North East, and which will be published in 2020.

Further funding of this programme after 2020 will be considered as part of the three-year Spending Review and we will set out our plans in due course.

When we set payment rates, we aim to make them fair and attractive to farmers while delivering value for public money. We will regularly review actions and payment rates over time to make sure that they work for farmers and land managers and are delivering the intended outcomes to contribute to the government’s environment, climate and food production goals. Many of the actions we will pay for through the ELM schemes will help farmers and land managers reduce their costs, improve their efficiency and improve the natural environment. We recently reviewed the payment rates for both Countryside Stewardship revenue options and capital items and they have been updated.

In January 2023, Defra published an “Environmental Land Management update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services”. This publication sets out all the activities we will pay farmers and land managers to carry out from 2024, to improve the environment alongside food production. This includes activities to protect water courses and reduce carbon emissions.

We want to offer further support for access to our countryside, farmland or woodland, and so under our Environmental Land Management Schemes we are also exploring how we can pay for more access actions including new permissive access and expanding educational access beyond groups of school pupils and care farming visitors.

Additionally, through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, we provide funding to support and improve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. Under this programme we pay for projects that provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, including permissive access.

We will publish further details on the 2024 offer later this year.

As we set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan, we are planning to run two further rounds of the Slurry Infrastructure grant in autumn 2023 and 2024. We will fund as many farms as we can to go beyond minimum legal obligations, but will not be able to fund everyone. We will continue to work with the industry to prioritise funding fairly while maximising environmental outcomes.

As we set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan, we are planning to run two further rounds of the Slurry Infrastructure grant in autumn 2023 and 2024. These will be larger rounds, offered to a wider set of areas than those prioritised in round 1. We are working with an industry group to consider how best to prioritise funding fairly while maximising environmental outcomes and will publish further details shortly.

The UK produces world leading quality food and drink, demonstrating excellence in animal welfare and sustainable production standards. Defra’s consultation on food and catering policy sought views on a number of proposals to update the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. This included ways of gaining greater clarity on how widely sustainable UK-grown food and ingredients are used in public sector canteens and kitchens. Changes to the standards must be proportionate and strike a balance between providing information on the impact of government policy and managing burdens on business. We will publish the consultation findings, alongside updated standards and guidance later this year.

The UK produces world leading quality food and drink, demonstrating excellence in animal welfare and sustainable production standards. Defra’s consultation on food and catering policy sought views on a number of proposals to update the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. This included ways of meeting the Government’s manifesto commitment encouraging the public sector to procure British food to support the environment, animal welfare and our farmers. In updating the standards, we must ensure we meet our domestic and international legal obligations, in particular under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. We will publish the consultation findings, alongside updated standards and guidance later this year.

We consulted last summer on options to update our public sector food procurement standards. This included seeking views on ensuring that a diverse range of suppliers, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are better able to access the public sector. The Government response is due later this year. Meanwhile, we continue to work with the Crown Commercial Service, who are developing a new commercial agreement which will enable public sector buyers to access SME food suppliers through an easy-to-use online portal. More broadly, Defra is working closely with the Cabinet Office to prepare for implementation of the wider procurement reform measures in the Procurement Bill currently being debated in Parliament.

In January 2023, Defra published an “Environmental Land Management update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services”.

This publication sets out all the activities we will pay farmers and land managers to carry out from 2024, to improve the environment alongside food production. We will publish further details on the 2024 offer later this year.

The Government’s support for water capture via the Water Management Grant will continue to deliver investment in this vitally important policy area into and through 2025. We continue to evaluate delivery of the current scheme and will use this to help shape future grants offer.

The Government is committed to strong domestic food production and the Plan for Water sets out the actions we are taking to secure water supplies, including for the agriculture and horticulture sectors. The Government and the Environment Agency are working with the sectors to help them improve the resilience of water supplies for the future.

The package of support includes improvements to water resources planning and investment in infrastructure, for example by aiming to increase the amount of water stored by the agriculture and horticulture sectors to support food production and protect the water environment. This includes £20 million of grants to help farmers with the costs of building on-farm water reservoirs and irrigation equipment, through two rounds of the Water Management Grant under the Farming Investment Fund.

Wilding or rewilding is the restoration of ecosystems to the point where they are more regulated by natural processes.

The Government is supporting a number of initiatives to create wilder landscapes across England, as part of a broader approach to nature recovery. However, rewilding is not appropriate in all situations, and we must balance priorities including food production.

We continue to assess how land use change, including the restoration of natural processes, can contribute to net-zero, food security and supporting the farming sector.

As we look to deliver on our statutory environmental targets, including to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030, we are expanding our environmental land management schemes to incentivise farmers and land managers to provide environmental goods and services alongside food production. Paying for actions that make space for nature and encouraging the restoration of habitat will help to deliver environmental benefits as well as improve the interaction between species that may have been reintroduced and farming operations.

Where the release of a species may impact on local land managers and businesses, a licence application would need to outline how these impacts would be mitigated as well as demonstrate sufficient funding to do so.

An application for a licence to release a species must follow best practice guidance in our published Code for Reintroductions, and should outline the benefits and impacts that the proposal will have on the local environment, and socio-economic interests such as agriculture. We would expect an applicant to demonstrate that they have undertaken sufficient engagement with local stakeholders to understand and manage these impacts. Most reintroductions are of plant and invertebrate species like the lady’s slipper orchid and large blue butterfly, and often bring only benefits for the environment.

The Environment Agency already has a duty to consider the costs and benefits of its actions. The Environment Agency applies this duty in abstraction licence and regulatory decisions. There is recognition of the impact a change in abstraction licence conditions can have on the agriculture and horticulture sectors. Where restrictions and licence changes are absolutely necessary the Environment Agency looks to work directly with licence holders to implement changes on a voluntary basis first. When managing droughts, the Environment Agency also looks to introduce partial restrictions (e.g. abstraction every other day, or night time only) and then total bans on water abstraction as a last resort. During the drought of 2022, the Environment Agency avoided the need for total irrigation bans by using this approach. However, the cost-benefit duty does not override the need for the Environment Agency to undertake its wider duties and functions to meet statutory environmental objectives.

The Environment Agency makes changes to abstraction licences to achieve environmentally sustainable levels of abstraction to meet its legal duties and the Government’s environmental ambitions. If a change to an abstraction licence is required to make it environmentally sustainable, the Environment Agency recognises that abstractors need time to adapt to this change. Accordingly, the Environment Agency writes to abstractors to warn them that their licences may need to change in the future with further detail to follow once it has completed its review of the licences. Additionally, the Environment Agency has said it will give abstractors time to adapt to any licence changes on a case-by-case basis depending on the environmental risks.

A reply was sent to the Rt. Hon member on Friday 23 June.

Defra works closely with leads across Government to advise on the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining and the provision of effective protection for the marine environment. This includes collaboration with DBT, who are responsible for state sponsorship of UK Seabed Resources’ two exploration contracts, and the FCDO, who lead the UK delegation to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the international organisation through which States Parties organise and control deep-sea mining activities.

We recognise the growing pressure to extract deep-sea resources and are deeply concerned about the potential impacts of mining activities on the fragile marine environment. This is why the UK will maintain its precautionary and conditional position of not sponsoring or supporting the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and a strong, enforceable environmental regulatory framework has been developed at the ISA and is in place.

The UK Government plays a key role domestically and internationally to restore nature and halt global extinctions, both on land and in our ocean, through which we are delivering a range of activities which will contribute to the protection of known and currently undiscovered marine species.

The UK was at the forefront of efforts to agree the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (“GBF”) at the UN Biodiversity Summit in December 2022. As leader of the Global Ocean Alliance, and Ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the UK helped deliver this landmark global deal for nature, with ambitious commitments relating to the protection, restoration, sustainable use and management of biodiversity, including the targets to halt human-induced extinctions of known threatened species and to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (30by30). Our Blue Belt programme now protects over 4.3 million square km of ocean around our overseas territories, and is an integral part of the UK’s contribution to the 30by30 target. We also continue to help developing countries around the world to protect their marine environments to the benefit of people and livelihoods through our £500m Blue Planet Fund, that aims to address climate change and biodiversity loss, support sustainable fisheries and tackle marine pollution.

At home, the UK published an Environmental Improvement Plan in 2023, which sets out how we will deliver on the 25 Year Environment Plan. In English waters, we have established a comprehensive network of 178 marine protected areas covering 40% of English waters to help deliver the 30by30 commitment for the ocean, and we are now focusing on making sure they are protected properly. We have also committed to improve the Red List Index for England for species extinction by 2042 compared to 2022 levels.

Crustacean samples from the mortality incident are preserved and securely stored by Cefas. There are eight stored composite samples collected between October 2021 and October 2022, including samples collected early in the investigation by the Environment Agency and those obtained by the Fish Health Inspectorate. These comprise individual and pooled samples derived from more than 80 animals. Samples have been stored according to standard ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory procedures as frozen homogenised tissues, fixed histological preparations, or as partially processed tissues and organs (e.g., extracted DNA or RNA).

Cefas is currently arranging for the remaining samples from the original crustacean mortality investigation to be provided to stakeholders in the Northeast in response to their request for any remaining sample material. Provision of these samples will be in line with reporting requirements for disease under Fish Health Inspectorate obligations.

We are considering carefully if further analysis by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science can ascertain more conclusively the cause of this unusual mortality.

The expert panel was set up by the Defra Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, to independently scientifically review all the available evidence of the unusual crustacean mortality event in the north-east of England in autumn 2021. The Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, was consulted as the panel was formed and had oversight of the membership and the Terms of Reference

The identities of the panel members have been made public. Names and affiliations of members have been released and published.

Names and affiliations of the crustacean mortality expert panel (CMEP) members have been published.

Defra group, including the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Environment Agency, carried out a thorough investigation seeking causes of the mass mortality incident that occurred towards the end of 2021. A summary of this investigation was published in May. As the May publication was an investigation summary rather than a technical report, we did not seek a peer review, in line with normal practice. The algal bloom conclusions were based on the best available evidence in the time allowed. Priority was given to information from peer-reviewed literature, standardised research techniques and accredited testing methodology.

It is intended that the ongoing Cefas research and development will undergo peer review ahead of publication next year, due to generating primary evidence. All data relating to the conclusions of the initial investigation are due to be published in the coming weeks. This will inform the on-going collaboration between HM Government scientists and external researchers.

We are developing an Alternative Transitional Registration (ATR) model to address industry concerns about costs of transitioning to UK REACH, while still ensuring high levels of environmental and health protection. Alongside this work, Defra and the Devolved Administrations are beginning a project to consider how best to improve UK REACH and enable it to deliver UK priorities effectively.

We continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the chemicals supply chain as this work develops, for example through a small consultative Oversight Group on the ATR work. We are also engaging more widely with a broad range of stakeholders with relevant experience on a range of technical considerations as we develop the ATR model in more detail. Although it is too early to commit to a new model, any changes to the UK REACH legislation would also require public consultation as part of the legislative process.

The Health and Safety Executive holds the policy lead across government for the GB CLP Regulation and continues regular contact with stakeholders in the UK chemicals industry through GB CLP e-Bulletins as well as close engagement with stakeholders, including trade associations and duty holders, on the process for the GB mandatory classification and labelling of hazardous substances.

We are developing an Alternative Transitional Registration (ATR) model to address industry concerns about costs of transitioning to UK REACH, while still ensuring high levels of environmental and health protection. Alongside this work, Defra and the Devolved Administrations are beginning a project to consider how best to improve UK REACH and enable it to deliver UK priorities effectively.

We continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the chemicals supply chain as this work develops, for example through a small consultative Oversight Group on the ATR work. We are also engaging more widely with a broad range of stakeholders with relevant experience on a range of technical considerations as we develop the ATR model in more detail. Although it is too early to commit to a new model, any changes to the UK REACH legislation would also require public consultation as part of the legislative process.

The Health and Safety Executive holds the policy lead across government for the GB CLP Regulation and continues regular contact with stakeholders in the UK chemicals industry through GB CLP e-Bulletins as well as close engagement with stakeholders, including trade associations and duty holders, on the process for the GB mandatory classification and labelling of hazardous substances.

We are developing an Alternative Transitional Registration (ATR) model to address industry concerns about costs of transitioning to UK REACH, while still ensuring high levels of environmental and health protection. Alongside this work, Defra and the Devolved Administrations are beginning a project to consider how best to improve UK REACH and enable it to deliver UK priorities effectively.

We continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the chemicals supply chain as this work develops, for example through a small consultative Oversight Group on the ATR work. We are also engaging more widely with a broad range of stakeholders with relevant experience on a range of technical considerations as we develop the ATR model in more detail. Although it is too early to commit to a new model, any changes to the UK REACH legislation would also require public consultation as part of the legislative process.

The Health and Safety Executive holds the policy lead across government for the GB CLP Regulation and continues regular contact with stakeholders in the UK chemicals industry through GB CLP e-Bulletins as well as close engagement with stakeholders, including trade associations and duty holders, on the process for the GB mandatory classification and labelling of hazardous substances.

Ministers and officials have been engaging with industry groups and interested stakeholders - and continue to do so - on many of the measures set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, including reforms relating to not advertising or offering for sale, here, activities involving unacceptable practices abroad.

The Government considers that reputable and responsible tour operators here should not be advertising or offering attractions, activities, or experiences abroad that involve the unacceptable treatment of animals. The Association of British Travel Agents has published guidelines and lists activities which have been classified as unacceptable.

In addition, the Advertising Standards Association regulates online advertising in the UK and has issued advice about featuring animals in marketing communications.

This Government takes the welfare of all animals seriously and the Government has been made aware that animals including Asian elephants, that are part of tourist attractions, can be subjected to cruel and brutal training practices to ensure their compliance.

As set out in our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are committed to promoting high animal welfare standards, both at home and abroad. We have engaged with the travel industry and other stakeholder organisations, and we support measures which ensure that money from tourists from this country is not channelled towards animal experiences abroad that involve the unacceptable treatment of animals.

The Government is committed to exploring available options to deliver the action plan, including to limit the advertising and offering for sale of these experiences.

The UK has been at the forefront of opposing animal tests where alternative approaches could be used. This is known as the "last-resort principle", which have retained and enshrined in legislation through our landmark Environment Act.

We are determined that there should be no need for any additional animal testing for a chemical that has already been registered, unless it is subject to further evaluation that shows the registration dossier is inadequate or there are still concerns about the hazards and risks of the chemical, especially to human health.

The Health and Safety Executive, as the UK REACH Agency, will shortly be publishing its first report under Article 117(3) on the status of implementation and use of non-animal test methods and testing strategies under REACH. This report covers the first twelve months of UK REACH operation.

We want to minimise disruption for business and ensure a smooth transition to UK REACH. We have put in place provisions to minimise the costs for businesses and maintain market access to both the EU and GB markets

We recognise that transition to the UK REACH regime has presented some challenges for the chemicals industry, particularly around the cost of having to access and purchase data to support their registration.

We previously extended the transitional registration deadlines (from two years to a phased two, four, & six-year approach) to allow industry more time to adapt and comply with UK REACH and to spread costs over a longer period. We have now gone further and committed to exploring alternative arrangements for UK REACH transitional registrations that would reduce the need for companies to access EU REACH data packages whilst maintaining high standards to safeguard public health and the environment. Although it is too early to commit to this model, we wish to further explore its potential. We will engage fully with industry, NGOs and other interested stakeholders as part of this process. We have also committed to consult on further extending the transitional registration deadlines.

The cost to Government in running UK REACH includes the cost of further digital development and management of the Comply with UK REACH digital service and the cost of regulatory capacity in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA). In 2022/23 this will cost around £13 million. There will also be additional costs of Defra staff working on REACH.

We want to minimise disruption for business and ensure a smooth transition to UK REACH. We have put in place provisions to minimise the costs for businesses and maintain market access to both the EU and GB markets

We recognise that transition to the UK REACH regime has presented some challenges for the chemicals industry, particularly around the cost of having to access and purchase data to support their registration.

We previously extended the transitional registration deadlines (from two years to a phased two, four, & six-year approach) to allow industry more time to adapt and comply with UK REACH and to spread costs over a longer period. We have now gone further and committed to exploring alternative arrangements for UK REACH transitional registrations that would reduce the need for companies to access EU REACH data packages whilst maintaining high standards to safeguard public health and the environment. Although it is too early to commit to this model, we wish to further explore its potential. We will engage fully with industry, NGOs and other interested stakeholders as part of this process. We have also committed to consult on further extending the transitional registration deadlines.

The cost to Government in running UK REACH includes the cost of further digital development and management of the Comply with UK REACH digital service and the cost of regulatory capacity in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA). In 2022/23 this will cost around £13 million. There will also be additional costs of Defra staff working on REACH.

We want to minimise disruption for business and ensure a smooth transition to UK REACH. We have put in place provisions to minimise the costs for businesses and maintain market access to both the EU and GB markets

We recognise that transition to the UK REACH regime has presented some challenges for the chemicals industry, particularly around the cost of having to access and purchase data to support their registration.

We previously extended the transitional registration deadlines (from two years to a phased two, four, & six-year approach) to allow industry more time to adapt and comply with UK REACH and to spread costs over a longer period. We have now gone further and committed to exploring alternative arrangements for UK REACH transitional registrations that would reduce the need for companies to access EU REACH data packages whilst maintaining high standards to safeguard public health and the environment. Although it is too early to commit to this model, we wish to further explore its potential. We will engage fully with industry, NGOs and other interested stakeholders as part of this process. We have also committed to consult on further extending the transitional registration deadlines.

The cost to Government in running UK REACH includes the cost of further digital development and management of the Comply with UK REACH digital service and the cost of regulatory capacity in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA). In 2022/23 this will cost around £13 million. There will also be additional costs of Defra staff working on REACH.

On 16 June 2021, as part of his sector engagement activities, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met with stakeholders from the edible and non-edible horticulture sector, to discuss labour issues and the effectiveness of the current Seasonal Workers Pilot.

Animal rescue organisations do excellent work, often on a voluntary basis, protecting animals against cruelty and ensuring that unwanted and abandoned animals in the UK are offered the opportunity of a forever home. I am acutely aware that the coronavirus pandemic, and specifically the measures put in place to control the spread of the virus, continue to affect individuals, businesses and charities caring for animals. Protecting the welfare of animals remains a priority for Defra throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The sector has kept us regularly updated of the developing situation, sharing their surveys particularly with respect to the rescue and rehoming of companion animals, and sharing information on cruelty investigations. It has been encouraging to see the sector working collaboratively and successfully to support itself and to safeguard the welfare of equines in their care in the face of financial hardship and uncertainty.

The latest figures from a survey by the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) show that although the animal rescue sector has seen a drop in income during the pandemic the financial sustainability in the sector appears to be improving. This suggests that rescues have adapted to the new situation either through fundraising in different ways or taking advantage of grants made available by the ADCH and other sources. More rescues are now taking in dogs and cats and more are rehoming. In Quarter 4 of 2020 there was a 24% Year on Year reduction of cat intake and a 32% reduction in dogs entering rescues. 68% of rescues have reported more people wish to foster dogs or cats and 58% wish to rehome a dog or cat.

National equine welfare charities have also kept us closely informed of the status of the Covid-19 Equine Rescues Emergency Fund established by the Pet Plan Charitable Trust together with World Horse Welfare and the National Equine Welfare Council. The current picture of equine welfare is better than feared, but we continue to keep things under review.

We have worked closely with sector groups to update guidance to animal rescue and rehoming organisations, and other animal charities and businesses. This has enabled them to undertake core operations as far as possible, whilst maintaining compliance with the social distancing rules and need for hygiene precautions to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Throughout this period, we have ensured that rescue and rehoming organisations are permitted to stay open, that staff and volunteers can continue to work and tend to the animals in their care, and that rehoming, fostering and adoption services can continue in accordance with Covid-19 secure guidance.

We take the concerns of the sector very seriously and are keeping a close watch on in-take levels and trends in animal relinquishments. Defra remains committed to continued engagement with the sector to understand the longer-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, monitor the animal welfare implications of this and offer appropriate advice.

Animal rescue organisations do excellent work, often on a voluntary basis, protecting animals against cruelty and ensuring that unwanted and abandoned animals in the UK are offered the opportunity of a forever home. I am acutely aware that the coronavirus pandemic, and specifically the measures put in place to control the spread of the virus, continue to affect individuals, businesses and charities caring for animals. Protecting the welfare of animals remains a priority for Defra throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The sector has kept us regularly updated of the developing situation, sharing their surveys particularly with respect to the rescue and rehoming of companion animals, and sharing information on cruelty investigations. It has been encouraging to see the sector working collaboratively and successfully to support itself and to safeguard the welfare of equines in their care in the face of financial hardship and uncertainty.

The latest figures from a survey by the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) show that although the animal rescue sector has seen a drop in income during the pandemic the financial sustainability in the sector appears to be improving. This suggests that rescues have adapted to the new situation either through fundraising in different ways or taking advantage of grants made available by the ADCH and other sources. More rescues are now taking in dogs and cats and more are rehoming. In Quarter 4 of 2020 there was a 24% Year on Year reduction of cat intake and a 32% reduction in dogs entering rescues. 68% of rescues have reported more people wish to foster dogs or cats and 58% wish to rehome a dog or cat.

National equine welfare charities have also kept us closely informed of the status of the Covid-19 Equine Rescues Emergency Fund established by the Pet Plan Charitable Trust together with World Horse Welfare and the National Equine Welfare Council. The current picture of equine welfare is better than feared, but we continue to keep things under review.

We have worked closely with sector groups to update guidance to animal rescue and rehoming organisations, and other animal charities and businesses. This has enabled them to undertake core operations as far as possible, whilst maintaining compliance with the social distancing rules and need for hygiene precautions to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Throughout this period, we have ensured that rescue and rehoming organisations are permitted to stay open, that staff and volunteers can continue to work and tend to the animals in their care, and that rehoming, fostering and adoption services can continue in accordance with Covid-19 secure guidance.

We take the concerns of the sector very seriously and are keeping a close watch on in-take levels and trends in animal relinquishments. Defra remains committed to continued engagement with the sector to understand the longer-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, monitor the animal welfare implications of this and offer appropriate advice.

There has been no change in the status of kennel and cattery businesses. Under the current restrictions veterinary services, animal rescue centres, and animal boarding facilities may stay open. Continued access to animal boarding facilities at this time is important for animal welfare purposes, including where required to enable critical workers to go to work or to allow owners to attend medical or vaccination appointments.

Local authorities have been allocated £500 million in discretionary funding via the Additional Restrictions Grant to support businesses that are significantly impacted by the restrictions even though not required to close. This is in addition to £1.1 billion already allocated in November 2020. Local authorities have discretion to use this funding to support businesses in the way they see fit. For example, this could include businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, or businesses in the events sector or businesses outside the business rates system, which are effectively forced to close. Businesses which cannot maintain their workforce because operations have been affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) can furlough employees and apply for a grant to cover a portion of their usual monthly wage costs, more information on eligibility can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#who-can-claim.

The Government has issued advice for pet owners and livestock keepers on looking after the welfare of animals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This includes guidance on how to access animal boarding facilities safely and is clear that you should only access these facilities by appointment and recommends that you ask the facilities if they provide a collection and drop-off service. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals

The Canine and Feline Sector Group has also issued advice for pet businesses, including animal boarding establishments, on how to operate safely within the new restrictions. This includes a protocol for the handover of pets and may be found online: https://www.cfsg.org.uk/repository/360/

There has been no change in the status of kennel and cattery businesses. Under the current restrictions veterinary services, animal rescue centres, and animal boarding facilities may stay open. Continued access to animal boarding facilities at this time is important for animal welfare purposes, including where required to enable critical workers to go to work or to allow owners to attend medical or vaccination appointments.

The Government has issued advice for pet owners and livestock keepers on looking after the welfare of animals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This includes guidance on how to access animal boarding facilities safely and is clear that you should only access these facilities by appointment and recommends that you ask the facilities if they provide a collection and drop-off service. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals

The Canine and Feline Sector Group has also issued advice for pet businesses, including animal boarding establishments, on how to operate safely within the new restrictions. This includes a protocol for the handover of pets and may be found online: https://www.cfsg.org.uk/repository/360/

The Emergency Assistance Grant Scheme was created as a one off fund to enable Local Authorities to support those who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19. The £63 million was calculated on the basis of the cost of supporting the ‘most at risk’ groups for a notional period of 12 weeks, based on an estimated net household budget shortfall. I intend to publish the allocations for each local authority as soon as possible, after the authorities have accepted their grant offers. We will monitor the use of the funding over the coming months.

We are allocating the funding according to the size of a local authority’s population and the level of deprivation. The exact amounts will be published on the GOV.UK website in due course. We issued guidance to local authorities on Friday 10 July, which is available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-authority-emergency-assistance-grant-for-food-and-essential-supplies.

At this time, no decision has been made to amend guidance on operating hours for gas peaking plants.

The Environment Agency consider noise impacts in individual environmental permit applications and will consider noise assessments for gas peaking plants based upon the operating hours agreed within the permit.

The Government considers air pollution on the railway to be an important issue. The Department for Transport is working closely with Network Rail and industry to improve air quality for railway users, workers, and neighbours.

The Environment Bill introduces measures to improve the natural environment, including outdoor air quality. The Bill establishes a duty to set a legally binding target on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in outdoor air as this is the most damaging pollutant to human health. An additional legally binding air quality target will also be set through the target framework. Setting ambitious air quality targets will drive comprehensive action across all parts of Government and society to reduce emissions and will deliver health benefits in all locations including stations.

The Government considers air pollution on the railway to be an important issue. The Department for Transport is working closely with Network Rail and industry to improve air quality for railway users, workers, and neighbours.

The Environment Bill introduces measures to improve the natural environment, including outdoor air quality. The Bill establishes a duty to set a legally binding target on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in outdoor air as this is the most damaging pollutant to human health. An additional legally binding air quality target will also be set through the target framework. Setting ambitious air quality targets will drive comprehensive action across all parts of Government and society to reduce emissions and will deliver health benefits in all locations including stations.