Alex Mayer

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and ending the scourge of domestic abuse is a crucial aspect of this.

Prosecutors in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) must have regard to the Government’s statutory guidance framework for controlling or coercive behaviour (the “Framework”). The Framework is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-statutory-guidance-framework.

CPS guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship explicitly refers to and expands on this Framework. When considering evidence of coercive or controlling behaviour, the guidance states that relevant behaviour can include “threatening to hurt or physically harming a family pet”. CPS guidance is available here: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-intimate-or-family-relationship.

CPS prosecutors can access a wide range of domestic abuse learning modules and instructor-led programmes, in which they are prompted to consult the CPS guidance above. Prosecutors also recently completed the roll out of a national course on domestic abuse, which all prosecutors who handle these cases were required to attend.

According to the Post Office, the number of DVLA photocard renewals made at Directly Managed Branches for the 2023/2024 Financial Year was 55,014.

Across the total network, the number of DVLA photocard renewals made for the same Financial Year was 525,827.

According to the Post Office, the number of Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence applications made at Directly Managed Branches for the 2023/2024 Financial Year was 15,150.

Across the total network, the number of SIA licensed applications made for the same Financial Year was 97,954.

As it is not possible to categorise Paper Check & Send applications by whether they are ‘New’ or ‘Renewal’, the Post Office have also shared their statistics for Digital Check & Send applications.

The number of Passport Paper Check & Send applications made at Directly Managed Branches for the 2023/2024 Financial Year was 16,733. Across the total network, the number of Passport Paper Check & Send applications made for the same Financial Year was 175,924

Comparatively, the number of Passport Digital Check & Send applications made at Directly Managed Branches for the 2023/2024 Financial Year was 60,253. Across the total network, the number of Passport Digital Check & Send applications made for the same Financial Year was 430,755.

Directly Managed Branches are loss-making for the Post Office. As such, Post Office has been clear that it’s their ambition to operate the network on a fully franchised basis in time, as they believe that this is a more sustainable model. The Post Office's Transformation Plan aims to deliver a reduction in central costs and look seriously at other ways to deliver efficiencies.

The Post Office will however continue to deliver on the 11,500 minimum branch requirement and geographical access criteria set by Government.

Animal testing of chemical substances is prohibited in all but a very limited number of circumstances where it is essential for the protection of human and animal health or environmental safety, as prescribed by the REACH Regulation. Therefore, where testing does occur it is in relation to individual chemical substances, which may then be used in the manufacture of another product. As a result, we do not hold information for specific products

The UK will announce a 1.5°C aligned 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution at COP29, followed by publication of the detail underpinning it - known as Information to facilitate Clarity, Transparency and Understanding (ICTU) - ahead of the February 2025 deadline. The UK's NDC is an economy-wide target, incorporating all greenhouse gas emissions and sectors, including from agriculture, waste and land-use. As a signatory of the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, the UK is committed to integrating agriculture and food systems into our NDCs, National Adaptation Plans, and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans.

The Ostend Declarations commit signatories to delivering cross-border projects in the North Seas, and set out a shared target of 300GW of offshore wind in the North Seas by 2050.

We are committed to radically increasing the deployment of offshore wind, essential to meet our net zero goals. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind, with 14.8 GW of generation capacity, the highest deployment in Europe.

We have been working closely with the North Seas partners to unlock the renewable potential of the North Seas, including offshore wind and offshore hybrid assets. Minister McCarthy will attend the North Seas Energy Cooperation Ministerial Meeting in Denmark on 24 October to advance these goals, and we are preparing for the North Sea Summit in Hamburg next June.

Building demand for low carbon products is essential for achieving net zero. Public procurement is a key lever for driving demand. At COP28 the UK declared its intention to meet international green procurement pledges for low emission steel and concrete in public construction by 2030 (link here).

Ministers are considering their options to grow demand for low carbon steel, cement and concrete, the first step of which is resolving questions such as how to measure embodied emissions in products and defining what a low carbon product is.

The Government will consult on options for answering these questions in due course.

Building demand for low carbon products is essential for achieving net zero. Public procurement is a key lever for driving demand. At COP28 the UK declared its intention to meet international green procurement pledges for low emission steel and concrete in public construction by 2030 (link here).

Ministers are considering their options to grow demand for low carbon steel, cement and concrete, the first step of which is resolving questions such as how to measure embodied emissions in products and defining what a low carbon product is.

The Government will consult on options for answering these questions in due course.

The Government has started delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, including a new Warm Homes: Local Grant, and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. These schemes require installers to be Trustmark registered and measures to be installed in accordance with the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and PAS 2035. This ensures the risks of unintended consequences, such as mould, condensation due to poor ventilation and overheating, are minimised.

The Warm Homes Plan will ensure that homes are fit for the future. To support policy development in this area, the Government is conducting research to identify which building types are most vulnerable to extreme heat and appropriate adaptation solutions.

Alternative methods cannot currently replicate the complexity of an intact biological system, so the use of animals remains essential both in basic and translational medical research and in preclinical testing. Currently 32% of Medical Research Council-funded research programmes involve some use of animals licensed under the ASPA (Animals Scientific Procedures Act). The manifesto committed the Government to partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing. This is a long-term goal, and it will likely take many years of scientific and technical advancement and validation to reach this point.

The Government funds research through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and many programmes, including those on organoids, cell behaviour or AI, may eventually lead to the development of human-specific technologies that can replace the need for the use of animals. The Government also funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research through the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs). Since its launch in 2004, the NC3Rs has committed over £100 million through its research and innovation to provide new 3Rs approaches for scientists in academia and industry to use

The Government believes Digital Champions play a key role in advancing the digital connectivity agenda - and help local communities to realise the benefits advanced connectivity can bring. We strongly encourage local and combined authorities to appoint them as dedicated officers where possible.

We have set out more details on the role that Digital Champions can play within the Digital Connectivity Portal. The Portal is an extensive online resource providing best practice guidance helping local authorities to facilitate digital infrastructure deployment. It can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/digital-strategy-and-leadership#digital-champion

This Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including Bedfordshire, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025 through the Shared Rural Network programme.

We are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment and competition. As part of this work, the Government intends to reform the planning system to make it easier to build and deploy digital infrastructure.

The Department works closely with Ofcom, who are responsible for tackling silent and abandoned calls, and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who lead on enforcement of unsolicited direct marketing calls and ensuring companies adhere to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The new Data (Use and Access) Bill will empower the ICO to take action against companies sending nuisance communications.

To address scam calls, the Department works closely with Ofcom, and the Home Office (who are responsible for fraud policy). From January, new Ofcom rules will require telecoms operators to block calls from abroad presenting with a UK number.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) is responsible for setting the UK Advertising Codes while the Advertising Standards Authority enforces them. Both are independent of the government.

Section 5 of the CAP Code contains the rules regarding advertising targeted at children. Section 8 contains rules for promotional marketing including prize draws. ASA guidance states that video and mobile game ads must be targeted appropriately if they contain elements unsuitable for children.

As part of the UK Advertising Codes, issued by the Committees for Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committees of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the Advertising Standards Authority, adverts must not be placed in children’s media, for instance a game mainly intended for children, and advertisers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that under-18s are excluded from their targeted marketing. There are also a range of robust rules and restrictions which apply to gambling adverts, wherever they appear, including online. As the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission requires all licensed operators to abide by the Advertising Codes.

We are considering the best available evidence, including on advertising, from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil the manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm. We will provide further updates to the House soon.

This Government recognises that sport facilities are at the beating heart of communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help clubs to get more people active and by backing these clubs, the Government will support more people participating wherever they live.

We will continue to support grassroots sport including through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme that will invest £123 million across the UK this year.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arms Length Body, Sport England - which invests an average of £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.

Over the last five years Bedfordshire has received over £8.8 million and Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency has received over £192,000 from Sport England to support projects which facilitate participation in grassroots sport.

Additionally, Bedfordshire received £5,305,046.28 in funding across 51 facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, Park Tennis Court Programme and the Swimming Pool Support Fund. Of this amount, £1,798,441 was awarded across six facilities in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, including £1,032,533 for a new artificial grass pitch and changing pavilion at Tithe Farm Road Recreation Ground. Full breakdowns of the facilities funded through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme and through the Park Tennis Court Programme are available on gov.uk, and a breakdown of facilities funded through the Swimming Pool Support Fund is available on the Sport England website.

As I set out during the Westminster Hall debate on the Paris 2024 Olympics Team GB Legacy, which took place on 3 September, the Government is fully committed to multi-year funding for our elite sport system and enabling our athletes to excel on the world stage. This means supporting them financially to match and build on their success in Paris, helping them to deliver at LA 2028. We will set out further details at the Spending Review.

The Government also recognises that high-quality, inclusive facilities help ensure everyone has access to sport. We will continue to support grassroots sport including through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme that will invest £123 million across the UK this year.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and Government money. Sport England’s newly established Movement Fund offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published in July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review.

The review will seek to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people are represented. The review will seek to identify and focus on addressing the most significant and pressing issues facing curriculum and assessment without destabilising the system.

The review group will publish an interim report early in 2025, setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final review with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.

The government intends to legislate so that, following the review and the implementation of reforms, academies will be required to teach the new national curriculum, alongside other state-funded schools. This will give parents certainty over their children’s education.

Most central government funding for home to school travel is provided through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This funding is non-ringfenced, giving local authorities the flexibility to make the best decisions for their local area. In total, the LGFS for the 2024/25 financial year makes available up to £64.7 billion for local authorities in England. Further details on the settlement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2024-to-2025.

The government has committed to legislate through the Children’s Wellbeing Bill to limit the number of items of branded uniform and PE kit that schools can require. This proposed legislation will go further than the current statutory guidance, which only requires schools to keep branded uniform items to a minimum.

The existing statutory guidance will be updated once the new legislation has received Royal Assent. This will ensure that both work together to ensure that schools will need to justify every piece of branded uniform they include in their uniform policy. This will put an end to schools still requiring large numbers of branded items.

The government has launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review covering key stages 1 to 5, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review will consider the current qualification pathways available at key stage 4 and 5. A call for evidence will be published in the autumn which will set out the areas the review group would particularly welcome input from. More information about the review is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-curriculum-and-assessment-review.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering key stages 1 to 5, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.

The review will seek to deliver a curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes young people need to thrive. This includes embedding digital, oracy and life skills in their learning.

The review will consider the key digital skills needed for future life and critical thinking skills to ensure children are resilient to misinformation and extremist content online.