Andrew Bridgen

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 9 January 2023 is attached.

The Government is pleased that a resolution has been reached between the parties to settle this long-running litigation and the steps they have taken through the mediation talks. Postmasters are the backbone of the Post Office, and their branches are vital to communities across the country. That is why Government takes Post Office Limited's (POL) relationship with its postmasters very seriously.

On 11 December following mediation talks, the parties to the litigation agreed a settlement figure of £57.75m. Government was not party to the mediation discussions. The agreed settlement included all legal and other costs, The settlement was funded entirely by POL’s commercial revenues. The Government as shareholder specifically required that government funding was not used for this purpose.

Given the nature and scale of the settlement payment, the Government did approve the final figure.

The Government is pleased that a resolution has been reached between the parties to settle this long-running litigation and the steps they have taken through the mediation talks. Postmasters are the backbone of the Post Office, and their branches are vital to communities across the country. That is why Government takes Post Office Limited's (POL) relationship with its postmasters very seriously.

On 11 December following mediation talks, the parties to the litigation agreed a settlement figure of £57.75m. Government was not party to the mediation discussions. The agreed settlement included all legal and other costs, The settlement was funded entirely by POL’s commercial revenues. The Government as shareholder specifically required that government funding was not used for this purpose.

The Government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to football or other sporting bodies. The Government invests millions into grassroots sport facilities via the Football Foundation alongside the Football Association and the Premier League. In addition to the £18m of government support this provides annually, in 2021 the government announced a further £25m investment to improve and upgrade grassroots facilities across the UK to ensure that every community in the country has access to the sports pitches they need by 2030.

The recent Fan Led Review of Football Governance stressed the importance of greater financial redistribution throughout the football pyramid. We are working with the football authorities to ensure an appropriate solution on financial distributions is found, which will protect the financial health of all football clubs throughout the football pyramid.

The Gambling Commission is the independent regulator for the gambling industry. As part of its responsibilities it issues a social responsibility code, including the requirement that operators identify and interact with customers who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing harm.

In 2021, the Gambling Commission closed a consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction, including the specific issue of affordability checks. In its consultation response, the Commission confirmed it will conduct a further consultation on specific steps operators should take to tackle three key risks associated with financial harm. The response can be found here.

The Government cannot issue instructions to the Commission on how it fulfils its statutory duties or what to include in its guidance and codes, but we have worked closely on this issue in the run up to publishing our white paper on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure any proposed changes are joined up.

My department has not had any recent discussions with representatives of sports governing bodies on awareness of colour blindness and steps to differentiate team colours. However, I welcome the English Football League’s (EFL) recent decision to allow clubs to wear away kits at home games next season in order to aid colour-blind people in differentiating teams. This will benefit players, staff, officials and spectators.

The Government recognises there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from taking part and we want to continue to do all that we can to tackle these. We will continue to work with our arms length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, and sector partners to encourage sport bodies to make sport more accessible to spectators, participants and the workforce.

The Government’s Review of the Gambling Act called for evidence on how best to recoup the regulatory and societal costs of problem gambling. We will publish a white paper outlining our proposals for reform and vision for the sector in the coming weeks.

The Government’s Review of the Gambling Act called for evidence on how best to recoup the regulatory and societal costs of problem gambling. We will publish a white paper outlining our proposals for reform and vision for the sector in the coming weeks.

The framework for society lotteries is set out in the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act). Section 14 of the Act generally defines a lottery as requiring payment to participate, an outcome determined wholly by chance, and the allocation of prizes.

Large society lotteries are subject to strict sales and prize limits, and operate under a licence issued by the Gambling Commission. They are also required to provide a minimum return to good causes.

Some products, such as prize competitions and free draws may resemble lotteries but do not meet the definition of a lottery under section 14 of the Act. This might be due to a free entry route or because there is an element of skill involved. Since free draws do not meet the definition of a lottery, they are not considered gambling for the purposes of the Act and the Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities for these products, but it does monitor the boundary between them and society lotteries to ensure that products are regulated when required by the Act.

The Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 in December 2020 with the publication of a Call for Evidence. We received over 16,000 responses, and we are considering all the evidence carefully. The Review is wide-ranging and evidence-led, and aims to make sure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. We are currently carefully considering all submitted evidence and a white paper will be published in the coming weeks.

The framework for society lotteries is set out in the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act). Section 14 of the Act generally defines a lottery as requiring payment to participate, an outcome determined wholly by chance, and the allocation of prizes.

Large society lotteries are subject to strict sales and prize limits, and operate under a licence issued by the Gambling Commission. They are also required to provide a minimum return to good causes.

Some products, such as prize competitions and free draws may resemble lotteries but do not meet the definition of a lottery under section 14 of the Act. This might be due to a free entry route or because there is an element of skill involved. Since free draws do not meet the definition of a lottery, they are not considered gambling for the purposes of the Act and the Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities for these products, but it does monitor the boundary between them and society lotteries to ensure that products are regulated when required by the Act.

The Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 in December 2020 with the publication of a Call for Evidence. We received over 16,000 responses, and we are considering all the evidence carefully. The Review is wide-ranging and evidence-led, and aims to make sure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. We are currently carefully considering all submitted evidence and a white paper will be published in the coming weeks.

Ministers and officials have meetings with various stakeholders to support ongoing work and policy development. There has also been a wide-ranging series of meetings to support the ongoing Gambling Act Review which was launched in December 2020 with a Call for Evidence. Records of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and are available on gov.uk.

Ministers have not had meetings with representatives of the Horseracing Bettors Forum. However, officials will be meeting the organisation to discuss the Gambling Act Review in the coming weeks.

The Gambling Commission takes care to ensure it operates within all relevant data protection rules and engages with the Information Commissioner’s Office when necessary. Its consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction sought to build on existing requirements for how operators identify and intervene where customers may be at risk of harm, including by spending more than they can afford, and called for evidence specifically on the important issue of balancing data protection and consumer protection.

The Commission published an interim update setting out its next steps in this area and committed to engage stakeholders on concerns around consumer privacy in a further consultation on more detailed proposals. The interim update is available at:

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news/article/update-on-remote-customer-interaction-consultation

All gambling adverts, wherever they appear, must be socially responsible and are subject to strict controls on content and placement to protect children and vulnerable people from harm. Codes are published by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which covers online and non-broadcast spaces, and by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), and these are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. The standards set by the CAP apply to gambling affiliates, and operators are liable to enforcement action from the Gambling Commission if their affiliates’ marketing activities do not comply with the rules. The Commission has worked closely with the ASA on the issue of affiliates in recent years and has tightened its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).

I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley on the 24th June to Question 18509.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals, including representatives of the land-based casino sector. We are considering all the evidence received carefully and aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year outlining conclusions and next steps.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals, including representatives of the land-based casino sector. We are considering all the evidence received carefully and aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year outlining conclusions and next steps.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals, including representatives of the land-based casino sector. We are considering all the evidence received carefully and aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year outlining conclusions and next steps.

The Gambling Commission’s consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction closed on 9 February and received over 13,000 responses. The Commission is reviewing that evidence and intends to publish an interim update on progress and to set out the next steps in due course.

Government remains in close contact with the Commission as this progresses, and the Commission is sharing key evidence with the Department on this and other topics which may be relevant to our Review of the Gambling Act 2005. Our call for evidence closed on 31 March 2021, and we are currently carefully considering all the evidence submitted.

Jurisdictions in which there are not clear rules about the legality of gambling, particularly online gambling, are often referred to as grey markets. There is no grey market in Great Britain, where operators are forbidden by law from providing gambling facilities to British consumers unless they are licensed by the Gambling Commission and abide by strict requirements intended to keep gambling fair and crime free and to protect children and vulnerable people. Any operator offering facilities to gamble without the appropriate licence from the Gambling Commission is committing an offence under the Gambling Act 2005.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with stakeholders and details of ministerial meetings are available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905167/DCMS_Ministerial_meetings__1st_January_to_31st_March_2020.csv/preview

Jurisdictions in which there are not clear rules about the legality of gambling, particularly online gambling, are often referred to as grey markets. There is no grey market in Great Britain, where operators are forbidden by law from providing gambling facilities to British consumers unless they are licensed by the Gambling Commission and abide by strict requirements intended to keep gambling fair and crime free and to protect children and vulnerable people. Any operator offering facilities to gamble without the appropriate licence from the Gambling Commission is committing an offence under the Gambling Act 2005.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with stakeholders and details of ministerial meetings are available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905167/DCMS_Ministerial_meetings__1st_January_to_31st_March_2020.csv/preview

We continue to keep our approach to managing the sector’s financial position under review and update our guidance to reflect changing financial standards and prevailing economic conditions. Our guidance is freely available for public scrutiny.

A small team of highly experienced contract managers has been set up to focus on delivering enhanced monitoring and oversight of the top, approximately, 30 largest and most complex independent training providers. This work includes a more in-depth understanding and monitoring of these providers’ future strategy and financial position so that the likelihood and impact of large-scale provider failure is reduced.

As part of the flagship apprenticeship provision, organisations new to apprenticeship delivery are subject to an early monitoring regime. To maximise successful provision overall, we offer enhanced financial monitoring to organisations we perceive may be in financial difficulty.

Access to apprenticeship delivery is strictly controlled and targets not only an organisation’s financial status, but also its assessed ability to deliver and the grades awarded by Ofsted.

Ofsted inspects further education providers in line with its published ‘frequency of inspection guidance’ determined by the provider’s previous grade. Ofsted also uses a broad range of information to assess risk and performance when selecting providers for inspection.

The ESFA sets out in its guidance and removal from the register of apprenticeship training providers guidance what action may be taken if there is a poor Ofsted outcome.

EU legislation allows Member States to grant emergency authorisation for the use of a pesticide in special circumstances.  Since the EU prohibited the outdoor use of thiamethoxam in December 2018, 15 EU countries have granted emergency authorisations for products containing thiamethoxam.

Farming and food production are at the heart of the Government’s levelling up agenda. We must continue to support a vibrant and profitable food and farming industry, including horticulture, which supports the Government’s levelling up agenda and helps safeguard our food security. We are working closely with the horticulture sector to explore opportunities for economic growth and creating jobs across the country.

Defra is leading the £5.77 million cross-Governmental project to test and evaluate green social prescribing in seven test and learn sites and to run national research work to understand its scalability. This can include the prescribing of gardening projects and activities in parks. We have also committed to treble tree planting rates in England, and bring trees closer to people, through trees on streets, in parks and urban orchards, supported through the Urban Tree Challenge and Local Authority Treescape Funds. In addition, Defra and Natural England are working with other partners and stakeholders to develop a Green Infrastructure Framework. This will show what good green infrastructure looks like, including parks, woodlands and community food growing.

In order to support all these initiatives, we will need a thriving horticulture sector to provide the necessary plants, flowers and trees, and we are looking at the opportunities and barriers that the horticulture sector faces to support sustainable growth in the sector, so that more of our plants and flowers can be sourced from our own domestic growers.

On national plant collections, Defra has also committed to funding a £15 million project to digitise a significant proportion of the Herbarium at Kew Gardens. The Herbarium is the world’s largest collection of plant and fungal specimens, with specimens collected over 170 years, including those collected by Charles Darwin. The significant injection of government funding will protect irreplaceable samples from deterioration and allow researchers from across the country and the globe to access the historic collection, help conserve nature and find solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing humanity.

The Environment Bill will require all local authorities in England to arrange for the collection of food waste for recycling. This must always be collected separately from residual waste and dry recyclable materials so that it can be recycled.

On 7 May 2021 we published a second consultation on recycling consistency. This consultation closed on 4 July 2021 and sought views on the implementation of separate food waste collections, among other policies. The consultation included questions on the materials in scope of collection and delivery dates. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and intend to publish our Government response in due course.

Given the additional costs involved in separate food waste collection, the Government will ensure that local authorities are resourced to meet any net new burdens costs arising from this policy. We will continue to engage with local authorities on the cost estimates that we provided in the impact assessment accompanying the second consultation, as well as the appropriate timing for funding to be provided to authorities, to enable sufficient lead-in time ahead of implementation.

Defra Ministers and officials undertake a wide range of discussions with stakeholders on the UK achieving its net zero ambitions. Whilst the Chelsea Flower Show is a key annual event in the horticultural calendar, its environmental impact has not been a topic covered in ministerial discussions with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The RHS has recently published its sustainability strategy, which includes its target to be net climate positive by 2030.

We appreciate the difficulty and cost that fly-tipping poses to landowners and we are working with a wide range of interested parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, including the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), to promote and disseminate good practice.

Our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy set out our strategic approach to prevent, detect and deter waste crime. This included a commitment to develop a fly-tipping toolkit. The toolkit will be a web-based tool to help local authorities and others work in partnership to tackle fly-tipping.

Budget 2020 allocated up to £2 million to support innovative solutions to tackle fly-tipping. In April 2021 we commissioned a research project considering the drivers, deterrents and impacts of fly-tipping. This research project is due to be completed before the end of this year and will support informed policy making. We are exploring additional funding opportunities, including the role of digital solutions.

We are also preparing a number of legislative reforms to tackle waste crime, which should help to tackle fly-tipping. We are taking forward the commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy to develop proposals for the reform of the waste carrier, broker, and dealer regime. We are working with industry and the regulator and we intend to consult later this year. We also intend to consult on the introduction of mandatory electronic waste tracking. Digital records of waste movements will allow regulators to detect when waste doesn't reach the next stage, which may indicate illegal activity including fly-tipping.

We are bringing forward several measures in the Environment Bill to ensure agencies and authorities can work more effectively to combat waste crime through better access to evidence and improved powers of entry. These new powers will help ensure waste criminals, such as illegitimate waste operators reliant on fly-tipping for income, are held accountable for their actions.

Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales, which decides its own work plan for developing/revising sentencing guidelines. The Sentencing Council has issued guidelines for environmental offences, which cover fly-tipping and other waste crimes. The Resources and Waste Strategy includes a commitment to work with the Sentencing Council to support any updates to the Environmental Offences Definitive Guideline should a review be undertaken.

In recent years we have bolstered local authorities' powers to tackle fly-tipping. We have introduced the power to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £400 to both fly-tippers and householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier. We have also increased local authorities' powers to stop, search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.

Defra values these national collections and the role they play in conservation. The Charity ‘Plant Heritage’ oversees the National Plant Collections and has a particular focus on rare cultivars, promoting the UK's horticultural heritage and engaging the public. The UK's first Alcea (Hollyhock) National Plant Collection in Lincolnshire is one of around 650 collections nationally. The Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew, which is a Defra arm's length body, is also a holder of some of these national collections. RBG Kew's Wakehurst National Collections like Nothofagus (southern beech) and Betula (birch) come from a range of global locations and may offer valuable indications of which species could be fit and functional in the long-term, in the face of biotic and abiotic threats. For instance, incorporation of the southern beech into our tree planting programmes could help to ensure functional future woodlands.

We want to make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This will help to reduce confusion with recycling, ensure that there is more recycled material in the products we buy and that the UK recycling industry grows. It would also constitute a significant step towards meeting our 25 Year Environment Plan commitment to eliminate avoidable waste by 2050 and contribute towards meeting recycling targets, including our commitment of 65% of municipal (household-like) waste to be recycled by 2035.

Following support at public consultation, the Environment Bill stipulates that all local authorities in England must make arrangements for a core set of materials to be collected for recycling from households. This includes a weekly separate food waste collection. On 7 May we published a second consultation seeking further views on recycling consistency, including setting out implementation timelines for food waste collection and asking questions on the provision of caddy liners to householders. Local authorities will be able to decide the end destination for food waste and garden waste, provided that the material is recycled or composted. One option is anaerobic digestion which presents the best environmental outcome for the treatment of unavoidable food waste, due to the generation of biofuel and digestate.

Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed and the net additional cost covered by the Government. We are working to assess net additional costs to local authorities and will continue to engage with local authorities on the cost estimates that we have provided in the impact assessment accompanying the second consultation on recycling consistency, as well as the appropriate timing for funding to be provided to local authorities, ahead of introduction of recycling consistency reforms.

Littering is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty on conviction of a fine of up to £2,500, although most enforcement is carried out by local authorities using fixed penalties.

Following consultation, with effect from April 2018, we increased the maximum fixed penalty for littering from £80 to £150, and from April 2019, the minimum fixed penalty was also raised from £50 to £65. We have also given councils in England (outside London) new civil penalty powers to tackle littering from vehicles. We have no plans to make further changes to the level of fixed penalties or fines for littering at this stage.

Community Payback is the work carried out by offenders who have an unpaid work requirement as part of a community sentence. This can already include activities involving clearing litter.

It is often recommended that those found guilty of littering should be required to participate in litter‑picking. However, community sentences are only available for imprisonable offences and are therefore not available for littering offences.

The Litter Strategy sets out how we intend to work with the relevant industries to tackle certain types of problematic litter, including fast-food packaging.

To this effect, I held a roundtable in September 2020 with large fast-food retailers to understand what action they are taking now to tackle the litter created by their products. It was encouraging to hear about the initiatives they are working on and, more importantly, that they are committed to delivering lasting change by working together to tackle what is an industry wide issue. We are watching closely to see how this commitment translates into action in due course.

We believe that businesses should try to reduce the amount of litter their products generate. Through our reforms to packaging producer responsibility, we aim to reduce the amount of fast-food packaging that is littered and increase the amount of ‘on-the-go’ packaging that is recycled or reused. We will continue to engage with the takeaway food industry on these reforms.

Following responses from our 2019 consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility, we will seek views on policy proposals relating to littered packaging, such as takeaway food packaging, in our forthcoming consultation this spring.

The merits of such a scheme were considered when responding to a select committee report on Garden Tourism in 2019. Such a scheme risks confusion with the successful City of Culture competition and other extant schemes such as Britain in Bloom. The Government did not accept the committee's recommendation.

We do of course recognise the immense benefits of being able to access green spaces, such as parks and gardens, to mental and physical well-being. Defra is collaborating with the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group on a Growth Strategy for the sector to help ensure the ornamental horticulture sector continues to thrive. This is industry led and underlined by research identifying key areas of opportunity for growth in the sector, including the growing importance of outdoor green spaces to health.

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan includes commitments to introduce stronger new standards for green infrastructure and to support local authorities to assess provision. Green infrastructure includes greenspace such as parks and woodlands and other environmental features such as street trees, hedgerows and green walls and roofs. Natural England and Public Health England have published a Rapid Scoping Review of Health and Wellbeing Evidence to inform the standards.

Natural England is testing the standards in trials with local authorities and developers, and they are due to be launched in 2022. The aim is to embed the standards in national planning guidance and policy to ensure that good green infrastructure is secured for all communities through the planning system.

Preparatory work on the study envisaged in the IRP of how HS2 services could best reach Leeds has been undertaken using existing Department for Transport staff as part of their routine work. No consultation has been launched. We intend to publish the terms of reference for the Study soon.

HS2 Ltd has not undertaken, and no money and no hours have been spent on, any proactive work (design or consultation) on the section of high speed route to Leeds from the East Midlands Hub in the period in question.

The Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey estimates that the number of HGV drivers in the twelve-month period ending March 2022 was 262,700, this is up from 253,200 in the twelve-month period ending December 2021. ONS have identified and are investigating an issue in the classification of some occupations in its statistics. While investigations are still ongoing, it is not anticipated that figures of HGV/LGV drivers will be significantly impacted.

In response the Government has taken decisive action to address the HGV driver shortage putting in place 33 short, medium and long-term interventions to date to help alleviate the existing HGV driver shortages. These interventions include investing up to £34 million to create skills bootcamps to train up to 11,000 more people to become HGV drivers. We are also supporting HGV driver training through apprenticeships, including the Large Goods Vehicle Driver and Urban Driver apprenticeships. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus are also supporting returning to driving and helping jobseekers become HGV drivers where appropriate.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has expanded HGV driver testing capacity and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has improved licencing processes in order to help get these new drivers on the road.

The Government continues to have positive engagement with the sector who report that the 33 measures are working.

HS2 Ltd works closely with the Canal and River Trust, and local canal groups, to mitigate impacts on the canal network and identify opportunities for improvements. Various canal projects have been supported by HS2 project funds and grants, as well as from donations provided by the HS2 supply chain. Projects have ranged from the supply of wood chippings to improve towpath surfacing, to larger schemes, such as the Trent Sow Parklands and Cannock Chase project which is supporting canal restoration works and improvements to the towpath network. HS2 Ltd is always keen to hear from those involved in local projects, including those aimed at improving community opportunities associated with the canal network.

Following a pause to design work on the HS2 Eastern Leg as a result of the Oakervee Review and during the development of the Integrated Rail Plan, the Department and HS2 Ltd are now considering how best to take HS2 East forward, working closely with Network Rail.

The £500m Restoring Your Railway Fund is supporting over 45 schemes at different stages of development with funding and advice. A Strategic Outline Business Case for the Ivanhoe Line bid was submitted to the Department in May 2021. The Secretary of State for Transport and I are considering next steps for projects, including the Ivanhoe Line, with a decision on the next tranche to progress anticipated later this year.

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme is successfully supporting a market for low carbon fuels in the UK, including biodiesel. Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a type of biodiesel. Those supplying HVO for use in road vehicles in the UK, and which meets sustainability criteria, are eligible for reward under the RTFO scheme.

There is no funding programme specifically for local authorities switching to fuel their existing fleets with HVO, and there are no current plans to introduce such a programme. The primary support for the wider deployment of HVO is the RTFO scheme, which provides a competitive market for a broad range of low carbon fuels.

Local authorities are well placed to determine how best to decarbonise their vehicle fleets. The Department is supporting this through a grant provided by the Energy Savings Trust. This provides tailored outreach advice to local authorities in support of the development and implementation of their own transport decarbonisation strategies, including advice on the decarbonisation of their own vehicle fleets. Later this year the Department will also publish a transport decarbonisation toolkit for local authorities, which will provide guidance to support local areas to deliver more sustainable transport measures including decarbonising their own fleets.

Following National Highways’ trial of roadside funnel bins in 2017 at Lymm Truckstop, a further 44 bins have been installed including at Sandbach and Maidstone Service Areas. National Highways continue to work with Motorway Service Area (MSA) operators to encourage them to install bins and trial different interventions to influence drivers to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.

More broadly, National Highways has commissioned charity Keep Britain Tidy to carry out research into littering behaviour on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The behavioural insights and outputs from this research will be used by National Highways to implement targeted campaigns including social media campaigns, improvements to rest areas, installation of more drive-up bins, distribution of ‘pinned bins’, and engagement with families and employees.

The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution announced that we are investing £20m this financial year in planning for zero emission road freight trials which will support UK industry to develop cost-effective, zero-emission HGVs and their refuelling infrastructure in the UK. These trials will advance R&D in the technologies of catenary electric, battery electric and hydrogen-powered HGVs, allowing us to begin the commercial roll-out of the appropriate new technologies before the end of the decade.

In addition, the recently announced plug-in truck grant reduces the purchase price of zero emission commercial vehicles for consumers. Grant rates for eligible trucks are set at 20% of the purchase price, with up to £25,000 of funding available for the largest HGVs. This grant should incentivise increased uptake in zero emission HGVs.

We will also be consulting on a date for phasing out the sale of new diesel heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), to drive innovation and development, and to increase the uptake of zero emission alternatives within the HGV sector.

In enabling e-scooter trials to begin, we were constrained by existing legislation, and could not quickly remove the driving licence requirement. We have allowed full and provisional licence holders to use e-scooters in the trials, opening trials up to the greatest number of people. It is important to note that the current regulations are designed to enable effective trials of e-scooters to be run, and therefore apply only to and for the duration of the trials. We have a national monitoring and evaluation programme in place to assess the safety and wider impacts of e-scooters. Any future decisions around licence requirements for e-scooters will be made using the evidence from this programme.

Section 32 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides that electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) must not be driven on a road by anyone under 14 years of age. There is no requirement to have a licence to ride an EAPC provided that it complies with the requirements in the 2015 EAPC Regulations, and EAPCs complying with those same requirements do not need to be registered, taxed or insured. The Government has no plans to change any of the above.

The HGV levy was introduced to ensure a fairer arrangement for all hauliers, and is paid equally by UK and foreign hauliers. It is currently suspended until 1 August 2021, and we are considering reforms to it for when it is reinstated.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme amount included in the Annual Report and Accounts, was £9,889,743 as of 31 March 2022. The information can be found in ‘Note 16 Provisions for liabilities and charges’ on page 353. The £9,889,743 is contained in the ‘other’ value of £4,078,443,000. As the amount is not material to the accounts, it was contained in the ‘other’ category with other provisions.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline NG163 published in 2020 was commissioned in accordance with an established agreement between NHS England and NICE. The focus at that time was given to providing rapid guidance on the management of affected patients with COVID-19. A number of NICE’s COVID-19 rapid guidelines were incorporated into a single guideline for the management of COVID-19 in children and adults (NG191).

During the pandemic there was an increase in demand for, and consequently in the United Kingdom’s purchase of a number of medicines, including midazolam, to support the care of COVID-19 patients in intensive care and at the end of life. National Health Service purchasing decisions are made by individual trusts against national procurement frameworks. Volumes are calculated based on their forecast consumption.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does hold data on the vaccine status of people who died after 31 May 2022.

UKHSA uses the data on the vaccination status of people who have died to produce monthly COVID-19 Vaccine Surveillance reports which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surveillance-reports

This covers an extensive range of measures of vaccine effectiveness, including demonstrating effectiveness against infection, transmission, hospitalisation and mortality.

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency publish monthly reports on seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in frontline healthcare workers. Data published to the end of November 2022 showed that in 165 NHS trusts providing a return, 338,602 frontline healthcare workers had had a COVID-19 vaccine since 1 September 2022, an uptake of 36.3%.

We are committed to tackling gambling-related harms through a public health approach, recognising the potential impacts on individuals, their families, close associates and society. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The following table shows the funding allocated for research into problem gambling through the NIHR’s research programmes in each of the last five years.

In 2019, the former Public Health England conducted an evidence review of gambling-related harms. The cost of research commissioned through this review was £8,000.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework five-year deal commits £2.592 billion in each financial year between 2019 and 2024 for community pharmacy. On 22 September 2022, following discussions between the Department, NHS England and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, which represents pharmacy contractors in England, we announced an agreement for the remaining years of the Framework.

There have been no recent discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated its guidance on real-time and intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring, such as FreeStyle Libre 2 sensors for eligible patients. The newly established integrated care boards will take this guidance into account in commissioning services for local populations.

An evidence review of the health effects of access to greenspace, including gardening was published by Public Health England in 2020. It found evidence that exposure to greenspaces can promote and protect good health and aid in recovery from illness and help with managing poor mental and physical health. The evidence review is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904439/Improving_access_to_greenspace_2020_review.pdf

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan includes specific measures such a cross-Government project on tackling mental ill-health through green social prescribing and a national framework of green infrastructure standards to ensure new developments include accessible green spaces and areas with little or no green space can be improved for the benefit of the community. The Plan is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693158/25-year-environment-plan.pdf

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national specialty report on gastroenterology was published in September 2021. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the conditions covered under gastroenterological services in the report. The report sets out actions and recommendations to improve patient care in gastroenterology. The aim is to reduce unwarranted variation in treatments and services in, which will ensure consistent care is provided to IBD patients across the country.

The GIRFT programme is now embedded within NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programmes to improve quality and productivity, so that best practice is adopted throughout the NHS. NHS England and NHS Improvement are encouraging individual sites to evaluate how best to take forward these recommendations. The recommendation on IBD is estimated to reduce emergency admissions by 6,600 per year. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement expect National Health Service trusts and clinical teams to consider how best they can implement these recommendations for individuals to ensure the consistent and high quality care for IBD and other gastroenterological conditions.

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national specialty report on gastroenterology was published in September 2021. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the conditions covered under gastroenterological services in the report. The report sets out actions and recommendations to improve patient care in gastroenterology. The aim is to reduce unwarranted variation in treatments and services in, which will ensure consistent care is provided to IBD patients across the country.

The GIRFT programme is now embedded within NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programmes to improve quality and productivity, so that best practice is adopted throughout the NHS. NHS England and NHS Improvement are encouraging individual sites to evaluate how best to take forward these recommendations. The recommendation on IBD is estimated to reduce emergency admissions by 6,600 per year. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement expect National Health Service trusts and clinical teams to consider how best they can implement these recommendations for individuals to ensure the consistent and high quality care for IBD and other gastroenterological conditions.

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national specialty report on gastroenterology was published in September 2021. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the conditions covered under gastroenterological services in the report. The report sets out actions and recommendations to improve patient care in gastroenterology. The aim is to reduce unwarranted variation in treatments and services in, which will ensure consistent care is provided to IBD patients across the country.

The GIRFT programme is now embedded within NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programmes to improve quality and productivity, so that best practice is adopted throughout the NHS. NHS England and NHS Improvement are encouraging individual sites to evaluate how best to take forward these recommendations. The recommendation on IBD is estimated to reduce emergency admissions by 6,600 per year. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement expect National Health Service trusts and clinical teams to consider how best they can implement these recommendations for individuals to ensure the consistent and high quality care for IBD and other gastroenterological conditions.

The majority of services for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), who are allocated funding from NHS England and NHS Improvement using the CCG funding allocation formula. This formula takes into consideration attributes of local populations to assess the level of need.

NHS England and NHS Improvement commission some specialist services for patients with complex IBD. Funding decisions for these are made in line with local priorities and in the context of the interim funding regime in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have no specific plans to do so. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with front-line clinical experts, patient representative groups and leading charities, including Crohn’s and Colitis UK, to improve diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This includes a new IBD RightCare scenario, which will set out high-quality joined-up care at every point of the patient journey, as well as data packs for local commissioners.

Inflammatory bowel disease is not a condition that automatically identifies someone as clinically extremely vulnerable. However, there may be individuals with inflammatory bowel disease who are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable because of other clinical conditions, or as a result of the findings of the QCOVID predictive risk model.

Guidance on how clinicians can update the Shielded Patient List is regularly issued to the National Health Service and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/shielded-patient-list

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation current view is that inflammatory bowel disease is not in itself an indicator of increased risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. However where an individual is, as a result of disease or treatment, immunosuppressed they may be either defined as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) and therefore are prioritised in priority group 4 in Phase 1 of the vaccine programme or if the immunosuppression is less severe will have been included in priority group 6. Clinicians responsible for individuals’ care, whether in hospital or in primary care, are primarily responsible for ensuring they are in the appropriate priority group. Anyone who is concerned that they have not been yet offered vaccination but believe they do meet the criteria for either group 4 or 6 may wish to discuss with their general practitioner or hospital clinician.

We currently have no plans to do so.

Health Education England (HEE) welcomes Professor Sir Mike Richards’ report ‘Diagnostics Recovery and Renewal’, which stated that major expansion and reform of the diagnostic services is needed over the next five years to facilitate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to meet rising demand across multiple aspects of diagnostics.

HEE is working with system partners on the longer-term strategy that will also consider further the diagnostic and breast imaging workforce needs beyond 2021. This planning is fully aligned with the NHS Long Term Plan, the NHS People Plan and associated ambitions for further development of cancer services. This will include exploring sustainable growth beyond 2021 in key professions through continued investment in training places, with a greater focus on attracting and retaining students and improving the numbers of qualified professionals who go on to work in the National Health Service.

We do not have the rate of infection (R) of COVID-19 for different age groups. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies publishes the R number for the United Kingdom on a weekly basis.

R is not usually a useful measure on its own and needs to be considered alongside the number of new cases. More information can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-number-in-the-uk

We do not have the rate of infection (R) of COVID-19 for different age groups. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies publishes the R number for the United Kingdom on a weekly basis.

R is not usually a useful measure on its own and needs to be considered alongside the number of new cases. More information can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-number-in-the-uk

Public Health England (PHE) is monitoring the developing evidence on smoking and COVID-19 to inform its advice to the public and local and national healthcare systems.

At the request of PHE, an independent rapid review of the evidence on smoking and COVID-19 by researchers from University College London and the Royal Veterinary College will be updated regularly as a living review. The most recent report is available at the following link:

https://www.qeios.com/read/UJR2AW.2

PHE advice remains that smokers should quit; there is no evidence to justify changing that advice.

No assessment has been made. In line with its statutory duties, the independent OBR publish the fiscal impact of any government policy that is introduced as part of the Budget process.

DCMS is considering the responses to its call for evidence, along with Gambling Commission proposals, and expect to publish a response document setting out any conclusions and consulting on next steps by the end of the year.

The Government’s private finance objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come.

The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation & resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.

The Government has already taken actions to signal a commitment to green technology, including a pledge to make Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned financial disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first G20 nation to make such a commitment.

Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy. This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities

The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority , and the Bank of England, considers the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response. The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.

Information relating to the number of complaints received by the FCA was published in the FCA’s response to the Complaints Commissioner’s Annual Report in July 2020. This information is available on the FCA’s website.

The Seasonal Worker visa route has been extended until the end of 2024, at which point the position will be reviewed. This does not mean we expect there to be no reliance on overseas labour at this point, but the sector cannot be in the same position as it is now.

The number of visas will begin to taper down from 2023, as the government is encouraging all sectors to adapt and make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.

To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and DWP to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among resident workers.

This year will see up to 30,000 temporary visas available, but this will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 if there is strong evidence to do so. Releasing additional quota places does not require a legislative change.

There are no plans to extend the grant period for Seasonal Workers to nine months.

The Seasonal Worker visa route has been extended until the end of 2024, at which point the position will be reviewed. This does not mean we expect there to be no reliance on overseas labour at this point, but the sector cannot be in the same position as it is now.

The number of visas will begin to taper down from 2023, as the government is encouraging all sectors to adapt and make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.

To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and DWP to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among resident workers.

This year will see up to 30,000 temporary visas available, but this will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 if there is strong evidence to do so. Releasing additional quota places does not require a legislative change.

There are no plans to extend the grant period for Seasonal Workers to nine months.

Data on how many UK companies have a licence to supply firearms is not available. The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of firearm dealers that are registered with the police in England and Wales. The latest figures on the number of firearm dealers is available from table 6 of the ‘Firearm and Shotgun Certificates in England and Wales Statistics - Financial Year 2018/19’ publication.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Statistics on Firearm Certificates on issue in Scotland are published by Police Scotland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland lists its statistical outputs on the Statistics page of its website, but there are no series that are directly comparable to those for England and Wales.