Andrew Selous

DSIT closely engages with all government departments on the adoption of AI, including DHSC.

The Government is committed to ensuring adoption of AI in an ethical, safe and responsible way to improve public services outcomes and productivity.

Ahead of the AI Summit last year, we announced a new AI in Healthcare fund, backed by £100m, to target areas where rapid deployment of AI could create transformational breakthroughs in treatments for previously incurable diseases.

The consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes closed on 8^th January 2021. The Government has carefully analysed the responses received and is considering how best to ensure the cost relating to energy efficiency improvement are fair and proportionate to landlords and tenants. The Government will publish a response in due course.

BEIS analysis indicates that hydronic heat pumps, which use hot water to provide heat using a central heating system, are a more cost-effective means of decarbonising heat in the majority of homes and businesses across the UK. Therefore, the Government anticipates hydronic heat pumps will be the principal means of decarbonising heat in homes.

This information is not compiled centrally, but all councils have a role to play in our transition to Net Zero. We are helping them through funding for Public Sector decarbonisation, Heat decarbonisation and support for Electric Vehicle charging.

Our mission is to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles, and for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. The Road to Zero Strategy sets out a clear pathway to zero emissions, to give clarity and certainty to both industry and motorists.

In 2017, 1 in 8 battery electric cars sold in Europe was made in the UK; in the first half of 2018 this figure reached 1 in 5. In 2017 the UK was the second largest market for ULEVs in the EU and third largest in Europe as a whole.

By 2030 we want at least half of new cars sold, and as many as 70%, to be ultra low emission, alongside up to 40% of new vans. To achieve this, we are investing nearly £1.5bn‎ between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for plug in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, and schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets.

Along with the additional measures in our Industrial Strategy Automotive Sector Deal published in January, this adds up to one of the most comprehensive support packages in the world for the transition to zero emission vehicles.

A range of relevant challenges proposed by industry, some focussed on hydrogen, are being considered by UK Research and Innovation at present in response to their call for Expressions of Interest in wave 3 of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Following the publication of the Taylor Review, my Department responded to the Review’s recommendations by working with Historic England to explore a new model of funding and advice through two pilot projects in Manchester and Suffolk. The pilots tested the recommendations of the Review and an evaluation of their impact was published here. My officials continue to work closely with key parties to understand and respond to issues affecting our ecclesiatical heritage.

The Government is dedicated to improving the creative industries, upskilling individuals, and promoting health and safety.

My department recognises the importance of the film industry’s compliance with relevant health and safety legislation and we engage regularly with the sector, including through the British Film Institute.

We published our Online Harms Initial Consultation Response in February this year. Under the new regulatory framework, the duty of care will apply to all companies that provide services which facilitate the sharing of user generated content or user interactions. Where pornography sites have such functionalities (including video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming) they will be subject to the duty of care.

The duty of care will apply to all companies who provide services to UK users. Noting the particularly serious nature of some of the harms in scope and the global nature of many online services, the White Paper proposed that there should be a level playing field between those companies that have a legal presence in the UK, and those that operate from overseas.

Our Online Harms proposals will deliver a higher level of protection for children than for the typical adult user. As we set out in the initial response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation on 12 February, we expect companies to use a proportionate range of tools, including age assurance and age verification technologies, to prevent children accessing age-inappropriate content such as online pornography, and to protect them from other harms.

The Government is firmly committed to making the UK the safest place to be online, and we are working at pace on our proposals. We will publish a full government response later this year.

The current School Food Standards (SFS) provide a robust yet flexible framework to ensure pupils in England continue to receive high quality and nutritious food. The Department continues to keep the SFS under review.

In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper outlined a number of things the Department is doing to strengthen adherence with the SFS, including piloting work with the Foods Standards Agency, investing up to £200,000 in a pilot Governor Training Scheme, and encouraging schools to publish a school food policy on their school websites.

The Department will promote accountability and transparency of school food arrangements by encouraging schools to develop and publish a policy that sets out their approach to food. The reporting would be voluntary initially, with the intention that this will become mandatory when schools can do this effectively. The Department is currently working closely with stakeholders to develop this scheme of work.

The department continues to see strong growth in degree-level apprenticeships with over 170,000 starts since 2014. We are making £8 million available to higher education providers to grow their degree apprenticeship provision and are partnering with UCAS, so young people can use their website to search and apply for these apprenticeships, alongside degrees.

There are not currently any designated employer representative bodies for local areas in England. Subject to the Royal Assent of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, the department intends to launch an open and competitive ‘expressions of interest’ process shortly for eligible employer representative bodies in all areas of England who are interested in being designated to lead the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans. Further details will be announced in due course.

This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe.

We are clear that semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, which includes supported lodgings provision. The government is equally clear that this provision must always be of high quality and the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, following our recent consultation, through which we received views from over 215 respondents and 45 care experienced young people, we have announced that we will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection for providers of this provision. These vital reforms are a landmark change for children’s social care, with all providers that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 now being regulated by Ofsted. We will lay the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these reforms in 2022.

The department has published a full consultation response which provides further details of our plans and associated timescales in this area, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/children-in-care-and-permanence/introducing-national-standards-for-unregulated-pro/.

These vital reforms will not only increase the quality of provision and ensure we have effective levers for acting where provision is not good enough, but they will also enable us to develop a much better understanding of the different types of provision in this area, and potentially the extent of the role each provision type should play in meeting the needs of children in future. We will continue to work closely with providers, including those who offer supported lodgings, to ensure the sector can provide high quality placements for young people that meet their needs and keep them safe.

The department collects information on where looked after children are placed. This information is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2021.

On 31 March 2021, some 4,180 children were placed in ‘Semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations’’ which includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents. This information can be found in table A2 of the release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/673c7602-892f-4b03-5aff-08d98e357d76.

The department also collects data on care leavers, whose 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls within the collection period, including the type of accommodation that a care leaver is living in. Supported lodgings describes where care leavers receive formal advice and support from a “host family”, usually in a family home. These figures are also published in the annual statistical release.

On 31 March 2021, some 1,450 care leavers aged 19 to 21 were located in this type of accommodation. The equivalent figure for 17 and 18 year olds was 810 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8706180c-2bdb-481e-20da-08d99c9bf8eb.

As we implement the reforms set out above, we will consider changes to our data collections, including providing a more granular breakdown of this type of provision.

This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe.

We are clear that semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, which includes supported lodgings provision. The government is equally clear that this provision must always be of high quality and the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, following our recent consultation, through which we received views from over 215 respondents and 45 care experienced young people, we have announced that we will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection for providers of this provision. These vital reforms are a landmark change for children’s social care, with all providers that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 now being regulated by Ofsted. We will lay the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these reforms in 2022.

The department has published a full consultation response which provides further details of our plans and associated timescales in this area, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/children-in-care-and-permanence/introducing-national-standards-for-unregulated-pro/.

These vital reforms will not only increase the quality of provision and ensure we have effective levers for acting where provision is not good enough, but they will also enable us to develop a much better understanding of the different types of provision in this area, and potentially the extent of the role each provision type should play in meeting the needs of children in future. We will continue to work closely with providers, including those who offer supported lodgings, to ensure the sector can provide high quality placements for young people that meet their needs and keep them safe.

The department collects information on where looked after children are placed. This information is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2021.

On 31 March 2021, some 4,180 children were placed in ‘Semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations’’ which includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents. This information can be found in table A2 of the release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/673c7602-892f-4b03-5aff-08d98e357d76.

The department also collects data on care leavers, whose 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls within the collection period, including the type of accommodation that a care leaver is living in. Supported lodgings describes where care leavers receive formal advice and support from a “host family”, usually in a family home. These figures are also published in the annual statistical release.

On 31 March 2021, some 1,450 care leavers aged 19 to 21 were located in this type of accommodation. The equivalent figure for 17 and 18 year olds was 810 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8706180c-2bdb-481e-20da-08d99c9bf8eb.

As we implement the reforms set out above, we will consider changes to our data collections, including providing a more granular breakdown of this type of provision.