Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Anne Marie Morris, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Anne Marie Morris has not been granted any Urgent Questions
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to make provision for the regulation of physician associates; to make physician associate a protected title; and for connected purposes.
Anne Marie Morris has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Funding of £10,500 per person is provided to local authorities under the Homes for Ukraine scheme which includes funding for homelessness. Further details are set out in the published guidance for local authorities.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to PQ UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022. The Government is working closely with the voluntary sector, local communities and faith groups, as well as local government and the devolved administrations. Resources for learning Ukrainian and Russian are widely available online.
The proposed amendments for new build warranties will apply prospectively to strengthen the future regime. The Bill provides a range of other tools to enable existing homeowners to seek redress from those who created building safety risks, such as the extended limitation period for action under the Defective Premises Act 1972 and our new remediation orders and building liability orders.
Our £106 million Welcome Back Fund (WBF) is playing a vital role in supporting local authorities and their communities to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
This funding, which is available until 31 March 2022, has been allocated to 314 local authorities in England on a per capita basis. Councils can incur expenditure on eligible activities and claim up to the full amount of their allocation from Government in quarterly arrears. It is up to places to decide what to spend this funding on, having regard to the Fund's eligibility criteria.
More information, including a list of all local authority funding allocations, can be found in the WBF Guidance and FAQs on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welcome-back-fund.
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK. As set out in the Prospectus and Technical Note published on GOV.UK, all applications to the Levelling Up Fund were fairly and robustly assessed against the published criteria. Through the strategic fit criteria, applicants were invited to set out how their plans aligned to local challenges, strategic plans and wider local and national policy priorities.
Round one of the Levelling Up Fund invested £1.7 billion in 105 projects that will benefit a broad range of rural and urban communities, such as Carmarthenshire County Council’s ‘Tywi Valley Path’ project, which will create economic opportunity and improve accessible transport links in rural Carmarthenshire.
The second round of the Levelling Up Fund will open in spring 2022, and further details will be shared in due course
The Government is committed to investing over £12 billion into the supply of affordable housing, the largest investment in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. In the recent competitive process where affordable housing providers bid to the programme, £1 billion to deliver 17,447 new affordable homes was allocated to the South West.
114 cases with links to the Parliamentary estate have been reported between the 4th October – 5th November.
The Parliamentary test and trace team, in partnership with the UKHSA, including the North West London Health protection team highlighted an increase in cases from the week commencing 18th October and recommended that there was a need for additional measures on Tuesday 26th October and Monday 1st November. These were agreed by the Commission on the same day.
Advice will be provided to the Commission by the UKHSA on the need for measures in response to cases being identified, in line with other workplaces.
Previously the Commission has agreed a range of trigger points which prompt a review of the current situation.
Levelling up is about improving living standards and unleashing enterprise and growth across all parts of the UK. It is about increasing and spreading access to opportunity, because while potential is evenly distributed, opportunity isn't. It is about making peoples' lives better by improving public services, strengthening community, restoring pride in place, and improving quality of life in ways that are not just about the economy. And it is about empowering local leaders and communities. As the Prime Minister set out in his speech on the 15 July 2021, the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper this autumn will set out further details.
The Derby Gate library was closed on 3 September 2018 to make way for works initiated by the Northern Estates Programme.
In anticipation of the closure, the Library worked with Members and In-House Services to identify alternative workspace and service point(s) for use by Members’ staff. The Library considered sharing space within the House of Lords eLibrary, based in Millbank, though this did not meet requirements.
Instead, in July 2018 the Administration Committee approved plans for a new Customer Services Hub based in Portcullis House (PCH) – Administration Committee’s Notes of discussion, 23 July 2018. Informed by feedback from Members that a ‘one stop’ service centre would improve visibility and access to services, the Hub initially provided access to Library, Digital, Security and procedural services in addition to some, albeit limited, access to workspace for use by both Members and Members’ staff.
The Library ceased to provide a permanent service-point in the Customer Services Hub from January 2020. This was in response to low usage in 2019 and, in addition, feedback from Members and Members’ staff that additional workspace was required. By moving from the Hub, the Library thus freed-up additional space. This decision followed the principle, agreed by the House of Commons Commission in May 2018, that the Library and other services should reduce their footprint on the Northern Estate to make way for additional Members’ workspace when required – House of Commons Commission Decisions, 14 May 2018.
All the same, the Library continues to welcome Members’ staff into the Oriel Room (the reception area of the main Library suite within the Palace) to browse briefing papers, request book loans and place requests face to face with Library staff. Members’ staff are also welcome to consult documents in the Reference Room of the Library, on request. Library services can also be browsed online: see Services for MPs and MPs' staff - House of Commons Library.
The space previously occupied by the Derby Gate library will return to use in 2021, once works have been completed. The space has been reconfigured as a meeting room and open space, available to Members and Members’ staff for meetings and quiet work. This arrangement was requested by the Administration Committee in May 2020, to compensate Members for the loss of other meeting space in 1 Parliament Street – Administration Committee’s Note of discussion, 18 May 2020. Please also note that, from September 2021, space within Richmond House – including the Richmond House business lounge – will also become available to Members’ staff.
COVID-19 is the biggest challenge the UK, together with nations around the world, has faced in decades. Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently adapted our response as we have learnt more about the virus and how best to tackle it. As stated by the Prime Minister on 15 July 2020 'we will seek to learn the lessons of the pandemic in the future, and certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened.' Any further updates will be announced in the usual way.
Both legislation and Government guidance is set out online, and both are important.
The guidance on how best to stay safe and help control the spread of Coronavirus is set out at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus. Where applicable, you should also refer to the relevant websites for guidance published by the Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK Government Coronavirus legislation is set out at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/coronavirus.
The UK Government continues to make every effort to communicate any policy changes as clearly and simply as possible to the public via our public information campaign. All updated guidance is published on gov.uk. Other guidance is produced by the devolved administrations.
Once the five-day Christmas window ends, normal rules on social contact in each tier or region will apply.
There is an official statistical rural urban classification, based on the 2011 Census, which determines settlements with populations of 10,000 or more as urban. Further details of the rural urban classification can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/rural-urban-classification
The rural urban classification is intended to support statistical analysis. Other definitions of rural could be more appropriate in some policy or analytical contexts.
Electricity storage is a critical technology for ensuring security of supply and decarbonisation of the energy system. When installed, maintained and decommissioned correctly, electricity storage poses minimal risks. A robust health and safety regime is in place with appropriate provisions to ensure that battery storage at all scales can be operated safely in a range of environments. The government is currently working with the industry-led Storage Health and Safety Governance Group to establish common standards for product development and installation of domestic/small-scale battery storage and develop guidance for grid-scale storage.
There are several reasons for the increase in standing charges. These can include increases to the Warm Homes Discount, the increase in renewable energy sources and changes to distribution costs.
Standing charges are a daily fixed amount paid for the supplying of gas and electricity. It varies by region due to the different costs to transport power.
The charge pays for the costs that are fixed for a supplier on a per customer basis. Including service administration fees, connections to and maintenance of energy networks and Government schemes to help reduce carbon emissions and fuel poverty. The standing charge is passed on to consumers as a flat rate per day rather than as a percentage charge based on how much energy they use.
More information can be found at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-if-energy-price-cap-affects-you.
The standing charge includes charges from network companies for using pipes and cables to carry gas and electricity supplies, the maintenance and installation of meters and billing and accounting. A small proportion also goes towards Government initiatives to help vulnerable households and reduce emissions.
Without the standing charge, these costs would be added to the unit price of energy. Otherwise, suppliers would not be able to recover the legitimate costs of serving customers.
For millions of households, the level of the standing charge is protected by the energy price cap rate set by Ofgem.
The criteria for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme are specified in the Statutory Instrument which was laid in Parliament on the 24th February 2022:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2022/9780348232349/contents.
Further information on the scheme can be found in Ofgem’s consultation on scheme administration, which closed on 27th January 2022:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/consultation-ofgems-administration-boiler-upgrade-scheme,
The Department works closely with National Grid Electricity System Operator (NG:ESO) to ensure there is adequate capacity available to meet peak demand in a range of scenarios, now and in the future.
The Capacity Market (CM) is at the heart of the Government’s plans for a secure and reliable electricity system. Through the CM, the government secure, the capacity needed to ensure security of supply through a competitive, technology-neutral auction process. The volume of capacity the government procures is based on advice from NG:ESO in the annual Electricity Capacity Report. NG:ESO model a wide range of possible scenarios when producing their advice, including levels of electricity demand. The methodologies and analysis provided by NG:ESO are scrutinised by an independent advisory group appointed by government, the Panel of Technical Experts.
The CM incentivises the necessary investment to maintain and refurbish existing capacity and to finance new capacity, ensuring the transition to net zero happens in a managed way that does not compromise security of supply. This year’s auctions have already secured the majority of Great Britain’s capacity needs out to 2024/25 and we will continue to work with the NG:ESO to make sure that the transition to net zero is delivered in a manner that ensures the stability and security of the electricity system.
The Department conducted cost-benefit analysis of our net zero ambition as part of the Impact Assessment for setting the sixth carbon budget. The net present value of meeting the sixth carbon budget and net zero target, compared to no further action, was estimated as a net benefit of £266 billion.
The UK operates a system of informed consent for vaccinations and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination has been very high across the UK.
Employers, including those in customer-facing sectors, who propose to introduce a requirement for staff to be vaccinated will need to consider the existing legal framework, including the law on employment, dismissal, equalities and data protection. Employers will need to ensure that they have acted in accordance with their legal obligations when making decisions on requiring evidence of a COVID-19 vaccination, taking account of their particular context and circumstances.
I would refer my Hon. Friend to my previous answer that the Department has met and continues to meet regularly with representatives from across the Hospitality sector to discuss how it can recover and build back from the pandemic. Information from these discussions has been shared with the Department for Work and Pensions, who are actively supporting jobseekers to find roles in sectors of need. Last month, the Government also published a comprehensive Tourism Recovery Plan setting out how it will help the Tourism sector build back better from COVID-19.
Solar PV has been a UK success story, with rapid deployment over the last 10 years. Over 99% of the UK’s solar PV capacity has been deployed since May 2010, and over a million homes have installed solar on their roofs.
Solar is a key part of the Government’s strategy for low-cost decarbonisation of the energy sector. Achieving our ambitious 2050 Net Zero target will require significant increases in renewable electricity generation, and we will need to increase deployment across a range of technologies, including solar PV. Our recent Energy White Paper stated that we will need sustained growth in the capacity of solar over the next decade alongside onshore and offshore wind.
That is why the Government announced on 2 March 2020 that large scale solar PV projects will be able to compete in the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round. The round is planned to open in December 2021 and will aim to deliver up to double the renewable capacity of the last round, potentially providing enough clean energy for up to 10 million homes.
We also support small scale solar projects through the Smart Export Guarantee scheme, which requires electricity suppliers to offer a tariff to buy electricity exported to the grid by small low-carbon generators – typically households that have installed solar panels.
Solar is also an important part of the Government’s strategy for energy efficient buildings and reducing fuel poverty. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, the Social Housing Demonstrator Fund and the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme all include solar panels as an eligible measure.
In April next year we aim to launch the Green Heat Network Fund, which is intended to run for three years and will focus on helping new and existing heat networks to adopt low and zero carbon technologies. We recently consulted on proposals for the scheme design and our consultation document looked at the ways in which a number of low-carbon technologies, including solar thermal, might be treated. The consultation document can be found on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/green-heat-network-fund-proposals-for-the-scheme-design ). The consultation period ended on 29 January and we aim to publish the Government’s response later in the summer.
Taken together this support reflects our commitment to reach our net zero ambition, through a sustainable, diverse, energy system.
The Department has and continues to regularly meet with representatives from across the sector to discuss how it can recover and build back from the pandemic.
OneWeb has launched 36 satellites since June 2020, bringing the total number of satellites launched to 110. Further launches are planned throughout 2021 and the company aims to introduce commercial service at the end of the year.
The Government recognises the significant impact that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had on both employers and employees, and their mental wellbeing. in order to highlight available support around mental health, the Government is signposting to resources for businesses and employers, including Mind’s website and the Mental Health at Work toolkit, through GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-support-for-business-from-outside-government. We also continue to work with the Thriving at Work Leadership Council to encourage employers to sign up to the Mental Health at Work (MHAW) commitments and to engage leading Mental Health charities and organisations to better understand issues around SME mental health, financial insecurity for small business owners and the self-employed, and continue to explore what further support may be offered.
We also know how worried people are and we are taking many steps to protect both jobs and the long-term financial future of businesses during the current economic emergency. Throughout this crisis, our priority has been clear: to protect lives and livelihoods. We have introduced an unprecedented and comprehensive package of business support measures to help as many individuals and businesses as possible, which has mitigated some of the worst immediate impacts of COVID-19 on risk factors for poor mental health. This includes measures such as the small business grants, the Coronavirus loan guarantee schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the deferral of VAT and income tax payments, and more. Businesses can also access tailored advice through our Freephone Business Support Helpline, online via the Business Support website or through their local Growth Hubs in England.
Further measures were also announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer that build on the significant support already available as well as set out how current support will evolve and adapt. This includes the extension of the CJRS until the end of April 2021, the extension of the Coronavirus loan guarantee schemes until 31 March 2021, and the introduction of Pay As You Grow measures, meaning businesses now have the option to repay their Bounce Back Loans over a period of up to ten years. Businesses who also deferred VAT due from 20 March to 30 June 2020 will now have the option to opt-in to a scheme to allow them to pay in smaller instalments up to the end of March 2022, interest free. Business and individuals can use our checker tool on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support to quickly and easily determine whether they are eligible for any further financial support at this time.
The Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close and has set out guidance on which organisations this requirement covers and what the exceptions are.
All food retailers, including food markets, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are permitted to remain open.
We have published comprehensive guidance to allow businesses to be able to work safely. The offering of hand sanitiser is part of a range of measures that businesses can take to protect staff and customers.
The Government welcomes efforts by retailers to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through the implementation of this advice.
We have also launched a campaign urging people to act like they have got the virus, reinforcing the message that if it’s essential to go out, you should wash your hands, cover your face indoors and keep your distance from others. We are also encouraging people to shop alone and infrequently to reduce the number of people in stores.
We have published comprehensive guidance to allow businesses to be able to work safely. The offering of hand sanitiser is part of a range of measures that businesses can take to protect staff and customers.
The Government welcomes efforts by retailers to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through the implementation of this advice.
We have also launched a campaign urging people to act like they have got the virus, reinforcing the message that if it’s essential to go out, you should wash your hands, cover your face indoors and keep your distance from others. We are also encouraging people to shop alone and infrequently to reduce the number of people in stores.
We recognise that some borrowers will benefit from flexibility for their repayments of Government-guaranteed loans. That is why, on 24 September, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Pay As You Grow measures following discussion with lenders.
Pay As You Grow will give all Bounce Back Loan borrowers the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years. UK businesses will also have the option to move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months (an option which they can use up to three times), or to pause their repayments entirely for up to six months (an option they can use once and only after having made six payments).
These changes will provide greater flexibility to repay these loans over a longer period and in a way that better suits businesses’ individual circumstances.
We have also given Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders the ability to extend the length of borrowers’ loans from a maximum of six years to ten years if it will help the borrower to repay the loan.
The life sciences sector is crucial to our success as a science superpower. It has consistently been the largest investor in research and development in the UK, investing over £4.5 billion in 2018.
The Government has pledged to increase UK investment in research and development, with the goal being to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The Government’s R&D Roadmap puts science and technology at the forefront of our economic and social recovery.
Intellectual property is a crucial part of that effort, so that great research and ideas can be turned into great businesses.
Consequently, as we reach the end of the transition period, we aim to provide maximum certainty and clarity in the patent framework, giving the life science sector the confidence to invest. Going forward, we will have the flexibility to make changes to the intellectual property system to best meet the evolving needs of the UK and our ambition for innovation.
Alongside the R&D Roadmap, we published a public survey asking key questions set out in the Roadmap. This closed in August and we are now working to analyse the results. The Roadmap marks the start of a conversation to identify the strengths and challenges facing the sector;?the issues that need to be addressed;?and how we want to work with universities, business, the third sector and across government to cement the UK’s reputation as a science superpower.
We are continuing to work with a wide range of stakeholders to develop and implement the proposals in the Roadmap.
The Government recognise that the recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak is not uniform across the retail sector.
The Government has provided an unprecedented package of measures?including grants, loans, and relief worth more than £300 billion. Retailers are benefitting from the removal of business rates for 12 months and have been able to access grants through the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Grant Fund.
Retailers have also been able to benefit from The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
The grant schemes applied to businesses who were trading, occupying premises and liable for business rates?on 11 March 2020. This was the first date that the Small Business Grants Fund was announced at Budget. This was to avoid businesses being established for the sole purpose of applying for grants.
In cases where it was factually clear to the Local Authority on 11 March 2020 that the rating list was inaccurate on that date, Local Authorities had the discretion to withhold or award the grant based on eligibility had the list been accurate. This discretion was only intended to prevent clear errors.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Local Authorities setting a closure date of Friday 28 August. We asked Local Authorities to close all schemes by this point and ensure that, where payments are still in process, they are complete by 30 September at the very latest.
Businesses which are not eligible for or have not received grant funding should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business.?For further information please?visit:?https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder
The Rural Urban Classification is an Official Statistic used to distinguish rural and urban areas. The Classification defines areas as rural if they are outside settlements with more than 10,000 resident population.
Wherever possible, the Rural Urban Classification should be used for statistical analysis. Further details can be found at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ gov.uk page at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/rural-urban-classification.
DCMS is focusing its role as a steward of the sector, working collaboratively to improve access to volunteering by removing long-standing barriers, some of which have been exacerbated or exposed by COVID-19.
As part of our work to investigate how and the extent to which COVID-19 has impacted on volunteering in England, we produced a report to investigate what drives demand for volunteers and how this varies over a typical calendar year, as a means of identifying potential issues in the supply of volunteers. This also examined the effect of the pandemic on volunteer supply and demand. *
We are working with the voluntary and community sector to develop a Vision for Volunteering, which will be a clear and actionable 10 year plan to simplify access to and experiences of volunteering in England.
We are also planning to launch a new Volunteering Futures Fund, which will provide new volunteering opportunities for young people and others who experience barriers to volunteering, within DCMS sectors (arts, culture, museums and heritage) as well as in youth, tackling loneliness and place-based community initiatives.
* https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-report-on-the-drivers-in-demand-for-volunteers
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating the National Lottery, including the operator of the National Lottery and the operation of National Lottery terminals.
The Gambling Commission in its role as overseer of the National Lottery licence must ensure that the National Lottery is run with all due propriety, the interests of every participant are protected and, subject to these two duties, that good cause returns are maximised.
There is a wide network of approximately 44,000 retailers that sell National Lottery products across the country, ranging from large chains of supermarkets to independent newsagents.
The Government launched the independent review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in England, led by Nick de Bois, in March. The review will examine how best to structure and support DMOs at a local and regional level in order to deliver the Government’s tourism policy priorities and support economic growth.
The first phase of the review included a public consultation, stakeholder conversations, and a survey of DMOs. The review's second phase was formed of regional roundtables, taking place across England in June.
Nick de Bois will evaluate his findings and submit a written report, including recommendations, to the DCMS Secretary of State in Summer 2021.
Visit Devon received £77,414 in total from the £2.3m allocated by VisitEngland to provide emergency financial support to Destination Management Organisations (DMOs). It received £26,666 from the DMO Resilience Fund, and £50,748 from the DMO Emergency Financial Assistance Fund.
No specific assessment has been made regarding the potential merits of adding tourist information centres to the list of statutory services provided by Local Authorities.
However, my Department recently commissioned an independent review of Destination Management Organisations led by Nick de Bois which is looking at how best regional and local tourism is structured, funded and supported by the central Government. As many Destination Management Organisations run their own tourist information centres, or have done so in the past, the review may touch on this issue.
Last year, the Government provided £2.3 million in financial support to England's Destination Management Organisations, so that they could continue carrying out vital business support roles during the pandemic.
The safety and security of players and spectators is of paramount importance.
On Tuesday 22 September it was announced that all sports pilot events currently ongoing would be paused with immediate effect, due to the sharp upward trajectory of Covid-19 cases. A?s set out in our Roadmap, sports events pilots, and the full return of fans to stadia would only ever take place when it was safe to do so.
However, the Government continues to work closely with a whole range of sports to understand the latest thinking that might allow spectators to return. This includes the creation of a new Sports Technology Innovation Working Group of sporting bodies and health experts to analyse new technologies which might support this.
The Government knows that the decision not to reopen stadia to spectators on 1 October will have major consequences for sports and clubs across the country who relied on those fans for income. We are working with those organisations to understand what they need and how we can support them.
Ministers have spoken to all of the major spectator sports, including football, and have asked for detailed financial returns so the Government can understand what support they might need.
The Government is strongly supportive of the community radio sector and recognises the great value that it offers to communities across the United Kingdom, in terms of providing quality local news, information and entertainment.
We recognise the challenges that some community stations are facing due to Covid-19 and are currently holding discussions with Ofcom and the Community Media Association (CMA) on possible options to provide urgent support for those stations in greatest need.
We continue to work across government to ensure we are supporting all families and children arriving in the UK from Ukraine. The government has set out the funding tariffs for those arriving on the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme, as below.
The funding will be on a per pupil basis for the three phases of education at the following annual rates:
The department is currently working at pace to develop the methodology and mechanism for the allocation of this education funding for children and young people and will write to local authorities once this work is completed.
Further details on funding for this scheme, including the conditions, is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
The methodology used to select Education Investment Areas (EIA) and Opportunity Areas (OA) is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-mobility-and-opportunity-areas.
Areas selected as EIAs are the local authorities that are either: (i) in the bottom 50 ranked local authorities on key stage 2 and key stage 4 attainment; or (ii) contain an OA or areas previously identified for additional school improvement support. Devon was ranked 55 on this list, so was not included.
The methodology used to select Education Investment Areas (EIA) and Opportunity Areas (OA) is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-mobility-and-opportunity-areas.
EIAs were principally selected based on poor attainment across key stage 2 (KS2) and key stage 4 (KS4). To ensure the department’s approach to levelling up is consistent with existing policies to improve outcomes in specific places, EIAs also included any local authority which contains an existing OA or an area previously identified for additional school improvement support.
Areas selected as EIAs are the local authorities that are either: (i) in the bottom 50 ranked local authorities on KS2 and KS4 attainment; or (ii) contain an OA or areas previously identified for additional school improvement support.
The Find and Compare Schools in England website shows the sustained destinations after 16 to 18 study of level 3 students from each school and college. These are sorted in order of decreasing apprenticeship destinations and is the latest performance table data available. Please note that the figures show sustained destinations, where activity has taken place for at least six contiguous months in the destination year, rather than starts. The Find and Compare Schools in England website can be found here: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type/2021?for=16to18&step=default&table=schools®ion=all-england&basedon=Student%20destinations&show=Level%203%20students%20-%20destinations%20after%2016%20to%2018&orderby=pupdest_ks5_2021.L3_APPRENPER&orderdir=asc
Like all school-based vaccination programmes, the COVID-19 vaccines will be administered by healthcare staff working closely with schools and following the usual approach to school-based immunisation.
Local School Aged Immunisation Services (SAIS) will work with schools to plan for the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations for 12 to 15 year olds. The SAIS will be the primary provider of the vaccination programme for healthy 12 to 15 year olds and will be legally responsible for the delivery of the vaccine.
Schools will have three primary roles, which will be familiar to them from other vaccination programmes. They are to provide information to their SAIS provider on which children on their roll are eligible for the vaccine, share the information leaflet, consent form and invitation letter supplied by the SAIS team with parents and children, and provide space within school, and time away from the timetable, to enable vaccinations to take place.
The department does not expect additional resource implications for schools.
The schools national funding formula (NFF) is the way the Government decides how much core funding to allocate for mainstream, state-funded schools in England.
Each year, we publish tables showing NFF funding allocations to local authorities and notional school-level allocations for the coming financial year. The latest publication was on 20 July 2020, which shows funding allocations for the 2021-22 financial year, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2021-to-2022.
The funding rates for local authorities determined through the NFF are multiplied by the latest pupil numbers in the autumn school census to provide final allocations to local authorities for the coming financial year, through the Dedicated Schools Grant. Final funding amounts for the 2021-22 financial year were published on 17 December 2020, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2021-to-2022.
It should be noted that school level figures are notional because local authorities continue to set a local formula to distribute final funding to schools in their area. The actual amounts that schools attract through local formulae are also published once a year, and 2020-21 amounts are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics/2020-21.
The Government will, in the coming months, put forward proposals to move to a ‘hard’ NFF in future, where schools’ budgets will be determined on the basis of the single NFF.
We know that the COVID-19 outbreak and associated measures and restrictions, such as social distancing and school closures, will be impacting on the mental wellbeing of many people, including children and young people. The government has made student wellbeing and mental health a central part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the support we have already put in place for schools, colleges and universities will be critical during this time.
We worked closely with the Department of Health and Social (DHSC) on their Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, backed by £50 million. The plan sets out the support available for individuals in the context of a second wave, and the winter months, including support for children and young people. As part of taking forward this work, the Department for Education will be convening a task force, alongside DHSC, to look at the effects on children, young people and staff in the education system. We will confirm the next steps as soon as possible.
We have ensured that schools have the flexibility to offer a place in school, as a vulnerable child, to any pupils for whom being in school will help them manage their mental health, or to access support more easily. Decisions will be informed by the school’s experience of how pupils have been affected so far.
Schools will also continue to offer pastoral support to pupils working remotely at home, informed and supported by training and expert advice that we have made available, including through the £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return scheme. Wellbeing for Education Return, a Department for Education led initiative alongside DHSC, Health Education England, Public Health England and key voluntary sector organisations, has trained local experts to provide additional advice and resources for schools and further education (FE) providers to help support pupil and student, parent and carer, and staff wellbeing, resilience, and recovery in light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown. In recognition of the significant pressures on school and FE provider staff, local areas are providing training and support in a variety of ways, including via live and recorded online interactive sessions, webinars, podcasts, drop-ins and peer networks or coaching groups. Over 85% of local authority areas in England have reported they are delivering additional training and support into local schools and FE providers because of the Wellbeing for Education Return funding. Nationally, our information indicates that more than 15,000 education settings are being offered this additional training and support. The information and support made available through Wellbeing for Education Return is relevant to remote provision as well as to those attending school. Schools should make sure that parents and pupils know who to contact if they have new concerns about mental health and wellbeing, and that they understand what pastoral support is available.
This is backed up by guidance that the department has issued for schools, which includes information and sources of further advice on supporting mental health and wellbeing. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak .
We have also put in place a £1 billion COVID “catch-up” package, with £650 million shared across early years, schools and 16-19 providers over the 2020/21 academic year to support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. The Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding, which includes further information about interventions to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
For FE we are also committed to providing and signposting wellbeing guidance and support, and ensuring that specialist mental health support is available for all students and staff in FE who need it. The FE operational guidance includes a specific section on supporting the mental health of staff and students in addition to signposting providers to additional resources, such as webinars and online platforms. This is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/954814/Further_education_guidance_for_restricting_attendance_during_the_national_lockdown.pdf.
The College Collaboration Fund is a £5.4 million grant funding programme open to all statutory FE colleges, to be delivered in the 2020/21 financial year. We particularly welcomed applications that address one of 5 specific quality improvement needs. 5 of the funded projects are designed to provide remote/online mental health and wellbeing support to students and/or staff.
It is for higher education providers, as autonomous bodies, to identify and address the needs of their student body and decide what welfare support services to put in place. We expect providers to continue to support their students, which has included making services accessible from a distance. We encourage students to stay in touch with their provider’s student support and welfare teams, as these services are likely to continue to be an important source of support. My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to Vice Chancellors in October 2020 outlining that student welfare should remain a priority, and has convened a working group of representatives from the higher education and health sectors to specifically address the current and pressing issues that students are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS), providing up to £3 million to fund the mental health platform Student Space in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and have asked the OfS to allocate an additional £15 million towards student mental health, through proposed reforms to teaching grant funding.
Student Space is a mental health and wellbeing platform designed to bridge any gaps in support for students arising from this unprecedented situation and works alongside existing services. Ensuring students have access to quality mental health support is a top priority, which is why we asked the OfS to look at extending the platform. I am delighted they have been able to extend the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year.
For students that need specialist support, the government continues to invest in and prioritise mental health for all, with additional investment of £2.3 billion a year by the 2023/24 financial year through the NHS Long Term Plan. The NHS will also receive approximately an additional £500 million this year, to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support that they need, and invest in the NHS workforce. In the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the DHSC and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams for all schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.
The government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students, regardless of their background, have the resources to study remotely. This is more important than ever at the moment, with the vast majority of students studying solely online. The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator for higher education (HE) providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards. These set out requirements to ensure that courses are high quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes, and that standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning, or a combination of both.
The OfS has published information on quality and standards for providers, providing practical guidance on how best to ensure students continue to receive a high-quality academic experience in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out that providers should make all reasonable efforts to provide alternative teaching and support for students that is at least broadly equivalent to the provider’s usual arrangements. The OfS will keep this guidance under review to ensure it remains relevant to the developing circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The OfS is taking very seriously the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on teaching and learning and is regularly engaging with all registered providers. It is actively monitoring providers to ensure: that they maintain the quality of their provision; that it is accessible for all; and that they have been clear in their communications with students about how arrangements for teaching and learning may change throughout the year. The OfS is also following up directly with providers where they receive notifications from students, parents or others raising concerns about the quality of teaching on offer, and requiring providers to report to them when they are not able to deliver a course or award a qualification. If the OfS has concerns, it will investigate further.
The OfS is also monitoring the position across the sector, for instance, through polling of students' views. Where appropriate and in response to issues raised through that monitoring, it will issue further advice to the sector.
Students have rights under consumer law that they may be able to rely on if they are dissatisfied with their provider’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the first instance, students should speak to their provider to see if they can resolve their issue. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly and sympathetically by providers to resolve any concerns. If a student at a provider in England or Wales is not satisfied with their provider’s final response, they should go to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which has published guidance on this issue.?
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, financial literacy was made statutory within the national curriculum for the first time, as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.
The Department also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from key stages one to four.
In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the 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.
We trust schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their students, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.
The Department will continue to work closely with the Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.
Schools should have resumed teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term. This means that all pupils will be taught a wide range of subjects so they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. The latest guidance on teaching to support children is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
The Government has made £650 million of catch-up funding available, as part of a wider £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, to be shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year. Details of the catch-up package are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.
The Education Endowment Fund has published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to use this funding effectively.
The Department is providing additional funding to schools, on top of existing budgets, to cover unavoidable costs incurred between March to July due to the COVID-19 outbreak that cannot be met from their existing resources.
Schools have been eligible to claim for: increased premises related costs associated with keeping schools open over the Easter and summer half term holidays; support for free school meals for eligible children who are not in school, where schools are not using the national voucher scheme; and additional cleaning costs required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, over and above the cost of existing cleaning arrangements. The Department has published detailed guidance on the fund at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools.
The first claims window for the fund closed on 21 July. All claims for funding within the published cost categories and up to the maximum limit have already been paid. The Department is assessing all other claims, which will be paid later in the year if approved.
There will also be a further opportunity in autumn for schools to claim for exceptional costs they faced between March to July. This second claims window will be available for schools who were unable to claim in the summer and will be for the same eligible cost categories.
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.
The Department also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4.
In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic knowledge that pupils should have. 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 HM Treasury, to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.
Most children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are able to access support locally. Local authorities must publish a Local Offer of services that they expect to be available in their area to meet the education, health and social care needs of children and young people who have SEND, which should be kept under review. In September 2019, we launched a major cross-government review of the SEND system, to look at how we can improve support for children and young people with SEND. We have announced major investment in education, including an additional £780 million for children and young people with the most complex needs, bringing total high needs funding to over £7 billion. In our recent manifesto we have committed to delivering more school places for children with complex SEND and have allocated £365 million capital funding to local authorities from 2018 to 2021 for them to increase number of places available locally and enhance facilities.
Most children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities access support in their local area. We have allocated £365 million capital funding to local authorities from 2018 to 2021 for them to enhance the facilities and the number of places available locally to those with SEND.
We recognise the need to preserve our most productive farmland. As stated in the recently published British Energy Security Strategy, we will continue supporting the effective use of land by encouraging large-scale solar projects to locate on previously developed, or lower value land, where possible, and ensure projects are designed to avoid, mitigate, and where necessary, compensate for the impacts of using greenfield sites. The Government also supports solar that is co-located with other functions (for example, agriculture) to maximise the efficiency of land use.
Our new Environmental Land Management schemes will support and incentivise farmers who embrace sustainable, regenerative practices. Many farm businesses are already adopting and developing regenerative techniques such as the use of cover crops, strip tilling, and practices to reduce fertiliser or herbicide use. We believe that environmental improvements and producing food go hand in hand. We have recently increased the Farming Investment Fund for small technology grants from £17 million to over £48 million, supporting around 4,000 farmers with their investment plans.
As set out in the response to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead on 7 March 2022 to Question 129762, we continue to engage with a range of stakeholders about the issues regarding foie gras produced overseas using force-feeding practices. This activity is a key step in taking forward the Government’s commitment to improving animal welfare standards as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
I welcome the all-party Parliamentary group’s report on rural health provision. There are two recommendations that make direct reference to Defra: recommendation 1 on defining rurality and recommendation 2 on identifying health inequalities.
The official rural definition is strictly a statistical one – the rural-urban classification. Working with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Ordnance Survey and other relevant departments this will be revised once data from the 2021 Census become available. The classification is not prescriptive, and departments have always been able to define rurality flexibly as appropriate for the policy or budgetary context, taking account of relevant factors.
On identifying health inequalities, one of the pillars of the Levelling Up White Paper published on 2 February is that the Government will transform its approach to data. As part of this, the Government Statistical Service Subnational Data Strategy aims to improve the UK’s subnational data, mapping local geographies and helping improve transparency and accountability to the public. Defra will be working with the ONS and other departments to implement this strategy.
We are aware of the outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) in Europe and are monitoring the situation closely. We are in regular contact with the equine sector and working with them to ensure owners are informed about the risks and are taking the necessary precautions to keep their animals safe.
Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) is not notifiable to government and isolation of sick animals is the best protection against infection. There is no public health risk.
Horse owners are advised to contact their private vet if they observe any respiratory illness, abortion or neurological signs in horses or ponies in their care or would like to discuss options for vaccination against the disease. We are monitoring the effectiveness of vaccination with disease experts and the British Equine Veterinary Association.
All horses imported into the UK are required to be certified as being fit to travel and not to have originated from a premises where disease is known to be present. Any horses imported into the UK should be placed in isolation for at least 10 days before allowing them to mix with other equines. Comprehensive industry advice and guidance on biosecurity and vaccination is available online.
HS2 is the first major infrastructure project to commit to seeking to deliver no net loss in biodiversity across the route. However, we can still go further and the Government is asking HS2 Ltd to look to identify opportunities to move towards gains in biodiversity, where it is reasonably practicable to do so. HS2 is also enhancing the Phase 2a scheme's existing No Net Loss objective, by working to identify and implement appropriate opportunities, where it is reasonably practicable, to move towards net gains in biodiversity.
We are still developing our monitoring approach for net gain and for wider commitments in the 25 Year Environment Plan such as the Nature Recovery Network, which incorporates the commitment to create or restore 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites.
We expect mandatory and voluntary net gain to contribute both to the Nature Recovery Network and to the long-term goal. As we develop our monitoring and delivery approaches to net gain and to the Nature Recovery Network more broadly, we will clearly need to consider how much of the habitat created is contributing to the goal.
The coronavirus guidance published by jointly by the Departments for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (updated on 7 January 2021) provides that maintaining second homes, caravans, boats and other assets is not generally a reasonable excuse for leaving home. However, people may leave home to secure their second home, caravan or boat to secure their second home, in order to avoid it posing a risk of harm/injury to themselves or others.
Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) examiners can access boats in the course of professional activity to conduct safety examinations where these are necessary to renew or obtain a BSS certificate, akin to an MOT for a road vehicle. The BSS website ( https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/requirements-examinations-certification/arranging-the-examination/) sets out guidance on how to arrange a BSS examination within the current national covid restrictions, and where necessary boat owners should contact their navigation authority for further advice on this.
A £14 million funding envelope was made available for the initial Zoos Support Fund (ZSF), which closed at the end of July, and this envelope was then rolled forward and expanded to £100 million and made available for the subsequent Zoo Animals Fund (ZAF). It is therefore not the case that there are unspent funds from the ZSF which are available to be allocated to zoos separately from the ZAF. ZAF grant payments to zoos begin when they reach their final 12 weeks of financial reserves. Zoos can though, apply at any time before reaching this 12 week point to help with their business planning. The objective of the ZAF is to provide for operators who, due to a coronavirus-related drop in income, are experiencing severe financial difficulties and need support in caring for their animal collections between now and the start of the next season. It is not a guarantee to ensure that individual zoo operators themselves stay in business. If zoos are downsizing or rehoming their collection the fund can also provide support for this to ensure the animals’ welfare. We are monitoring uptake of the ZAF and remain in discussion with zoos about how the scheme is working.
There is an official statistical rural urban classification, based on the 2011 Census, which determines settlements with populations of 10,000 or more as urban. Rural areas are defined as everywhere else and the classification determines rural towns (below 10,000 population); villages; and hamlets and isolated dwellings. The classification also distinguishes settlements in a sparse setting – where the surrounding area is sparsely populated.
A classification of local authority districts and other larger geographies also takes account of rural hub towns – towns with populations of 10,000 to 30,000 that are likely to provide important hub functions for the rural areas surrounding them.
Further details of the rural urban classification can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/rural-urban-classification
The rural urban classification is intended to support statistical analysis. Other definitions of rural could be more appropriate in some policy or analytical contexts.
Free trade and free markets will be crucial to the global economic recovery as the coronavirus crisis passes, and more resilient supply chains in the future.
Our ambitious programme of free trade agreements will be an important part of the United Kingdom’s post-COVID economic strategy, making it easier for businesses to access goods, services, and capital to fuel economic recovery, and growth.
Our work with other departments and with business to strengthen critical supply chains seeks to improve the United Kingdom’s security and economic resilience through international trade. Our starting position when seeking to build resilience in critical supply chains is to take a market-first approach.
Department officials meet with their counterparts from Network Rail on a weekly basis to discuss the progress of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.
The Department has so far committed approximately £140m towards the development and delivery of the South West Rail Resilience Programme. Funding for further phases of the Programme will be considered in accordance with Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline principles supported by a business case.
The following investment has been provided for the Programme via the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline:
Phase 4 (cliff protection measures between tunnels) will be submitted for investment approval in Autumn 2021. Phase 5 (Parsons Tunnel to Teignmouth) is at an earlier development stage and is currently the subject of an optioneering exercise being undertaken by Network Rail.
Department officials meet with their counterparts from Network Rail on a weekly basis to discuss the progress of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.
The Department has so far committed approximately £140m towards the development and delivery of the South West Rail Resilience Programme. Funding for further phases of the Programme will be considered in accordance with Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline principles supported by a business case.
The following investment has been provided for the Programme via the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline:
Phase 4 (cliff protection measures between tunnels) will be submitted for investment approval in Autumn 2021. Phase 5 (Parsons Tunnel to Teignmouth) is at an earlier development stage and is currently the subject of an optioneering exercise being undertaken by Network Rail.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services have been available and unaffected throughout the pandemic and are the quickest and easiest way to renew a driving licence.
However, many people still choose or have to apply for their driving licence using a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. The DVLA has had a reduced number of operational staff on site to allow for social distancing, in line with Welsh Government requirements.
However, the DVLA has leased an additional building to accommodate more operational staff and has extended the opening hours of its contact centre.
The DVLA is currently processing paper driving licence applications within around six weeks of receipt. However, drivers with a medical condition may experience further delays because the DVLA is often reliant on receiving information or test results from medical professionals before a licence can be issued, to ensure drivers can meet the required medical standards.
The Parson’s Tunnel to Teignmouth resilience project is within the portfolio of rail enhancement schemes and we will manage its progression within that portfolio balancing the needs of taxpayers and passengers.
While the Government expects everyone to comply with face covering and social distancing rules, the regulations made under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 include powers to enforce the requirement to wear a face covering (unless an individual has a valid exemption). In addition, some operators are likely to introduce additional enforcement measures to reflect their specific circumstances where appropriate.
The Police (including British Transport Police, BTP) and Transport for London (TfL) authorised personnel have the power to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) of £200 to anyone refusing to comply with the Face Covering Regulations.
Transport operators have the power to deny access to a service if someone is not complying with the Face Covering Regulations or to direct someone to leave a service or transport hub if they do not wear a face covering when asked to and do not have a valid exemption.
The Department for Transport has published Safer Transport Guidance for Operators, which should be followed by all transport operators.
The Department has seen an increase in demand for its services as a result of Covid-19 and is rapidly expanding the space available, on a temporary basis, in locations where we anticipate or have already seen, that increase.
As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to support claimants back into work, the Department has recruited 13,500 additional Work Coaches to help support and deliver the full range of Jobcentre services needed, providing tailored, face-to-face support in a Covid-secure environment. Existing DWP premises do not currently allow us to accommodate additional and existing staff safely and ensuring our staff and claimants are safe is vital to the Department.
This expansion will drive forward our ambitious £30 billion Plan for Jobs, helping people back into work right across the UK.
Once an employer has had their Kickstart application approved by the Department of Work and Pensions and the grant agreement is in place it is advertised via Jobcentre Plus for referrals of eligible young people aged 16-24 at this point.
A Kickstart job does not necessarily start right away, it can commence at any point within the lifetime of the scheme. There are a number of reasons why jobs may commence later, such as, for example, public health restrictions currently in place. We are pleased that despite Covid-19 restrictions, young people have continued to start in Kickstart jobs since November.
The Kickstart Scheme is open to all young people aged 16-24 at the time they applied for the Kickstart job, there are no current plans to expand the scheme but we will keep this under review.
Following the Government announcement of a second lockdown, churches have been required to close again for public worship, between 5th November and 2nd December. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishop of London and senior Christian and other faith leaders wrote to the Prime Minister about this and their letter can be read here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Faith%20communities%20letter%20to%20Prime%20MInister%20%28ii%29.pdf.
In it they concluded: “We have already said there is no scientific rationale for suspension of Public Worship where it is compliant with the guidance that we have worked jointly with government to establish. We believe government, and Public Health England, accept this. Government is making decisions about what aspects of our life during this period of restrictions are essential. We believe we have demonstrated that continuation of public worship is essential, for all the reasons we have set out above. We call on government to recognise and support this, and enable us to continue to worship safely, as part of the essential fabric of the nation.”
The Church of England remains in dialogue with the Government about this as part of the Government’s Places of Worship Task Force. I commend the work of clergy and volunteers across the country during this very challenging time.
Church buildings may remain open for individual prayer where it has been possible to make them COVID-secure. The Church has continued to encourage clergy to broadcast services and make resources available online where possible. Guidance and advice from Public Health England and the Church of England is being distributed to clergy and is published on the Church of England website here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches.
The department is continuously improving the guidance available online, at gov.uk/kickstart for both employers and Kickstart gateways.
We are also ensuring that the department’s local staff have a good understanding of the Kickstart Scheme to enable them to properly identify the most suitable claimants.
The majority of staff working in the social care sector, either full-time or-part time, are employed by private sector providers which determine their pay and terms and conditions of employment. Statutory Sick Pay is available to those who are infected with COVID-19 and are unable to work, payable after four days. It is paid at £99.35 per week and is available across all sectors to those who earn more than £123 a week on average.
Social care staff who test positive for COVID-19 are expected to self-isolate to protect those they care for. All providers should support good health and safety practice, as for other risks and individual employers should determine how to ensure staff stay away from the workplace when there would be a health risk to those in their care. Social care staff have access to free lateral flow device tests and can return to work after receiving two negative tests.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose as a precautionary measure for those at most at risk of severe disease. As a result, a ‘spring dose’ is being offered to all adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed. The JCVI has not specifically recommended a further dose for those with severe physical and/or learning disabilities, unless they are eligible in these patient cohorts.
If an adult has been assessed as lacking capacity to make their own decisions about vaccination, it may be possible to proceed with immunisation under the principle of acting in their ‘best interests’. Healthcare workers considering immunising under a ‘best interests’ decision have a statutory duty to follow the Code of Practice and checklist set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
We are working with the British Dental Association to reform the NHS dental contract to make it more attractive to the profession. Health Education England set out a range of recommendations in their Advancing Dental Care Review, which will improve recruitment and retention of dentists and other professionals. Action is being taken to implement these through their Dental Education Reform Programme. We are also working to allow greater flexibility to expand on the registration options open to international dentistry applicants.
For adult home dialysis, NHS England do not reimburse patients directly. Patients’ additional direct utility costs, which may include electricity, water, gas and telephone, are met through the payment of the national tariff to providers, which provide reimbursement to the individual. The costs reimbursed should be based on documentary evidence, such as copies of utility bills before and after the specialised equipment was introduced. The costs should be agreed between the provider and the individual patient.
For paediatric home haemodialysis, there is currently no national tariff and as such, it is at the discretion of individual providers as to whether they reimburse additional direct utility costs for patients.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy monitors the energy market in the United Kingdom to ensure it meets the need of all consumers, including those receiving medical treatment at home.
The Department is aware of supply issues affecting a very limited number of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products. However, most products, including alternatives to those experiencing supply issues. remain available. We continue to work with all suppliers of HRT medicines to maintain overall supply to patients and share regular updates with the National Health Service and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.
We welcome the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s report, in particular its focus on health disparities and the experiences of rural communities. We plan to publish a health disparities white paper later this year which will set out measures to address health disparities and its causes, including those linked to geography. While there is no specific team within the Department solely focused on rural health, all policy teams are encouraged to embed consideration of rural health provision in policy development and delivery.
We welcome the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s report, in particular its focus on health disparities and the experiences of rural communities. We plan to publish a health disparities white paper later this year which will set out measures to address health disparities and its causes, including those linked to geography. While there is no specific team within the Department solely focused on rural health, all policy teams are encouraged to embed consideration of rural health provision in policy development and delivery.
The pension measures in Section 45 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 allow retired and partially retired staff to return to work or increase their working commitments without the risk of having their pension benefits suspended.
Since March 2020, the 16 hour rule, abatement of ‘Special Class’ members of the 1995 Section (staff with the reserved right to retire at 55 years old without an actuarial reduction) and abatement of draw down members in the 2008 Section and 2015 Scheme have been suspended. Abatement does not apply generally in the scheme, but it does apply to ‘Special Class’ staff who return to work between the ages 55 to 60 years old. Abatement recognises that ‘Special Class’ members have a significant benefit not available to other staff in the National Health Service. Once abatement is resumed, this closed cohort will still be able to continue working for the NHS, typically at least half time. The vast majority of staff are not subject to abatement after taking their pension.
These measures are due to expire on 24 March 2022, with the NHS Pension Scheme rules returning to business as usual arrangements. The Department is keeping this under review.
Three rules were suspended by Section 45 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Staff in the 1995 section no longer had to restrict hours worked to no more than 16 hours a week for four weeks after taking their pension. ‘Special Class’ members and Mental Health Officer (MHOs) of the 1995 Section (staff with the reserved right to retire at 55 years old without an actuarial reduction) no longer would have their pension abated so that pension plus current earnings could not exceed earnings before retirement. Staff in the 2008 and 2015 schemes no longer had to reduce their pensionable earnings by 10% on drawing down some of their pension.
These rule changes affected only retired staff and therefore did not impact the early retirement of doctors. The vast majority of doctors, other than a small number of MHOs in post before 6 March 1995, are not ‘Special Class’ members and are not benefiting from Section 45 and will be unaffected when it is withdrawn. Doctors who have retired and returned to the National Health Service have benefited from the suspension of the 16 hour rule since March 2020 and have been able to immediately return to full-time work.
The NHS Pension Scheme provides generous retirement benefits for staff and for the vast majority of members their pension savings are tax free.
The unique circumstances of judiciary appointments mean that it is necessary to reform their pension arrangements. Judges are not able to work in private practice after taking up office and many judges have a significant decrease in pay to join the judiciary. The Government is therefore committed to introducing a reformed judicial pension scheme. Such a scheme would not benefit the vast majority of National Health Service staff, as members would receive no tax relief on their contributions.
The offer of tests directly to most workplaces ended in England in July 2021 and employers were encouraged to direct their employees to order home tests from GOV.UK, collect from local pharmacies or order via 119. Workplace testing was therefore no longer required, as employees are able to order tests to use at home.
The Government is developing its formal response to the consultation on the appointment and operation of the Patient Safety Commissioner and will publish in due course.
The Patient Safety Commissioner will be an important addition to the patient safety landscape, and an effective champion for patients. It is right that we take the necessary amount of time to reflect on the views of those who responded to the consultation, including patients, before publication.
After careful consideration of the information provided by Devon County Council Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee since they first made the request to refer on the 25 March 2021, the Secretary of State has made the decision to refer this case to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel for independent advice.
The Department has completed a rapid review of all private testing providers including their online terms and conditions and customer service. However, we are unable to provide further details of these assessments as they relate to the ongoing development of Government policy.
Following the original request to refer from Devon County Council Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee on 25 March 2021, the Department has been in regular correspondence with them to secure additional information needed to assess whether to refer this case to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel. This information has now been received and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will make a decision in due course.
We are committed to the delivery of world-leading health and social care across the whole of the United Kingdom and our announcement of 7 September 2021 marked an important step on the journey to reforming adult social care. We will work with care users, providers, and other partners to develop these plans and publish further detail in a white paper for reform later this year.
The development of integrated care systems will create a new method of responding to and tackling local challenges, such as delivering healthcare in remote and rual areas. NHS England continues to work with trusts to develop a standard model of delivery in smaller acute hospitals which serve rural populations as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
COVID-19 vaccines authorised for use are commensurate across the United Kingdom and are recognised by NHS England and NHS Improvement. Data sharing agreements are in place to ensure health records of individuals vaccinated outside of their home nation can access their proof of vaccination via the relevant health authority.
The Government addressed the annual allowance taper issue in March 2020 by increasing thresholds by £90,000, removing all staff with earnings below £200,000 from scope. This restores the incentive to continue working or take on additional work for the majority of previously affected staff, with an estimated 96% of general practitioners and 98% of consultants now out of scope of the taper based on their National Health Service earnings
NHS England and NHS Improvement are implementing a programme to help employers to engage with senior staff to improve understanding of pension tax and to address concerns. NHS Employers has published guidance on the approaches employers can take locally to support staff who wish to continue working up to and beyond retirement age.
The performance of the Genomic Laboratory Hubs is monitored quarterly through an assurance framework, which ensures all Hubs are operating to national quality standards. This identifies and minimises any potential variability in the success rate of testing.
The false positive rate of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is very low at 0.005%. This does not change in the 90 days following infection as false positives are caused by external factors such as contamination during sampling and laboratory processing.
Public Health England has not made a formal assessment of the impact of the accuracy of PCR tests on people travelling and being required to quarantine on return. The day two PCR test aims to identify COVID-19 infection that has been incubating during the duration of the travel. In order to test positive at or before day two, it is likely that individuals were infected in advance of their journey. PCR therefore provides an accurate way of identifying and containing travel-associated COVID-19 cases to prevent onward transmission.
As cases continue rising it is vital that people are aware of their personal risk so that they can make informed decisions on their behaviour to protect those around them. The NHS COVID-19 app is doing exactly what it was designed to do - informing close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 that they are at risk and advising them to isolate. Our communications campaigns and messaging across government reflects the latest scientific advice about the importance of self-isolation. The NHS COVID-19 app continues to be an important tool in response to the pandemic.
Currently, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends an interval of eight weeks between doses of all the available COVID-19 vaccines. On 14 May, we amended the interval of second doses for the most vulnerable cohorts who were offered a vaccine in phase one of the programme, from 12 weeks to eight weeks. The eight week dose interval was applied to all eligible cohorts from 6 July.
Current evidence shows that a longer dose interval produces a better immune response. As such, the JCVI has advised against reducing the dose interval further in order to maximise the effectiveness of the vaccination programme. The JCVI regularly reviews its advice taking into account new data and evidence on the effectiveness of the programme and epidemiological situation.
NHS Planning Guidance 2021/2022 outlines the cancer recovery priorities for 2021-22 and local systems, drawing on advice and analysis from their Cancer Alliance, will ensure that there is sufficient treatment capacity in place to meet cancer needs. Patients will benefit from approximately £1 billion allocated to tackle the elective backlog, including those awaiting treatment for cancer.
Data from the Virus Watch study suggests a modestly reduced antibody response after one dose among individuals with immunosuppression, including those on immunosuppressive therapy. However, as this is not a direct measure of protection it is too soon to determine the impact on clinical disease or whether this remains after a complete course of vaccination.
As part of the COVID-19 Immunity National Core Study, UK Research and Innovation is providing £1.8 million towards the OCTAVE study. This study will examine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in clinically at-risk groups including patients with certain immunosuppressed conditions.
We are currently reviewing the proposed timetable for publication and we will provide more information in due course.
There is no universally agreed description of ultra-processed foods based on either their ingredients and/or additives or by how much processing has been involved in their production. However, a diet high in processed foods is often high in calories, salt, saturated fat and sugar.
‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’, sets out our intention to end the advertising of high fat, salt and sugar products being shown on TV before 9pm and we have consulted on a total high fat, salt and sugar products advertising restriction online. We have also confirmed we will restrict the promotions of high fat, salt and sugar food and drinks in retailers.
We are planning to diversify the supply of lateral flow devices (LFDs) and have begun to deploy other products in some settings, including the Orient Gene device. We will expand this over the coming months.
In December last year, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) provided the Department with an Exceptional Use Authorisation (EUA) which permits NHS Test and Trace to deploy the repurposed Innova COVID-19 as a self-test device throughout the United Kingdom as a test to detect infection in asymptomatic individuals. At this time an EUA was necessary due to a limited pool of suppliers offering a device which had passed the Government’s relevant validation tests and no suppliers had a CE mark for a COVID-19 self-test LFD. We will continue to work closely with the MHRA to ensure all available tests are safe and effective.
The Government welcomes the World Health Organization’s guideline on health workforce attraction, recruitment and retention in rural areas and is committed to ensuring there is a sufficient workforce supply across all geographies of England.
Five new medical schools have opened in hard-to-recruit areas, including rural and coastal locations in Sunderland, Lancashire, Chelmsford, Lincoln and Canterbury. To further attract trainees to remote geographies, foundation priority programmes were introduced in 2019 allowing applicants to rank their preference for selected priority programmes and be offered places prior to national allocation. The NHS People Plan has a key focus on retention. National Health Service organisations locally should shape their workforce plans to meet local workforce challenges focusing on both recruitment and retention to increase overall supply.
NHS Digital piloted phase four of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) at general practitioner practices and dispensers across England, from November 2018 and the national deployment, which includes dispensing doctor practices, began in November 2019. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently looking at what potential further support can be provided to dispensing practices to implement EPS dispensing functionality.
Capitation payments to practices include a formula weighting for rurality. We also recognise there are issues with recruitment and retention in some rural locations. The Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme offers a £20,000 salary supplement to attract general practitioner trainees to work in areas of the country in which training places have been unfilled for a number of years.
Additionally, NHS England and NHS Improvement have allowed commissioners to waive the Primary Care Network (PCN) minimum population where a PCN serves a community with a low population density across a large rural and remote area.
The Department is in regular discussions with NHS England and NHS Improvement over the provision of services. On 27 March 2020, directions were issued on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to enable Regulation 61 of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. It has been regularly reviewed and extended during the pandemic. Currently the directions are in place until 30 June 2021.
Regulation 61 allows NHS England and NHS Improvement to commission a dispensing doctor to provide pharmaceutical services to patients to whom the dispensing doctor is not otherwise entitled to provide pharmaceutical services during an emergency. Exercise of this function is an operational decision for regional offices, taking into account local circumstances.
We have issued new guidance on care home visiting and will keep arrangements under review.
If a resident or their family believe a care home is not following visiting guidance appropriately then concerns should be raised with the home in the first instance. If this does not resolve the situation, they can also raise concerns with the Care Quality Commission who will investigate.
All medicines appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) address important areas of health. NICE works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to ensure that licensing procedures and health technology assessments are streamlined and aims wherever possible to publish its recommendations on all new medicines very close to licensing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, NICE adapted its priorities to support the health and care system at a time of unprecedented pressure. This involved pausing the publication of topics that were not COVID-19 related or regarded as therapeutically critical.
The legislative measures in the Health and Care Bill White Paper are a critical first step in wider reform in the adult social care sector. However, our commitment to the reform of social care extends beyond this legislation and we will bring forward further proposals in 2021.
There were no defined criteria or financial commitments.
The Government is currently working on a number of statutory instruments under the powers in the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021. Regulations made using the majority of powers under the Act are subject to public consultation. More details on the upcoming consultations will be made available in due course.
The target date to begin the evaluative rollout of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is 1 June 2021. This will include women who are identified, by existing tests, as having a higher chance of having a baby with Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome and is expected to be complete in around three years. Once this has begun, the United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) will be updated on monitoring at future meetings.
This is to ensure NIPT screening is clinically safe, cost effective and provides an acceptable service to those women who accept the offer of screening using NIPT. The evaluation data will be reviewed throughout to identify any issues that may arise. Once areas of uncertainty have been addressed the UK NSC will then review this to consider formally recommending NIPT as a permanent part of the pathway.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently collating referral to treatment data from April 2021, which will be published on 10 June. This data will be published in weekly time bands from 52 weeks to more than 104 weeks.
The Government is committed to bringing physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) into statutory regulation.
We are currently consulting on proposals to modernise each of the healthcare professional regulators’ legal frameworks and on the proposed approach to introducing statutory regulation for PAs and AAs. A separate consultation on the draft legislation that will bring this framework into force will be carried out later this year.
The reforms will update the General Medical Council’s (GMC) current legislation and will enable it to bring PAs and AAs into regulation under its new, modernised framework. We are working with the GMC to ensure that regulation of PAs and AAs begins as early as possible in the second half of 2022.
We are working closely with the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme to build the proposal for developing the Hub and are discussing potential support with G7 partners.
Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) will be available to women as an additional option as part of the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme. NIPT will be offered if the woman has been identified by existing tests as having a higher chance of having a baby with Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome.
The target date to commence the offer of NIPT is 1 June 2021. NIPT will be nationally introduced as an ‘evaluative roll out’. This means the programme will be able to monitor how the introduction of NIPT is working at each stage and make any required changes to the pathway and screening processes quickly and effectively.
We have already announced that £79 million of this additional funding will go to supporting children and young people with their mental health and wellbeing. Details of how the remaining funds will be allocated will be announced shortly.
The Government is committed to the improvement of the adult social care system and will bring forward proposals later this year.
We have no plans to do so as this information is not collected centrally. It is for clinical commissioning groups to allocate funding to meet the mental health needs of their local populations.
There are no plans to do so. A national access and waiting times standard for children and young people’s mental health services in England has not yet been defined.
A response to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s review of the safety of immunoglobulins from fractionated United Kingdom plasma will be published by the spring.
From 8th March care homes will be supported to allow residents more meaningful visits. We will enable care homes to identify a single named repeat visitor for residents, and facilitate indoor visits with lateral flow testing and PPE.
We have acted to protect those most at risk in care homes and ensure visits can go ahead safely in some form. Visits to care homes can continue to take place with arrangements such as substantial screens, visiting pods or behind windows. Close-contact indoor visits are not currently allowed. Visits in exceptional circumstances including end of life should always be supported and enabled.
We will be looking to ensure that a wider range of visiting arrangements are made available when it is safe to do so and publish updated guidance as this period of national lockdown ends.
The recommendations on what personal protective equipment (PPE) is required in which settings, including the use of FFP3 masks, is set out in ‘COVID-19: infection prevention and control (IPC)’, which was last updated on 21 January 2021. These recommendations are agreed by an expert group of clinicians and scientists from across the United Kingdom and are consistent with World Health Organization guidance.
Due to the identification of new COVID-19 variants, the UK Infection Prevention Control Cell conducted a comprehensive review and assessed the available evidence in order to inform any necessary changes to the guidance for health workers in England including recommended levels of PPE. Based on the evidence, they concluded that current guidance and PPE recommendations remain appropriate. Emerging evidence and data on variant strains will be continually monitored and reviewed, and the guidance amended accordingly if needed.
We have security in place in and outside accommodation to support people staying there.
In response to clinical advice and following a successful pilot, free personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 needs is now being provided to unpaid carers who do not live with the person they care for. In line with the Government’s commitment to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to the adult social care sector, this offer for unpaid carers is currently available until the end of June 2021 and can be accessed through local authorities and local resilience forums.
As of May 2020, the Government included unpaid carers in its list of essential workers and those prioritised for COVID-19 testing in England. If they have symptoms of COVID-19, unpaid carers can book a test directly online and access testing themselves or for members of their household who are experiencing symptoms.
Car parking regulations are enforced at National Health Services sites where they are distributing the COVID-19 vaccine and elsewhere to ensure parking remains safe and available for all users. Suspending such enforcement would have a detrimental effect on car parking users and their access to such facilities. However, NHS organisations will consider the appropriateness of taking action, for example issuing Parking Charge Notices, with regard to the local circumstances.
The Department currently has no plans to review the units of dental activity targets for the final quarter of the 2020/21 financial year, as set by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have set a 45% dental activity target for the final financial quarter of the 2020/21 financial year. This target is based upon clinical advice and modelling from the office of the Chief Dental Officer and has taken into consideration robust adherence to infection prevention and control guidance and social distancing requirements. This target also takes into consideration the levels of dental activity that have been achieved to date.
National Health Service commissioners have the discretion to make exceptions, for instance in cases where a dental practice has been impacted by staff being required to self-isolate or the reinstatement of shielding during the national lockdown.
The Eatwell Guide applies to most people regardless of their weight, energy or calorie requirements. People with a Body Mass Index of 30 or above would be classified as living with obesity and should be supported to achieve a healthier weight through sustainable changes to their eating habits and physical activity levels. To achieve weight loss, the average person should reduce their daily calorie intake by 600 kilocalories. Whilst aiming to lose weight, the Eatwell Guide can help people choose a variety of different foods from each of the groups to help them get the wide range of nutrients they need to stay healthy.
Whilst there are no official recommendations on the consumption of white meat, the Government recommends that people who currently eat more than 90 grams (cooked weight) of red and processed meat a day, cut down to no more than an average of 70 grams a day. This is based on advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).
The SACN reviewed the evidence on red and processed meat intake as part of their report ‘Iron and Health’ in 2010. The report concluded that red and processed meat is probably associated with increased bowel cancer risk. The SACN recommended that people with relatively high intakes of red and processed meat should consider reducing their intakes. ‘Iron and Health’ is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-iron-and-health-report
The former healthcare professionals who came forward to help the National Health Service in the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak have wide ranging skills and experience and have been employed across health and social care - for example within NHS 111, secondary care, mental health and community services. More recently, efforts have focused on matching these former healthcare professionals to the covid vaccination programme.
Data on the numbers of those on the temporary registers who are employed is not collected centrally. Thousands of these former healthcare professionals remain in touch with NHS England and NHS Improvement’s regional ‘Bring Back Staff’ teams and are available for deployment to a range of clinical settings and programmes, including Nightingale hospitals.
NHS England confirmed on the 11 January that the Nightingale hospital in London is now open and will be proving step-down care, freeing up beds in existing hospitals for those who need them.
The data is not held in the format requested.
The Government has ensured that the regulations do allow charitable lunches over the festive period to continue this year.
In all three tiers there is an exception to gathering restrictions where the gathering is a permitted organised gathering which includes gatherings operated or organised by a charity. An attendee can participate in the gathering alone or as a member of a qualifying group.
There are also exceptions to the business closure requirements in each of the three tiers to enable premises to be used for the provision of voluntary services, including the provision of food banks, or to provide support for the homeless or vulnerable people.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has considered the available evidence and published the prioritisation list for COVID-19 vaccination, which is largely prioritised by age due to the strong association of older age and mortality from COVID-19. Those considered clinically extremely vulnerable have also been prioritised for vaccination and those in clinical risk groups aged 16 years old and over.
Persons with severe mental illness are included as a risk group prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination and are described as individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or any mental illness that causes severe functional impairment.
The NHS England Highly Specialised Services report for services delivered in 2019 is currently in its final stages of sign-off and is expected to be published at the beginning of 2021. Publication of the report has been delayed due to other documents having to be prioritised for publication during the COVID-19 period.
The report for 2020 is in the process of being prepared and is expected to be published by the end of the financial year.
The Government plans to publish a new United Kingdom Rare Diseases Framework by the end of 2020 which will replace the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases.
All four United Kingdom nations have signed up to the development of a new UK Rare Diseases Framework, set for publication at the end of 2020. The Rare Diseases Framework will be followed by nation-specific action plans that will detail the steps each government will take to meet the shared priorities of the Framework. The devolved administrations have agreed to publish nation specific action plans within two years of the Framework publication.
We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s report which gives us an invaluable insight into the ways that mental health inpatient services have responded to the pandemic.
We have announced measures which address some of the concerns raised in the report. This includes a £50 million winter discharge support package which will boost capacity and support good quality discharge from mental health inpatient settings to help reduce pressures on inpatient beds and keep patients safe over the winter.
It is important that any restrictions on hospital visiting are proportionate and only kept in place when absolutely necessary and in line with the Government’s and NHS policies during the pandemic. We are aware that advocacy services have had to innovate during the pandemic in order to continue to offer patients the advice and support that they need.
Rules on data exclusivity and Supplementary Protection Certificates fulfil two separate functions within the United Kingdom’s intellectual property regime for medicines. These arrangements therefore necessarily have differing start dates. As such, the Government has not made a direct assessment of the potential effect of different starting dates for regulatory data protection and Supplementary Protection Certificates.
‘We are the NHS: People Plan for 2020/2021 – action for us all’ sets out a plan to expand capacity and skills in the workforce. This includes additional training support for shortage specialties and measures to improve wellbeing and retention.
NHS Digital statistics, as at July 2020, showed that there were almost 37% more full time equivalent rheumatology consultants and almost 14% more rheumatology trainees in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups since 2010.
To further increase the supply of doctors we have increased the number of medical school places by 1,500 over the last three years, and this year we have seen more medical students in training than at any other time in NHS history. Health Education England is also investing in an extra 250 foundation year two posts in 2020/21, to enable the doctors filling them to grow the pipeline into psychiatry, cancer, general practice and other priority areas.
Information on the total number of National Health Service beds is not available in the format requested.
NHS England and NHS Improvement collect sickness absence data on staff contracted by the NHS. The figures report the number of COVID-19 related absences of staff, either through sickness or self-isolation.
The latest available figures show 82,021 total absences of staff either through sickness or self-isolation on 4 November 2020. Of these 31,129 were reported as COVID-19 related.
Each Nightingale hospital plays a different role for their region and any decision to stand-up the hospitals will be based on expert clinical advice and in response to local pressures.
In late October 2020, the Manchester Nightingale reopened to support step-down care for non-COVID-19 patients, helping to maintain routine care in the region’s hospitals. The other Nightingale hospitals remain on standby, ready to quickly step up and support local National Health Service hospitals if needed. Additionally, while on standby, the Nightingale hospitals in Exeter and Harrogate have provided valuable additional diagnostics capacity.
The status of each Nightingale hospital is under constant review and they remain valuable assets that will continue to be used, when required, to support local NHS services over the busy winter period.
On 23 November, we brought forward our Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19 which includes a commitment, backed by £50 million, to boost capacity and support good quality discharge for mental health service users from inpatient settings. Guidance on effective approaches to rapid discharge will be made available in due course.
Our policy is informed by expert advice to ensure it is based on the latest international and domestic evidence. We have worked closely with a range of social care stakeholders in developing our policy on visiting care homes during the pandemic.
We will continue to monitor the evidence, and ensure best practice is reviewed and can be applied as we amend our care home visiting guidance to reflect the national situation, and account for the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to vulnerable residents and social care staff.
Plans are currently being developed to allow specific family and friends to visit care homes supported by testing. We have begun rollout of visitor testing, and aim to have nationwide visitor testing by Christmas.
Building on the commitments of the Adult Social Care Winter Plan, we are working with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the NHS to ensure everyone discharged from hospital to a care home has an up-to-date COVID-19 test result and anyone testing positive is discharged to a designated setting that that meets a set of agreed standards to provide safe care for COVID-19 positive residents.
No care home provider will be required to admit a new or returning resident if they do not feel they can provide the appropriate care or isolation. The individual’s local authority should secure alternative appropriate accommodation and care for the required isolation period if needed.
Insurance is a private contract between care providers and insurance companies which the Government is not directly involved in.
However, we recognise that COVID-19 is imposing significant pressures on the care sector. We are working closely across Government, with care providers, and insurance representatives, to understand the breadth and severity of insurance issues – including any changes to the cost of insurance – and whether there is any action the Government should take. The Government has already made an additional £4.6 billion available to local authorities to help address pressures on local services, such as insurance costs, caused by the pandemic.
The Government does not publish data in the format requested.
Until the review reports its findings in early 2021, we will continue to work across the health and care system to address the issue. Guidance from clinical bodies such as the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council UK and Royal College of Nursing reflects the policy that Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) orders should only ever be made on an individual basis and should be led by the clinical team. The adult social care winter plan published on 18 September 2020 reiterates this. The pandemic does not permit any health or care professional to deviate from that approach. All health professionals nationally are expected to follow the clear statements on the use of individual DNACPR orders.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has provided expert strategic scientific advice to the Government throughout the COVID-19 response.
SAGE’s advice has highlighted that alcohol consumption may increase risk of non-compliance with social distancing and that gatherings in hospitality are higher risk of transmission. SAGE continues to release minutes from its meetings and the supporting scientific papers on GOV.UK, as has been the case since the start of the pandemic.
Public Health England’s Weekly Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance report highlighted that from 21-27 September, 13% of those testing positive for COVID-19 reported eating out in the time before symptom onset, when there is a high risk of asymptomatic transmission.
When making decisions on any COVID-19 restrictions the Government assess a wide range of data. At the core is an assessment of the rate of transmission, infection and death rate however, a wide range of other impacts are also assessed including the physical and mental health of the population. We understand how difficult the first national lockdown was for people and want to avoid the need for one by taking a localised approach as seen through the local alert levels.
The Government is also absolutely committed to only having restrictions in place for as long as is necessary to protect public health, acknowledging the impact that they have on people’s lives.
The evidence considered by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and used to support the Government’s response to COVID-19 is available at the following link:
NHS England and NHS Improvement work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to ensure access to personalised cancer treatments that target specific gene mutations.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are involved in the NICE Topic Selection process to identify treatments which may proceed through the NICE technology appraisal process and include a genomic test as part of the patient pathway. Following NICE recommendation of a treatment that targets specific gene mutations, NHS England and NHS Improvement develop and follow a detailed implementation plan to ensure that genomic testing is available within the appropriate time scale.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have confirmed that there has never been an instruction or directive issued by the National Health Service to put in place blanket ‘Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) decisions for any group of people in hospitals or care homes.
The Department remains clear that the blanket application of DNACPRs is unacceptable and that standards and quality of care should be maintained even in pressurised circumstances. The Adult Social Care Winter Plan published on 18 September 2020 reiterates this.
The Department has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to review how DNACPR decisions were used during the COVID-19 pandemic, building on concerns that the CQC reported earlier in the year. Interim findings are expected to be reported later this year with a final report in early 2021.
The data is not held in the format requested.
The Department’s Medicine Supply Team has established robust procedures to deal with medicine supply issues and they regularly communicate information on these with the National Health Service via networks in primary and secondary care. Where appropriate, the communications include guidance on the management of patients who may be affected by the supply issue.
Pharmacists are expected to use their professional judgement and expertise about the prescribed medicine and how quickly a patient needs it as to what they do to ensure the patient has timely access to the medicine.
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people.
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.
The letter is available at the following link:
Policy makers in the Department are guided in their work by the Civil Service Professional Development Framework for policy professionals which was published in 2019 and can be found at the following link:
The Framework sets out the requirement for policy professionals to take into account genuine user needs when developing their policy, understand the impact for end users and use a range of tools and techniques to gather evidence and test policy solutions. The Department also has a policy improvement team which provides specific guidance and support on all aspects of the Framework to policy makers including how to engage and consult with a wide range of stakeholders including service users.
The Government’s current priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
We know we need a long-term solution for social care and are looking at a range of proposals as part of our commitment to bringing forward a strategy that puts the sector on a sustainable footing for the future.
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic all non-essential elective surgery was postponed, including minimally invasive procedures. The use of minimally invasive techniques was mooted as a potential solution to operating in a COVID-19 environment and, where clinically appropriate, this technique was used once non-urgent procedures resumed. As COVID-19 infection control measures have been developed, the need for minimally invasive techniques has receded and the use of these has now returned to normal levels.
The Government publishes an annual review on the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018, which assesses the regulations against their objectives. The latest review can be found at the following link:
The collection of data under the regulations ensures reimbursement prices set using market data includes data from all suppliers and therefore the reimbursement price more fairly reflects the average market selling price. A number of factors effect both the selling and the reimbursement price.
The Government published a Consultation last year which asked stakeholders to give their feedback to proposals that included improving the system for reimbursement of special medicinal products. The Government will consider the report on Special Medicinal Products by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Access to Medicines and Medical Devices as work post the consultation is taken forward. The Consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/community-pharmacy-drug-reimbursement-reform
Concerns about potential drug pricing abuses are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA has several ongoing investigations into excessive prices of generic medicines. Where it has concerns about the price of a generic medicine, the Department asks the CMA to investigate that price.
Concerns about potential drug pricing abuses are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA has several ongoing investigations into excessive prices of generic medicines. Where it has concern about the price of a generic medicine, the Department asks the CMA to investigate that price.
Early data suggests that a significant proportion of exposure to the virus is seen in the hospitality sector, which is even more pronounced in younger age groups.
10pm closure seeks to strike the balance of allowing people to continue to socialise while reducing social contact and minimising negative impact on the economy. This relies on us ensuring that businesses remain COVID-secure.
We have put in place an unprecedented package of support to support impacted businesses, including over £11 billion already been paid out through the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grants Fund to over 897,000 businesses across the country, with a further £617 million available to councils to use at their discretion to support small businesses which are not eligible for the main grant scheme.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published two technology appraisals on medicines for rare diseases where they have received a negative recommendation as a result of a lack of data:
- cenegermin for treating neurotrophic keratitis [TA532]; and
- darvadstrocel for treating perianal fistula in Crohn’s disease [TA556].
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made recommendations on two medicines for rare diseases through a managed access agreement that were not eligible for the evaluation through the highly specialised technologies process.
These are:
- Belimumab (Benlysta) for treating active autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus [TA397] published 22 June 2016; and
- Nusinersen (Spinraza) for treating spinal muscular atrophy [TA588] published on 24 July 2019.
Supporting children and young people's mental health including those living in rural areas, is one of the Government’s top priorities.
We are committed to transforming mental health services as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, funded by an additional £2.3 billion a year in real terms by 2023/24. We have provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are best placed to decide on how our investment in mental health services should be used to meet the needs of their populations living in rural areas. CCGs are required to continue to increase investment in mental health services in line with the mental health investment standard. In 2018/19, all CCGs met the standard.
Allowing pharmacists to take local action to amend prescriptions without a Serious Shortage Protocol being in place could potentially risk exacerbating shortages by depleting supplies of any alternative medicine provided. The Government is not currently formally pursuing such a proposal in England.
The forthcoming vaccine strategy, as announced in the Green Paper ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’, will consider all vaccination programmes over the life-course.
Due to re-prioritisation necessary as part of the health and care system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, publication has been delayed, but is expected in due course.
The new Government ‘Vaccines Taskforce’ is working with the BioIndustry Association Taskforce to review existing domestic capability to manufacture vaccines, in response to COVID-19. The Taskforce is also reviewing options for increasing this capacity, including how to support the acceleration and expand the capacity of the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, so that it becomes operational earlier than planned and is able to manufacture population level doses.
For COVID-19, the type of vaccine manufacturing capacity needed will be determined by the nature of the vaccine that is developed and the technology used to produce the vaccines. This work is proceeding at pace, with the support of industry and academic partners, to ensure that we are identifying suitable capacity across different vaccine types, while those vaccines are still under development.
Formularies are developed locally between trusts and clinical commissioning groups as part of their local responsibilities.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have developed good practice guidance on developing and updating local formularies. The guidance supports developing formularies that reflect local needs, reduce variation in prescribing, and allow rapid adoption of new medicines and treatments. It also recommends that local formularies be published. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/MPG1
Formularies are developed locally between National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups and are not set nationally. Therefore we do not hold a list or have the information for each sustainability and transformation partnership.
Local areas publish terms of reference for formulary groups online, this will include membership for their local formulary group. Good practice guidance also recommends that formularies are published online.
The Department is highly invested in increasing innovation within the National Health Service, and over the last five years, national bodies including NHS England, NHS Improvement, NHS Digital and the Department have managed a series of high-profile central funding programmes designed to support the digitisation of primary and secondary healthcare services. NHSX has been formed to accelerate the adoption of digital innovation across the NHS and social care.
In December 2019, we announced the Digital Aspirant Fund to support NHS providers. This fund will provide support to organisations with low levels of digitisation in order to help them reach a national standard.
We are working towards a health service that supports innovators to develop safe and effective innovations that meet user needs, promotes the testing and iteration of these innovations so they can be used with confidence, and ensures the best innovations are used so that everyone can benefit.
There is an official statistical rural urban classification, based on the 2011 Census, which determines settlements with populations of 10,000 or more as urban. Further details of the rural urban classification can be found at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/rural-urban-classification
The rural urban classification is intended to support statistical analysis. Other definitions of rural could be more appropriate in some policy or analytical contexts.
The Cancer Drugs Fund will be extended to create a new Innovative Medicines Fund so that doctors can use the most advanced, life-saving treatments for conditions such as autoimmune disease or cancer, or for children with other rare diseases.
Detailed proposals for the new Innovative Medicines Fund are in development and will be consulted on in due course.
The Cancer Drugs Fund will be extended to create a new Innovative Medicines Fund so that doctors can use the most advanced, life-saving treatments for conditions such as autoimmune disease or cancer, or for children with other rare diseases.
Detailed proposals for the new Innovative Medicines Fund are in development and will be consulted on in due course.
The Cancer Drugs Fund will be extended to create a new Innovative Medicines Fund so that doctors can use the most advanced, life-saving treatments for conditions such as autoimmune disease or cancer, or for children with other rare diseases.
Detailed proposals for the new Innovative Medicines Fund are in development and will be consulted on in due course.
The Department is aware that there is currently limited availability of the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23), due to manufacturing capacity constraints. Further deliveries of the vaccines are due at the end of February 2020.
Public Health England has issued comprehensive guidance to the National Health Service that provides information to clinicians on the management of potentially affected patients during this time of limited availability. General practices have been advised to prioritise PPV23 vaccinations based on clinical risk and to plan vaccinations to ensure demand is more consistent across the year.
On the 6 November 2019, PPV23 was added to the list of medicines that cannot be parallel exported, further protecting United Kingdom supplies and vaccine availability.
The vaccine differs from the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) vaccine used for the routine childhood programme. There is no supply issue affecting the PCV13 vaccine used in infants and toddlers—but this vaccine is not suitable for protection of older people.
On 7 February 2019 the Government published its response to the consultation on the Regulation of Medical Associate Professions in the United Kingdom, confirming its decision to introduce statutory regulation for physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs), formerly known as physicians’ assistants (anaesthesia).
On 18 July 2019, the Government announced that it would be asking the General Medical Council (GMC) to take forward the regulation of these roles.
The Government is now working with the GMC and stakeholders to develop legislation to bring PAs and AAs into regulation. Funding has been agreed with the GMC to carry out development work.
We intend to consult on draft legislation later this year.
On 7 February 2019 the Government published its response to the consultation on the Regulation of Medical Associate Professions in the United Kingdom, confirming its decision to introduce statutory regulation for physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs), formerly known as physicians’ assistants (anaesthesia).
On 18 July 2019, the Government announced that it would be asking the General Medical Council (GMC) to take forward the regulation of these roles.
The Government is now working with the GMC and stakeholders to develop legislation to bring PAs and AAs into regulation. Funding has been agreed with the GMC to carry out development work.
We intend to consult on draft legislation later this year.
The Government is committed to considering the extension of prescribing responsibilities for this group once physician associates are brought into regulation.
FCDO travel advice has a box at the top of all the pages setting out the Government message that to prevent new COVID-19 variants from entering the UK, travellers should not travel to Amber or Red list countries. Every page also states the Traffic Light status for that country.
FCDO travel advice aims to inform British nationals of the risks of travelling to a country so that they can make informed decisions about travelling abroad. It is aimed at British nationals, wherever they live, not just those living in the UK. Only individuals can make an informed decision on whether or not to travel based on their personal circumstances, their judgement of the risks, the relevant legislation or regulations where they are resident and the entry requirements of their destination country.
The Health and Social Care Levy is an increase of 1.25 percentage points in the main and additional rates of Class 1, 1a, 1b and 4 in 2022-23. From April 2023 onwards, the rates will reduce back to previous levels and there will be a separate 1.25 per cent charge on all earnings above the Primary Threshold subject to the same Classes of National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
In the tax year 2022-23, a taxpayer earning the median income would be subject to 13.25 per cent in Class 1 NICs on earnings above the Primary Threshold. From April 2023 onwards they would be subject to 12 per cent in Class 1 NICs, plus 1.25 per cent on their earnings above the Primary Threshold.
HM Treasury has published the Net Zero Review (NZR), which is an analytical report that uses existing data to explore the key issues and trade-offs as the UK decarbonises. This is against a backdrop of uncertainty on technology and costs, as well as changes to the economy over the next thirty years. It focuses on the potential exposure of households and businesses to the transition, and highlights factors to be taken into account in designing policy that will allocate costs over this time horizon.
As highlighted in the NZR, the overall impact is uncertain and challenging to estimate. Existing estimates suggest that the impact on GDP by the end of the transition is likely to be relatively small, and dwarfed by the costs of global inaction. The economic impact will be uneven across the economy. The scale of the change for some businesses, sectors and regions is likely to be substantial.
As the transition will be dynamic and take place over thirty years, it is not possible to forecast impacts on households and assessments of abatement costs in the future are highly speculative. The net zero transition will also entail a number of technology transitions, and there is significant uncertainty in relation to their costs, although technology costs for some green technologies have shown that projected costs have been far higher than actual costs. The eventual impact will therefore depend on policy choices and the way the economy adjusts over time.
The NZR has not sought to duplicate existing analysis and uses the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) analysis on costs and benefits in line with Carbon Budget 6 and the Net Zero Strategy (NZS). In the NZS, BEIS estimate that the net cost, excluding air quality and emissions savings benefits, will be equivalent to 1-2% of GDP in 2050.
The Government is currently preparing guidance to support local authorities ahead of rollout of the £1.5 billion business rates relief fund. The final guidance, its specifics and level of prescription, will reflect considerations including the existing framework of Government support, information held by local authorities and their capacity to administer various parameters, as well as subsidy control considerations.
This discretionary relief pot approach has been taken to get funding to businesses as soon as possible and on the basis of their actual economic exposure to COVID-19 rather than the pandemic’s hypothetical impact on property rental values. The alternative of prolonged litigation and appeals through the Material Change of Circumstance provision could have taken years.
The Government will support local authorities to enable ratepayers to apply for relief awards as soon as possible this year, once the legislation relating to Material Change of Circumstance provisions has passed, and local authorities have set up local relief schemes.
As clearly stated in the CJRS guidance, employees will need to be able to work for the employer that has placed them on furlough if their employer decides to stop furloughing them or start flexibly furloughing them.
If the employer decides to take an employee off furlough and has followed the correct contractual procedures and it is reasonable to expect the employee to return, then the employee may be in breach of contract and subject to disciplinary action if they refuse to work.
The CJRS operates within the employment law framework. Rights as an employee are not affected by being on furlough. Existing legislation means that furloughed employees continue to accrue leave as per their employment contract.
In terms of wider support, businesses have access to the Recovery Loan Scheme until 31 December 2021. Eligible businesses will continue to benefit from business rate reliefs until 31 March 2022, and as of 1 April have access to the one-off Restart grant of up to £18,000. In addition, over £2 billion of discretionary business grant funding has been provided to local authorities via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund, including the £425 million top-up announced at the Budget.
Treasury ministers and officials engage with stakeholders on a variety of issues. However, the decision to close a branch is a commercial issue for banks and building societies and the Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of the impact of closures.
However, the Government also firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered and mitigated where possible so that all customers and businesses continue to have access to banking services. That is why the Government continues to be supportive of the Access to Banking Standard which commits firms to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services. Alternative options for access include the Post Office, which allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
In September 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority also published guidance setting out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their personal and small business customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and other relevant branch services and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This will ensure the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.
The Government also recognises that cash is important to the daily lives of millions of individuals and businesses across the UK. I have announced that the Government will consult this summer on further legislative proposals for protecting access to cash for the long term.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s review into its methods and processes for assessing new medicines is currently live. The review has sought input from a wide range of stakeholders, and officials from across Government – including those in HM Treasury – have been engaged as appropriate. NICE is an independent body, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the Review in due course.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s review into its methods and processes for assessing new medicines is currently live. The review has sought input from a wide range of stakeholders, and officials from across Government – including those in HM Treasury – have been engaged as appropriate. NICE is an independent body, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the Review in due course.
The Government announced at Budget on 3 March that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant. This provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and means the SEISS continues to be one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.
The Chancellor also announced that the fourth and fifth SEISS grants would be based on 2019-20 Self-Assessment tax returns and individuals must have submitted their 2019-20 tax return by 2 March 2021. This date balances access for the vast majority of eligible self-employed individuals, with the duty to protect the taxpayer against fraud as the details of the SEISS grants became public.
HM Revenue & Customs waived the late filing penalty for Self-Assessment tax returns filed online by 28 February to provide relief to all self-assessment taxpayers and agents at a time of unprecedented pressure. The statutory filing deadline of 31 January did not change.
Further information about the fourth grant is available in recently published guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.
The Government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so, in order to avoid putting additional costs on lenders that would ultimately lead to higher costs for business customers. Business lending is unregulated and is not generally within the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA's) conduct rules.
However, the Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through the emergency Covid-19 loan schemes which have been open since March 2020: over 1.6 million businesses have accessed over £75 billion of finance through the schemes to date.
Whilst it is important that businesses are responsible for repaying any facility they take out, to help businesses repay their loans the Government has taken steps to give them time to get back on their feet. This includes “Pay as You Grow” (PAYG) options for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), giving businesses the option to: repay their BBLS facility over ten years, move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months (an option which they can use up to three times), or to pause their repayments entirely for up to six months.
The Government has also amended the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) rules to allow lenders to extend loan terms from six to a maximum of ten years at their discretion and where they judge that the borrower is in difficulty and this will help them repay their loan, helping to reduce their monthly repayments.
Businesses which need support should discuss options with their lenders, who are best placed to offer tailored engagement based on individual business’ circumstances.
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on sectors like events.
During this difficult time the Treasury is working intensively with employers, delivery partners, industry groups, and other government departments to understand the long-term effects of Covid-19 across all key areas of the economy.
We have already announced considerable and unprecedented support for businesses and individuals.
Businesses forced to close can claim grants of up to £3,000 per month (worth over £1 billion per month) through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed). Any business in England forced to close due to national or local restrictions can claim grants, via their local authority, of up to £3,000 per month, per business premises, depending on rateable value.
In addition, on 5th January, the Government announced an extra £4.6 billion to protect jobs and support affected businesses as restrictions get tougher. Businesses forced to close can claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000. This is in addition to the monthly closed grant amounts above. Local authorities (in England) will also be given an additional £500 million discretionary funding to support their local businesses. This builds on the £1.1 billion discretionary funding (worth £20 per head of population) which local authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended until the end of April. This provides a substantial grant for employers to cover 80% of the wages of their employees.
Eligible events and businesses may have also benefit from business rates relief, a moratorium on commercial tenant evictions and the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund supporting thousands of cultural organisations including theatres, music venues, comedy clubs and festivals.
Looking forward, we will continue to monitor the impact of government support on public services, businesses, individuals and sectors, including the events sector, as we respond to this pandemic. The Budget in March will be an opportunity to take stock of our wider support and set out the next stage of our economic response to the pandemic. But we must recognise that it will not be possible to preserve every job or business indefinitely, nor stand in the way of the economy adapting and people finding new jobs or starting new businesses.
The Government recognises that our new relationship with the EU requires businesses to adapt to new rules whilst at the same time responding to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.
We have already invested funds to help businesses adapt to changes, which includes:
Moreover, the Government is taking a flexible and pragmatic approach to allow businesses to prepare. For example, recognising the impact of Coronavirus, we decided to introduce our border controls in three stages up until 1 July 2021, giving businesses extra time to adjust to the new procedures.
Going forward, we are continuing to engage intensively with business in sectors that are most affected by our changing relationship with the EU to help them adjust and to continue to successfully compete on the global stage.
The Government will continue to look at how to adjust support in a way that ensures people can get back to work, protecting both the UK economy and the livelihoods of people across the country. The Government will consider all reliefs in the round, against the broader fiscal and economic impacts of COVID-19, as part of the Business Rates Review.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for setting the UK’s deposit protection limit. The current limit of £85,000 has been in place since 2017 and protects more than 97% of eligible depositors’ accounts.
There are currently no plans for the coverage level to change. However, from the end of the transition period the PRA will be required to review the limit at least once every five years and may adjust the limit following such a review, subject to HM Treasury approval.
Those not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), such as sole employees of limited companies, may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 by £20 per week and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. They may also have access to Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants, with a new extended deadline of 30 November.
In addition to this, up to half a million businesses which deferred their VAT bills will also be given more breathing space through the New Payment Scheme. This gives them the option to spread their payments over the financial year 2021-2022. In addition, all 11 million UK self-assessment taxpayers will be able to benefit from the recently enhanced Time to Pay ‘self-service’ facility to form a 12-month, interest-free payment arrangement for up to £30,000 of self-assessment debt.
Wholesale food suppliers may be eligible for a discretionary grant from their Local Authority. On Friday 1 May, the Government announced that it would be making up to £617m of additional funding available to Local Authorities to enable them to make payments of up to £25,000 to businesses which have been excluded from the existing grants schemes because of the way they interact with the business rates system. The additional funds are aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs, and we are particularly asking Local Authorities to prioritise businesses in shared spaces; regular market traders; small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief; and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates. Local Authorities may choose to make payments to other businesses, including wholesale food suppliers, based on local economic need. However, the priority of all the grants schemes continues to be to help the smallest businesses, and small businesses which are facing significant property-related costs and operate in sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the steep decline in customer footfall.
Small businesses which are not eligible for business grants should still be able to benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including:
The Scheme has only been running for a short period so far; details on the number of visas issued, which will give an indication of processing times, will be released in due course.
The Points Based System already provides for many occupations within these sectors, including chefs, restaurant managers and hotel managers, subject to the requirements of the system – including English language and salary – being met.
Beyond the Points Based System, there is the existing UK labour market, which includes those who come to the UK through our Youth Mobility Schemes (which we are looking to expand), our British National (Overseas) visa for those from Hong Kong, dependants of those arriving under the expanded Skilled Worker route, as well as over 5.5 million people who have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Most of the solutions are likely to be driven by industry, with a push towards improving pay and conditions needed, rather than turning to the Home Office for immigration policy changes as an alternative to doing this.
We therefore have no plans to introduce a seasonal worker visa for the hospitality and tourism sector.
The UK does not impose a cap on the number of asylum claims the UK accepts. All asylum claims lodged from within the UK will be carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations.
In reference to the number of people included in your question, the UK’s new Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide those put at risk by recent events in Afghanistan with a route to safety. This scheme will resettle up to 20,000 people at risk, with 5,000 in the first year. This is in addition to those brought to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
On 20 July 2021, the Home Secretary and her French counterpart, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, signed an agreement that further strengthens UK-France joint cooperation to tackle illegal immigration across the Channel.
The UK-France Joint Statement, which contains further information on that agreement, can be found on the GOV.UK website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-france-joint-statement-next-phase-of-tackling-illegal-migration.
The impact on migration pressures of our investment under the Sandhurst Treaty is jointly assessed by France and the UK. The UK and France monitor the impact of funding through maintaining operational and policy level contact and regular strategic reviews. In line with previous arrangements, the impact of this year’s funding package will be reviewed through jointly agreed results frameworks and via a joint UK-France Monitoring Committee.
We are not intending to publish reports on the results frameworks, as these relate to sensitive operational activity.
On 20 July 2021, the Home Secretary and her French counterpart, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, signed an agreement that further strengthens UK-France joint cooperation to tackle illegal immigration across the Channel.
The UK-France Joint Statement, which contains further information on that agreement, can be found on the GOV.UK website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-france-joint-statement-next-phase-of-tackling-illegal-migration.
The impact on migration pressures of our investment under the Sandhurst Treaty is jointly assessed by France and the UK. The UK and France monitor the impact of funding through maintaining operational and policy level contact and regular strategic reviews. In line with previous arrangements, the impact of this year’s funding package will be reviewed through jointly agreed results frameworks and via a joint UK-France Monitoring Committee.
We are not intending to publish reports on the results frameworks, as these relate to sensitive operational activity.
The Government issued Covid-19 guidance to ensure local council meetings take place safely. The guidance actively encourages local authorities to continue to provide remote public access until 19 July, at which point it is anticipated that restrictions on indoor gatherings will be lifted. It is for local authorities to satisfy themselves they have met the necessary requirements and apply the Covid-19 guidance to ensure meetings take place safely.
However, we recognise there may continue to be concerns about the potential risks of holding face-to-face meetings. The Government continues to work with sector representative bodies to ensure that local authorities understand the guidance and are aware of the full range of options available to them.
The Government issued Covid-19 guidance to ensure local council meetings take place safely. The guidance is aimed at those who manage council buildings, and many council buildings are also workplaces which host a variety of meetings in addition to statutory meetings of local authority members. Where in-person attendance is not required these meetings should continue to be held virtually. The guidance also actively encourages local authorities to continue to provide remote public access until 19 July, at which point it is anticipated that restrictions on indoor gatherings will be lifted. It is for local authorities to satisfy themselves they have met the necessary requirements.
We launched a call for evidence which closed on 17 June to gather views on a longer-term decision about provision for local authorities to meet remotely or in hybrid form on a permanent basis. The Department is reviewing the responses and will respond shortly.
As set out in the prospectus published at Budget, the index used for the Levelling Up Fund places areas into category one, two or three based on the local area’s need for economic recovery and growth, improved transport connectivity, and regeneration. We will shortly publish further detail on the methodology used to calculate the index.
As set out in the prospectus published at Budget, the index used for the Levelling Up Fund places areas into category one, two or three based on the local area’s need for economic recovery and growth, improved transport connectivity, and regeneration. We will shortly publish further detail on the methodology used to calculate the index.
The golden thread will apply to buildings in scope of the new building safety regime. The Government encourages the sector to go further embedding golden thread best practice throughout the industry, ensuring people are responsible and accountable for delivering and maintaining safe buildings, including keeping information.
During the pandemic, we have worked closely with local authorities and the sector to offer vulnerable people safe accommodation and support. That work is ongoing and in September, we had successfully supported over 29,000 people, with 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 provided with settled accommodation or move on support.
On 13 October, we announced additional winter support, to give local areas the tools they need to support vulnerable rough sleepers this winter. This includes a new £10 million Cold Weather Fund for local areas and £2 million in funding for the faith, communities and voluntary sector to bring forward self-contained and COVID secure accommodation this winter.
We have worked extensively with Public Health England (PHE) to provide Operating Principles for the sector to help them open shelters as safely as possible where necessary, when self-contained accommodation cannot be made available and when local partners agree that it is the right thing to do.
This Government is providing support to local leadership with a High Streets Task Force that will give high streets and town centres the expert advice they need to adapt and thrive.
Through the Task Force local authorities in England will receive free expert advice to help them evolve their town centres and respond to the impact of COVID-19.
These high streets experts have been recruited from the Design Council, Landscape Institute, Institute of Place Management and Royal Town Planning Institute. They will work with places, bringing insight into town centre change and how to work with communities to build capacity for that change.
The High Streets Task Force will publish the full list of experts on the register in due course
In a place of worship, where food or drink are essential to the act of worship, they can be served and consumed. If it is necessary to handle food or drink as a part of a faith practice, those giving and receiving these items should wash their hands thoroughly before and after consumption, or wear gloves
If a place of worship provides hospitality spaces, such as cafes, these are permitted to open but should be limited to table-service, social distancing should be observed, and with minimal staff and customer contact in line with the hospitality guidance.
The Government has delivered one of the most generous and comprehensive packages of support globally, with a total fiscal response of close to £200 billion. Many of the measures introduced, including loan schemes, tax deferrals, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme remain open and have been designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK
Eligible market stalls with a rateable value could also benefit from flat rate payments of £10,000 under the grant scheme for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors. Moreover, in recognition that some market traders were excluded from this grant fund because of the way they interact with the business rates system, the Government encouraged local authorities to include these businesses as a priority group for the Discretionary Grant Fund
In terms of rent assistance, the Government encourages tenants to continue to pay their rent in full where they are in a position to do so, although we recognise that others may not be in this position. We welcome the fact that many local authorities and other operators have been able to be flexible in their approach and negotiate suitable arrangements including rent concessions for a significant number of market traders in support of the industry, recognising the financial strain the pandemic has placed on their finances.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is working with councils through this period to ensure they can support their communities best and that national guidance has been translated into a range of languages throughout the pandemic by individual departments and agencies. Guidance issued by local authorities would be locally produced and be targeted to the area they serve. Local authorities know their communities best and as independent organisations, will have the ability to decide how best to communicate with, and serve their communities.
The Government is committed to undertaking a review of the relative needs and resources of English local authorities. We are working closely with local government representatives and others to examine all elements of the review. We aim to share emerging results with the sector shortly, followed by a full consultation in the Spring. Our aim is to implement the review in 2021-22.
The Government is committed to undertaking a review of the relative needs and resources of English local authorities. We are working closely with local government representatives and others to examine all elements of the review. We aim to share emerging results with the sector shortly, followed by a full consultation in the Spring. Our aim is to implement the review in 2021-22.
Transferring those prisoners still serving IPP sentences on to other types of sentence would raise issues of public protection, as it would result in the automatic release of a large number of prisoners who have been assessed by the Parole Board to be unsafe for release. For example, for those who had passed their tariff expiry date, this would result in their immediate automatic early release with no supervision in the community on licence.
It is a recognised fundamental right of Parliament that hon. members receive full and timely responses to Parliamentary questions and I have reminded all departments of the importance of this. I raised my hon. friend’s specific question with the Department of Health and Social Care and I understand that it has now been answered. I will continue to raise hon. members' questions with departments where there is a significant delay or unsatisfactory response.