Anthony Browne

The UK is encouraging all countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 targets as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022, following the agreement reached in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a partner organisation of BEIS, funds research relating to cancer and dementia across all UKRI councils.

Spend data is presented instead of commitment data to avoid misrepresenting grants that are subject to multi-year funding that are allocated in a single year but spent across several years. This results in uneven distribution of the funding allocations data with apparent spikes and certain years followed by no funding allocation being recorded in subsequent years.

Cancer research

Dementia research

Notes on cancer research figures

1. Spend figures include data provided by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC).
2. Spend data for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK (IUK), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Research England (RE) and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are not provided.
3. MRC and BBSRC spend data for 2015/16 is unavailable.
4. MRC and BBSRC spend data for 2020/21 is not currently available.
5. MRC and BBSRC spend is provided by the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). Spend is based on the percentage of each research project that is relevant to cancer research.
6. ESRC total spend for each relevant grant is included in the data above.
7. The many funding mechanisms involved reflect a range of investments into projects, institutions and infrastructures. Currently, investment figures are calculated differently across UKRI councils. As such, the data provided across the UKRI Councils is collected from a range of measurement criteria.

Notes on dementia research figures

1. Spend figures include data provided by BBSRC, ESRC and MRC.
2. Spend data for AHRC, EPSRC, IUK, NERC, RE and STFC are not provided.
3. BBSRC spend data for 2019/20 is based on an estimate of spend for that period.
4. MRC and BBSRC spend data for 2020/21 is not currently available.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), introduced in January 2020, ensures that small-scale generators have a guaranteed access to the market while enabling electricity suppliers and other market participants to innovate in this area. To provide space for this small-scale export market to develop and to promote innovation, the legislation sets out no specified minimum tariff rate, other than that a supplier must provide payment greater than zero at all times of export.

The SEG has been successful in bringing forward a range of competitive and innovative offerings to the market, with small-scale renewable generators having several tariffs to choose from, including several that are higher than the fixed export rate mandated by the previous Feed-in Tariffs scheme.

Ofgem are to publish their first report on the provisions made by suppliers for smaller scale exports in the summer. We will review this to monitor whether the market is delivering an effective, competitive and innovative range of options.

Fireworks placed on the market must be safe. The Government welcomes the reduction of the use of plastics in fireworks and initiatives underway by the fireworks industry. We are not at present planning any other action to mandate a reduction in the use of plastic or other non-degradable content in fireworks sold in the UK.

The UK will continue to be a welcoming and world-class destination for all students, including international and European PhD candidates who will be treated equally under the new system. The UK has an internationally recognised higher education system attracting high quality students, a strong research base, excellent research across disciplines, entrepreneurs, practitioners and a high level of international collaboration and investment.

From the start of 2021/2022 academic year, all international students, including those from the EU, EEA and Switzerland, will be able to apply for UK Research and Innovation funded studentships. This will allow international students access to the same level of financial support as a home student in the same programme.

The new Graduate Route allows international students who complete a PhD in the UK from summer 2021 to stay in the UK for three years after study to live and work. The Graduate Route also enables students who have successfully completed undergraduate and master's degrees to stay for 2 years after study. This will make it easier for some of the best, international graduates to secure skilled jobs in the UK. We will continue to make this route simpler and faster.

Ofsted, as part of the wider school accountability system, has been central to the Department’s success in raising school standards. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, is committed to ensuring a high quality inspection system that works for pupils, teachers, headteachers and parents. As part of this, Ofsted is continuing to evolve and build teachers’ and headteachers’ confidence in inspection. It is right that the system responds where concerns arise, and the Department welcomes Ofsted’s announcement today of plans to make a series of improvements.

Supporting the mental and physical health of school staff is crucial to the Department’s commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and to encourage teacher retention. The Department is working proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind workload and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions. The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, published by the Department, sets out commitments from Government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. The Department is also funding the UK charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to headteachers. Over 1,000 headteachers have benefitted from the support. Today, the Department has announced the programme’s expansion by doubling the number of places available this year, so that more headteachers can have access to this valuable support.

Our thoughts are with Ruth Perry’s family, friends and colleagues at this distressing time. The Secretary of State for Education and officials have been meeting with Ruth’s family and colleagues to talk about and understand Ruth’s experience. The Department has committed to continuing its work on improving the way we inspect schools with Ofsted and the family of Ruth Perry, following her tragic death.

As matters concerning Ofsted’s framework and inspection practice are for the Chief Inspector, I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ofsted, as part of the wider school accountability system, has been central to the Department’s success in raising school standards. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, is committed to ensuring a high quality inspection system that works for pupils, teachers, headteachers and parents. As part of this, Ofsted is continuing to evolve and build teachers’ and headteachers’ confidence in inspection. It is right that the system responds where concerns arise, and the Department welcomes Ofsted’s announcement today of plans to make a series of improvements.

Supporting the mental and physical health of school staff is crucial to the Department’s commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and to encourage teacher retention. The Department is working proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind workload and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions. The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, published by the Department, sets out commitments from Government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. The Department is also funding the UK charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to headteachers. Over 1,000 headteachers have benefitted from the support. Today, the Department has announced the programme’s expansion by doubling the number of places available this year, so that more headteachers can have access to this valuable support.

Our thoughts are with Ruth Perry’s family, friends and colleagues at this distressing time. The Secretary of State for Education and officials have been meeting with Ruth’s family and colleagues to talk about and understand Ruth’s experience. The Department has committed to continuing its work on improving the way we inspect schools with Ofsted and the family of Ruth Perry, following her tragic death.

As matters concerning Ofsted’s framework and inspection practice are for the Chief Inspector, I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ofsted, as part of the wider school accountability system, has been central to the Department’s success in raising school standards. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, is committed to ensuring a high quality inspection system that works for pupils, teachers, headteachers and parents. As part of this, Ofsted is continuing to evolve and build teachers’ and headteachers’ confidence in inspection. It is right that the system responds where concerns arise, and the Department welcomes Ofsted’s announcement today of plans to make a series of improvements.

Supporting the mental and physical health of school staff is crucial to the Department’s commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and to encourage teacher retention. The Department is working proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind workload and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions. The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, published by the Department, sets out commitments from Government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. The Department is also funding the UK charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to headteachers. Over 1,000 headteachers have benefitted from the support. Today, the Department has announced the programme’s expansion by doubling the number of places available this year, so that more headteachers can have access to this valuable support.

Our thoughts are with Ruth Perry’s family, friends and colleagues at this distressing time. The Secretary of State for Education and officials have been meeting with Ruth’s family and colleagues to talk about and understand Ruth’s experience. The Department has committed to continuing its work on improving the way we inspect schools with Ofsted and the family of Ruth Perry, following her tragic death.

As matters concerning Ofsted’s framework and inspection practice are for the Chief Inspector, I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

International GCSEs were introduced to serve the large international market for British qualifications. They are also offered by some independent schools. GCSEs and International GCSEs differ in a number of ways, including subject content and assessment arrangements, which are determined by the awarding organisations that offer these qualifications.

Unlike GCSEs, International GCSEs are not developed by the Department, regulated by Ofqual or funded for use in state schools. International GCSEs have not been included in school performance tables since reformed GCSEs were introduced from 2017 onwards. The Department therefore has no role in the setting grading standards for these qualifications.

The request that schools complete the daily educational settings status form is kept under continuous review. The information supplied by schools has been valuable in enabling the Government to manage the COVID-19 outbreak. There is no requirement on schools to complete the daily educational settings status form in COVID-19 regulations – it is a voluntary collection. The Government is grateful to the large proportions of schools and colleges who respond every day to help us understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the education sector, both at a national and local level.

The Government has always been clear about the need to end the use of peat and peat-containing products in horticulture in England. The Government therefore published a full consultation on banning the sale of peat and peat-containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament in England and Wales.

The Government also asked for any evidence stakeholders can provide on the impacts of ending the use of peat and peat-containing products. We received over 5000 individual responses to the consultation, many of which contained detailed data and supporting evidence. We are aiming to publish our formal response to the consultation as soon as possible.

The Board Leadership, Transparency and Governance principles issued by Ofwat set out expectations on transparency of executive pay (see link here: Board leadership, transparency and governance – Ofwat). Water companies are now required by their licence conditions to meet the objectives of the principles, and to demonstrate the link between their performance and performance-pay for executive teams.

The Government has not made an estimate of the level of farming income lost as a result of hare coursing.

The Government recognises the problems and distress which hare coursing causes for rural communities. The Hunting Act 2004 bans all hare coursing in England and Wales, including both organised and unregulated events, and all participation in or attendance at such events.

We are working with the police and stakeholders to look at further ways this issue can be addressed.

There are no current plans to amend the penalties in the Game Act 1831 for hare coursing offences.

The Government takes wildlife crime seriously and is committed to ensuring the protection this legislation offers wildlife is effectively enforced. It recognises the problems and distress which hare coursing causes for rural communities. Poaching (including hare coursing) is one of the UK’s six wildlife crime priorities, which are set by the UK Wildlife Crime Tasking and Co-ordination Group, supported by the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group, chaired by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The National Wildlife Crime Unit, funded partly by Defra and the Home Office, assists regional police forces in tackling these crimes by gathering and analysing intelligence, sharing this with the police and assisting police investigations.

A hare coursing roundtable meeting was held on 3 September between Defra, Home Office, police, National Farmers Union and other rural organisations to bring parties together to establish a shared understanding of the barriers to tackling hare coursing effectively and identify potential ways forward.

Transport schemes are assessed against a wide range of impacts as part of developing business cases. These assessments include carbon and other environmental impacts, and our underpinning models and methodologies are regularly enhanced and updated to take into account the latest data and evidence.

The Secretary of State for Transport announced in July 2021 that the National Policy Statement for National Networks (NNNPS) would be reviewed, and that review has commenced. The Secretary of State intends to publish a draft of a revised NNNPS for consultation soon.

Effective disability awareness training can help ensure that taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers have the knowledge, skills and confidence to provide passengers with appropriate assistance, so that they can travel independently and with confidence.

The Department wants every local licensing authority to require taxi and PHV drivers to complete this training and will make this clear in updated best practice guidance, due to be published for consultation later in the year.

The Government also remains committed to introducing mandatory disability awareness training for taxi and PHV drivers through new National Minimum Standards for licensing authorities when Parliamentary time allows.

When transporting loads, it is the operator’s and driver’s responsibility to make sure the vehicle’s load is secured safely. There is already legislation in place to ensure that vehicle loads are secure and do not cause a danger to other road users, but if a vehicle’s load is found to be unsafe, then the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the police can take enforcement action where appropriate.

The action taken will vary from encounter to encounter but generally will result in the driver receiving a prohibition preventing the continuation of a journey until such time as the load has been satisfactory secured. Where the driver is culpable of the offence, they will receive a fixed penalty (£100) or, in the most serious cases, can be prosecuted for using a dangerous vehicle. The DVSA will also follow up these incidents with the vehicle’s operator to establish the cause of the problem and to ensure that it does not happen again.

Guidance outlining the responsibilities of operators and drivers to ensure loads are secure, and further information about the use of netting and sheeting can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/load-securing-vehicle-operator-guidance/load-securing-vehicle-operator-guidance

Operators, local authorities and education establishments have had almost twenty years to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000.

Government has offered temporary exemptions for certain statutory and school procured services whilst compliant vehicles are procured, which will ensure that children are still able to get to and from their place of education.

We are currently liaising with stakeholders to understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the ability of operators to comply and what further support might be required.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires all employers (irrespective of staff numbers) to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work. They also require employers to assess the risks to the health and safety of persons not in their employment arising out of the conduct of their undertaking, in order to identify the measures that are needed to comply with relevant health and safety regulations. Employers with five or more employees are required to record the significant findings of their assessment.

As per paragraph 4.8 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, it will be open to the NHS Pay Review Body to make recommendations on the future geographic coverage of high-cost area supplements (HCAS) and on the value of such supplements. As such, no assessment has been made by the Department with regards to a review of HCAS boundaries.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), along with local authority partners, developed a Tick Awareness Toolkit, available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1149305/Be_tick_aware_toolkit.pdf

The toolkit can be used by local authorities and other organisations to deliver tick awareness messaging, including safety relating to ticks and the promotion of tick-bite prevention behaviours. This can be deployed in a variety of settings, including general practitioner surgeries and outdoor spaces. The toolkit also encourages local authorities to evaluate the impact of any campaign work.

UKHSA have also used the Tick Surveillance Scheme and Lyme Disease Fingertips datasets to identify potentially higher risk locations in England. This information has been shared with local authorities, along with the resources in the Tick Awareness Toolkit, to enable them to produce more targeted campaigns.

Research shows that the vast majority of patients with Lyme disease will experience a full recovery. A minority of patients may experience more protracted symptoms, known as Post-treatment Lyme disease Syndrome (PTLDS). Why some patients experience PTLDS and others do not is unclear. There is no current proven treatment for PTLDS, however research is looking at the best way to manage patients.

Specific training for general practitioners (GPs) and infection specialists on Lyme disease is held regularly. Lyme Disease Action has an e-learning module for GPs, recommended by the Royal College of General Practitioners. Guidelines for Healthcare professionals and providers, and people with Lyme disease, their families and carers, are published by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

NHS England are continuing to work with the Women’s Health Ambassador and the Department with the aim of appointing a Women’s Health lead in due course.

No specific assessment has been made.

The Government’s Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel prohibits active recruitment from the countries identified by the World Health Organization’s Workforce Support and Safeguard List. However, individuals in these countries retain the right to migrate and can make direct applications for vacancies in the United Kingdom.