Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

The UK Government uses a Lead Government Department model for the oversight of Critical National Infrastructure security and resilience policy. Each Lead Government Department is responsible for routinely undertaking risk assessments for their sector, including assessing Critical National Infrastructure risks within the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment.

The National Risk Register is the external version of the National Security Risk Assessment. It was most recently updated in January. All risks in the National Risk Register, including those related to Critical National Infrastructure, are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity. A number of risks will be subject to reassessment over the next few months. An updated risk will be subsequently published to reflect these changes.

Policy interventions, to address Critical National Infrastructure risks, are sector specific and led by the relevant Lead Government Department.

The primary focus of the Emergency Planning College (EPC) is to build resilience through training and exercising. It helps organisations to build capabilities to manage emergency and crises situations. All learning material is regularly reviewed to ensure alignment with the latest government direction, policy and legislation. The EPC does not have a role in assessing risks to Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) but uses the National Risk Register (NRR) in the development of its training materials and courses.The NRR is the external version of the government’s internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment. All risks in the NRR, including those related to CNI, are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity.

The UK Resilience Academy (UKRA) will be established in April 2025 to ensure that all those who work on resilience have the capability, knowledge and skills they need to play their part in making resilience a ‘whole of society’ endeavour.

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

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

11 March 2025

Dear Lady McIntosh of Pickering,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the trade data on (1) exports, and (2) imports, with (a) the United States of America, (b) the EU, and (c) European countries including those outside of the EU, in each of the last three years (HL5557).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish UK trade data at country level in our UK total trade, all countries release[1] which is published on a quarterly basis. These data are available up to Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024. The latest full year of data available is 2023.

Data on UK trade with the United States, the European Union and Europe can be found in Tables 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Please note that all data are in current prices and, as such, include the effect of inflation.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: UK total trade, trade in goods and trade in services with the United States, exports and imports, 2021-2023[2].

£ billion, current prices

Source: Office for National Statistics

Table 2: UK total trade, trade in goods and trade in services with the European Union, exports and imports, 2021-20232.

£ billion, current prices

Source: Office for National Statistics

Table 3: UK total trade, trade in goods and trade in services with Europe, exports and imports, 2021-20232,[3].

£ billion, current prices

Source: Office for National Statistics

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/datasets/uktotaltradeallcountriesseasonallyadjusted

[2]Data may not sum due to rounding.

[3]These data include all countries in Europe as set out in Appendix 5 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/39118/18471074/vademecum-balance-payment-november-2023-january-2024.pdf. This total includes European Union countries.

Under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement there are 19 Specialised Committees. These are co-chaired by a UK and EU senior official, and have met 67 times since 2021. The Specialised Committees report into the Partnership Council, which is the ministerial body set up by the TCA. It has met three times since 2021 and is currently chaired by Minster for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds and Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. Further information is provided on GOV.UK.

Post Offices play an important role in communities across the country, and particularly in rural areas where some branches act as a community hub. We are listening carefully to stakeholders to ensure the whole network, including these important rural branches, is sustainable.

The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens. Government's minimum access criteria for Post Offices mean that 99% of the UK population must be within three miles of their nearest post office outlet and 90% must be within one mile of their nearest post office outlet.

The report on the last statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), which was published in July 2023 concluded that a decision by the GCA to launch an investigation should be based upon some evidence or intelligence of non-compliance. The government will conduct the next statutory review of the GCA next year and all interested parties will have an opportunity to contribute their views.

‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations under the Agriculture Act 2020, including those which have already been introduced to cover the UK dairy sector, will be enforced by the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.

Generation from rooftop solar can be exported to the grid provided there is capacity to accommodate it. This may require investment in distribution and/or transmission networks. Ofgem has raised the threshold for generation connection projects requiring a transmission network impact assessment from 1 Megawatt to below 5 Megawatts in England and Wales. This will reduce connection timescales and costs for rooftop solar schemes previously above the threshold. Reform of the transmission connections process will facilitate connections for projects that remain above the threshold, provided they are progressing and align with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.

Energy from battery storage plants is distributed to consumers in order to maximise benefits to the electricity system overall and depending on where in the network the plant is connected. The Government is considering introducing a mandatory community benefits scheme for low carbon energy infrastructure under which developers would contribute to community funds, directly supporting local priorities and services. The government has sought views on the scope of such a scheme, and how a scheme should be administered and enforced.

Grid-scale batteries are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive within a robust framework which requires responsible parties to manage risks at every stage of the system’s deployment. Developers are responsible for minimising fire risks and work closely with fire services to develop site emergency response plans.

The Government will consult on including grid-scale batteries in the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires battery sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that risks are avoided or controlled and provides for ongoing regulatory inspections.

The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan will enable Government to seize the growth opportunities from the Clean Energy Superpower Mission, creating good jobs across the country. By supporting the development of sustainable supply chains, the Sector Plan will contribute to environmental objectives. The Plan will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and support cleaner industrial processes, reducing air and water pollution.

The specific environmental impacts of policies under the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan will be assessed via the policy development and implementation process, in line with the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS). Where trade-offs occur between emissions reductions and environmental impacts, mitigations will be taken to minimise such harms.

The Government recognises that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges.

In February, Ofgem launched a consultation which sought views on introducing a zero standing charge energy price cap variant, providing households with more choice over how they pay for their energy. The consultation closed on 20 March.

The Government is committed to lowering standing charges and will continue working constructively with Ofgem on this issue.

The copper landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network, is a privately-owned network and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry. The industry’s decision to upgrade the PSTN is due to necessity, as the network is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure. In 2024, Ofcom (the independent telecoms regulator) recorded a 45% increase in PSTN resilience incidents. The PSTN is not being retained anywhere.

In the event of a power cut caused by extreme weather events, telecoms companies have a regulatory obligation to ensure that customers have access to emergency services for a minimum of one hour, for example by providing them with battery back-ups that power telephones during a power outage. In practice, many are offering solutions which exceed these minimum standards.

Superfast broadband (>=30Mbps) is now available to 98% of UK premises, with Project Gigabit delivering gigabit-capable broadband (>=1000 Mbps) to those not included in suppliers' commercial plans.

Over 86% of UK premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband, according to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com. Our goal is that at least 99% of UK premises will be able to access gigabit coverage by 2030.

Some rural and remote premises will remain too expensive to build a gigabit-capable connection to. The government is considering what policy measures may be required to help provide them with ultrafast (>=100Mbps) connections.

This is a very important issue which the government has been closely engaged with since it took office. It is important to note that landlines are not being withdrawn, but their underlying technology is being moved from Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The switchover is an industry led programme. The Government is determined to ensure that any and all risks of the industry-led migration from PSTN to VoIP are mitigated. Communication providers and network operators signed voluntary charters in December 2023 and March 2024, ensuring their commitment to protect vulnerable consumers during the PSTN migration. On 18 November 2024, the major communication providers agreed to adhere to further safeguards set out in the non-voluntary migrations checklist before restarting non-voluntary migration of customers from PSTN to VoIP.

The cyber attack on the British Library caused multiple capabilities to be destroyed simultaneously which has required a rebuild of its entire technology infrastructure, a process of considerable complexity.

Significant steps to recover have already been taken, including restoring on-site access to the entire print collection, and restoring access to electronic Legal Deposit material via the National Libraries of Wales and Scotland, the Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.

However, a range of online systems and services continue to be disrupted for users, both on-site and via the web. The Library is committed to urgently restoring these, safely and securely, and has apologised for the ongoing impact on its users. It expects to take further significant steps toward full online access over the coming months, however this does remain a complex process. Regular updates are provided via the British Library website and further details will be communicated with users as soon as these are confirmed.

Co-productions are integral to the success of the UK film industry, not only providing varied sources of funding and broadening audience reach, but allowing filmmakers to collaborate creatively with diverse partners from across the globe.Our film sector has strong ties with partners across Europe and a rich history of co-production both under the Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production and through unofficial collaborations.

To further stimulate international exposure of the UK film industry the government has committed an additional £7 million for the UK Global Screen Fund for 2025/26. In addition to offering support for business development and distribution of UK films internationally, this fund offers specific support to promote international co-productions.

We are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Gambling Commission assesses information gathered from multiple sources and works closely with partner agencies to prevent access to illegal websites by consumers in Great Britain, regardless of where the website itself is based.

In the past year, the Commission has significantly increased its disruption activity and has a renewed focus on finding innovative ways to tackle the illegal market. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will also grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

The government is committed to ensuring that the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill delivers for all children, including those living in rural areas.

The Bill includes measures designed to be delivered flexibly by local authorities, regional bodies and schools, enabling them to respond to local contexts. For example, provisions in the Bill to reform the children’s social care placement market include Regional Care Cooperatives which will assist local authorities by analysing the future accommodation needs for looked-after children across the region. This will support improved planning across geographic areas. We are also legislating on a package of measures which will help ensure that decisions on school place planning and admissions support the needs of communities, including rural communities.

The department is keen to learn what will support providers in rural areas to implement measures in the Bill. That is why schools in rural areas are included in the early adopter scheme for breakfast clubs. Home educating families and out-of-school education providers in rural areas will also have the opportunity to engage when we consult on the implementation of the children not in school measures.

Having the opportunity to study a modern foreign language should be part of the broad and rich education that every child in this country deserves.

Languages provide an insight into other cultures and can open the door to travel and employment opportunities. They also broaden pupils’ horizons, helping them flourish in new environments.

The government is committed to providing enriching opportunities for students and young people to experience other countries and cultures, including through school trips and exchanges. We also recognise the difficulties that schools have faced in recent years when it comes to organising visits. The UK has agreed measures with France which make school trip travel between the UK and France easier.

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s global programme for students to study and work abroad. Students can develop new skills, including language skills, gain international experience and boost their employability. The scheme has been helping tens of thousands of UK students to study and work abroad for four years and we have recently announced that the scheme will be running for a fifth year.

The UK has a bilateral student exchange programme with Germany, the UK German Connection (UKGC), which provides opportunities for children, young people, and a limited number of language teachers in the UK and Germany to engage in a range of activities, including seminars, exchanges, visits and study courses. UKGC seeks to support current German learners in the UK and encourage more to learn the language.

The department also has a long-standing Language Assistants Programme, delivered by the British Council, to improve modern foreign language skills through direct interaction with native speakers from around the world. This includes arranging placements in the UK for non-UK residents to assist with teaching French, Spanish, Mandarin, German and Italian (as Modern Language Assistants). In the 2024/25 academic year, there are 700 Modern Language Assistants allocated to UK schools.

The Government has already responded to a number of Sir Jon’s recommendations, as set out in the statement made by the Secretary of State on 21 July.

This set out the Government’s intention to establish a single regulator for water, to include a regional element within the new regulator, to establish a new statutory water ombudsman, to end operator self-monitoring and transition to Open Monitoring, and to issue an interim Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat and give Ministerial directions to the Environment Agency, setting out our expectations and requirements.

The Government will respond to Sir Jon’s recommendations in full via a White Paper, published for consultation this autumn, and a new Water Reform Bill to be introduced early this Parliament.

The Environment Agency (EA) is engaging with water companies to ensure that water is abstracted in the best way for all users and the environment and that water companies are following their drought plans.

Water companies’ drought plans set out the actions they will take to monitor and manage the impact of drought on their customers (including farmers) and the environment. It is their responsibility to act in line with these plans.

Regional Water Resources Groups are made up of the EA, water companies, the National Farmers Union and Abstractor Groups. The regional groups are considering how they can work together to ensure there is sufficient water in the system to provide availability for all users. This may include, for example, water companies abstracting lower volumes at specific points, so water moves downstream and allows farmers to abstract water.

Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK Government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK

The food strategy will work to make good, healthy food more accessible and affordable, as part of the Government's Plan for Change. Our strategy builds on existing evidence and analysis, such as The National Food Strategy. We have an opportunity to convert the “junk food cycle”, identified by Henry Dimbleby, into a “good food cycle” that delivers growth, while improving health, climate and environment and food security outcomes from the food system.

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single-use plastic and metal drinks containers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland will launch in October 2027, which will drive our efforts to stop litter filling up our streets, rivers and oceans.

In England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, glass is not in scope of the scheme.

Glass drinks containers across the UK are included in the scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme, to make sure it is appropriately and efficiently recycled.

Data on the amount of plastic packaging exported for recycling is published by the Environment Agency on the National Packaging Waste Database. 569,205 tonnes of plastic packaging waste was exported for recycling in 2024.

As part of the drive towards a circular economy we want to recycle more plastic waste and have developed policies aimed at stimulating investment in the UK’s own reprocessing capacity. Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers will significantly increase the volume of plastic material collected for recycling. In England, Simpler Recycling, will enable consistent, more streamlined separate collections of dry mixed recycling (plastic, metal, glass), paper and card, and food waste from all households, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises. Meanwhile, reforms such as the packaging regulations and the plastic packaging tax will ensure that more products are made from recycled materials in this country and will support investment in recycling in the UK.