Carla Denyer

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is independent of the government. It was for the EHRC to ensure that the consultation process on its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations was appropriate and meaningfully engaged with varied stakeholders. The Government expected them to do this widely and broadly, listening to diverse voices.

The EHRC has revised the Code following the consultation and submitted it to the Minister for Women and Equalities. The Government is considering the updated draft Code and, if the decision is taken to approve it, the Code will be laid before Parliament for a 40 day period.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an independent regulator, and the Government respects its independence and the role it plays as the equalities regulator.

It was for the EHRC to ensure that the consultation process meaningfully engaged with different stakeholders - including a variety of legal and subject matter experts.

The Government made clear that our expectation was for the EHRC to engage widely and broadly, listening to diverse voices.

Everyone is welcome at UK Parliament and should feel safe being here. We strive to be an organisation that treats all visitors with respect.

All visitors are reminded of the Parliamentary Behaviour Code, which applies to everyone who visits and works in Parliament. The Behaviour Code requires users of the Estate to treat each other with respect. Visitors who behave in ways that constitute intimidation, bullying or harassment may be asked to leave the Estate.

Parliament employs a Visitor Experience team whose role is to welcome and assist all visitors arriving via the main visitor entrances to the Palace. The team’s role is to ensure that Parliament is accessible to all.

The Government has set out our expectation that employers and other duty bearers follow the clarity the Supreme Court ruling provides. Where necessary, they should take appropriate specialist legal advice.

The EHRC have opened their consultation on the draft updated statutory Code of Practice, seeking views from affected stakeholders. We encourage people to ensure their views are heard by submitting a response to the consultation by Monday 30th June. We will consider the final draft Code once it has been submitted and engage EHRC to ensure it provides the further certainty and clarity service providers need, in line with the ruling.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is independent of government. It is for the EHRC to ensure that the consultation process is appropriate and meaningfully engages with a variety of stakeholders.

The Government expects them to do this widely and broadly, listening to diverse voices, and has engaged EHRC on this. We will then consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it.

The Government’s Child Poverty Strategy, Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty, was published on 5 December 2025. It sets out the steps this Government will take to reduce child poverty and to reverse the trend from 2010-2024.

The new guidance document designed to assist local authorities’ understanding of their statutory duties and interaction with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) will be published in the Spring.

The Government’s Child Poverty Strategy, Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty, was published on 5 December 2025. It sets out the steps this Government will take to reduce child poverty and to reverse the trend from 2010-2024.

Responsibility for the Child Poverty Strategy lies with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Education, as co-chairs of the Child Poverty Taskforce.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 strengthened Companies House’s powers to query or reject inaccurate or suspicious addresses, enabling the Registrar to act swiftly and decisively against misuse of residential addresses.

Many fraudulent or misused registered office addresses have been removed and replaced with default addresses and companies without appropriate addresses are struck off, protecting those whose details were used without permission.

Companies House’s systems improve continuously to detect and prevent unauthorised address use. The Government is considering the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation for increased powers to verify new and existing company addresses and will respond in November.

The North Sea Transition Authority will publish detailed guidance on the application and assessment process for Transitional Energy Certificates in due course, including plans to ensure that the changes do not adversely impact seismic and other activity which is not for the purposes of oil and gas exploration.

Transitional Energy Certificates will give the holder exclusivity over a specific area of the seabed. These areas of the seabed must be adjacent to an existing licensed block and will be managed on an ‘out of round’ basis by the North Sea Transition Authority.

Prior to undertaking any development activities within areas covered by Certificates, project developers will need to submit applications for consents or directions in accordance with the requirements of offshore environmental impact assessment legislation and associated guidance.

The North Sea Transition Authority will publish detailed guidance on the application and assessment process for Transitional Energy Certificates in due course.

On 26 November, the Government published its North Sea Future Plan.

The plan implements the Government’s manifesto commitments to manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan, and to not issue new licences to explore new oil and gas fields. As part of this, the government will introduce new Transitional Energy Certificates which will enable limited oil and gas production on or near to existing fields, so long as this additional production does not require new exploration, is already part of or links back to existing fields and infrastructure, and is necessary for a managed, orderly and prosperous transition.

By the time the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme concludes in 2028, it will have delivered approximately £3.5 billion in capital funding to over 1,400 projects across England. These investments have supported heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency upgrades in public sector buildings, contributing to emissions reductions and progress toward net zero as well as climate resilience.

The Government will shortly publish its Carbon Budgets and Growth Delivery Plan, which will outline plans for non-domestic buildings, including the public sector. The Warm Homes Plan will also set out plans to support the decarbonisation of buildings.

No estimate has been made of the impacts on public sector climate resilience resulting from not decarbonising the public sector.

The statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance makes it clear that, at secondary school, there should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships when learning about relationships. It strongly encourages primary schools to include same-sex parents when discussing family arrangements. From primary school, children will learn about the importance of kindness and respect, including respect for people who are different from them.

We expect schools to ensure that all children and young people, including trans pupils, are treated with the same respect and dignity as their peers, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and supported. The guidance remains clear that those who share the protected characteristic of gender reassignment also have protection from discrimination by law and should be treated with respect and dignity. It acknowledges that, beyond law and facts about biological sex and gender reassignment, there is significant debate. That is why it sets out that schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact.

The new guidance informs teaching from September 2026. We will fund schools to pilot initiatives that enhance teaching of relationships and sex education. Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

The statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance makes it clear that, at secondary school, there should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships when learning about relationships. It strongly encourages primary schools to include same-sex parents when discussing family arrangements. From primary school, children will learn about the importance of kindness and respect, including respect for people who are different from them.

We expect schools to ensure that all children and young people, including trans pupils, are treated with the same respect and dignity as their peers, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and supported. The guidance remains clear that those who share the protected characteristic of gender reassignment also have protection from discrimination by law and should be treated with respect and dignity. It acknowledges that, beyond law and facts about biological sex and gender reassignment, there is significant debate. That is why it sets out that schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact.

The new guidance informs teaching from September 2026. We will fund schools to pilot initiatives that enhance teaching of relationships and sex education. Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

The statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance makes it clear that, at secondary school, there should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships when learning about relationships. It strongly encourages primary schools to include same-sex parents when discussing family arrangements. From primary school, children will learn about the importance of kindness and respect, including respect for people who are different from them.

We expect schools to ensure that all children and young people, including trans pupils, are treated with the same respect and dignity as their peers, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and supported. The guidance remains clear that those who share the protected characteristic of gender reassignment also have protection from discrimination by law and should be treated with respect and dignity. It acknowledges that, beyond law and facts about biological sex and gender reassignment, there is significant debate. That is why it sets out that schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact.

The new guidance informs teaching from September 2026. We will fund schools to pilot initiatives that enhance teaching of relationships and sex education. Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

In early December, the department launched a national conversation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform, building on extensive engagement over the past year with children, young people, parents and professionals.

We are hosting nine regional face‑to‑face events and five open online conversations focused on the five principles of reform. These began on 2 December and provide thousands of opportunities for families and the sector to share their views. We are also running a wide range of roundtable discussions with young people, parents and practitioners, including sessions with KIDS, Speech and Language UK and the Council for Disabled Children. We are encouraging wider participation through our Citizen Space portal.

The department also convenes a weekly development group of SEND parent organisations and key stakeholders, representing a broad range of voices across the sector. Membership includes:

• Council for Disabled Children

• Disabled Children’s Partnership

• National Network of Parent Carer Forums

• National Association for Special Educational Needs

• The Difference

• Dingley’s Promise

• The Athelstan Trust

• Let Us Learn Too

• The SEND Sanctuary.

Additional organisations will be invited on a rolling basis, aligned with the topics under discussion.

Independent schools are regulated against The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which set out the standards for the education, welfare and safety for pupils attending an independent school. These standards can be accessed at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283. The standards related to ‘quality of education provided’ (curriculum and teaching) require independent schools to ensure their written policy, plans and schemes of work take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all their pupils, including those with special educational needs.

Section 85 of the Equality Act 2010 prohibits schools, including independent schools, from discriminating against pupils with certain protected characteristics. This includes a requirement that schools must not discriminate in the way they provide education for pupils; the way they afford pupils access to benefits, facilities or services; or by not providing education for pupils.

Defra, alongside the Food Standards Agency in Wales and Food Standards Scotland, are working together to assess and address issues arising from the EU’s recent amendments relating to the Honey Directive 2001/110/EC. Any decision on future policy will focus on maintaining our existing high food standards, protecting consumers, and supporting businesses and consumer choice.

The Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) set a limit of 40µg/m³ for the annual average concentration of NO₂ (a component of NOx). This threshold, determined with consideration of pertinent health guidelines, aims to safeguard human health.

NOx is extensively monitored across the UK, and monitoring data is made available to the public in near real-time on Defra’s UK-AIR website. Defra annually publishes Air Quality Accredited Official Statistics, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/air-quality-and-emissions-statistics.

Through the NO₂ programme, Defra is working closely with local authorities to deliver air quality measures to meet legal limits for NO₂ and improve the health of their residents.

Further to this, in 2022, Defra updated the statutory policy and technical guidance for local authorities on their responsibilities for Local Air Quality Management, including achievement of legal air quality limits for local communities.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. The Government remains committed to meeting legal targets for air quality and continues to review the policy measures needed to achieve them. The NO₂ programme is working closely with local authorities to deliver air quality measures, including Clean Air Zones, to meet legal limits for NO₂ and improve the health of their residents.

As of the 1^st of January 2025, a market for low carbon fuels for use in aviation and road transport has been supported under two separate schemes: the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate and the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).

Targets under both the SAF Mandate and RTFO are set considering global availability of feedstocks and competing demands between transport modes and across sectors of the economy. Any proposals to introduce or change future targets under the RTFO or SAF mandate scheme design will always consider these competing demands.

Accordingly, the Department published a Cost Benefit Analysis for the SAF Mandate, alongside the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) Order 2024 SI No.1187 which introduced the scheme. The Cost Benefit Analysis set out our assessment of the availability of sustainable feedstocks and considered potential feedstock and production constraints. The Department is confident that the SAF Mandate targets have struck the right balance between ambition and deliverability.

Construction of HS2 Phase One started following notice to proceed in April 2020. Since October 2020, the cost to date of delivering HS2 is set out in the 6 monthly Parliamentary Report. Capital expenditure on Phase One is reported in the HS2 Ltd Annual Report and Accounts – expenditure for each of the last 5 years is summarised in the table below:

The Spending Review settlement has also provided £25.3 billion to progress delivery of HS2 from the West Midlands to London Euston covering financial years 2026-2027 to 2029-2030.

The programme is currently undergoing a fundamental reset under the leadership of CEO of HS2 Ltd, Mark Wild. As part of this reset, a revised cost estimate will be agreed and reported to Parliament in due course.

The Government recognises that investment in transport infrastructure is of critical importance to unlocking national growth and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme has a key role to play in continuing to transform local transport across the country. DfT is working closely with Local Authorities and other Government departments on understanding and mitigating any potential barriers to delivery, including supply chain or capacity constraints, as part of our ongoing Spending Review discussions.

Funding in future years is being considered as part of the current Spending Review, the outcome of which will be confirmed in due course.

Discussions are underway between the department and MCAs, including West of England, on how the transition between CRSTS 1 and CRSTS 2 can be delivered. Some MCAs are also moving towards Integrated Settlements which will enable greater flexibility for planning and decision making at a local level.

The Department does not hold this data.

We recognise the distinct challenges faced by those subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition and have engaged with organisations who have made representations on behalf of children subject to NRPF and will continue to do so. As part of the Child Poverty Strategy, the Department is working with the Home Office to develop questions on NRPF for inclusion in the Family Resources Survey 2026/2027, with the data first published in March 2028. This is a household survey undertaken annually to explore living standards in the UK.