Caroline Spelman

The Government is expected to directly spend approximately £1.3billion on low carbon innovation (research, development and demonstration) in this spending review period (2011-15). This support is coordinated through the Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group¹ (LCICG).

Support beyond the end of this financial year is dependent on the outcome of the Spending Review.

¹ http://www.lowcarboninnovation.co.uk/

The Government welcomes the broad thrust of the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group's recent report Remanufacturing: Towards a resource efficient economy. It recognises the important role that remanufacturing has in supporting the long-term sustainability of the UK economy, encouraging resource resilience whilst boosting business opportunities and skilled employment.

BIS is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Whitehall on a number of areas touched on by the report; such as the regulatory regime that governs waste, where work is already in progress to ensure that it encourages greater re-use of materials in existing and developing manufacturing processes.

We will use the report to inform a number of areas of policy that impact on sustainability and remanufacturing.

The Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Through our Industrial Strategy and landmark Automotive Sector Deal, we are placing the UK at the forefront of new automotive technology development.

Government and industry have pledged joint commitment of £1 billion over 10 years to 2023 for the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) with three APC competitions running this year. Government has committed £246m to the Faraday Battery Challenge including £80m for the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre to scale up new technologies. And in the last Budget, Government committed up to £80m for research and development of electric motor technology. The Sector Deal also includes £32 million of joint funding for an industry-led supply chain competitiveness programme to help grow the UK supply chain and assure international competitiveness.

In May 2018, as part of the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced our intention for the UK to be at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles and in July we published Road to Zero to deliver on that commitment. As well as the technology investment, we have committed £1.5bn for consumer incentives, charging infrastructure and R&D to support the transition to zero emission vehicles.

We are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for future automotive investment, alongside other advanced manufacturing.

Our Industrial Strategy sets out how we are building strong partnerships with businesses, academia, local government and devolved administrations.

Our Sector Deals, Grand Challenges and Local Industrial Strategies demonstrate how we are working collaboratively with industry to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business. We have published six sector deals so far on Life Sciences, Automotive, Creative Industries, Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear and Construction. The process allows for robust engagement and negotiation between industry and government leadership to ensure that we are working together effectively to tackle barriers to productivity. We have three more deals in negotiation with the Aerospace, Rail and Food and Drink sectors.

The Government views the problem of counterfeit electrical goods extremely seriously and a range of work is ongoing that aims to intercept and prevent all types of counterfeit products entering the UK.

The Government is working closely with a number of source countries around the world to prevent counterfeit goods being shipped. When suspected counterfeit items are identified at the UK’s borders, customs legislation enables goods arriving from outside the EU to be detained and destroyed, which prevents them from entering the UK market.

The National Trading Standards ‘Safety at Ports and Borders Teams’ work across 14 local authorities at ports, airports and postal hubs intercepting dangerous and illegal items, including electrical appliances. The UK is also part of the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products.

This range of measures, together with proactive enforcement, is having a very positive preventative impact on the import of counterfeit goods.

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is an arms-length body of DCMS which is responsible for collecting a statutory Levy from betting operators which it distributes in line with its statutory duties to support British horse racing. In April 2017, the Government implemented significant reforms to the Levy, resulting in a £45m increase in statutory Levy income in 2017/18.

The HBLB provides over £200,000 annually for the Equine Influenza Programme, and a further £150,000 towards the Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance Programme, provides British racing with expert information and provisions to minimise the impact of equine diseases and respond quickly to outbreaks.

HBLB has committed to pay a contribution to owners or trainers for the costs incurred where the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) recently required test samples to be taken for equine influenza, including the cost of the swabs and the veterinary fees involved. In addition, HBLB has committed £321,500 to support the rescheduling of replacement races and fixtures following the recent suspension, and will continue discussions with the BHA regarding funding for further races and fixtures as required. The BHA have now scheduled a number of additional fixtures from February 20th onwards.

All UK businesses together with all organisations that process personal data will be required to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after 25th May 2018 and the UK's full data protection regime as set out in the Data Protection Bill. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides guidance and support to UK organisations and have already published a number of resources on the Commissioner's website (ico.org.uk) to help organisations prepare. The ICO has: launched a dedicated helpline service for smaller organisations; updated its 'SME toolkit' to reflect the requirements of the GDPR; simplified its "12-step" GDPR preparation guidance; and published tailored guidance for charities.

We are committed to fairer school funding, where the money our schools receive matches their pupils’ needs. At the Spending Review, alongside protecting the schools budget in real terms, we announced our intention to deliver this by introducing a national funding formula for schools in 2017. That will mean children attract funding based on their individual characteristics, and not where they live, or whether the schools they attend are situated in other local authority areas. The amount of money following each pupil will be clear, and funding levels across the country will be transparent and fair. These are significant reforms and we will consult extensively in the New Year to ensure we get them right and to provide clarity and security for schools.

Data from the January 2015 school census shows the number of primary and secondary school pupils who were educated at a school within a different local authority to the one in which they resided. This information is available in tables 12a and 12b of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2015’ statistical first release, published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015

My Department has worked collaboratively with the Devolved Administrations to establish the Inter-Ministerial Group (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (IMG(EFRA)), which meets up to 10 times a year. My officials and I also have regular discussions with Devolved Administrations on a variety of topics, including on future co-operation over shared environmental resources with neighbouring countries, for example as part of the mapping of current North-South cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Funding for environment projects after the UK leaves the EU will be assessed as part of the forthcoming Spending Review. As announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement package on 13 March this year, the Government has published a call for evidence which invites ideas on how the British Overseas Territories’ biodiversity can be safeguarded: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/safeguarding-the-environment-in-british-overseas-territories-call-for-evidence/call-for-evidence-document.

Defra officials have had recent meetings with the NFU, the National Rural Crime Network and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to discuss crimes occurring in the countryside, including hare coursing, fly-tipping and theft from farms.

Incidences of criminal activity and threatening behaviour affecting farmers and rural landowners are a matter for the police.

We are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU. The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of businesses and industry bodies in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.

The Government’s priority for the equine sector in the context of leaving the EU, remains to ensure the continued movement of horses between the UK and EU, with the minimum of delay and bureaucracy, whilst at the same time providing appropriate disease control and welfare protection from Day 1 of EU Exit onwards. We have been working through a number of options in this area, considering a wide range of stakeholder views, and intend to embark on an extensive period of stakeholder engagement.

Whilst we do not hold any information about how other Member States apply or interpret the provisions in the Habitats Directive in relation to bats in churches, the Government understands the problems that the presence of bats can cause.

To assist churches, Defra has funded research to identify techniques that can be used to deter bats from sensitive areas of churches, the results of which were published in March 2014. English Heritage is now funding a project trialling the techniques identified by this research in several churches to develop a toolkit and advice pack. A bid for Heritage Lottery funding to help pay for the implementation of this toolkit is also being prepared.

DFID has no plans to open any new country programmes in 2017. However, in a changing world we remain well-placed to respond to changing circumstances and will continue to lead the global effort in responding to humanitarian crises wherever they arise.

Material from country Business Plans, which have replaced Operational Plans, will be published in the Spring.

The United Kingdom is the only G7 country to legislate on its promise to provide 0.7% gross national income towards helping the world’s poor. In doing so we have given a very strong commitment to stable and predictable aid finance.

The Government recognises the importance of providing predictable flows to partner countries. To this end DFID has published indicative forward country budgets in its Annual Report and details of approved projects in every country. It is important that Ministers continually review where, how and how much we spend, to ensure that aid is being used to maximum effect in reducing poverty in the national interest, and that our work responds to changing global challenges and volatile country situations.

Over the past three financial years DFID has disbursed £16,999,196 to UNHCR in Ethiopia (of which £7,010,225 was in 2013/14, £9,896,334 in 2014/15 and £91,637 in 2015/16).

From this total, £1,108,571 was allocated for child protection services for Eritrean refugees (£368,068 in 2013/14 and £740,503 in 2014/15).

A further £1,846,027 from this total was allocated over the three years in question for core relief items (basic household goods) for all refugees in Ethiopia, including Eritreans.

Funding for Eritrean refugees was not provided directly to any other organisation in Ethiopia.

Expenditure by sector is reported in Statistics on International Development (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2014).

The table below shows the proportion of DFID bilateral aid spent on water, sanitation and hygiene for the last 5 years for which data are available.

When DFID or other UK government departments provide core contributions in support of multilateral organisations, we do not break down by sector. However, there are a number of multilateral organisations that are focussed on water and sanitation. Details of the contributions from DFID to each multilateral organisation can be found at Table A8, online at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2014.

The government response to the consultation on UK Airspace Policy: A framework for balanced decisions on the design and use of airspace was published on 24 October 2017, together with a suite of related documents detailing the introduction of proposals. The response includes confirmation that an Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise will be established by Spring 2018.

The number of hectares of land set aside for the various land uses are 522.7 for woodland, 45.7 for wetland and 410.5 for grass and habitat creation.

It is not possible to answer the question as stated. HS2 is an integrated railway that has been designed to avoid and or reduce environmental impacts throughout its development. The approach used to developing this railway has been to fully integrate environmental mitigation into the railway’s design. For example, environmental impacts and mitigations are considered when designing the depth of a particular cutting.

It is therefore not possible to separate the usage of compulsorily purchased land into the two defined categories.

The current estimated cost of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 (London to West Midlands) is £15.65 billion. A contingency provision of £5.75 billion has been set at P95 level. Based on these prices the cost per single track kilometre is £47.56 million for Phase 1, including £80, 000 per kilometre for noise barriers. These figures are in 2011 prices and at the P95 level, meaning that at this early stage there is a 95 percent confidence level that the project can be delivered for this cost.

The current estimated cost of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 (London to West Midlands) is £15.65 billion. A contingency provision of £5.75 billion has been set at P95 level. Based on these prices the cost per single track kilometre is £47.56 million for Phase 1, including £80, 000 per kilometre for noise barriers. These figures are in 2011 prices and at the P95 level, meaning that at this early stage there is a 95 percent confidence level that the project can be delivered for this cost.

Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), with their clinical expertise, are responsible for commissioning high-quality care to meet the needs of their populations. CCGs are required to carefully consider the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines in making commissioning decisions. These are available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng77

The Department does not hold data on the number of women who have been deterred from seeking National Health Service maternity care.

National guidance is clear that NHS maternity treatment should always be considered as immediately necessary and provided to all patients regardless of whether or not they are entitled to receive it free of charge or there are doubts about whether they could pay if subsequently found to be chargeable under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.

We have had no such discussions with NHS England. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning these drugs for the prevention of secondary breast cancer based upon clinical judgement.

NHS England has advised that the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group (CRG) discussed the use of bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer during a meeting held in September 2015. It was raised in the context of guidance being developed by the Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group and whether, through the Chemotherapy CRG, NHS England could implement any policy to support the use of these drugs. It was confirmed that these drugs would need to be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has a network of specialist nurses for organ donation throughout the United Kingdom who are an integral part of the donation process and provide support to potential donor families.

All hospitals in England with donation potential have input and support from specialist nurses for organ donation. There are currently 98 hospitals in England that have specialist nurses for organ donation embedded within them. In addition NHSBT is recruiting specialist nurses to a further seven hospitals, making a total of 105. The level of support and resource allocated varies according to the donation potential for the individual hospital and the number of hospitals in each acute trust. The larger trusts will have a larger team allocated to them. The specialist nurses work to provide support to all hospitals within the trust, adopting a hub and spoke approach.

These specialist nurses provide an on call service 24 hours, seven days a week, to ensure each donor referral is responded to in a timely manner and facilitated.

Kazakhstan has a relatively tolerant environment and constitutionally does not single out or allow preference for any particular religion.

Groups such as the Ahmadiyya and Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced some problems with the Kazakh authorities over registration and taxation issues. A recent draft law on religious activity has imposed a further regulatory burden on religious organisations.

During my visit to Kazakhstan in August 2017 I encouraged respect for human rights, and publicly addressed a Kazakh audience on the importance of human rights and equality of all citizens.

Through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) delivers projects to help prevent violent extremism, promote human rights, and support community peace-building in Africa, the Middle East, South and Central Asia and Eastern Europe. This includes working with religious leaders as well as other stakeholders. Separately, through the FCO's Magna Carta Fund, we fund various projects to support community cohesion and freedom of religion or belief across the world. Examples include: supporting human rights defenders in South Asia, promoting legal and social protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief in secondary school curricula in the Middle East and North Africa, and support for de-radicalisation and the re-integration of young people in Nigeria who have been exposed to violent extremist groups. In October 2016, the FCO hosted a groundbreaking conference to consider how protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief can help to combat violent extremism by building more inclusive societies. A range of faith leaders were invited to attend this event.

​We are very concerned by the alleged destruction of villages as well as the other allegations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law violations in Jebel Marra. We are deeply troubled about the humanitarian situation in Darfur, which was made more acute by a renewed outbreak of hostilities in January and which has displaced at least 80,000 civilians; adding to the 2.6 million people long term displaced in Darfur. We continue to believe that urgent humanitarian access and a lasting cessation of hostilities leading to a permanent ceasefire are crucial to ending the conflict in Darfur and have made this point directly to the Government of Sudan, most recently during high–level discussions on 10-11 October.

​We are very concerned by the allegations of chemical weapons use in Sudan and have raised our concern during UN Security Council consultations and directly with the Government of Sudan. We are aware that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is looking into the allegations and has asked the Government of Sudan to share all relevant information. The UK condemns any use of chemical weapons, by anyone anywhere.

Members of the consular team in Jakarta have visited Rebecca Prosser twice. The first visit took place on 2 June, shortly after her arrest, and lasted 30 minutes. The second, which lasted over two hours, took place on 10 September when she was moved from house arrest into a detention facility. Normal practice is to visit detainees in Indonesia every three months.

Consular staff are in regular contact with Ms Prosser’s employer’s representatives, her legal team and her family. Since court proceedings began, we have provided a weekly written update to Ms Prosser, her family and their MPs. Our most recent contact with Ms Prosser’s family was on 21 October.

HMRC’s new Inland Pre-Clearance sites are now operational. The move resulted in a temporary backlog of consignments for examination. HMRC has triaged consignments using a principled risk-based approach, releasing some consignments without prejudice to any further compliance action, and has also examined other consignments at the port. HMRC is now moving remaining containers from the ports for examination.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading on the implementation of a Marine Protected Area around the Pitcairn Islands.

The Home Office does not hold data on how many EU National children reside in the five local authorities which participated in the second Private Beta test phase of the EU Settlement Scheme.

During the second Private Beta phase of the EU Settlement Scheme, participating local authorities were not instructed to support eligible EU national children in care to secure British citizenship.

Local authorities participated on a voluntary basis to apply on behalf of some children in their care. Only looked after EU national children (within the meaning of section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) were eligible to participate in this phase of the scheme.
The Private Beta phase did not involve applications for British citizenship, which is a separate process.

In total 19 applications were made on behalf of looked after children by the participating local authorities. We are unable to provide a breakdown by local authority as this may identify some of the children involved.

16 have received settled status.

0 have received pre-settled status

0 have been refused

0 have requested an administrative review

We are working with the relevant local authorities to gather further evidence for the 3 outstanding cases.

According to the rules laid before parliament (on 11/10/2018) for the second Private Beta phase of the EU Settlement Scheme, only a child being looked after (within the meaning of section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) by one of the five named local authorities, with a chipped passport, was eligible to apply.

The Home Office did not estimate the number of children who could not take part in the Private Beta phase because they did not have a passport.

All EU applicants, including looked after children, will be able to apply with an ID card or a passport once the scheme is rolled out fully from 30 March 2019. In addition, from that date it will be possible for applicants to submit alternative evidence of their identity and nationality where they are unable to provide a passport or national identity card due to circumstances outside of their control, or for compelling practical or compassionate reasons.

The precise number of non-UK EU children in care is not known. Local authorities do not routinely collect this data. The Home Office has estimated that there are approximately 5,000 EU children in care in the UK, not including care leavers. This estimate is based on ONS data on the proportion of EEA citizens per Local Authority and government data on volumes of children in care per Local Authority

The second Private Beta phase included some applications for Looked After Children made by five local authorities. The local authorities which participated did so voluntarily for some of the EU children in their care. In total 19 applications were made on behalf of looked after children by these local authorities. Applicants were aged between 5-17 and comprised 6 different nationalities.