Cat Eccles

Tackling misogyny is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade and we will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published this year.

Education has an important role to play in reducing misogyny; statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education makes clear that schools must build a culture where issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, and gender stereotyping are not tolerated. The Department for Education is reviewing this guidance to ensure that it enables schools to tackle harmful behaviour, as this Government is determined to ensure that misogyny and sexual violence are stamped out.

It is crucial that LGBT+ people are safe, included and protected from discrimination. To achieve this we must end the recent politics of division. Trans people are protected from harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment in the Equality Act 2010.

Work is already underway to fulfil the commitments set out in the Government’s manifesto, advancing the rights and protections afforded to trans people including: delivering a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices; ensuring that all trans people receive appropriate and high-quality health care; and equalising all existing strands of hate crime to make transphobic hate crime an aggravated offence.

The Government has set out our expectation that organisations follow the clarity the ruling provides. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is developing its updated statutory Code of Practice to support organisations. Ministers will consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it following further work in light of this ruling.

The Government has no plans to introduce a requirement for candidates to undergo DBS checks before standing for elections. Candidate selection in elections is a matter for political parties.

On 8th May, the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States.

The NHS will never be on the table for any trade agreement and the US trade deal will not lead to privatisation of the NHS. The NHS is not for sale under any circumstances, and this Government is firmly committed to keeping healthcare free at the point of use for everyone.

This Government will continue to act in Britain’s national interest – for workers, for business and for families.

On 8^th May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States.

We have agreed new reciprocal market access on beef – with UK farmers given a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports at a very low tariff rate.

Imports of hormone treated beef remain illegal. Our approach to this trade deal has ensured that any agricultural imports coming into the UK will meet the highest food standards.

This government is determined to look after the country's national interest. That's why we have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. For steel and aluminium, the US has committed to remove the 25% Section 232 tariffs currently faced by UK exporters, by applying a quota system.

UK Steel and ALFED, who represent the UK steel and aluminium industries respectively, have both publicly welcomed the deal.

The Government wants to provide all businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint.

Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.

Most AI systems are regulated at point of use by our existing regulators, and a range of rules already apply to AI systems, like data protection and competition legislation. That’s why, in response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to working with regulators to boost their capabilities.

However, advanced AI systems pose distinct opportunities and risks. This is why the Government intends to bring forward AI legislation, to deliver on our manifesto commitment and ensure we can safely realise AI’s potential for economic growth and progress. We will launch a consultation on legislative proposals later this year.

We want operators to use existing underground ducts and share infrastructure, wherever possible. There are requirements on operators to share apparatus and to use underground lines where practicable; and there are regulations in place to support this.

The Government also published the Street Works Toolkit, which contains practical guidance for telecoms companies and highway authorities who coordinate street works in their area on how to keep disruption to a minimum.

I recently met with broadband operators to ask them to share infrastructure wherever possible, and I have been clear I am prepared to regulate if providers do not take action.

High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. That is why, in June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. This funding will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities that promote health and wellbeing and remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. That is why, in June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. This funding will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities that promote health and wellbeing and remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

The Secretary of State was clear in her statement to Parliament that the scenes from the Bob Vylan performance at Glastonbury were utterly appalling and unacceptable. This Government will not tolerate antisemitism – it has absolutely no place in our society and we will be unrelenting in our work to root it out and it should not be given a platform.

The BBC is editorially independent, and decisions on what content to broadcast, and how they broadcast that content, are a matter for the BBC. However, it is right that the BBC has acknowledged that the livestream of the performance should have come off air and that they are reviewing their guidance. There remain very serious questions at the highest levels of the BBC about operational oversight and the way in which editorial standards are implemented.

As set out to Parliament, the Secretary of State has spoken to both the BBC Director General and Chair directly and has written to the Chair to ask for an urgent and detailed explanation about what immediate steps they intend to take. We expect answers to these questions without delay and expect lessons to be learned and rapid action to be taken.

Ofcom is also in the process of obtaining further information from the BBC as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.

Charter Review will consider editorial standards for the BBC. The Government will also build on the Media Act and Ofcom’s Public Service Media review by taking action to support public service media and the wider television ecosystem. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government will update the policy and regulatory framework to respond to the changing market and promote a more level playing field, while maintaining universal access to distinctive and trusted public service content. This work will complement the BBC Charter Review.

The Government has clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s speech, and the second part of Leveson is not among them.

Improving access to the arts for children and young people is a priority of this Government.

To increase children and young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts and culture, alongside sports and wider youth services, the recently announced Dormant Assets Scheme Strategy has allocated £132.5 million in England towards youth. In addition, 79% of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations work with children and young people, such as theatres, opera and dance companies. For example, the Royal Opera House works with schools and community groups across the country to engage people in opera and ballet.

Arts Council England funds the National Youth Dance Company and National Youth Music Organisations which play a vital role in increasing young people's access to the arts in the UK by offering high-quality training and performance opportunities, and by conducting outreach to schools and communities with higher proportions of young people from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Department for Education has also launched an expert-led, independent Curriculum and Assessment Review covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. This includes creative subjects such as art, music and drama.

The department wants every child, regardless of background, to have a rich and broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum.

Art and design, music, dance (included in physical education) and drama (included in English) are in the national curriculum and are compulsory in all maintained schools. From key stages 1-3 for art and design, music, and dance; and key stages 1-4 for drama. At key stage 4, all pupils in maintained schools have an entitlement to study an arts subject, if they wish.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review aims to ensure that all pupils gain knowledge and skills that set them up for life. The Review will publish its final report in the autumn, and the government will respond.

Alongside the Review, we have announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, to help meet the government’s ambitions for improved and more equitable arts education.

This government is committed to ensuring more children are supported in a strong kinship care arrangement, avoiding care where possible, because we know that this leads to better outcomes.

We are legislating through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require local authorities to publish a local offer for children and families in kinship arrangements and requiring local authorities to offer family group decision making to families with children on the edge of care. These measures will ensure more children are supported within their family networks, and with kinship carers instead of entering care.

Some children in kinship care, such as those placed with kinship foster carers, are entitled to leaving care support if they have been in care for a minimum of 13 weeks, some of which was after they reached age 16, when they cease to be looked after. This includes support from a Personal Adviser up to the age of 25, and support to engage in education, employment or training, including a £2,000 bursary if they attend higher education.

This support will also include providing continuity of support and relationships when care leavers reach age 18 through the ‘Staying Put’ programme and investing in family-finding, mentoring and befriending programmes.

The department does not hold information on retention rates specifically for teachers of T Levels. All teachers can access a free of charge continuing professional development programme, offered by the Education Training Foundation, to help update their knowledge and skills to successfully deliver T Levels. We recently updated this support, with more teacher resources, and shorter, more accessible online courses. More information about this support is available here: https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/professional-development/t-levels/.

Ofsted inspects further education and skills providers in England under part 8 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and must state whether education or training inspected is of adequate quality. Inspections will encompass T Level provision where offered.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

From the 2018/19 financial year to 2023/24, the most recent year for which information is available, the average per-pupil expenditure on pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in maintained special schools and special academies on the one hand, and non-maintained and independent special schools on the other, are set out in the tables below:

To note:

1. Per-pupil expenditure is the average calculated from the national expenditure on place and top-up funding for the school types, per pupil with an EHC plan.

2. For maintained special schools and special academies the calculation uses the place funding rate of £10,000 per place plus the average top-up funding expenditure. by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil as recorded in the January schools census.

3. For non-maintained and independent special schools the department has calculated the total expenditure from the £10,000 per-place funding allocated to non-maintained special schools and the total top-up funding expenditure by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil with an EHC plan as recorded in our SEN2 data collection.

4. From 2023, the data collection for SEN2 changed from aggregated figures at local authority level, to a person-level collection. This has been a major change in approach and care should be taken with comparisons across this period because expenditure per pupil changes between 2021/22 and 2022/23 may include an effect from the EHC plan data collection methodology change.

The per-pupil expenditure amounts for children with EHC plans as set out in the table above are averages of a wide range of per-pupil funding levels that are different depending on the needs of the child and school they attend. It is the relevant local authority’s responsibility to decide how to allocate that funding and how much to allocate to each school.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Dudley Council is being allocated over £62 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £5.4 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

From the 2018/19 financial year to 2023/24, the most recent year for which information is available, the average per-pupil expenditure on pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in maintained special schools and special academies on the one hand, and non-maintained and independent special schools on the other, are set out in the tables below:

To note:

1. Per-pupil expenditure is the average calculated from the national expenditure on place and top-up funding for the school types, per pupil with an EHC plan.

2. For maintained special schools and special academies the calculation uses the place funding rate of £10,000 per place plus the average top-up funding expenditure. by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil as recorded in the January schools census.

3. For non-maintained and independent special schools the department has calculated the total expenditure from the £10,000 per-place funding allocated to non-maintained special schools and the total top-up funding expenditure by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil with an EHC plan as recorded in our SEN2 data collection.

4. From 2023, the data collection for SEN2 changed from aggregated figures at local authority level, to a person-level collection. This has been a major change in approach and care should be taken with comparisons across this period because expenditure per pupil changes between 2021/22 and 2022/23 may include an effect from the EHC plan data collection methodology change.

The per-pupil expenditure amounts for children with EHC plans as set out in the table above are averages of a wide range of per-pupil funding levels that are different depending on the needs of the child and school they attend. It is the relevant local authority’s responsibility to decide how to allocate that funding and how much to allocate to each school.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Dudley Council is being allocated over £62 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £5.4 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.