Cat Eccles

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.

A backlog in the provision of cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) to members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme has been caused by two issues. Initially, an embargo was placed on the provision of CETVs by the public service pension schemes from March 2023 to July 2023. This was a result of the need for new factors to be calculated following a change to the Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience (SCAPE) discount rate. Not all of those cases could be cleared by the scheme administrator before the Transitional Protection (McCloud) legislation took effect on 1 October 2023. For those members affected by Transitional Protection, further cross-scheme guidance was needed by the scheme administrator which created another significant period in which CETV cases could not be processed.

As of 20 November 2024, there are 1,952 CETV cases which have not been processed three months after the member applied.

The majority of these cases do not include scheme flexibilities and the scheme administrator currently estimates that such cases will all be cleared by the end of February 2025. The department is working with the scheme administrator to determine the likely timeframe for cases that involve flexibilities and the small cohort where guidance is being finalised. Consideration is being given to measures to reduce the timescales that members are waiting, including investigating the potential for any further automation of calculations, simplification of the CETV figures provided to the member and maximising the administrative resource available, for example through ongoing overtime.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its Manifesto. We intend to deliver on this and are currently considering the most effective way to do so.

Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, and boaters using navigable waterways are required to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users. The country’s largest navigation authority owning the majority of the canal network, the Canal and River Trust, has provided assurances that appropriate enforcement action on its waterways is only used as a last resort in response to persistent non-compliance, to ensure fairness to all boaters. Those with children who choose to live on a boat without a permanent mooring are responsible for ensuring they have access to education; the Trust provides reasonable adjustments for anyone who qualifies under the Equalities & Human Rights Act.