Catherine West

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

We appreciate the impact rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. At the Budget, we announced a dedicated £63 million support package for swimming pools. This is targeted at both addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and providing investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make facilities sustainable in the long-term.

This follows the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme provided since September last year. This scheme has now been superseded with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme under which swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills until March 2024.

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

We appreciate the impact rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. At the Budget, we announced a dedicated £63 million support package for swimming pools. This is targeted at both addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and providing investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make facilities sustainable in the long-term.

This follows the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme provided since September last year. This scheme has now been superseded with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme under which swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills until March 2024.

The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology underpinning the popular Freeview platform.

We know that millions of households across the UK rely on DTT and we expect this to continue over the next decade. We also recognise the crucial role that DTT plays in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available to all audiences.

For these reasons, the Government has legislated to secure continuity of digital terrestrial television until at least 2034. We will continue to evaluate the future distribution of television as the sector evolves over the next decade, and we have asked Ofcom to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.

Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.

House officials regularly meet with the Home Office and related agencies to discuss a wide range of security matters including threats.

In Glasgow, COP26 made progress on the issue of loss and damage. It agreed to establish a process to discuss the funding of actions to avert, minimise and address loss and damage. It also recognised that funding for loss and damage already flows from a number of sources and called for this to be scaled up. COP further agreed on practical steps to deliver technical assistance to countries to set the needs they have and the action required on loss and damage.

In our Presidency year, we will be taking forward the decision made at COP, facilitating and encouraging further progress on the issue of loss and damage.

At both Ministerial and official level, we continue to raise the need for finance and action on loss and damage, noting that relevant finance for averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage comes from sources under and outside the UNFCCC.

As COP26 incoming Presidency, the UK has convened seven consultations which have devoted substantial time to the issue of operationalising the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage and included the question of finance to enable its work. The COP President also convened dedicated Ministerial sessions on loss and damage at the July Ministerial in London and at PreCOP. At these sessions, the issue of finance was discussed, including the post-2025 goal, with a view to political leaders providing the strategic framing for negotiator-level discussions at COP26.

As part of the COP25 Presidency and incoming COP26 Presidency joint informal work plan on finance, we have undertaken informal negotiator-level consultations on the post-2025 climate finance goal with all Parties that have expressed an interest. Public reflections notes on these engagements are available on the UNFCCC website. The COP26 Presidency role is to facilitate balanced progress on this item in Glasgow, reflecting the positions of all Parties as best possible.

We are currently developing plans related to the makeup of the COP26 UK delegation. It is too early to confirm names at this stage.

The UK has committed to championing diversity and inclusion throughout our COP26 Presidency and all civil servants in the Cabinet Office COP26 unit have been appointed in line with civil service guidance and rules. In the COP Unit, 45% of the senior management team in the COP26 unit are women. In 2020, the Prime Minister appointed Anne-Marie Treveylan as the COP26 Adaptation and Resilience Champion.

I welcomed the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, to London on Monday 8 March 2021, his first international visit since his appointment. We discussed the new US Administration’s climate ambition and our joint efforts to ensure that COP26 is a success. Our discussion built on previous conversations I have had with Secretary Kerry and with Gina McCarthy, US National Climate Advisor.

I refer the hon. Member to the joint statement on climate change from myself and Special Envoy Kerry published on GOV.UK on Tuesday 9 March 2021. The UK and US will be working closely together to ensure that President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate on 22 April and the UK-hosted G7 build momentum on the way to COP26 in Glasgow.

As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 1 February 2023, Official Report, Columns 335-336.

Subject to Cabinet Office and HM Treasury approvals, the new online skills platform will be rolled out in three phases from February 2024. The first phase to be rolled out will include the front-end of the online platform and launch the skills collection tool.

The Cabinet Office has no current plans to introduce a policy to record foreign language proficiency. Whilst we hope to make use of a future cross-Government skills platform, we do not currently have the functionality in our department to centrally record these skills. However, Government Business Service work to deliver a cross-Government skills platform has started and we would expect to capture this type of information centrally at a future date.

CSHR has no current plans to introduce a cross-department policy to record foreign language proficiency.

We do not currently hold a central record of Mandarin skills (or other languages) in the department.

Genetic data of Civil Servants is very rarely held by Government. There are a range of measures in place to protect the personal data of Civil Servants in addition to the UK’s robust data protection laws.

On 24 November, the Government issued a Written Ministerial Statement on surveillance equipment. However, the instruction relates solely to visual surveillance systems on the government estate.

While the genomics industry is not designated as critical national infrastructure in the UK, the UK Government Resilience Framework sets out the Government’s ambition to work in partnership across sectors to ensure they are able to fully contribute to national resilience whilst strengthening their own.

The UK Government believes that sharing biodata with all bona fide researchers focused on human health is essential to fostering innovation and enabling the rapid development of safe and effective medical countermeasures.

However, we recognise the dual-use potential of new and emerging technologies. This is why the Cabinet Office has conducted a thorough assessment of associated risks through the ongoing refresh of the biological security strategy. In implementing the strategy, we will engage with key organisations such as Genomics England to ensure the UK maintains effective policies which protect National Security while fostering innovation as science and technology evolve.

While the genomics industry is not designated as critical national infrastructure in the UK, the UK Government Resilience Framework sets out the Government’s ambition to work in partnership across sectors to ensure they are able to fully contribute to national resilience whilst strengthening their own.

I refer to the Minister for the Cabinet Office’s previous answer PQ72224 on 2 November 2022.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central during my statement on the G20 on 17 November 2022, Official Report, Column 839.

In a statement to the House at the time of the heatwave, CDL (then Kit Malthouse) noted that ‘although Britain may be unaccustomed to such high temperatures [reaching 40c], the UK, along with our European neighbours must learn to live with extreme events such as these.’

In response to this statement, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, now the COBR Unit, commissioned all key delivery partners to submit lessons learned from responding to the heatwave as part of the continuous improvement process. A series of recommendations were designed to embed these reflections into working practices and make future responses to extreme heat more effective.

Central government departments and partner agencies are implementing these actions over the winter and autumn period to improve our resilience to severe summer and winter weather events.

The Government is reviewing the Business Appointment Rules, taking into account all relevant considerations, and will provide more information in due course.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 35990 on 18 July 2022.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 35990 on 18 July 2022.

Fast Stream places for this Autumn 2022 will be honoured and our direct entry and internship schemes will continue to bring new and diverse talent to the Civil Service. Whilst we pause the Fast stream for the 2023 intake, we will take the opportunity to further improve the Fast Stream offer. This reform will ensure that when the scheme reopens, it is focused on driving up specialist skills in the Civil Service, as well as improving the regional representation of the Fast Stream.

The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar. On 27 March 2022, we coordinated a joint statement, agreed by 47 countries, which urged all countries to stop the flow of arms to Myanmar. We also worked with partners to secure strong language in the April 2022 Human Rights Council Resolution on Myanmar. We continue to raise this issue bilaterally with those who are reported to be providing arms to the Myanmar military.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Information regarding products within the UK public sector supply chain is not held centrally.

This government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains.

The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focussing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Information regarding products within the UK public sector supply chain is not held centrally.

This government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains.

The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focussing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains.

This information is not held centrally.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

This information is not held centrally.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has previously held a contract with Electronics Watch, which expired in June 2021. CCS are currently reviewing the service to assess whether it is the best source of data for labour rights monitoring and how this data can be shared more widely.

The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.

Steps to ensure that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.

Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:

• expanding the range of internships we offer,

• undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,

• increasing assessor diversity, and

• improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.

Steps to ensure that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.

Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:

• expanding the range of internships we offer,

• undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,

• increasing assessor diversity, and

• improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.

Steps to ensure that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.

Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:

• expanding the range of internships we offer,

• undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,

• increasing assessor diversity, and

• improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 14211 on 29 June 2021.

Everyone who is eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so.

Any voter who does not have one of the wide range of accepted documents will be able to apply for a free, locally issued Voter Card from their local authority.

We continue to work with local authorities and other stakeholders, including charities and civil society organisations, to make sure that voter identification works for all voters.

Everyone who is eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so.

Any voter who does not have one of the wide range of accepted documents will be able to apply for a free, locally issued Voter Card from their local authority.

Cabinet Office will cover costs of Voter Cards for local authorities.

At the first UK-EU Partnership Council on 9 June, the UK raised the issues faced by touring performers and noted work under way with Member States to try to resolve the barriers presented by visa and work permit requirements.The UK and EU have not yet agreed a date or agenda for the next Partnership Council. We continue to discuss these issues with all EU Member States to find solutions that work for our great creative industries.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The Government continues to provide a full range of support services for veterans and recently discharged personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, with appropriate adjustments to keep people safe. Veterans continue to access a range of NHS services, including Op COURAGE, a new single point of access for all veterans’ mental health and wellbeing services in NHS England. Veterans can also access support through Veterans UK and MOD services including its welfare services, employment support for service leavers through the Career Transition Partnership, the Defence Transition Service, and a helpline telephone call back service.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has also funded a new study with King’s College London, exploring the impact of COVID-19 on veterans, and given £6m in grants to over service 100 charities across the UK whose operation had been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, directly supporting over 90,000 members of the Armed Forces community. In this year’s Budget, an extra £10m has been allocated to help deliver charitable projects across the UK that support veterans with their mental health and wellbeing needs in the wake of the pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently adapted our response as we have learnt more about the virus and how best to tackle it. Decisions on when to lift restrictions, and in which order, seek to strike a balance between the epidemiological evidence and advice, the impact lockdown is having on people’s health (including mental health and disproportionate impacts on certain groups), wellbeing, and the economy. Scientific evidence supporting the government response to coronavirus is regularly published here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19.

On 22 February the Government published its 'COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021'

roadmap to recovery. The roadmap outlines four steps for cautiously easing restrictions across England. The first measures of Step 1 took place on the 8th March. Schools breaking up for the Easter holidays will provide an opportunity for further, limited relaxation particularly in outdoor settings where there is less risk. Therefore from 29 March, outdoor sports and leisure facilities will reopen and organised sport (for adults and children) will resume.

The design of the roadmap has been informed by the latest scientific evidence and seeks a balance between our key social and economic priorities, whilst preserving the health and safety of our country.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

This Government is fully committed to transparency, and ensuring all requests for Freedom of Information (FOI) are handled appropriately. All requests are considered in an applicant-blind manner, regardless of - for example - the occupation of the applicant. The Cabinet Office FOI process complies with relevant protections under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Cabinet Minister issues a Code of Practice, available on gov.uk, which provides guidance and advice to public authorities on the handling of Freedom of Information Requests. In addition, and in line with practice since 2005, the Cabinet Office provides advice to Departments, to ensure cases are handled consistently, and sensitive material handled appropriately. A Clearing House was established in 2004 and has operated in different forms since the FOI Act came into force in January 2005 as an advice centre to coordinate complex requests across Whitehall. There is now no stand alone Clearing House team, but coordination functions are carried out by a number of staff members who have a range of wider responsibilities. Policy responsibility for Freedom of Information transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Cabinet Office in 2015.

Correspondence is a vitally important interface with members of the public, Members of Parliament and Peers, and should be given the highest priority.

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence. Departments have seen a significant increase in correspondence during the pandemic but are required to provide a substantial response to all correspondence from MPs and Peers in 20 days. Departments are not required to keep a record of the average response time. The Cabinet Office responded to 58% of MP and Peer correspondence within 20 days between April - June 2020, and to the remaining correspondence as quickly as possible. Officials are working to improve response time.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to PQ 88289 on 21 September 2020.

The government outlined its approach to Audiovisual Media Services Directive in its public consultation launched in May 2019, and confirmed plans for implementation in its response in February 2020.

The Register of Lords' interests can be accessed on the parliamentary website at the following address:

https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/house-of-lords-commissioner-for-standards-/register-of-lords-interests/

How donations to Members of the House of Lords are regulated and what interest needs to be disclosed in the Register of Interests is a matter for the House of Lords.

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner had statutory oversight of the Consolidated Guidance and reported on it annually to the Prime Minister. I refer the Honourable Member to section 10.19 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s 2018 annual report where the (then) Commissioner explained why it was not appropriate to publish these details.

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner's 2018 Annual Report can be found at:

https://www.ipco.org.uk/docs/IPCO%20Annual%20Report%202018%20final.pdf

The Government does not participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment for any purpose.

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner had statutory oversight of the Consolidated Guidance and reported on it annually to the Prime Minister. I refer the Honourable Member to section 10.19 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s 2018 annual report where the (then) Commissioner explained why it was not appropriate to publish these details.

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner's 2018 Annual Report can be found at:

https://www.ipco.org.uk/docs/IPCO%20Annual%20Report%202018%20final.pdf

The Government does not participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment for any purpose.

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner had statutory oversight of the Consolidated Guidance and reported on it annually to the Prime Minister. I refer the Honourable Member to section 10.19 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s 2018 annual report where the (then) Commissioner explained why it was not appropriate to publish these details.

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner's 2018 Annual Report can be found at:

https://www.ipco.org.uk/docs/IPCO%20Annual%20Report%202018%20final.pdf

The Government does not participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment for any purpose.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The final reports of the four Boundary Commissions in the 2018 Boundary Review were submitted to the Government and laid before Parliament in September 2018.

The Government will continue to monitor closely the current legal proceedings in relation to the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland’s final report.

As we set out in our manifesto, the Government will ensure we have updated and equal parliamentary boundaries, making sure every vote counts the same.

The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible and affordable universal postal service.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

On 15 May 2023, Ofcom announced an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2022-23.

The Government’s approach to due diligence is one of both encouraging and supporting a business-led approach. This, in turn, promotes standards as set out in international frameworks, such as the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Additionally, and in order to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains, the Environment Act has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation.

The Department will soon be launching a review of non-financial information through a call for evidence. The review is part of the Government’s wider effort to improve business regulation to reduce burdens and drive economic growth now that the UK has left the European Union. With that in mind the Government currently has no plans to legally mandate companies to conduct further due diligence assessments before considering existing reporting requirements. We will however continue to keep these issues under review.

The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. These reports contain detailed information on export licences, including the destination, overall value, the type (e.g. Military, Other), and a summary of the items covered by these licences.

Currently this includes information up to 31 December 2022. Information covering 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023 will be published in July 2023 and information covering 1 April to 30 June 2023 will be published in October 2023.

The Government assesses all export licence applications to all destinations against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with these Criteria.

Lord Johnson visited Hong Kong to discuss opportunities to expand investment and business links between the UK and Hong Kong. He also raised bilateral issues, including the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

During his visit Lord Johnson of Lainston met the Secretaries for Commerce, and Financial Services and the Treasury, as well as several leading Hong Kong and UK businesses and investors.

Ministers and officials have met with Ofcom to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector.

The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions, including the price of stamps but, in setting prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom. This framework imposes prices controls, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices.

Ofcom will conduct a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024 including a consultation in 2023-24.

Ofcom has the necessary powers to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, including powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification. Ofcom will, if appropriate, issue fines for failure to meet performance targets such as the £1.5m penalty imposed on Royal Mail in 2020 for missing its 2018/19 delivery target.

There have been no recent discussions between this Department and businesses on access refusal for guide dogs.

Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. In 2017, the Commission published two pieces of guidance - a guide to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners, and a guide to help tourism businesses welcome people with access requirements. The EHRC supports disabled individuals who have experienced discrimination to take their cases to court.

These duties and protections are ultimately enforceable through the courts, but as a first step, anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against in the services offered to them - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to resolve the issue. Before doing so, they might first find it useful to contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) which provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, or by telephone on 0808 800 0082 or by text phone on 0808 800 0084.

In 2019, the Government consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. The Government is currently considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.  We are committed to making it easier for fathers to take Paternity Leave.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Ynys Môn on 17 April 2023 to Question 176768. The Government works with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate connections by releasing network capacity and improving the connections process. As part of this work, the Electricity System Operator is seeking expressions of interest, by 30 April 2023, from developers who are willing and able to connect earlier than their allocated connection date. The Government will publish a Connections Action Plan in the summer, which will articulate actions by government, Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network connections, including for renewable energy and battery storage projects.

The Government has committed to reaching net zero by 2050. This is in line with the advice of the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee and is consistent with the findings of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report.

The Government's recently published Powering Up Britain publication, the Net Zero Growth Plan sets out the policy package to meet Carbon Budgets and the Government's roadmap to net zero.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero works closely with network operators, the regulator Ofgem and other stakeholders to ensure that the appropriate technical measures are able to be deployed throughout the year to ensure the integrity of the energy system.

Great Britain’s electricity infrastructure is highly resilient and designed to operate in hot weather. In the event that energy infrastructure is impacted by extreme heat, the energy sector has long-standing plans and procedures to respond and repair any damage to infrastructure.

When the UK reaches net zero in 2050, it is estimated that the UK will still use a quarter of the gas it does now, although this will be fully abated by technologies like Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. Even with new licensing, UK production is projected to fall by 7% per year.

Instead of ending all new licensing, the Government has implemented a Climate Compatibility Checkpoint, assessing whether new licensing is compatible with the UK’s climate targets. This is a better tool for supporting the Government's climate change objectives than an arbitrary cut-off, as the checkpoint incentivises concrete decarbonisation action from industry.

The Government published data on Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) prepayment meter voucher redemption at local authority and constituency level on 14 February 2023 .

I called the Mayors of Tees Valley, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester to ask them to use their local networks to encourage people to locate and redeem their EBSS vouchers and the Government has cascaded information via DLUHC to local authorities. The Mayor of London was unavailable to take a call.

I have also organised drop-in meetings with Hon. Members, and I am writing to them to ask them to take action via their constituency networks.

On 4 December, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to electricity suppliers reiterating the importance of ensuring traditional prepayment meter customers receive their vouchers with prompt service and accurate information from supplier call centres. Data for the first 4 months of the scheme indicates that 98% of vouchers were dispatched by suppliers.

I chaired a roundtable on 7 December 2022 with electricity suppliers serving traditional prepayment customers to emphasise the importance of increasing their efforts to improve voucher redemption rates. I met them again on 25 January 2023, to discuss traditional prepayment meters where I reiterated the importance of delivering the EBSS support to all households.

I met with British Gas and Ofgem to discuss this matter. Ofgem has now issued a Provisional Order, preventing British Gas from installing any more pre-payment meters under warrant. All domestic suppliers have been asked to pause the installation of pre-payment meters under warrant until they have assured Ofgem that they are compliant with all relevant regulations and obligations.

The Government has set out its 5-point plan regarding prepayment meters and Ministers will keep the House updated on its progress. Ofgem have launched a new prepayment meter investigation, in response to the 5-point plan and have now asked suppliers to pause the installation of forced-fitting prepayment meters until they have assured the regulator that they are in compliance with all relevant regulations and obligations.

The Government has expanded and reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales to target fuel poverty and provide most rebates automatically.

Households in receipt of means-tested benefits with high energy costs based on certain characteristics of their property are eligible for the rebate. Around 62% of Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance recipients receive a means-tested benefit; those with high energy costs are eligible. As a result of expanding and reforming the scheme, the Government estimates that 160,000 more households, where a person has a disability or long-term illness, will receive a rebate.

These changes do not apply in Scotland, where customers apply for a Broader Group rebate through their energy suppliers, who can set their own eligibility criteria.

The Government takes the importance of security in the handling of genomic data seriously. Any company working in the UK does so under the provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004 and individuals, companies or agencies would be liable to criminal prosecution should they contravene those provisions.

Ofgem’s rules require energy suppliers to identify and support prepayment meter customers at risk of self-disconnection through the provision of emergency credit and additional support credit. Ofgem has recently undertaken a Market Compliance Review assessing how suppliers support customers in vulnerable situations, including those on prepayment meters. Ofgem has started compliance engagement with suppliers and asked them to take action to address the weaknesses that have been identified.

Regarding inherited debt, energy suppliers should update their records when the occupant of a property changes and supply the new occupants with a new card/key in a timely manner.

Ofgem’s rules require energy suppliers to identify and support prepayment meter customers at risk of self-disconnection through the provision of emergency credit and additional support credit. Ofgem has recently undertaken a Market Compliance Review assessing how suppliers support customers in vulnerable situations, including those on prepayment meters. Ofgem has started compliance engagement with suppliers and asked them to take action to address the weaknesses that have been identified.

Regarding inherited debt, energy suppliers should update their records when the occupant of a property changes and supply the new occupants with a new card/key in a timely manner.

Energy supply licence conditions state that the difference in price between methods of supplying energy must reflect the actual cost to the supplier for that method. The costs of managing pre-payment meters compared to standard meters are higher due to the different metering requirements and different payment systems. Ofgem is responsible for monitoring compliance with these terms.

Almost 93% of the population live within one mile (and over 99% within three miles) of their nearest Post Office. The branch network is subject to impact from external changes which are normally outside the control of the Post Office, such as postmasters retiring or moving on, or the loss of access to buildings due to lease arrangements expiring. In such instances the time it takes to restore service will vary depending on the individual local circumstances in each case. ​The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Hornsey and Wood Green.

Businesses in Hornsey and Wood Green will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs on average £4,200, cut fuel duty for 12 months and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, to protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter. The Employment Allowance was increased to £5,000 from April and we have continued to provide business rate relief worth over £7bn, freezing the business rates multiplier for a further year.

The Government is providing financial support - 348 SMEs in Hornsey and Wood Green have received Start Up Loans to the value of £2,988,847 as of November 2022.

The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a 10-year period. The SHDF Demonstrator and Wave 1 awarded a combined total of around £240m of grant funding to Local Authorities, with data held on local authority-led projects rather than at a constituency level. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition, which closed on 18th November 2022, will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects likely to be notified in March 2023.

BEIS estimates that in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency there have been between one and five Green Deal projects completed (all measures installed and paid off). To manage the risk of revealing personal or commercial data, the Government's approach is not to release non-zero counts of less than five for a small geographic area. There are no live projects (all measures installed but not yet paid off) in the constituency.

Data covers the period from May 2013 to October 2022.

Information on the number of homes retrofitted by parliamentary constituency through the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme can be found in Table 4.4 accompanying the latest release.

No discussions have taken place on this matter.

The UK has consistently supported the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights, which are widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by Governments and businesses worldwide on this important agenda. Implementation of the UNGPs supports access to justice and remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses, wherever these occur, and encourages businesses to voluntarily adopt due diligence approaches to respecting human rights.

The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UNGPs. In 2015 we introduced the Modern Slavery Act which requires businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to publish an annual modern slavery statement stating the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

The Government expects companies to report transparently about how they are mitigating modern slavery risks and to use their modern slavery statements to demonstrate year on year progress. This enables consumers, shareholders and civil society to scrutinise the efforts being made.

The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Hornsey and Wood Green.

The Government is investing £6.6 billion in decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures. In addition, the Energy Company Obligation Scheme is in its fourth iteration which will run until 2026 with a value of £4 billion. ECO + has also been announced, worth £1 billion and will run from Spring 2023 to March 2026.

£6 billion of additional Government funding towards supporting energy efficiency improvements will be made available from 2025 to 2028.

The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a 10-year period. The SHDF Demonstrator and Wave 1 awarded a combined total of around £240m of grant funding to Local Authorities, with data held on local authority-led projects rather than at a constituency level. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition, which closed on 18th November 2022, will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects likely to be notified in March 2023.

As set out in the Autumn Statement, the Government will develop a new approach to consumer protection in energy markets, which will apply from April 2024 onwards.

The Government has committed to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach, including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider retail market reforms.

Neither I, nor my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State have recently had discussions with British retailers regarding working conditions in the garment industry. I have, however, met with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement who I know is looking at some of these issues as part of her broader remit. I have asked her to keep me updated on this work.

The minimum requirements of the universal postal service are set out in section 31 of the Postal Services Act 2011. Section 34(5) provides the Secretary of State with the power to amend section 31 by an order which is subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, requiring Parliamentary scrutiny and approval before becoming law.

Before the Secretary of State can amend section 31, Ofcom must either review the extent to which the provision made by section 31 reflects the reasonable needs of the users of postal services provided in the United Kingdom in accordance with s.34(1) or review the extent (if any) of the financial burden for a universal service provider of complying with its universal service obligations in accordance with s.44(1). The latter review may result in a report from Ofcom to the Secretary of State recommending a review under s.34(1).

As the independent regulator, it is for Ofcom to explain the decisions it takes on the regulatory framework. However, in coming to its decision to retain the exemption for the Christmas period, Ofcom carefully considered consultation responses including from consumer bodies. Ofcom will closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance this Christmas, and it reserves the right to propose further action in this area if necessary.

As set out previously, the Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions which includes the price Royal Mail sets for First Class letters. The Government is, however, committed to ensuring that the universal postal service remains affordable and accessible to all users. Ofcom sets the regulatory framework for stamp prices and whilst it does not currently regulate the price of First Class stamps, Ofcom does require that they, alongside all universal postal services, are affordable. Ofcom will be reviewing the appropriate scope and level of the safeguard caps with a statement and consultation in 2023-24.

Neither my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State or I have met with Boohoo to discuss the matters raised in recent press coverage. I have, however, met with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement who I know is looking at the issues raised and is in contact with the company. I have asked her to keep me updated on this work.

As set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Statement, the Government will work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection in energy markets from April 2024, including assistance for families with disabled children. The Government will consider all relevant evidence, including this survey, in developing its approach.

On top of the Energy Price Guarantee for all households, the Government has announced an additional £1,200 of support for the eight million most vulnerable households to help with the cost of living. In 2023-24, an additional Cost of Living Payment of £900 will be provided to households on means-tested benefits and £150 to individuals on disability benefits.

As a private business, Royal Mail’s management sets the prices for its services. The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions.

In setting prices Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom, the independent regulator. This framework imposes price caps, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices and users of postal services, especially vulnerable consumers, are protected from on-going price rises.

Ofcom will include consideration of the findings of its Residential Postal Tracker Q3 2021 - Q2 2022 in its upcoming review of safeguard caps including a consultation and statement during 2023/24.

Royal Mail’s quality of service targets for the delivery of universal postal services are set by Ofcom under its regulatory framework which includes an exemption from meeting performance targets during the Christmas period (defined as the first Monday of December until the first working day after the following New Year public holiday). It requires Royal Mail to notify Ofcom and the consumer advocacy bodies and publish, no later than two months from the end of each Christmas period, its performance during that period.

In its recent review of postal regulation, Ofcom decided to retain the exemption as it considered that its current approach remained appropriate.

The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a wide range of issues.

The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible, and affordable universal postal service. The Government has no current plans to change the statutory minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.

The Department is in regular contact with suppliers to understand any operational issues and to check on the redemption of vouchers.

Vouchers are sent each month, between October and March, via text, email or post and are valid for three months from the relevant monthly Qualifying Date. Suppliers must make several attempts to contact customers who have not redeemed vouchers and can reissue expired or lost vouchers.

The Government set out details of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) and confirmed that further funding would be available to provide equivalent support of £400 for energy bills, for the domestic energy consumers not reached by EBSS. This will include those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an energy supplier.

The Government is working with a range of organisations to finalise the details and have the process up and running for applications this winter.

The Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme are supporting millions of households and businesses with rising energy costs, and they will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is on top of the £800 of one-off support to eight million of the most vulnerable households to help with the cost of living.

Many customers prefer prepayment meters to help them budget. Ofgem’s License Conditions require suppliers to consider all options for appropriate debt management. This can include installing a prepayment meter, but suppliers have to consider whether this is safe and practicable, including whether a prepayment meter is appropriate for the specific customer. When making this assessment, suppliers are required to consider whether a consumer’s vulnerability makes a prepayment meter a poor choice, for example where medical equipment is required.

Ofgem rules restrict the imposition of a prepayment meter to repay debt except as a last resort.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to all UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users including faith centres and places of worship on eligible energy supply contracts. This will help ensure they are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.

The exact value of the savings for each non-domestic customer will vary depending on their contract type, the tariff and the volume used, but the scheme is intended to ensure broad parity and fairness.

Net Zero is a consideration in all relevant government decisions. The Government remains committed to net zero by 2050, but to get there we are going to need oil and gas.

Exploring domestic shale gas as a way of maximising domestic production could not only strengthen UK energy security but also reduce the amount of emissions-intensive gas imported from abroad.

Ofgem, the energy regulator, reported that in 2020 there were circa 4.1m electricity and 3.3m gas prepayment meter (PPM) customers in the UK.

Ofgem collects data on emergency credit use by the circa 2m smart PPMs for electricity and 1.5m smart gas PPMs at the eight largest suppliers, covering 94% of the market.

Supplier Licence Conditions provide for emergency and out of hours credit by default. Customers can also seek additional ‘discretionary credit’. In Q2 2022, 982,000 electricity and 586,000 gas customers on smart PPMs used emergency credit and 369,000 electricity and 175,000 gas customers used discretionary credit.

In 2019, the Government confirmed that the pause on the exploration of shale gas reserves in England would remain in place unless and until further evidence was provided that shale gas extraction could be carried out safely. Any exploration or development of shale gas would need to meet rigorous safety and environmental protections both above ground and sub-surface.

In April, the Government commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake a review of the latest scientific evidence around shale gas extraction. This review has now been completed and the Government is considering their detailed and technical report. This report will be published in due course. The Government’s policy remains unchanged.

In 2019, the Government confirmed that the pause on the exploration of shale gas reserves in England would remain in place unless and until further evidence was provided that shale gas extraction could be carried out safely. Any exploration or development of shale gas would need to meet rigorous safety and environmental protections both above ground and sub-surface.

In April, the Government commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake a review of the latest scientific evidence around shale gas extraction. This review has now been completed and the Government is considering their detailed and technical report. This report will be published in due course. The Government’s policy remains unchanged.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy did not use any underspend in the last financial year to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

Between April 2021 and April 2022, the Government spent around £800 million through domestic retrofitting schemes, prioritising the worst performing homes and those on low incomes to improve their energy efficiency. In addition, the Energy Company Obligation scheme, worth around £1 billion a year, supports the installation of energy efficiency and heating measures in people’s homes in England, Scotland, and Wales, focused on low income and vulnerable households.

Departmental underspend towards producing net zero carbon emissions by 2050 will be published in BEIS Annual Report & Accounts 2021-2022 later this year. The Department is not in a position to release underspent data yet, because the accounts are not finalised and audit is still ongoing.

The Government launched Operation Tacit to address allegations of widespread non-compliance in the Leicester garment sector. Since June 2020, HMRC have considered the National Minimum Wage (NMW) risks associated with more than 500 Leicester textiles businesses as part of Operation Tacit.

HMRC have also taken part in more than 360 visits to businesses providing advice and support to employers and workers on NMW obligations and rights, and taking enforcement action where concerns have been identified. Based on HMRC's extensive, on the ground experience, their findings are that the NMW risks in the Leicester textile industry are in line with the rest of the UK manufacturing sector.

We continue to encourage anyone with information to come forward.

The Government launched Operation Tacit to address allegations of widespread non-compliance in the Leicester garment sector. Since June 2020, HMRC have considered the National Minimum Wage (NMW) risks associated with more than 500 Leicester textiles businesses as part of Operation Tacit.

HMRC have also taken part in more than 360 visits to businesses providing advice and support to employers and workers on NMW obligations and rights, and taking enforcement action where concerns have been identified. Based on HMRC's extensive, on the ground experience, their findings are that the NMW risks in the Leicester textile industry are in line with the rest of the UK manufacturing sector.

We continue to encourage anyone with information to come forward.

On 1^st June 2022 it was announced that Missguided had been bought by the Frasers Group. The company will be supervised by the administrators for a transition period of eight weeks, after which the new owners will take over responsibility for running the business. The Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies.

No announcement has yet been made regarding redundancies. However, we recognise that this will be a worrying time for Missguided’s employees and their families and the Government stands ready to support those who may be affected. As a consequence of Missguided’s administration, any employees who have been made redundant can apply to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service to claim for redundancy, unpaid wages, holiday pay and loss of notice pay. To qualify for a redundancy payment, employees must have at least two years’ continuous employment with their former employer. Employees who do not have two years’ continuous employment can still claim for wages, holidays and loss of notice. Further information regarding how to submit a claim will be provided by the joint administrators.

On 1^st June 2022 it was announced that Missguided had been bought by the Frasers Group. The company will be supervised by the administrators for a transition period of eight weeks, after which the new owners will take over responsibility for running the business. The Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies.

No announcement has yet been made regarding redundancies. However, we recognise that this will be a worrying time for Missguided’s employees and their families and the Government stands ready to support those who may be affected. As a consequence of Missguided’s administration, any employees who have been made redundant can apply to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service to claim for redundancy, unpaid wages, holiday pay and loss of notice pay. To qualify for a redundancy payment, employees must have at least two years’ continuous employment with their former employer. Employees who do not have two years’ continuous employment can still claim for wages, holidays and loss of notice. Further information regarding how to submit a claim will be provided by the joint administrators.

On 1^st June 2022 it was announced that Missguided had been bought by the Frasers Group. The company will be supervised by the administrators for a transition period of eight weeks, after which the new owners will take over responsibility for running the business. The Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies.

No announcement has yet been made regarding redundancies. However, we recognise that this will be a worrying time for Missguided’s employees and their families and the Government stands ready to support those who may be affected. As a consequence of Missguided’s administration, any employees who have been made redundant can apply to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service to claim for redundancy, unpaid wages, holiday pay and loss of notice pay. To qualify for a redundancy payment, employees must have at least two years’ continuous employment with their former employer. Employees who do not have two years’ continuous employment can still claim for wages, holidays and loss of notice. Further information regarding how to submit a claim will be provided by the joint administrators.

On 1^st June 2022 it was announced that Missguided had been bought by the Frasers Group. The company will be supervised by the administrators for a transition period of eight weeks, after which the new owners will take over responsibility for running the business. The Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies.

No announcement has yet been made regarding redundancies. However, we recognise that this will be a worrying time for Missguided’s employees and their families and the Government stands ready to support those who may be affected. As a consequence of Missguided’s administration, any employees who have been made redundant can apply to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service to claim for redundancy, unpaid wages, holiday pay and loss of notice pay. To qualify for a redundancy payment, employees must have at least two years’ continuous employment with their former employer. Employees who do not have two years’ continuous employment can still claim for wages, holidays and loss of notice. Further information regarding how to submit a claim will be provided by the joint administrators.

The Government has taken steps to help ensure that no British organisations profit from, or contribute to, human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities in China. This includes new guidance for UK businesses on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang and enhanced export controls, as well as the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act. Organisations are expected to report on the action they are taking to tackle and prevent modern slavery risks in their supply chains as part of their annual modern slavery statement. Our overseas business risk guidance makes clear to UK companies the risks of operating in Xinjiang and urges them to consider their corporate responsibilities when making investment decisions.

The Government has taken steps to help ensure that no British organisations profit from, or contribute to, human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities in China. This includes new guidance for UK businesses on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang and enhanced export controls, as well as the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act. Our overseas business risk guidance makes clear to UK companies the risks of operating in Xinjiang and urges them to consider their corporate responsibilities when making investment decisions.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North East Fife on 5^th January 2022 to Question 93062: legislation to introduce carer’s leave will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

Ofcom is preparing to review Royal Mail’s performance for the 2021/22 financial year and has stated that it will not hesitate to act where necessary.

The Government’s sets out its strategic priorities and desired outcomes for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum and postal services in the Statement of Strategic Prioritise which is available online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-strategic-priorities. Ofcom is required to have regard to the Statement when exercising its regulatory functions.

The Government appreciates the vital role of the semiconductor sector in the global economy.

As an open economy, we welcome foreign trade and investment where it supports UK growth and jobs, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements and does not compromise our national security. Where we identify concerns, we will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security.

We are unable to comment on the details of businesses' commercial transactions, or on national security assessments. The Government is considering the case and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

BEIS does not offer a builder upgrade scheme.

The Government does not have data covering the energy billing arrangements of renters. Only energy suppliers and landlords will be able to identify the number of cases in which a tenant pays their gas and electricity bills directly

In the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government set out a comprehensive package of measures to retrofit the nation’s buildings. The Government has also announced over £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings, bringing this Parliament’s commitment to £6.6 billion.

Much of this funding has gone towards grant schemes which improve the energy efficiency of low-income homes through measures such as insulation. These schemes include the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant, and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, which will all deliver upgrades this year.

In addition, the government have committed to extending the Energy Company Obligation Scheme from 2022 to 2026, boosting its value from £640 million to £1 billion a year. This will help an extra 305,000 households with green measures including insulation.

Rules around the amount energy suppliers can charge for switching meter types are set by Ofgem. Ofgem expect that customers should not be penalised because of their choice of payment method, whether by prepayment or standard credit meter, and any charges should be reflective of the cost to the supplier. Ofgem permits suppliers to charge less than the actual cost or to waive the charge of installing or removing a prepayment meter, particularly where this can benefit customers in vulnerable situations. The Government will continue to work with Ofgem to consider what reforms are needed for future retail market regulation.

Ofgem has robust rules in place to protect Prepayment meter customers. In December 2020 Ofgem introduced Licence Conditions that require energy suppliers to provide extra support for customers using prepayment meters. These include an obligation on suppliers to make emergency and friendly-hours credit available to all pre-payment meter customers.

In addition, where a supplier identifies that a prepayment customer is in a vulnerable situation, including where a customer is self-disconnecting or self-rationing their supply, they must also offer additional support credit. When assessing how a customer will repay any credit offered, suppliers must also consider their ability to pay.

Supply Licence Conditions, as enforced by the independent energy regulator Ofgem, stipulate payments must reflect the cost to the supplier. The costs of supplying prepayment meters compared to standard meters are higher due to the different meter requirements and different payment systems. The Energy Price Cap ensures those on prepayment meters pay a fair price for their energy.

On 29 September 2020, BEIS formally launched the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry which will establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon over its lifetime, as well as ensuring lessons are learnt so that a similar situation will not be repeated in the future.

The Post Office’s Chief Executive is leading a programme of improvements to overhaul the culture, practices and operating procedures throughout every part of its business. The Government continues to closely monitor delivery of these improvements. Ministers and officials are holding the Post Office to account for taking on board the lessons learned through the litigation and will want to see clear evidence that real change has taken place.

The 555 subpostmasters involved in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) agreed a settlement of £42.75m plus costs. My officials have recently met their representatives to understand the harms which they have experienced.

Postmasters who have had their Horizon-related conviction overturned are eligible for interim compensation payments of up to £100k. This includes postmasters with quashed convictions who were also part of the GLO.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission enforces the Equality Act 2010, including in cases of race discrimination in the workplace.

On 22 November, the EHRC launched a new fund to tackle race discrimination and help victims seek justice. The Race Legal Support Fund is open for a minimum of two years, with up to £250,000 allocated this year to tackling race discrimination, harassment, and victimisation, and more available in future years. From December 2021, legal practitioners will be able to apply for funding to seek advice and help to resolve complaints of race discrimination, up to and including legal proceedings where appropriate.

Employees from BAME communities have the same routes to advice and redress as other employees. Acas provides free advice to workers and employers to enable them to understand their rights and responsibilities. Where disputes cannot be resolved earlier on, the Employment Tribunal system would be the primary enforcement method for most employment rights. There are only a few exceptions where the state enforces employment rights, such as ensuring employers pay the National Minimum Wage.

The Government takes the issues associated with the use and sale of fireworks seriously and we understand the importance of ensuring that the comprehensive legislation in place for fireworks is enforced effectively.

Local Authority Trading Standards work with retailers to ensure that fireworks being sold are safe, and they have powers to enforce against those who place non-compliant fireworks on the market. Trading Standards (and local fire and rescue authorities in metropolitan counties) can also enforce against those selling fireworks without an appropriate licence, for example, outside the normal selling periods of November 5th, Diwali, New Year’s Eve and the Chinese New Year.

Funding for local authority regulatory services is determined locally and provided as part of the revenue support grant to the local authority. The role of the Office for Product Safety and Standards is to lead and co-ordinate the product safety system, provide national capacity and support local enforcement.

We continue to engage with Local Authorities, as part of our ongoing programme of work on fireworks, to better understand the issues they face and to ensure that the Government is providing the appropriate support.

The UK is in no way dependent on Russian gas – less than 3% of the UK’s gas was sourced from Russia in 2020. The UK meets around half of its annual gas supply through domestic production, and the vast majority of imports come from reliable suppliers such as Norway. There are no gas pipelines directly linking the UK with Russia.

The Cambo oil field was first licensed in 2001. Development proposals for fields with existing licences, such as Cambo, are subject to a rigorous scrutiny process prior to consent by the independent Oil and Gas Authority, as well as an environmental impact assessment and a public consultation by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning. No decision has yet been taken on the Cambo project.

Following the recent Spending Review, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will set R&D budgets through to 2024/25. Further details of how this funding will be allocated will be announced in due course.

While the Government is working to drive down dependency for oil and gas, there will continue to be ongoing demand over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee. Given the maturity of the UK Continental Shelf, even with continued development, the UK is projected to remain a net importer out to 2050.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out how the Government is taking ‘no-regrets’ action now for decarbonising domestic heating supply, particularly on heat pumps, whilst supporting ongoing trials and other research and innovation on our future heating systems, including on hydrogen. The Government will make a decision on the potential role for hydrogen in heating buildings by 2026, learning from the Hydrogen Village pilot. Heat pump technology will play a key role in all scenarios, so for those who want to install them now, the government is supporting them to do so.

The Government want, to ensure that, in future, heat pumps are no more expensive to buy and run for consumers, the fossil fuel boilers. Households will benefit from £5,000 government grants through the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help install low-carbon heating systems, part of more than £3.9 billion of new funding to decarbonise heat and buildings. With this transition taking place over the next 14 years, no-one will be forced to remove their existing fossil fuel boilers. This will enable homeowners to easily make green choices gradually and in an affordable, practical and fair way,

A £60m innovation fund has been launched to make clean heat systems smaller and easier to install and cheaper to run. This will support the Government’s new target for all new heating systems installed in UK homes by 2035 to be either using low-carbon technologies, such as electric heat pumps, or supporting new technologies like hydrogen-ready boilers, where the government is confident it can supply clean, green fuel.

This is commercially sensitive information that relates to a company’s production costs and sales. It is not appropriate to provide estimated figures at this time.  Details of our support will be published in the 2021-22 BEIS Annual Report and Accounts which will be available on gov.uk.

Ofgem updates the energy price cap to reflect changes in underlying costs, such as purchasing wholesale gas and electricity prices, which are global markets. Wholesale prices are increasing, but the energy price cap still saves 15 million households on default tariffs up to £100 a year.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have been in regular contact with the regulator, Ofgem, and energy suppliers.

On 20 September 2021, a roundtable was held with leading energy suppliers and consumer groups to hear about the challenges they currently face.

A further roundtable was held on 21 September 2021 with smaller and challenger energy suppliers.

Ofgem updates the energy price cap to reflect changes in underlying costs, such as purchasing wholesale gas and electricity prices, which are global markets. Wholesale prices are increasing, but the energy price cap still saves 15 million households on default tariffs up to £100 a year.

The Government continues to support low income and fuel poor households with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount which provides eligible households with £140 off their bills. In addition, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments will help ensure those most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the colder months.

The Ten Point Plan is part of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister's mission to level up across the country, mobilising £12 billion of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs in the UK, and spur over three times as much private sector investment by 2030.

At every step on the path to Net Zero, we will put affordability and fairness at the heart of our reforms.

The Environmental Statement submitted by Siccar Point Energy E&P Limited considers the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed project of the Cambo Phase 1 Field Development. That Environmental Statement is currently being assessed by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) in accordance with the Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020.

As we move towards net-zero, oil and gas will play a smaller, but still an important role in meeting UK energy demand. All scenarios proposed by the Climate Change Committee setting out how we could meet our 2050 net zero emissions target include continuing demand for oil and natural gas.

The IEA report acknowledges that continued investment in existing sources of hydrocarbons will be required to meet the world’s energy demands on the pathway to net zero.

Looking forward, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with our climate goals. We have committed to launching this checkpoint by the end of 2021.

In relation to coal powered generation, in June, we announced the deadline for phasing out unabated coal generation in Great Britain will be brought forward to 1 October 2024 as part of our drive to go further and faster in decarbonising the power sector as we work towards net zero emissions by 2050.

We have already taken steps to improve the rights of workers by legislating to close a loophole which sees agency workers employed on cheaper rates than permanent workers, by quadrupling the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly, and by giving all workers the right to receive a statement of their rights from day one. On top of this, in the past year alone, the Government has taken action to support workers by increasing pay for around 2 million workers and enabling workers to carry over more annual leave, due to the pandemic.

The Government also spends around £35 million on state enforcement of employment rights for vulnerable workers. Over the past year, a multiagency taskforce (Operation TACIT) has been operating in Leicester to tackle allegation of abuse in the city's garment factories, which has visited over 300 premises and taken appropriate enforcement action where necessary, as well as working with Leicester City Council to engage with the community and increase whistleblower confidence.

The development proposal from Cambo is being scrutinised in line with robust regulatory procedures and no decision has yet been taken by OGA yet.

The UK is leading the way in the energy transition and this year the UK published the North Sea Transition Deal – the UK is the only G7 country to have agreed a landmark deal to support the oil and gas industry’s transition to green energy by 2050 while at the same time supporting 40,000 jobs.

The maximum value of our contract with Deloitte is £200,000, excluding VAT. The cost covers the initial provision of information, and three subsequent reviews to maintain this information, to ensure it remains accurate and is of use to businesses.

Hospitality venues have a legal requirement to support NHS Test and Trace by keeping a record of all their customers, visitors and staff for 21 days. Customers can check in using the NHS COVID-19 app, but venues must also make sure that there is a method of checking in that does not rely on the customer using a smartphone or other technology, in order not to digitally exclude people without digital access.

The Government expects businesses to be open and transparent in responding to consumers’ interest in where and how the products they source have been manufactured, including the use of raw materials. Since the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act, we have seen more businesses open up about their supply chains, identify high-risk areas and introduce tailored steps to support vulnerable workers.

UK listed companies are required to report on social and environmental impacts material to their business, including information about supply chains, where this is necessary for an understanding of the business as part of annual reports.

The Government response to the Transparency in Supply Chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency legislation, including:

• Extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more.
• Mandating the specific reporting topics statements must cover.
• Requiring organisations to publish their statement on the new Government digital reporting service.
• Setting a single reporting deadline by which all modern slavery statements must be published.
• Considering enforcement options in line with the ongoing development of the Single Enforcement Body for Employment rights.

Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the UK became the first country in the world to require businesses to report on how they prevent modern slavery in their operations. Following consultation, the Home Office has announced a series of measures to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act. Organisations will be required to include information about their organisation’s structure and supply chains in their modern slavery statement or to explicitly state that their statement omits this information. These new measures will be introduced once parliamentary time allows.

The Government has been engaging with the British Retail Consortium on their proposals for a licensing scheme, and with Traidcraft on the Garment Trade Adjudicator to understand the impact that further regulation would have.

BEIS and the Home Office are also working in partnership with the industry through the Apparel and General Merchandise Public and Private Protocol, a partnership between enforcement bodies and industry partners, including, the British Retail Consortium, UK Fashion and the Textile Association. This is aimed at tackling all forms of labour exploitation in the garment industry.

The impacts of climate change are not equally distributed across people or communities, and it is well-established that existing social inequalities result in a disproportionate negative impact of climate change among disadvantaged groups. BEIS has committed to improving how it takes account of equality, diversity and inclusion in its policy-making, to develop our interventions in a more inclusive way. We comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty by considering the equality impacts of our climate policies on different protected characteristics – including BAME communities. BEIS will be setting out more detail on the work it is undertaking across its responsibilities, including climate change, to build understanding and take actions to reduce inequalities in areas relating to its responsibilities.

In the most recent data from the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, covering the period 3-14 February, 48% of working adults stated that they had worked from home because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the last seven days. This figure is up from 46% the week previously.

As detailed in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on 22 February and the publication of the COVID-19 response roadmap, the Stay at Home requirement remains in place until 29 March. Until that point it is important that people stay at home wherever possible to minimise the risk of transmission.

People will no longer be legally required to Stay at Home from 29 March although the guidance will set out at that stage that people should continue to work from home where they can. Government will continue to reinforce these messages when engaging with businesses and representative organisations across a range of different sectors.

The Government has developed Safer Working Guidance with employers and trade unions, and employers are encouraged to discuss their COVID-19 risk assessment and mitigation measures with trade unions.

The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme opened for application on 30 September 2020. As of 31 January, 69,053 grant applications have been received. Applications¹, given by region in England, are as follows:

• North East: 2,593
• North West: 12,098
• Yorkshire and the Humber: 9,712
• East Midlands: 6,698
• West Midlands: 8,556
• East of England: 7,401
• Greater London: 6,491
• South East: 8,369
• South West: 6,696

¹ There is a discrepancy between the quoted total number of grant applications (69,053) and total English regional grant applications (68,614). This is due to 439 applications not listing an English region.

The original funding for the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was announced as a short-term stimulus, for use in the 2020/21 financial year only. In the 2020 Spending Review, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £320 million of funding for the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme for 2021/22, as part of funding allocated to make homes and buildings more energy efficient and less carbon intensive.

This Government recognises the importance of the UK’s thriving cultural industries, and that is why it pushed for ambitious arrangements to make it easier for performers and artists to perform across Europe as part of the negotiations on our future relationship with the EU.

This Government proposed to the EU that musicians, and their technical staff, be added to the list of permitted activities for short-term business visitors in the entry and temporary stay chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This would have allowed musicians and their staff to travel and perform in the EU more easily, without needing work-permits.

The UK’s legal texts reflected this position, as the EU has now acknowledged. These texts are confidential negotiating documents and it is not appropriate for them to be published.

This Government recognises the importance of the UK’s thriving cultural industries, and that is why it pushed for ambitious arrangements to make it easier for performers and artists to perform across Europe as part of the negotiations on our future relationship with the EU.

This Government proposed to the EU that musicians, and their technical staff, be added to the list of permitted activities for short-term business visitors in the entry and temporary stay chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This would have allowed musicians and their staff to travel and perform in the EU more easily, without needing work-permits.

As with legal text shared in confidence with trading partners, publishing correspondence between departments related to the development of legal text for trade agreements would not be appropriate as this correspondence would have been provided in confidence.

The Local Authority Delivery and Vouchers schemes have been designed to work alongside each other whilst reflecting the differences in delivery methods. Both schemes’ primary objective is to provide a short-term economic stimulus.

BEIS has allocated Local Authority Delivery funding to 55 projects totalling £74.3m of expenditure for delivery by March 2021, which can play an important role in sustaining and creating jobs in all regions of England.

BEIS anticipates funding in excess of £124m of LAD scheme projects imminently with a delivery date of September 2021, and a further £300m is allocated to the regional Local Energy Hubs for delivery by December 2021.

These staggered dates intend to balance the aim of the scheme to support economic recovery whilst being pragmatic over delivery timescales.

The UK’s climate change framework enables the Government to determine how best to balance emissions reductions across the economy. Emissions are managed within the Government’s overall strategy for meeting carbon budgets and the 2050 net zero target, as part of an economy-wide transition.

The UK follows the agreed international approach for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, which is for countries to report the emissions produced within their territories.

The Climate Change Act defines UK emissions as being those of greenhouse gases from sources within the UK, i.e. consistent with international reporting practice. Therefore all emissions from UK sources, including those produced in energy production through waste incineration, are accounted for.

Since 2017, the Government has invested approximately £1 billion through two Life Sciences Sector Deals, helping to generate significant levels of industry investment in the UK.

At Budget this year, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Life Sciences Investment Programme (LSIP), a new dedicated investment programme of up to £600 million of joint Government and industry investment. The LSIP aims to unlock the potential of the UK’s best health and life science innovations, allowing companies to grow in the UK.

This reflects the Government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the leading global hub for life sciences.

The UK welcomes President-elect Biden’s commitment to re-join the Paris Agreement and to put the US on a path to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

As the incoming Presidency of the G7 and COP26, we look forward to working with the new US administration to address the urgent challenge of climate change and to encourage countries across the world to increase their climate ambition.

Manufacturing key materials and goods is critical for our economy. The Department has been engaging with industry and suppliers throughout the pandemic to understand the impacts on production and what support is needed in order for businesses to remain operational.

We have put in place an unprecedented package of Government support to help manufacturers with business continuity and to enable any businesses that may have had to pause production to get back up and running as soon as they are able. The sector has so far benefitted from £2 billion in Government-backed finance through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme; £2.3 billion through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme; and £4.78 billion to manufacturers through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The current licensing framework, which Ofgem operate and enforce, already allows electricity generators to apply for a licence to sell energy to consumers. A supplier licence allows the licensee to supply electricity to domestic and non-domestic premises, or non-domestic premises only. It also bestows upon them certain obligations towards consumers through standard licence conditions (SLC) and also charges to be passed onto consumers, such as network costs and the cost of Government policies. In addition, the licensee is required to maintain, become party to, or comply with the industry codes that underpin the wholesale and retail markets.

Nonetheless, Ofgem recognises that a one size fits all licensing framework may be too prescriptive for some business models and introduced a Licence Lite which allows aspiring suppliers or distributed energy generators to apply for a supply licence and receive a direction which relieves them from the obligation in SLC 11.2 – compliance with industry codes. In addition, Ofgem have introduced a regulatory sandbox in which innovators can try new products and business models.

Government and Ofgem are reviewing the licensing framework in light of changing business models and our commitment to reach Net Zero. We want to ensure that the regulatory regime continues to protect consumers and is flexible in response to a changing energy system.

We are confident we can reach a deal and will continue to work hard to reach an agreement with the EU, for as long as there is a constructive process ongoing. The Political Declaration sets out our ambition for a zero tariff and zero quota Free Trade Agreement.

Extensive engagement has taken place and continues between the Government and the automotive sector on future trade negotiations. We shall continue to work with companies over the next few months to ensure that they are well prepared for the end of the transition period.

In addition, the Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector.

We have provided guidance on how to work safely in a number of different working environments, such as offices, factories, and working outdoors – so that employers can use the guidance which is most relevant to them. Ensuring the safety of all workers is at the forefront of this guidance. Our approach is clinically led, based on the expert advice of the UK’s Chief Medical Officer for England, the NHS and Public Health England. We are led by the evolving science in this work and as the scientific and medical advice changes, the guidance will be updated to reflect this.

Where workers already wear PPE for protection against non-COVID risks, such as dust, they should continue to wear this PPE.

The best way to manage the risk of COVID-19 is to implement robust social distancing measures and other physical controls. Outside of a clinical setting there is very little evidence to support the use of PPE and we would anticipate that an employer’s risk assessment and risk management decisions would reflect that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited.

We recommend that PPE is not used in working environments where it would not normally be required. Good hygiene and minimising social contact remain the most effective way of managing the risks of COVID-19. However, if an employers’ risk assessment does show that PPE is required, employers must provide this PPE free of charge to employees.

Employers should consult with unions and employees when carrying out their risk assessment to make sure their concerns can be taken into account. If employees continue to have concerns, they can raise them with union safety representatives, or ultimately with the organisation responsibility for enforcement in their workplace, either the Health and Safety Executive or their local authority.

Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. BEIS officials have held regular discussions with travel and tourism sector representatives, travel businesses and consumer advocacy bodies to assess the impact of cancellations made in light of the covid-19 outbreak. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers seeking refunds.

Under Gas Supplier Licence Condition 29 (SLC29) Gas Suppliers are required on request to carry out free annual gas safety checks to certain vulnerable domestic customers living in non-rented premises.

In the current circumstances, Ofgem does not consider it is necessary for it to relax Condition 29 because gas suppliers undertake their free annual gas safety checks only on request by and with the permission of the customer.

This position is held under the current circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic provided that relevant parties follow the Government guidance, public health advice and safety legislation more generally. Ofgem’s Chief Executive Jonathan Brearley wrote to the energy supply companies on 8 April 2020 setting out the expectations of them during the COVID-19 outbreak and reminding them of their primary need to follow this guidance, public health advice and safety legislation.

The Government is closely monitoring developments in relation to potential economic impacts on the UK economy, including on individuals, individual businesses, supply chains and for consumers.

We want to make sure our welfare system works quickly and effectively to provide security for people.

Self-employed individuals who are not eligible to receive sick pay may be able to claim Universal Credit and/or new style Employment and Support Allowance. For the duration of the outbreak, the requirements of the Universal Credit Minimum Income Floor will be temporarily relaxed for those who have COVID-19 or are self-isolating according to government advice. The Government have announced additional financial support which includes £330bn in loans and £20bn in other aid, business rates holiday and grants for retailers and pubs.

A dedicated helpline has been set up to help self-employed individuals in financial distress and with outstanding tax liabilities receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time To Pay service. These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities. HMRC’s new dedicated COVID-19 helpline can be contacted from 11 March 2020 for advice and support. To ensure ongoing support, HMRC have made a further 2,000 experienced call handlers available to support firms and individuals when needed.

At the end of 2019 36% of all prepayment meters were smart meters in pre-payment mode, which enable energy consumers to top up without needing to leave their homes.

There are existing general protections for traditional prepayment meter customers who are unable to access top-up outlets, including emergency credit if credit has been exhausted on the meter. Suppliers also operate a friendly hour’s policy, when supply would not be interrupted, normally during evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays.

For traditional prepayment meters, suppliers can also send pre-loaded keycards to customers to provide additional credit, where consumers need to self-isolate for a longer period of time. The consumer would need to inform their supplier that they need assistance.

The Department is actively engaging with Ofgem and industry to ensure all customers receive the support they need.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) receives 120,000 applications per day, of which 95% are processed within the service standard of 5 days for register updates (to an existing title) and 25 days for more complex applications that require the creation of a new title (for example on the first registration of a property or a new lease). There is a backlog of some complex casework involving the creation of a new title, which account for 5% of applications.

HMLR recognise that this situation needs addressing and are implementing plans to reduce the waiting times for those cases. These applications relate to an already completed property transaction but HMLR will expedite cases where necessary to avoid adverse impacts on customers.

This Government is committed to meeting net zero by 2050, and in 2019, the Government became the first major economy in the world to have legislated for a net zero target to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from across the UK economy by 2050. We agree with the Committee on Climate Change’s view on the importance of a diverse mix of power generation sources to achieve that with renewables providing the majority of our electricity by 2050 alongside firm low carbon power from sources such as nuclear, and gas or biomass generation with carbon capture and storage.

The Government has introduced many initiatives to increase the supply of renewable energy production in the UK and with this support, carbon emissions have reduced by 42%, while the economy has grown by 73% since 1990. We have also seen rapid deployment of solar PV over the last 8 years, with over 99% of the UK’s solar PV capacity deployed since May 2010 and half of the world’s offshore wind deploying in the UK. We have committed up to £557m of annual support for future Contracts for Difference, providing developers with the confidence they need to invest in bringing forward new projects and we are supporting our world-leading offshore wind industry through the 2019 sector deal.

In order to support smaller scale renewable electricity generation, the Government introduced the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) on 1 January, which gives small scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as homes with solar panels, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid. Unlike the previous Feed-in Tariff scheme, the SEG is a market-driven mechanism. It paves the way to projects being deployed without subsidies.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) supports the transition to low-carbon heating in the UK, helping generate renewable heat for schools, hospitals and more than 12,000 social housing properties. The scheme is designed to bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuel heat sources and renewable heat alternatives through financial support for owners of participating installations. The RHI helps to sustain and build the supply-chains needed to deliver our aspirations for renewable heat in 2020 and beyond

We are working to develop a new policy framework for the long-term decarbonisation of heat. We have committed to publishing a policy roadmap in summer 2020. This will set out the programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions in the first half of 2020 on how we achieve mass transition to low carbon heating.

British Gas are introducing a minimum top up of £5 for most of their prepayment customers starting on 1 January. This is a commercial decision of British Gas. Although a £5 minimum top up is not uncommon practice amongst suppliers, there are many that offer a minimum top up of £1.

BEIS officials are liaising with Ofgem to confirm whether they were given prior notification of British Gas’ decision, and also that British Gas has met its obligation to treat customers fairly and ensure that each customer was provided with information about the assistance and advice that is available to them.

Customers are protected through the price caps on standard variable and prepayment meter tariffs. A key challenge now is for suppliers to put the consumer first and improve their customer service.

The government plans to publish an Energy White Paper in 2020, which will address the transformation of the energy system in line with our net zero commitment and will set out the importance of affordable energy in support of a high productivity economy.

I hosted a roundtable on Tuesday 24 January to hear directly from leisure and swimming pool operators in the public and private sector on how the challenges they face. This was attended by a range of organisations, National Governing Bodies and local authority representations. I have regularly met with the National Sector Partner Group, and their membership organisations, to discuss issues affecting the leisure and physical activity sector.

The Gambling Commission records data on premises numbers at a national rather than a local level. In March 2022 its Industry Statistics recorded 6,219 Licensed Betting Shops and 1,285 Adult Gaming Centres in Great Britain and the figures for each reporting period since 2017 are detailed in the table below.

Each Local Authority is required to have a current list of all licensed gambling premises available to access on request under section 156 of the Gambling Act.

Our review of the Gambling Act 2005 is looking at the situation of the land-based gambling industry as part of its wide-ranging scope. A White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps will be published in the coming weeks.

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on Monday 18 July 2022 and following the election of the new leader of the Conservative Party, Ministers are further considering the Bill.

We are working with businesses and other stakeholders, at speed, to ensure that the Bill maximises our post-Brexit opportunity, and as mentioned in the Secretary of State’s conference speech, the Bill seeks to retain our data adequacy decision so businesses can trade freely.

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will continue its passage in due course.

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to indoor and outdoor pools and that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

We appreciate the impact rising energy prices will have on organisations of all sizes, including on leisure operators. In September the government announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, under which businesses and other non-domestic energy users (including swimming pools) will be offered support. The EBRS is currently under review to ensure support is targeted to the most vulnerable sectors.

Officials in my department are in regular contact with representatives from the sector to assess the impact of rising energy costs, and how operators such as Greenwich Leisure and local authorities are responding to them.

Sport England has invested £12,775,274 in swimming and diving projects since April 2019, which includes £9,360,002 to Swim England. This is in addition to the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic.

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to indoor and outdoor pools and that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

We appreciate the impact rising energy prices will have on organisations of all sizes, including on leisure operators. In September the government announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, under which businesses and other non-domestic energy users (including swimming pools) will be offered support. The EBRS is currently under review to ensure support is targeted to the most vulnerable sectors.

Officials in my department are in regular contact with representatives from the sector to assess the impact of rising energy costs, and how operators such as Greenwich Leisure and local authorities are responding to them.

Sport England has invested £12,775,274 in swimming and diving projects since April 2019, which includes £9,360,002 to Swim England. This is in addition to the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic.

I am absolutely committed to supporting women's sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation. I recognise the impact that the pandemic has had on women’s sport. Sport England’s latest Active Lives data, published in April this year, shows that men (63%) are still more likely to be active than women (60%).

There are some fantastic initiatives that exist to encourage women to take up sport and physical activity, for example Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, which has already inspired millions of women and girls to get active regardless of shape, size and ability. This Girl Can has also been working with ukactive and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) to provide resources and training to help leisure and fitness facilities ensure their spaces are safe and inclusive for all women.

Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health and everyone, regardless of their background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Leisure centres and gyms are not just great places to be active, they also provide vital social spaces and community hubs.

Throughout the pandemic, the government provided the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country, protecting access to these facilities for those who most needed them.

Sport England has developed tools and guidance to assist local authorities with the strategic planning of leisure facilities and services to encourage low-income and other disadvantaged groups to be active in the facilities they operate for their communities. This guidance assists local authorities to determine what the local strategic outcomes and priorities are for their area and the local residents. Local Authorities and their operating partners are encouraged to consider how concessionary pricing and other subsidised activities can help in achieving this.

The Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into The Collegiate Charitable Trust in 2018. It is considering regulatory issues relating to the administration of the charity by the trustees.

Due to the nature of the concerns, interim managers were appointed to manage the charity. The timeframe of the inquiry depends on the interim manager’s findings and any other regulatory action which may be required. Neither the government nor the Charity Commission is able to provide further information on the inquiry until it has concluded.

While DCMS is the Charity Commission’s sponsor department, the Commission is an independent regulator and not subject to ministerial direction or control. As with other regulatory inquiries, once it is complete the Charity Commission will publish a report on its website in line with its processes.

The Government recognises that the way creative workers work in the EU has changed, and the sector will need to adapt to new requirements as the UK is no longer in the EU. The Government is committed to supporting the sector to adapt to these new arrangements, and we have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do.

EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in each Member State. That is why we have engaged with EU Member States and, from these discussions, almost all Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for creative performers.

The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not require work permits.

We have continued to engage with the creative sectors to help understand the impact of these changes on the creative sectors.

The Sport Survival Package launched in November 2020 to ensure sport organisations survive the period of coronavirus restrictions which prevented spectators from attending spectator sport events. Whilst coronavirus restrictions were in place, we engaged with the whole sport sector, including the England and Wales Cricket Board as cricket’s national governing body, to understand the evolving challenges and support recovery. No cricket organisations applied for funding through the package and therefore did not receive Survival Package support. Every eligible organisation who could demonstrate an urgent financial need in alignment with the fund criteria received support from the package.

The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor technology to the global economy. Semiconductors are a fundamental enabling technology for electronic devices and there is significant attention being paid to the sector internationally, not least because a confluence of unexpected events have caused a global chips shortage with global ramifications. The supply chains for semiconductor products are incredibly complex, spanning a large number of countries and the government understands the potential for future disruptions to the supply chain.

The Government is reviewing its approach to the semiconductors sector working closely with industry experts and representative bodies. We are considering how best to mitigate the risk of future disruption to technology supply chains, and ensure that the UK can continue to get access to the chips it needs. We are working closely with our international partners, recognising that, as a set of global markets, these issues cannot be solved by the UK alone.

The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor technology to the global economy. Semiconductors are a fundamental enabling technology for electronic devices and there is significant attention being paid to the sector internationally, not least because a confluence of unexpected events have caused a global chips shortage with global ramifications. The supply chains for semiconductor products are incredibly complex, spanning a large number of countries and the government understands the potential for future disruptions to the supply chain.

The Government is reviewing its approach to the semiconductors sector working closely with industry experts and representative bodies. We are considering how best to mitigate the risk of future disruption to technology supply chains, and ensure that the UK can continue to get access to the chips it needs. We are working closely with our international partners, recognising that, as a set of global markets, these issues cannot be solved by the UK alone.

As the creative sectors continue to grow and build back better from the pandemic, the government understands the importance of ensuring that the creative industries do not suffer from skills shortages, including the performing arts technical skills sector. That is why the government has supported initiatives to boost training and employment opportunities in these sectors, such as the industry-led Creative Careers Programme.

Throughout the pandemic, DCMS Ministers and officials have had, and continue to have, regular meetings and discussions with representatives of the theatre sector on a range of issues. The Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay has had a number of meetings with theatres, both one-to-one and collectively. In February, the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure held a creative apprentices roundtable with industry to mark apprenticeships week - this was attended by apprentices from the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre. We continue to involve the theatre sector in ongoing policy work.

At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor announced a new £7 million pilot fund to test ‘flexi-job’ apprenticeships, which will better suit the working practices of the creative industries and enable more young people to enter the workforce. This builds on the DCMS-funded ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Pilot with Netflix and Warner Media, relaunched last Summer with apprentices working across multiple productions and employers.

DCMS supports the industry-led Creative Careers Programme, which has to date showcased creative career pathways to over 115,000 pupils at over 1,500 schools across England, as well as the Department for Work and Pensions’ Kickstart Scheme through which over 8,000 creative industry placements are now available to young people across the country.

DCMS is also leading on the development of a Creative Industries Sector Vision, due to be published in summer 2022, which will set out our vision for the sector in 2030 and a long-term strategy focused on promoting growth within the sector. This includes considering the skills, workforce and talent pipeline challenges and opportunities for the sector.

As the creative sectors continue to grow and build back better from the pandemic, the government understands the importance of ensuring that the creative industries do not suffer from skills shortages, including the performing arts technical skills sector. That is why the government has supported initiatives to boost training and employment opportunities in these sectors, such as the industry-led Creative Careers Programme.

Throughout the pandemic, DCMS Ministers and officials have had, and continue to have, regular meetings and discussions with representatives of the theatre sector on a range of issues. The Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay has had a number of meetings with theatres, both one-to-one and collectively. In February, the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure held a creative apprentices roundtable with industry to mark apprenticeships week - this was attended by apprentices from the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre. We continue to involve the theatre sector in ongoing policy work.

At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor announced a new £7 million pilot fund to test ‘flexi-job’ apprenticeships, which will better suit the working practices of the creative industries and enable more young people to enter the workforce. This builds on the DCMS-funded ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Pilot with Netflix and Warner Media, relaunched last Summer with apprentices working across multiple productions and employers.

DCMS supports the industry-led Creative Careers Programme, which has to date showcased creative career pathways to over 115,000 pupils at over 1,500 schools across England, as well as the Department for Work and Pensions’ Kickstart Scheme through which over 8,000 creative industry placements are now available to young people across the country.

DCMS is also leading on the development of a Creative Industries Sector Vision, due to be published in summer 2022, which will set out our vision for the sector in 2030 and a long-term strategy focused on promoting growth within the sector. This includes considering the skills, workforce and talent pipeline challenges and opportunities for the sector.

The government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including tackling racism and increasing racial diversity in grassroots football.

In October 2021 the FA launched their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy (2021-24) ‘A Game for All’. We also welcomed the launch of the County FA’s Code of Governance in May 2020 and the FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ in October 2020, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted, in 2021, for the National League System and grassroots clubs.

Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £75m announced in 2021 as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.

The government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport and will be addressing it in the upcoming revised Sport Strategy.

The government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including tackling racism and increasing racial diversity in grassroots football.

In October 2021 the FA launched their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy (2021-24) ‘A Game for All’. We also welcomed the launch of the County FA’s Code of Governance in May 2020 and the FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ in October 2020, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted, in 2021, for the National League System and grassroots clubs.

Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £75m announced in 2021 as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.

The government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport and will be addressing it in the upcoming revised Sport Strategy.

The use of cookies and similar technologies is regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Currently, PECR prohibits the placement of cookies and similar technologies on a person’s computer, or other connected device, without the consent of the individual. There are currently two exceptions from gaining consent; for purposes that are essential to provide an online service at someone’s request (e.g. to remember what’s in their online basket, or to ensure security in online banking) and where this technology is needed to transmit a communication over a communications network.

Organisations must provide clear information about what data is being collected via cookies and how it will be used, but we recognise that privacy information displayed in cookie banners can sometimes be long and complex. That is why we have been exploring a range of measures through the public consultation 'Data: A New Direction' to tackle the issue. Proposals include limiting cookie pop-up banners in relation to non-intrusive cookies, so that consumers can engage meaningfully with more important choices about how their personal data is used. We are also exploring how we can facilitate innovative technologies, such as browser-based solutions, to help people manage their consent preferences on the internet.

The consultation closed on 19 November 2021 and the government’s response will be published in the spring. The consultation paper can be viewed here.

All generations and communities should be able to enjoy the physical and mental health, wellbeing, social and other benefits of being active; as well as having access to high quality facilities in which to do so.

Since May 2019 Sport England has invested £9,112,554 to support grassroots development in Swimming & Diving. Sport England continues to monitor participation levels throughout the country to ensure these investments are made where they are most needed.

The hiring of swimming pools, and swimming lessons, qualify for an exemption from VAT when certain conditions are met as outlined in VAT Notice 742 paragraph 5. The Government has no plans to change this.

Tax is reserved to the Chancellor of Exchequer and HM Treasury.

Recent reports of racism in cricket have highlighted that discrimination, including anti-Muslim hatred, is sadly too prevalent within sport. There can be no place for it. The Government expects sports bodies to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs.

Earlier this year UK Sport, Sport England and the other UK sports councils published reports into racism and racial inequalities in sport, including a report capturing people’s lived experiences of racism in sport. The sports councils have agreed some initial overarching commitments, and are working to develop their own action plans to further deliver on these commitments.

This is in addition to steps such as the forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance, which will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the communities they serve. Sports receiving the most funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.

Getting faith groups more involved in sport and activity is also a key part of Sport England’s 10-year strategy “Uniting the Movement”, published earlier this year. Through this strategy Sport England have committed to providing opportunities to people and communities that have traditionally been left behind and helping to remove the barriers to activity.

The Government, and our sports councils, are committed to making sure sport is inclusive for everyone. Where action taken by sports does not go far enough, the government is prepared to step in.

For a full answer please refer to the Urgent Question debated on Tuesday 9 November 2021.

The Youth Investment Fund (YIF) is designed to achieve levelling up across the country. The YIF will invest in safe spaces for young people in the areas of greatest need, giving them access to support from youth workers and enabling them to engage in beneficial activities. Plans for the fund are subject to the 2021 Spending Review, following the DCMS review of its offer to young people.

The Government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.

For example, the Government cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% last July, with this significantly reduced rate remaining until the end of this month. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.

We are committed to supporting tourism’s return to pre-pandemic levels ahead of independent forecasts, as set out in the Government's Tourism Recovery Plan published in June. The Government is regularly engaging with stakeholders, including via the Tourism Industry Council, to monitor the pandemic’s impact and to support the sector’s recovery.

The Government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.

For example, the Government cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% last July, with this significantly reduced rate remaining until the end of this month. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.

We are committed to supporting tourism’s return to pre-pandemic levels ahead of independent forecasts, as set out in the Government's Tourism Recovery Plan published in June. The Government is regularly engaging with stakeholders, including via the Tourism Industry Council, to monitor the pandemic’s impact and to support the sector’s recovery.

The racist abuse targeted at Sir Lewis Hamilton and other sportspeople is unacceptable. Under the draft Online Safety Bill, services in scope will need to minimise and remove illegal content. Major platforms will also need to address legal but harmful content for adults. The Bill has been published in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. The process to formally set up the Joint Committee that will scrutinise the draft Bill has begun.

The Government’s sport and physical activity strategy ‘Sporting Future’ sets out a clear ambition to increase diversity, and tackle racism and inequality in sport.

In addition, Sport England, UK Sport and the other home nations’ sports councils recently published the results of a detailed, independent review into tackling racism and racial inequality in sport. Each Council is now developing its own action plans to deliver on commitments relating to people; representation; investment; systems and insight.

The creative industries contributed approximately £116bn to the UK economy in 2019. The Government has recognised the sector as one of the key sectors to drive growth across the country in the Chancellor’s Plan for Growth.

We are actively supporting the creative industries through a range of initiatives such as:

• £4m towards the Creative Scale-Up programme which seeks to help creative businesses expand their operations.

• £39m towards the Creative Clusters programme through UKRI which connects businesses and academia to take advantage of the most recent research and innovations so they can grow.

• £33m towards the Audience of the Future which encouraged creative businesses to use innovative new technologies to reach new audiences.

• £20m towards the first round of the Cultural Development Fund to support business growth and productivity through investment in cultural and creative infrastructure via five projects in places like Wakefield and Worcester, in addition to a further £18.5m for a second round as part of the landmark Cultural Investment Fund, launched in May 2021.

• HMG committed over £2m to the Creative Careers Programme which aims to address aspirational and informational barriers to entry amongst young people and their carers. To date over 115,000 young people have engaged with the programme at over 1500 schools in England and Wales.

• Continuing to work with industry through the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board to increase exports in the creative industries.

• The Government supports trade promotion in the CIs through DIT’s export hubs, the Internationalisation Fund, the Export Academy. All this support will feature in the Creative Industries Export Campaign which will encourage both new exporters and companies wanting to look at new export markets to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to the UK as an independent trading nation.

• The Government is also looking carefully at options for an Export Office.

This government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people.

The British people voted to take back control of our borders and end free movement with the EU in the 2016 referendum. That was a key part of the manifesto on which the Government won the 2019 election and is reflected in the agreement. It was inevitable therefore that there would be changes in the arrangements under which creative workers work in the EU.

UK performers, artists, and musicians are of course still able to tour and perform in the EU, and vice versa. As the Secretary of State has said, we have moved at pace and with urgency and have provided much greater clarity about the current position. We are committed to supporting the sectors as they get to grips with the changes to systems and processes. This includes the development of sector specific ‘landing pages’ for GOV.UK, aimed at the creative sectors, which will allow cultural and creative professionals to easily locate and access guidance that is relevant to them. We are also engaging directly with Member States to ensure their guidance on their visa and work permit requirements is clear and accessible.

Separately, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy commissioned Deloitte to provide enhanced guidance on EU Member State immigration systems for GOV.UK to help businesses navigate the new business travel rules, following the end of the Transition Period. The guidance is deliberately sector-neutral, but it does capture any mention of sector-specific rules that feature on Member State websites. So far, 15 country guides have been published, representing more than three quarters of UK services exports to the EU, Norway and Switzerland by value. The remainder will follow in the coming weeks.

This government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people.

The British people voted to take back control of our borders and end free movement with the EU in the 2016 referendum. That was a key part of the manifesto on which the Government won the 2019 election and is reflected in the agreement. It was inevitable therefore that there would be changes in the arrangements under which creative workers work in the EU.

UK performers, artists, and musicians are of course still able to tour and perform in the EU, and vice versa. As the Secretary of State has said, we have moved at pace and with urgency and have provided much greater clarity about the current position. We are committed to supporting the sectors as they get to grips with the changes to systems and processes. This includes the development of sector specific ‘landing pages’ for GOV.UK, aimed at the creative sectors, which will allow cultural and creative professionals to easily locate and access guidance that is relevant to them. We are also engaging directly with Member States to ensure their guidance on their visa and work permit requirements is clear and accessible.

Separately, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy commissioned Deloitte to provide enhanced guidance on EU Member State immigration systems for GOV.UK to help businesses navigate the new business travel rules, following the end of the Transition Period. The guidance is deliberately sector-neutral, but it does capture any mention of sector-specific rules that feature on Member State websites. So far, 15 country guides have been published, representing more than three quarters of UK services exports to the EU, Norway and Switzerland by value. The remainder will follow in the coming weeks.

I know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country and that many people have made sacrifices in order to drive down infections and protect the NHS over the last year. I am aware that singing can have great benefits for both physical and mental health. I can assure you that everyone across the government wants to ease these restrictions as soon as possible.

We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.

The Government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including swimming. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ sets out a clear ambition to increase levels of physical activity amongst under-represented groups, working closely with the sector to achieve this. We support the efforts of groups helping to promote diversity and inclusion in sport, including the Black Swimming Association who are working to increase swimming participation levels for black swimmers.

Sport England, DCMS's arm’s length body for grassroots sport in England, recently launched their new ten year strategy, Uniting the Movement. This reinforced their commitment to diversifying participation and tackling inequalities in sport and physical activity. Sport England have invested £12.6 million in Swim England to promote participation in swimming, including support for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Recently Swim England and the Black Swimming Association have announced a partnership to further increase numbers of participation in aquatic activity, which we welcome.

The EU’s customs legislation, the Union Customs Code, provides that relief from import duty can be given for portable musical instruments temporarily imported by travellers in order to be used as professional equipment, without the need to submit a formal customs declaration. The UK has an equivalent provision for similar movements into the UK. The management of EU import and export procedures are the responsibility of the customs authorities of the Member States. It is therefore important that individuals or businesses confirm the processes at their port of arrival and any conditions or procedures that may apply.

Officials in the Border and Protocol Delivery Group (BPDG) engage on a regular basis with the EU custom authorities. DCMS will continue to work with BPDG and the sector to engage with relevant customs authorities to address any issues facing musicians.

The government is committed to a free and independent press, and does not intervene in what the press can and cannot publish. We are clear, however, that with this freedom, comes responsibility, which media organisations must take seriously. It is important that there exists an independent self regulatory regime to ensure that the press adheres to a wide set of clear and appropriate standards, and to offer individuals a means of redress where these are not met.

The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A small number of publishers have joined The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS). These regulators issue codes of conduct which provide guidelines on a range of areas including discrimination, and set out the rules that members have agreed to follow.

Ofcom, the UK’s independent broadcast regulator, sets clear rules in its Broadcasting Code for licensed broadcasters to meet to ensure UK audiences are adequately protected from harmful material.

In addition, the government has been clear that more needs to be done to ensure safety online. Therefore this government is introducing new Online Harms legislation. This will require companies to tackle abuse on their services and take reasonable steps to protect users’ safety online. Users will be better able to report abuse, and should expect to receive appropriate support from the relevant platform if they do so.

To help protect telecoms consumers, the Government strengthened Ofcom’s powers through the Digital Economy Act 2017. As a result, in April 2019, Ofcom introduced a voluntary automatic compensation scheme for customers of broadband and landline services for when things go wrong, such as missed engineer appointments, delayed start of a service or delayed repairs. BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, Zen Internet, Utility Warehouse and Hyperoptic have all signed up to the scheme. The scheme is designed to help ensure customers receive appropriate redress when things go wrong and, over time, incentivise companies to improve their service.

Since its launch, Ofcom has been monitoring the scheme through regular engagement with the signatory companies, Openreach and with telecoms alternative dispute resolution providers. Under the voluntary agreement, signatories are also required to provide information to Ofcom, such as volumes of issues and the amounts of compensation paid. Following a review of the scheme in August 2020, Ofcom concluded that the scheme was launched successfully, that it covered around 80% of the broadband market, and that it had increased compensation payments to consumers where repairs or installations had been delayed.

The Government recognises the importance of digital connectivity, particularly during this difficult period. For repairs, broadband providers are able to send new equipment to their consumers via postal delivery or using click and collect services, and telecoms engineers are able to visit residential properties to instal or fix broadband connections under the current Covid-19 guidelines.

More broadly, Ofcom has rules in place, known as general conditions, which all providers must follow, that mandate communication providers to have procedures and policies in place to identify and support vulnerable consumers. Under these industry rules, providers must provide a priority fault repair service for disabled consumers of landline, broadband and mobile services.

Ofcom has also recently published a vulnerability guide for providers, setting out their expectations and good practice on how vulnerable telecoms consumers should be supported. This includes steps providers can take to identify vulnerable consumers, and an expectation that all providers implement specialist teams in order to provide extra support for vulnerable consumers.

In accordance with the guidance issued by HM Revenue & Customs, the national museums - as publicly funded bodies - are expected to consult their sponsor department before applying to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. In recognition of their reliance on self-generated income which would normally supplement their Grant in Aid from government, DCMS has agreed that the national museums and galleries may furlough staff where it is necessary and proportionate to do so, and in such a way that ensures value for public money.

To protect telecoms consumers the government has strengthened Ofcom’s powers through the Digital Economy Act 2017. As a result, in April 2019, Ofcom introduced a voluntary automatic compensation scheme for customers of broadband and landline services for when things go wrong, such as missed engineer appointments, delayed start of a service or delayed repairs. BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, Zen Internet, Utility Warehouse and Hyperoptic have all signed up to the scheme.

The scheme is designed to help ensure customers receive appropriate redress when things go wrong and, over time, incentivise companies to improve their service. Following a review of the scheme in August 2020 Ofcom concluded that the scheme was launched successfully, that it now covers around 80% of the broadband market and that it has increased compensation payments to consumers where repairs or installations had been delayed.

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. It is important that sports clubs remain accessible for people from all backgrounds as we make efforts to return to normality after the Covid lockdown period.

Sport England have announced a £210 million package of support to help community clubs through this crisis.

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. It is important that sports clubs remain accessible for people from all backgrounds as we make efforts to return to normality after the Covid lockdown period.

Government guidance on team sports is available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation/return-to-recreational-team-sport-framework#team-sport-guidance

Guidance on indoor sports is available: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/providers-of-grassroots-sport-and-gym-leisure-facilities

General guidance is available on line at :www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus

This guidance includes advice on existing rules on social distancing and hygiene, and updates on those rules when they change with the evolving situation.

On 13 August, the Government announced that indoor play and indoor soft play venues can open from 15 August. We have also been working with BALPPA, the trade body that represents the industry to develop guidance that lays out detailed measures that should be taken by indoor play and indoor soft play operators to make venues COVID-secure. These include closing ball pits and sensory areas, reducing capacity of venues and soft play frames, regular deep cleaning, pre-bookable timed sessions, increased sanitation, and a rigorous process to support track and trace. Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active and the Government is committed to reopening facilities as soon as it is safe to do so. Since 4 July other indoor facilities, including some indoor games, recreation and entertainment venues have reopened.

As with all aspects of the Government’s response to COVID-19, we continue to be guided by public health considerations to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity safely.

The consideration of different venues and the activities involved are underpinned by understanding the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with particular activities.

We recognise the importance of re-opening our indoor and outdoor pools and we agree that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. There are concerns about transmission around points of contact within such facilities, like changing rooms due to the high volume of contacts. As such, we need to provide reassurance that these facilities will be safe, and are working hard to achieve this in the coming weeks.

We are holding regular discussions with representatives from the leisure sector and national sports organisations including swimming to develop guidance that will support them to open their facilities in a timely and safe manner once lockdown measures are eased.

The Government is actively working towards a safe way to re-open these facilities, with supporting guidance.

We recognise the importance of re-opening our indoor and outdoor pools and agree that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy both mentally and physically. We are holding regular discussions with representatives from the leisure sector and national sports organisations including swimming to develop guidance that will support them to open their facilities in a timely and safe manner once lockdown measures are eased.

The consideration of different venues and the activities involved are underpinned by understanding the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with particular activities. There are concerns about transmission around points of contact within such facilities, like changing rooms due to the high volume of contacts. As such, we need to provide reassurance that these facilities will be safe, and are working hard to achieve this in the coming weeks.

We recognise the importance of re-opening our indoor and outdoor pools and agree that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy both mentally and physically. We are holding regular discussions with representatives from the leisure sector and national sports organisations including swimming to develop guidance that will support them to open their facilities in a timely and safe manner once lockdown measures are eased.

The consideration of different venues and the activities involved are underpinned by understanding the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with particular activities. There are concerns about transmission around points of contact within such facilities, like changing rooms due to the high volume of contacts. As such, we need to provide reassurance that these facilities will be safe, and are working hard to achieve this in the coming weeks.

The consideration of different venues and the activities involved are underpinned by understanding the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with particular activities.

We recognise the importance of re-opening our indoor and outdoor pools and we agree that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. There are concerns about transmission around points of contact within such facilities, like changing rooms due to the high volume of contacts. As such, we need to provide reassurance that these facilities will be safe, and are working hard to achieve this in the coming weeks.

The Government is actively working towards a safe way to re-open these facilities, with supporting guidance.

BAME charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises play a vital role in supporting communities throughout the country. Their work has become even more critical in the response to this unprecedented crisis.

Government recognises that organisations require extra support in order to continue their vital work while experiencing significant pressures due to Covid-19, through either, or both, a loss of income and increasing demand for services increases.

This is why the government has made an unprecedented £750 million package of support available, specifically for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. The Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) forms a central part of this package, and is being administered through the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF). £200 million has now been made available for TNLCF to distribute and they are engaging extensively with BAME organisations to improve the reach of the Fund.

A diverse advisory panel has been set up to assist in the distribution process for the Fund. DCMS will continue to work closely to assess how we can support BAME charities and social enterprises in doing their important work. The Minister for Civil Society holds a fortnightly roundtable to hear directly from BAME civil society organisations to highlight concerns and responses to Covid-19. DCMS will continue to work closely to assess how we can support BAME charities and social enterprises in doing their important work.

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active and the Government is committed to reopening facilities, including outside gyms and sport pitches as soon as it is safe to do so.

We are holding regular discussions with representatives from across the sport sector to develop guidance that will support them to open their facilities in a timely and safe manner once lockdown measures are eased.

As with all aspects of the Government’s response to Covid-19, we will be guided by the science to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity safely.

We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many of DCMS’ sectors including the creative industries, which is why the Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency.

DCMS is engaging with a range of departments to support the economic response, and ensuring that the needs of its sectors, and those who work in them, are fully understood. DCMS will continue to work with these valuable sectors to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

To ensure we are assisting all our sectors as effectively as possible, regular ministerially-chaired roundtables are held with business representative organisations as well as trade associations from across the Creative Industries. In addition, officials are in regular contact with stakeholders from these sectors, and we continue to speak with HM Treasury colleagues to ensure that the full spectrum of government support reaches the UK's world-leading media and Creative Industries.

As set out on 1 May, the Government is making a further £617m available through a Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund to support small businesses previously outside the scope of existing business grant funding schemes. Grants up to a maximum of £25,000 will be available and the allocation of funding will be at the discretion of local authorities.

On 11 May, the government published updated guidance on lockdown measures, including updates on how people can be active in outdoor spaces and on outdoor sports courts as long as they participate by themselves, or with members from their same household, or two metres apart from one member of another household.

The government has made it clear that it will adopt a phased approach based on scientific and medical advice, and that the primary goal is to protect public health. The government is in discussions with representatives from the sport and physical activity sector about the steps required to restart grassroots sport and will update the public when it is deemed safe to open up indoor facilities such as swimming pools, leisure centres and gyms.

It is vital that people continue to be active throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to support their physical and mental wellbeing. It is also important that those people who have to overcome specific barriers to getting active are supported as far as possible to continue to engage in activity.

The Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the effect of swimming pool closure on this group of people. However, Sport England is gathering data on the impact of lockdown restrictions on different demographic groups via a weekly survey. It has also launched its ‘Join the Movement’ campaign which provides resources and tips via its #stayinworkout hub on how people can access activities that best meet their needs whilst maintaining social distancing.

Football clubs are the heart of local communities, they have unique social value and many with a great history.

We will continue to liaise closely with the sector as the situation develops.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport does not hold any information on the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) plans to reduce funding for championship clubs. The stewardship of rugby union in England is the responsibility of the RFU, as the National Governing Body for the sport. The Government expects good governance from all our sports bodies, as set out in the sports governance code.

Through Sport England, government has invested £11.53m into grassroots rugby union in the three years to 2018/19. This includes investment in both the RFU as the national governing body for the sport, together with investment in specific community rugby union projects. Over this time period, Sport England has invested a further £12.61m in multi-sport projects where rugby union is one of the sports benefitting.

We are committed to cracking down on unacceptable behaviour in the ticketing market and improving fans’ chances of buying tickets at a reasonable price. We have strengthened the existing ticketing information requirement in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and have introduced a new criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than that allowed.

We support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.

Recent announcements of enforcement action by these agencies demonstrate that we are prepared to go after those who flout the law or abuse the ticketing market.

At 31 December 2019 DCMS employed 1,264 Civil Servants, 50 of whom worked directly on projects relating to sport. A significant number of staff cannot be directly linked to digital, culture, media or sport as they are either part of the corporate centre (e.g Finance and HR), part of cross-cutting teams working across multiple policy areas (e.g the department’s Central Analytical Team) or part of teams which aren’t directly linked to any of these areas (e.g. the Office for Civil Society and the Gambling team).

This information relates to Civil Servants on DCMS’ payroll. This includes permanent staff, those on fixed-term contracts, those on paid loan/secondment in/out of DCMS and those on paid maternity leave. DCMS also sponsors a number of Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) which work on projects related to sport, including Sport England, the Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Sports Grounds Safety Authority, UK Anti-Doping, and UK Sport. Their total staff numbers are as follows:

Between April 2010 and March 2019, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has provided over £870m in Exchequer funding to Sport England, the arms-length body of government responsible for investing in and supporting grassroots sport in England. The table below provides a year-by-year breakdown.

Details of DCMS's Exchequer funding to other policy areas can be found in the department's annual reports which are available online.

As set out in our manifesto, the government is already committed to work with fans and clubs towards introducing safe standing. To deliver this we will be relying upon the expertise of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority to ensure existing levels of safety are maintained, and I welcome the latest findings from research they have commissioned in this area.

Over a million people watch live football at a ground every week, and this an issue many feel passionately about, but it is imperative that watching football continues to be safe. The SGSA will continue to gather evidence over the remainder of this season and work with the relevant authorities, clubs and fans to deliver our commitments.

Government commissioned an independent consortium to carry out a meta-evaluation of the benefits of London 2012. These reports are published on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/london-2012-meta-evaluation) and cover a broad range of research areas such as grassroots sport participation economic benefits, sustainability standards and the impact on volunteering.

Government, in conjunction with the Mayor of London, published four annual reports on legacy between 2013 and 2016. These described legacy benefits in the areas of sport and physical activity, economic impact, communities, East London regeneration and the impact from the Paralympics. Again, these reports are available on GOV.UK via https://www.gov.uk/society-and-culture/2012-olympic-and-paralympic-legacy.

Government is committed to making sure that everyone regardless of ability or background feels able to take part in sport and physical activity. Government’s Sporting Future strategy committed to increasing levels of physical activity regardless of the type of sport or activity.

Over 2017-21, through Sport England, government is investing over £17m in British Cycling to support the growth of grassroots cycling and cycling talent.

Since 2017, Sport England has separately invested more than £4.5m directly in grassroots cycling projects to support the growth of cycling at local level.

Government is also investing up to £15m in off-road cycling facilities to help drive a legacy from the 2019 UCI Road World Cycling Championships held in Yorkshire.

Almost £2 billion is projected to be invested in cycling and walking infrastructure over the 5 years from 2016/17 to 2020/21, and spending in England has doubled from £3.50 per head to around £7 per head over the current Spending Review period.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government; therefore, the government has no role in deciding whether BBC services, such as the BBC Red Button teletext service, should be continued.

It is the BBC’s responsibility to assess the potential effect of the closure of the BBC Red Button service on older people. The Government welcomes the BBC's decision to pause the closure of the Red Button service, ahead of its review of the impact of the closure on the most vulnerable including the elderly, and deaf and blind licence fee payers.

Government is committed to helping elderly people acquire basic digital skills.

Through the £400,000 Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, the Government is supporting projects aimed at addressing the digital exclusion of older and disabled people. One pilot, led by Uttlesford Council for Voluntary Service, is developing “smart homes” for elderly people to improve their digital skills, supported by their peers and younger ‘digital buddies’.

Government funds the Future Digital Inclusion programme delivered through Online Centres based in libraries and other community spaces. This supports some of the hardest to reach groups in society, including older people. Over the last five years, the programme has supported over 1.3 million adult learners to engage with digital technology and develop their basic digital skills in community settings.

Libraries are a vital source of advice and support on digital skills. Government invested £2.6m to enable 99% of libraries in England to offer free wifi to users; and older people can also gain access and support in using computers and other technology.

Government ensures its services are accessible by design and for the services it provides, has committed to ensuring that assistance is always available for those who are not online. Government departments are mandated to provide assisted digital (offline) support for their services where it is required.

The National Living Wage is the statutory minimum wage for those aged 25 and over, and the Government is committed to ensuring that everyone entitled to the National Living Wage receives it.

It is up to individual businesses to decide whether they would like to pay employees under the age of 25, the National Living Wage.

Homophobia or any form of discrimination has no place in football or society, and we want sport to be at the forefront of promoting equality.

On 15 January, I met with the Football Association and discussed their progress on combatting discrimination in football, including their work improving reporting mechanisms at grassroots levels. Whilst progress has been made, there is still more to do and we will be calling in all the footballing authorities for a further update about their work on this important issue.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport supports the work of Sport England (our national sport council) with the national governing bodies of individual sports and sport organisations on anti-homophobia initiatives aimed at encouraging inclusion, for example Stonewall's Rainbow Laces Campaign. Government is determined to show support for LGBT+ equality and inclusivity in sport, on and off the pitch.

The Gambling Commission has broad and flexible powers to set licence conditions and take action where there is evidence of harm, including the power to suspend or revoke a licence, impose financial penalties or prosecute criminal offences.

The Government has committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We will announce further details in due course.

Government recognises the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people who take part, at both the grassroots and elite levels. Government’s strategy for sport and physical activity, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’, aims to create a more physically active nation, where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits that sport and physical activity can provide. The strategy focuses on people in groups that are currently less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, which includes disabled people.

Sport England, our national sport council, invests in programmes that help disabled people get active and make sport more inclusive of their needs. They also ensure that programmes for disabled people are included across each of their investment programmes. Since 2016 they have invested almost £40m to support disabled people to get more active.

On 27 January I made a statement announcing our decision to add all future Paralympic Games to Ofcom’s list of “protected” sport events, meaning the Games will remain free to watch, rather than be subject to a subscription service or be paid for. This will enable the Games to reach the widest possible audience, and aims to increase visibility of para-sports globally. The full statement is available to read here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-01-27/HCWS66/.

The School Sport and Activity Action Plan sets out our commitment to ensuring that all children and young people have access to at least 60 minutes of high quality PE and physical activity every day. We are working closely with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care and will publish more detail on our ambitious plans later this year.

I regularly meet with Sport England who are investing over £190m into physical activity for children and young people over 2017-2021. This includes programmes such as the £40m Families Fund, which encourages low-income families with children to do sport and physical activity together. Sport England is also investing up to £125m to improve sports facilities across England.

The Government is aware of concerns that entertainment products, such as some video games, could encourage gambling-like behaviour. We have committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age, and to consider concerns about loot boxes. We will announce further details in due course.

The government recognises that there is no place for homophobia or any other kind of discrimination in sport. The government’s sport strategy ‘Sporting Future’ set out our intention to encourage as many people and groups to enjoy sport as participants, spectators and in the workforce, including the LGBT community.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport supports the work of Sport England (our national sport council) with the national governing bodies of individual sports and LGBT-focused sport organisations on anti-homophobia initiatives aimed at encouraging inclusion, for example Stonewall's Rainbow Laces Campaign.

Sport England have also commissioned Pride Sports to produce an in-depth report looking at barriers to LGBT participation including volunteering, provision, and attitudes and behaviours. This will also include a comprehensive look at LGBT participation, and a report on LGBT sport infrastructure across the country. Following this Sport England will consider what further steps could be taken to support LGBT participation.

The government is clear that racism has no place in sport or society at large. The sport and physical activity strategy ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’ has diversity and inclusion at its heart. Government remains supportive of a number of anti-racism initiatives that work with sports bodies from grassroots to the elite, including Show Racism the Red Card and Kick it Out.

Over the past year the government has led debates in the House of Commons on tackling racism in sport (on 22nd May 2019 and 12th July 2019), and hosted an Anti-Racism Summit in February 2019. This led to the three main English football organisations making clear commitments to tackle racism in football stadia from July 2019. The Sports Minister met with the FA last week and discussed their progress in delivering against these commitments, and will be calling in all the footballing authorities for a further update about their work on this important issue. Further to these commitments, ministers and officials continue to speak to the FA and relevant football bodies to explore what more can be done.

Grassroots sport clubs receive support in tackling racism from our national sport council, Sport England, who provide free support and learning in running a club through its "Club Matters" programme.

We are working with the football authorities and supporters’ groups to deliver the government’s commitment to move towards introducing areas of standing in football stadia currently subject to the all-seater policy. I will be setting out the government’s next steps once I have considered the findings of the independent research commissioned by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority into the management of standing at football, the associated safety risks, and how these can be mitigated.

Football clubs are the heart of local communities, they have unique social value and many with a great history. It is vital they are protected and fans should have their voices heard.

We have committed to a fan led review of football governance, which will include consideration of the Owners’ and Directors’ test. I recently met with the EFL to discuss the progress of their own review into club governance and we will take this into account as we decide the scope and structure of a government review.

The government is committed to ensuring that apprentice pay supports the attraction and retention of talented individuals into apprenticeships.

The independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) is responsible for advising the government on annual changes to minimum pay rates. Its recommendations follow a period of extensive research and consultation with employers, sector representative bodies and government stakeholders. The report for 2022 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1129930/Low_Pay_Commission_Report_2022.pdf.

In November 2022, the government accepted, in full, the LPC’s recommendation to increase the Apprentice National Minimum Wage by 9.7% to £5.28 from April 2023.

Many employers choose to pay their apprentices more than the National Minimum Wage rate, recognising the value that apprentices bring to their workplace. Our data shows that average hourly pay for apprentices ranges between £8.23 for level 2 and £14.02 for level 6.

The LPC has committed to keeping the Apprentice Rate under close review. The consultation to inform their recommendations on the 2024 minimum wage rates ran from 23 March and closed on 9 June 2023. It is expected that the government will receive the recommendations through the 2023 annual report, this autumn.

The department continues to offer financial support to apprentices and makes £1,000 payments to employers and providers when they take on apprentices aged 16-18. This can be used to support costs such as wages, uniforms or travel, and the department is increasing the care leavers bursary from £1,000 to £3,000.

Helping pupils recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic is a departmental priority. The department recognises the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on pupils, particularly those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and other additional learning needs.

Through education recovery funding, the department has consistently prioritised pupils who attend specialist schools by providing additional uplifts to these schools in the Catch-up Premium in 2020/21, the Recovery Premium over 2021/22 to 2023/24, and summer schools in summer 2021. These pupils have also been supported through the school led tutoring for pupils who attend specialist settings including special units in mainstream schools, in recognition of the significantly higher per pupil costs they face.

All pupils will benefit from additional funding to ensure that teachers in schools and early years are able to access high quality training and professional development. The department knows that high quality teaching is the best way to support all pupils, including those with SEND.

Evaluations of recovery interventions continue to be conducted and published when available, helping the department to understand their effectiveness and guide future policies and programmes. The department continues to monitor levels of attainment to understand the effects the COVID-19 pandemic and the department’s education policies have had, including on those children with SEND.

Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to ensure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.

The department recognises that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care to live in. We want to reduce out of area placements, but sometimes circumstances mean it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority.

In response to the urgent calls from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Care Review to transform the way care is provided to children, the government is working to drive forward improvements at a national, regional, and local level to increase sufficiency and improve standards of care and regulations.

By 2027, we will see an increase in the availability of high-quality, stable, and loving homes for every child in care local to where they are from. To achieve this, we are supporting local authorities to increase care placements and ensure they meet children’s needs, with £259 million capital funding for secure and open children’s homes.

The department is also investing £10 million to develop Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) to plan, commission, and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the RCCs will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements.

We are also seeking to rebalance the market through investing in foster care. The department has pledged to invest over £27 million over the next two years to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so that foster care is available for more children who need it.

Schools have a duty to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, including being a registered pupil of a state funded school. Free school meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary and cultural needs and has published statutory guidance, which describes steps school may take, including the establishment of individual healthcare plans which may include special diets. The statutory guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential.

Local Authorities are funded to support children with special needs, including those who are unable to attend school on a long term basis. The Department’s published guidance on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education.

The Department does not plan to expand FSM to include pupils who are home, or privately educated. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.

Schools have a duty to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, including being a registered pupil of a state funded school. Free school meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary and cultural needs and has published statutory guidance, which describes steps school may take, including the establishment of individual healthcare plans which may include special diets. The statutory guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential.

Local Authorities are funded to support children with special needs, including those who are unable to attend school on a long term basis. The Department’s published guidance on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education.

The Department does not plan to expand FSM to include pupils who are home, or privately educated. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.

Information on the school workforce in England, including subjects taught in state funded secondary schools, is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

Information on the number of teachers delivering for profit tutoring services is not collected by the Department.

There are no contractual restrictions on teachers having more than one job, as long as there is no detrimental impact on the teacher’s ability to deliver their contractual obligations and responsibilities. These would need to be negotiated between the individual teacher and their employer.

When deciding the bursaries for Initial Teacher Training (ITT), the Department takes a number of factors into account including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions and teacher supply need in each subject.

The unprecedented increase in new entrants to ITT seen in 2020/21 has declined over the past two years. The graduate labour market became more competitive and pay has risen in competing sectors.

To respond to this challenge, the Department announced an ITT financial incentives package worth up to £181 million for 2023/24, which is a £52 million increase on the previous year. This includes bursaries worth £27,000 tax free and scholarships worth £29,000 tax free, to encourage talented trainees to teach in key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

The Education Act 1996 places a duty on maintained schools and academies to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils that meet the eligibility criteria, and are attending school during term time. These meals must meet the standards for school food as laid out in ‘The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014’, which can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/contents/made.

The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary, and cultural needs.

It is important that the Department that the guidance on free school meals meets the needs of pupils. As such, this guidance is kept under review.

The Department does not collect data on the percentage of pupils in Year 6 in London who met each of the three swimming and water safety National Curriculum expectations.

As at the last school workforce census (November 2021, published in June 2022), the number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full time equivalent teachers working in state funded schools across the country.

In the 2020/21 academic year the Department exceeded the postgraduate initial teacher training target for religious education (RE). 129% of the target was achieved (660 new entrants recruited), whilst in the 2021/22 academic year performance against the target fell to 94% (442 new entrants recruited) and in 2022/23, 76% of the target was achieved (341 new trainees) in RE.

The Department is concentrating funding in attracting the best teachers where they are needed the most, through its teaching marketing campaign, support services for prospective trainees, and competitive starting salary.

To make it easier for people to become teachers, the Department has launched its new digital service, ‘Apply for teacher training’, enabling a more streamlined, user-friendly application route.

The Teaching marketing campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the ‘Get Into Teaching’ service. Through a new website, prospective trainees can access support and advice through expert one to one Teacher Training Advisers, a contact centre and a national programme of events.

The Department has recently raised starting salaries outside London by 8.9% to £28,000 and remains committed to the Government’s ambition of delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract people to teaching.

The Department is delivering 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by the end of 2024, giving all teachers and headteachers access to world-class, evidence-based training and professional development at every stage of their career.

The Department’s reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment and at ensuring teachers across England stay and thrive in the profession in all subjects, including RE.

To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching. This is backed by over £130 million a year in funding.

The Department has also launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and headteachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.

The Department has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing. This includes the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which the Department is encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. The Department has also published the workload reduction toolkit, developed alongside headteachers to help reduce workload, and resources to support schools to implement effective flexible working practices.

The mental health and wellbeing of young people is high a priority for this government. It is crucial that students get the mental health and wellbeing support they need to allow them to flourish at university.

The department engages regularly with the higher education (HE) sector on the mental health of university students and works closely to ensure that effective practice is funded and shared more widely. This engagement is supported by Vice-Chancellor Edward Peck, who was appointed earlier this year as HE's first ever Student Support Champion. Edward Peck works closely with ministers and officials, and provides sector leadership to promote effective practice in areas such as mental health and information sharing,

The Office for Students (OfS) works with the HE sector to ensure providers have the necessary funding and tools to support the mental health of their students. Through annual strategic guidance to the OfS, the department asked that the OfS distributes £15 million of funding in the 2022/23 financial year to give additional support for transitions from school or college to university, and through targeting funding to support partnership working with NHS services to provide students with a pathway of care to local mental health services. This strategic guidance is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/bb422aae-54fb-42c8-b5db-26e7ed48df80/strategic-priorities-grant-20220331_amend.pdf.

This government strongly supports the University Mental Health Charter, which is led by Student Minds. The Charter brings together universities to share effective practice and create cultural change around mental health. Programme members can work towards the Charter Award, which recognises those universities that demonstrate excellent practice in supporting student mental health. The department has written to all providers to make clear our ambition that they all sign up to the mental health charter programme by the end of 2026. The Charter is accessible at: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/charter.html.

The department has recently surveyed HE providers about their policies and practices to support student wellbeing and mental health. The study will gather sector wide insights on specific activities in this area and broad evidence on the overall approach to supporting students across HE. 179 providers have responded to this survey and results are due to be published in spring 2023.

The Office for Students (OfS), the higher education (HE) regulator, is consulting on instituting regulatory interventions in the matter of relationships between staff and students at all registered HE providers. The consultation closes on 4 May 2023. The OfS will publish its conclusions in due course and will take the appropriate action.

Swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the PE and Sport National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2.

The Department does not collect data on how many primary or secondary schools provide swimming lessons. All schools in receipt of the primary PE and Sport premium are required to publish the percentage of their Year 6 pupils who met each of the three swimming and water safety National Curriculum expectations.

The number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full-time equivalent teachers working in state-funded schools across the country. This is over 24,000 more than in 2010.

The department’s priority is to ensure that we continue to attract, retain, and develop highly skilled teachers. This is why we are taking action to improve teacher supply and quality by transforming the training and support we provide for teachers to attract more people to teaching and enable them to succeed.

All teachers are teachers of special education needs and disabilities (SEND). The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers.

The Teachers’ Standards sets clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils. All trainees who achieve Qualified Teacher Status must demonstrate that they can adapt teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.

To support all teachers in meeting these standards, the department is implementing a golden thread of high-quality teacher training reforms, which begins with initial teacher training and continues throughout their career progression.

Once teachers qualify and are employed in schools, headteachers use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils.

To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the mandatory qualification in sensory impairment approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. The department has developed a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the 2023/24 academic year. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream settings.

The school teachers’ pay and conditions document for 2022 sets out that an additional SEND allowance must be paid to teachers in a SEND post that requires a mandatory SEND qualification and involves teaching pupils with SEND. It is for schools to determine the specific amount, but this must be between £2,384 and £4,703 per annum.

The department engages regularly with school leaders and their representatives on a wide range of issues, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient good school places for all pupils, including those with SEND. They are statutorily required to keep the services and provision for children and young people with SEND under review, including its sufficiency.

Nationally, 16% of pupils are identified with some form of SEND, three quarters of whom receive SEND support from their mainstream school, funded from its own resources.

In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25 and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP. This funding forms part of the £2.6 billion we are investing between 2022 and 2025 and represents a significant investment in new high needs provision. This will also deliver up to 60 new special and AP free schools, in addition to the 48 special free schools that are already in the pipeline.

The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, sets out how the government intends to support schools to meet the special educational needs of their pupils.

The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.

The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The data is being prepared and will be published as soon as possible.

Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.

The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:

The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.

Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Schools are free to decide which events to commemorate and what activities to put in place to support pupils’ understanding of significant events. This includes particular months or days dedicated to specific communities, such as the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history month in June.

Schools also have the opportunity to promote events though the curriculum, for example through subjects such as history and citizenship. Resources are available from experts within the communities themselves, and from bodies such as the Historical Association. Within citizenship teaching at Key Stage 4, pupils should be taught the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom, and the need for mutual respect and understanding of all.

All children and young people must be treated fairly. There is no place for hate or prejudice in our education system.

Schools play an important role in preparing pupils for later life. This involves supporting pupils to understand the society in which they grow up and teaching about respect for other people and for difference. Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must not discriminate against a pupil in a number of respects because of a characteristic protected by the Act, including race. The department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010, and it is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools.

The department is also providing over £2 million of funding, between August 2021 and March 2023, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. We have deliberately focused this grant programme on preventing and tackling bullying of pupils with protected characteristics. The training and resources provided cover hate-based bullying, including resources specifically relating to the bullying of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children.

The department recognises the issues faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and young people and how education can make a positive difference. The report contained seven recommendations for the department and the following sets out how we are responding to those recommendations.

The report recommended that the clear disaggregation of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller identities as adopted by the Office for National Statistics for the 2021 Census, should be implemented across the education sector. As the report references Gypsy, Roma and Traveller data was collected in Census 2021 and phase one of the data has now been released: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021. We are currently reviewing the harmonised standard for ethnicity, with any potential question changes being released in 2024.

The report recommended that the department must ensure a race equality and diversity policy is made a statutory element of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) for all schools. Already the PSED requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.

Schools have specific legal duties to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the PSED, and to prepare and publish equality objectives. Schools are also required to publish information relating to those who share a relevant protected characteristic and who are affected by their policies and practices. It is for schools to develop their own strategies for meeting their duties, however, the department has published guidance for schools on how to ensure they comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010.

In regard to education, health and care (EHC) plans, the report recommended that all schools must have the ability and resources to provide assessment of them when requested by a parent or guardian, including annual reviews. Also, local authorities should consider providing base-level EHC plans funding to all schools. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, published in March 2022, sets out our vision to create a more inclusive education system with excellent local mainstream provision which will improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people who need more intensive support. Amongst those consulted was the department’s GRT Stakeholder Group and we are committed to publishing a full response to the consultation through an improvement plan early in 2023.

The report also recommended that the department should require all school and academy trusts to establish an On-Site Inclusion Unit. In July 2022 we published updated guidance on Behaviour in Schools and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion statutory guidance. The Behaviour guidance makes clear some schools can choose to have pupil support units (sometimes called ‘in-school units’) which should be used for two main reasons: to provide planned pastoral support for vulnerable pupils and as a last resort measure to support pupils at risk of exclusion.

Additionally, the report recommended that expert headteacher panels should be established to provide final assessments for proposed permanent exclusions and the department should develop standardised reporting guidelines for monitoring the use of In-School exclusionary practices, and also develop guidance for best practice and use of in-school exclusionary practices.

The updated exclusion guidance is clear that, in all cases, schools should consider initial intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour which may minimise the need for permanent exclusion. Whilst a permanent exclusion may still be an appropriate sanction, schools should take account of any contributing factors.

The statutory process to review school exclusions is clear that governing boards have a role to review the decision of the headteacher to permanently exclude and if the governing board decides to uphold the permanent exclusion, the parents will have the right to an Independent Review Panel.

The Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) assesses fluent recall of times tables. Pupils answer 25 times tables questions, with six seconds to answer each question. As a check of recall ability, the time available for each pupil to answer is a key element of the MTC.

A range of arrangements are available to support pupils with additional needs. Schools should explore which of these may be most appropriate to support pupils with education, health and care plans and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support plans in completing the MTC programme.

Although the check was designed to be accessible to most pupils, in exceptional circumstances, even with the use of the range of available arrangements, headteachers may decide that some pupils will not be able to participate in the check.

If appropriate, a headteacher should discuss this decision with the pupil’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator (SENDCO), educational psychologist, medical officer, or other specialist staff. When a pupil is not entered for the check, schools must explain the decision to the pupil’s parents in advance. If appropriate, they should provide parents with documentary evidence to support the decision. To mitigate the effect on pupils unable to participate in the check, schools should also explain how they are helping the pupil with their multiplication tables.

Multiplication and division in a wider context will continue to be assessed through the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 mathematics assessments, enabling further opportunity for pupils to demonstrate their understanding of multiplication tables.

The department does not hold information on the number of children with a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) referral listed on their education, health and care (EHC) plan, who have been waiting more than six months for mental health support through CAMHS.

The department collects data on the number of EHC plans maintained by local authorities and on the request and assessment process, but this does not include information on whether a CAMHS referral has been listed on the EHC plan.