Chris Evans

The Government has no such plans.

The Government is committed to supporting alternative methods to the use of animals in science and the Labour Manifesto included a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing.” The Government has already held roundtables with stakeholders from businesses, regulators and across Government on how to best support the uptake, validation and development of alternative methods, and further discussions with civil society organisations will take place in December.

Loot boxes in video games are not classed as gambling as individuals are unable to cash out their purchases as currency. However, we are aware of the challenges posed by the blurring of boundaries between gambling and video games and, where products do amount to unlicensed gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown that it will take swift action. The Gambling Commission’s annual Young People and Gambling survey monitors awareness and prevalence of purchasing loot boxes among secondary school pupils in Great Britain.

In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over illegal gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. Some forms of advertising can also have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and those who are already experiencing problems with their gambling.

There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. The Gambling Commission is also introducing new requirements for operators to allow customers to have greater control over the direct marketing they receive, and have also consulted on measures to ensure that incentives such as free bets are constructed in a socially responsible manner.

However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

Sport must be open to everyone. There is absolutely no place for homophobia, or discrimination of any kind, in sport or society.

The Government expects sports bodies, including the boxing authorities, to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.

The Government takes the issue of head injuries very seriously. The first national guidance for concussion in grassroots sport was introduced in 2023, developed by international experts on concussion and acquired brain injury to better identify, manage and prevent the issue. We continue to encourage National Governing Bodies to adapt the guidance to their own sport where appropriate.

The Government will continue to discuss athlete safety with relevant stakeholders and the sports sector in the coming months to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.

I have held a series of very productive meetings with the Wales Office, Welsh Government, Arts Council England, and Welsh National Opera to understand the issue in more detail and to see how, within the parameters of the arm’s length principle, I can best help ensure a strong and secure future for the WNO.

The core point of commonality across all these meetings and across all partners was a recognition of the value of the Welsh National Opera and its work - for the people of England as well as for the people of Wales. It was clear that all partners are keen to achieve a positive long-term future for the organisation, and are working towards that goal.

I was pleased that this series of meetings was able to reassure everyone that all partners wanted to see a positive future for Welsh National Opera, that the funding bodies across the border will work more collaboratively in future and that the new leadership at the WNO have a clear idea of how to progress. Everyone wants to burnish and sustain the WNO so that as many people as possible in Wales and England have a chance to enjoy world class opera close to home. Funding decisions are for the Welsh Arts Council and Arts Council England, but I am confident that the WNO is in a strong place to succeed.

The Department regularly engages with stakeholders on a wide range of issues. Government officials intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on issues with and impacts of fireworks, including on animal welfare.

Officials have already been working with Combat Stress, Help for Heroes and the Dogs Trust to share information about safe and considerate use of fireworks. The government launched an awareness campaign during the fireworks season to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals to encourage responsible use - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/my-safety-fireworks.

This government is determined to reduce fraud and error in the social security system. To tackle benefit overpayments, we agreed £8.6bn of savings at the Autumn Budget 2024 – the biggest fraud and error package on record, which led the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to forecast that we will reduce fraud and error to pre-pandemic levels.

On January 22^nd 2025, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill which will help the government better identify, prevent and deter public sector fraud and error and enable the better recovery of debt owed to the taxpayer.

As part of the £8.6bn savings, this Bill is estimated to deliver benefits of £1.5bn over the next five years, as scored by the OBR. This is made up of £940 million in savings related to fraud and error overpayments, and £565 million in additional debt recoveries.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), taking advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), has worked to raise awareness among healthcare professionals and patients of the risks of valproate when taken during pregnancy through several updates to the valproate Summary of Product Characteristics, for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflets, as well as updates to associated educational materials as required.

The magnitude and type of risks associated with valproate use in pregnancy have been communicated in articles in the MHRA bulletin, Drug Safety Update, and via letters cascaded out through the NHS Central Alerting System. These communications have been supported by messages from the relevant professional bodies and regulatory requirements reinforced through changes to clinical guidelines and improved alerts on general practitioner prescribing systems.

The valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme, implemented in 2018, is supported by educational materials for healthcare professionals and patients which describe the neurodevelopmental disorders and major congenital malformations associated with the use of valproate in pregnancy, and are available electronically and sent in hard copy format to healthcare professionals.

In January 2024, the MHRA communicated, in an article in a Drug Safety Update, the latest advice from the CHM, that valproate must not be started in new patients, male or female, younger than 55 years old unless two specialists independently consider and document that there is no other effective or tolerated treatment, or if there are compelling reasons that the reproductive risks do not apply. It was advised that women and girls of childbearing potential who are already receiving valproate should have their treatment reviewed by two specialists at their next annual review. The requirement for two specialists to review these patients is a one off, and subsequent annual reviews required under the Pregnancy Prevention Programme are undertaken by a single specialist.

Updated educational materials were made available to healthcare professionals and patients electronically, and sent to healthcare professionals in hard copy format, that could be provided to patients and which could support the discussions between healthcare professionals and patients.

At Autumn Budget 2024 the government committed to simplifying the tax system as part of its three strategic priorities for HMRC: closing the tax gap, modernisation and reform, and improving customer service.

A key aim for the Government is to reduce the administrative burdens for businesses when dealing with the tax system. To this end the Government announced, for example, on 28 January that it has listened to businesses and stakeholders and decided that employers will no longer have to provide more detailed employee hours data to HMRC from April 2026.

The Government is meeting with stakeholders, including the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board, to understand their priorities for administration and simplification, ensuring that this work is driven by the views of taxpayers.

This Government understands the challenges that mortgage prisoners face and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this issue is properly considered, including looking at the recommendations of the 2023 LSE report.

There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market, including mortgage prisoners. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.

Additionally, the Government has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit; the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS); and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.

That is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which plays a vital role in providing intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK.

Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to the police can still be investigated where appropriate, as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.

That is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which plays a vital role in providing intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK.

Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to the police can still be investigated where appropriate, as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

Service Family Accommodation (SFA):

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) conducts more than 300,000 maintenance tasks per year. These tasks relate to health and safety works, as well as proactive and reactive repairs, to maintain safe and compliant homes in line with the Decent Home Standard.

Of those 300,000 tasks, there are circa 2% which are currently on hold (these form the ‘backlog’). None of these tasks are priority work and they will be addressed once discretionary funding is available.

Built Estate (including Single living Accommodation):

Maintenance and life cycle replacements are identified though visual inspection regimes or via MOD’s Asset Lifecycle and Replacement Model (ALaRM) tool which predicts works needed to restore assets to a good condition.

This provides the Defence Infrastructure Organisation with a picture of the works required on the assets. Safety works are addressed immediately, or the risk mitigated, for example, by building closure.

The remaining maintenance requirements are prioritised for funding by the Asset owner within Defence. Infrastructure assets are categorised against their operational need.

The safety of Service personnel and their families remains a top priority for the MOD.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) aims to pay 90% of undisputed and valid invoices from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within five days. In the last quarter of this financial year, over 95% of invoices have been paid within this timescale. Additionally, 100% of all undisputed and valid invoices should be paid within 30 days. Information relating to the Department's supplier payment performance can be found at the gov.uk website.

Along with all major suppliers to Government, direct suppliers to the MOD are required to comply with the Government’s prompt payment policy (PPN 10/23), and can be excluded from MOD procurements if they do not meet the standards of fair payment laid out in the policy. Suppliers must ensure that 95% of invoices in their supply chain are paid within 60 days and that they pay their invoices within an average of at least 55 days.

Within each Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contract, there is an embedded assurance and verification process to check the adequacy of the maintenance and repair service provided to Single Living and Service Families Accommodation. The assessments are made against Acceptable Levels of Performance (ALP).

We continue to robustly challenge supplier performance against agreed levels. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation Chief Executive and his Officials hold monthly scrutiny meetings with contractor Chief Executives to continue to hold them to account, drive performance improvements and deliver the best possible service to Service personnel and their families.

Where performance falls short of that ALP, specific performance Rectification Plans are put in place to recover performance and any subsequent contractual performance withholds applied. Each Region manages this performance rectification with suppliers back to an acceptable level of performance with oversight from the Health Check Forum.

Remembrance is the annual national commemoration to mark all conflicts and pay respects to all who have suffered at the hands of oppression and dictatorship and on Sunday 17 November 2024, Lord Coaker, Minister of State in the House of Lords, joined the AJEX (Armed Forces Jewish Ex Service Personnel) community who paraded at the Cenotaph in their own act of remembrance.

As the Chancellor announced in the Budget, the government will provide funding to the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to commemorate a variety of occasions. In addition, the Ministry of Defence will mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2025 and recognises that 2025 will be the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps.

The UK’s defence manufacturing industry is vital not only to our national security but to our prosperity and economic growth. This Government is committed to supporting UK manufacturing jobs and will bring forward a new Defence Industrial Strategy to align the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy.

The Government has made £15 million available to the places most severely affected by the violent disorder of the summer through the Community Recovery Fund. Officials from my department have also carried out an extensive engagement process with these places to understand and address the underlying causes of the unrest.

This Government is determined to take a long-term, strategic approach to building social cohesion. This is a priority and I have stood up a cross-government Communities & Recovery Steering Group to oversee this work.

This Government is committed to ensuring that communities across Britain are safe, resilient, and united.

All prisons are legally required to offer a library service, and all prisoners are regularly able to access appropriately stocked libraries that support them in their learning and personal development.

HMPPS has recently issued best practice guidance to all prisons across England to ensure the quality of library services can be maximised regardless of a prison’s cohort, function or available resource.

In Wales, we have well-established library services across the Welsh estate with several satellite library services for extra accessibility in prison residential areas, and the national reading strategy is in progress.

Reading is a priority for HMPPS, and every prison now has a reading strategy which has been supported by the donation of over 150,000 books to prisons by publishing houses through the ‘Bang-Up-Books’ campaign. We also engage with experts as part of a National Reading Group which advises on improvement work that includes better initial assessments of prisoners’ reading ability.

In addition, prisons in England and Wales frequently work with voluntary and community sector providers who provide reading support delivered by peer mentors as well as workshops to encourage creative writing, reading and book groups.

All prisons are legally required to offer a library service, and all prisoners are regularly able to access appropriately stocked libraries that support them in their learning and personal development.

HMPPS has recently issued best practice guidance to all prisons across England to ensure the quality of library services can be maximised regardless of a prison’s cohort, function or available resource.

In Wales, we have well-established library services across the Welsh estate with several satellite library services for extra accessibility in prison residential areas, and the national reading strategy is in progress.

Reading is a priority for HMPPS, and every prison now has a reading strategy which has been supported by the donation of over 150,000 books to prisons by publishing houses through the ‘Bang-Up-Books’ campaign. We also engage with experts as part of a National Reading Group which advises on improvement work that includes better initial assessments of prisoners’ reading ability.

In addition, prisons in England and Wales frequently work with voluntary and community sector providers who provide reading support delivered by peer mentors as well as workshops to encourage creative writing, reading and book groups.

To keep our prisons safe and secure, we are investing £220 million in prison and probation service maintenance in 2024-25, and up to £300 million in 2025-26. This is the largest investment in maintenance per annum since 2021-22.